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Is your relationship linked by ink? It’s wedding competition time.

Did someone pop the question this Christmas?

We’re looking for the ultimate tattoo love story, as we are giving away wedding photography for your big day worth £1850

Did you fall in love with an artist while under the needle? Or did you start your tattoo journeys together? We want to know all about it. We’re looking for couples who or may not have already planned their wedding. From backyard to town hall, it’s less about location and more about you and your unique story.

The Thing & Ink team and special guest tattoo celebrity judges (who will be announced very soon) will select FOUR couples as finalists. All finalists will receive a love photo shoot from Brighton-Photo and a set of images worth £350. The winner will be selected by a public vote and will receive a wedding commission from Heather Shuker from Brighton-Photo.com, including a disc of beautifully images (up to 500) worth £1850.

ENTER HERE NOW.

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Owning my body

Bethany Rutter, author of No Big Deal, examines what it is to be female and have tattoos

Photos by Heather Shuker 

Bethany Rutter arched eyebrow

It seems as if one of the main requirements of being a woman and inhabiting the body of a woman is that we preserve, protect and sanitise it at all costs. Virginity is the most highly prized feminine trait. Body hair is unthinkable. Proof of ageing must be combated decades in advance. Stretch marks are a secret shame. Women’s bodies should be unblemished, unmarked, smooth and pure. Signs that our bodies have deviated from this path, that we do not wrap our bodies in cotton wool, are an assault to the perception of what it means to be a woman, an assault to what we owe those that look at our bodies.

Tattoos, then, are surely the greatest attack on a collective belief in ‘pure’ womanhood. They’re a sign that a woman owns her body, that she’s refusing to accept ‘unmarked’ as a condition of femininity.

Bethany

One of the most common criticisms of women with tattoos is that they are ‘unladylike’, but I take exception to this. They’re a method of reclaiming what it means to be a ‘lady’, or better, a woman. They’re a choice, they’re a commitment, they’re an expression of the self, and I’m completely sure that women have claims to these. Choosing to have tattoos means I choose to own my body, to see it as a permanent vehicle for my sense of self and that I’m choosing what I say with it.

The most perplexing part of the equation is that no one changes when they get a tattoo. Their behaviour doesn’t change, the way they relate to the world doesn’t change, it’s just, in the words of Joni Mitchell, ‘ink on a pin underneath the skin’. So why we think we can tell a good woman from a bad one by whether or not she has a tattoo is evidence again of the obsession with keeping women ‘pure’ and palatable. Heaven forbid a woman has a tattoo across her lower back, since apparently this is the litmus test for whether or not she is a ‘tramp’. So here two things are combined: desire to control women’s bodies and whether or not they have sex. 

Bethany legs

Tattoos on women offend the collective sensibility because they are bold, unmissable and non-negotiable, and those are traits I’m quite happy to associate myself with. ❦ 

This was first published in the launch issue of Things&Ink, thingsandink.com.

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Issue 5 – the celebration issue – what’s inside?

Issue 5 – the celebration issue – what’s inside?

Sneaky peek inside the contents page of the latest issue

Issue 5 contents page contents

4. Art for things&Ink – Artwork by Mister Paterson

5. We love ink – Tattoos as a celebration

6. street spotter – London Tattoo Convention special

9. Wonderful Christmas time – Samantha’s festive sleeve

10. the virgin columnist – Our columnist Jenny visits her first ever tattoo convention

11. Reader ink – Your celebratory tattoos

12. My first time – Sarah shares her first tattoo experience

13. The opinions of ReeRee – This issue, ReeRee talks about her tattoos with meaning

14. Dear blue... Into You’s shop mother answers your problems

FASHION & BEAUTY

16. Saturnalia – Celebrating beauty with colour

20. East Meets West – Things&Ink/Gypsy East collaboration

 

Misconceptions

28. PIT TIPS – Sarah’s armpit epiphany

30. Interview with Sam Smith – Sarah meets tattooist Sam in Canada

32. We All Have Scars  – Writer Kelli broaches the sensitive issue of tattooing over scars

35. Don’t Fuck With Librarians – Things&Ink talk to some kick-ass info-pros about misconceptions and tattoos

41. A celebration of my absurd life Writer Kimberly celebrates her birthday with a tattoo

42. Pop culture Cult tattoos featuring Breaking Bad’s Jesse and Larry David

44. Maid of Dishonour Best friends get tattooed for the big day, plus a chance to win photography for your wedding day

 

Things

48. Object on a desk – Tattoo artist Mister Paterson gives us a glimpse into his work space

51. The tattooed book Cara reviews Original Skin and The Tattooed Girl

52. Phantasy homes How to make your house beautiful with tattoo-inspired kit

54. Th:Ink Music Reader tattoos, girl bands, Drew Linden’s playlist  and an interview with Johnny Cupcakes’ Kellen Ellis

58. The beautiful world of Flora Amalie – Interview with Conspiracy Inc.’s co-owner  and shop manager

 

History & Culture

62. Latin tattoos Purveyors of dead expressions

66. The changing shapes of beauty Amelia Klem-Osterud explores the tattooed female body

69. Last writes Tattooed mortician, Carla Valentine, explores the death and tattoos

 

Behind the needle

74. Diary of a tattoo apprentice Before reading this, Google ‘Hannah Mosley repulsive’. At your own risk

76.  Let’s celebrate A party with our cover stars, Tiny Miss Becca and Amy Savage

84. Black Tattoo Art Review of Marisa Kakoulas’ latest book

85. This is a job, but it’s not ordinary Interview and photo shoot with tattoo artist Joao Bosco

90. PMA Writer Fareed stumbles across a secret in Portugal

The directory Tattoo shops personally recommended by the Things&Ink team

94. Meet Vicky Morgan A glimpse into her tattoo world

 

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EXCLUSIVE Christmas competition to win beautiful pendant and limited-edition prints

It’s Christmas, so it’s competition time! And we only do the best giveaways, of course!

Tattoo artist Dominique Holmes and Fiona from Black Pearl Boutique have made a truly special, one-off pendant especially for Thing&Ink readers. A stunning gypsy pendant with a beautiful tiny ruby – worth £100 – and it is hand engraved, too. PLUS TWO gorgeous prints by Dominique – signed and numbered from a run of only 50.

To enter you simply have to share one of the pics below on Instagram and hashtag it #Christmaspendant – and tag us in it too @thingsandink, @domholmestattoo and @blackpearlboutique.

Competition closes on New Year’s Eve, and a winner will be announced on 1 January.


 

This is just to say thanks for being the most awesome readers EVER! Haaappppyyy Christmas one and all.