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Alice’s Pig first ever pop-up shop for Christmas

POP IN WHEN THEY POP UP!

You’re invited to Alice’s Pig first ever Pop-up Shop! Perfect for Christmas pressie buying…

alice pig
On until Sunday 15 December at the Old Truman Brewery, off Brick Lane, (every day 11am-7pm), Loading Bay Area, Dray Walk, Unit 4-5, London, E1 6QR

There will be four other exciting new fashion labels, sample, Christmas sales and much more.

alice's pig clothes
About Alice’s Pig: Alice’s Pig is a new fashion brand from Brixton in South London, inspired by vintage style and Alice in Wonderland. Founded in May 2013 by sibling duo Amanda and Nicolai, Alice’s Pig designs all its collections in London and has an additional office in Shanghai. The brand image comes from their love for Alice in Wonderland, where crazy is normal. The name is a reminder that colliding styles and cultures can produce something interesting and that there can be beauty and surprise in anything; even in a pig.

alice pig lifts
Need a dress for your festive do?

 

alice's pig jacket

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Girly, pink and colourful – Keely Rutherford

Things&Ink chatted to Keely Rutherford, 29, of East Side Tattoo in london, about her tattoo world…

Keely Rutherford tattoo

Interview by Kelli Savill

How long ago did you start tattooing, and why? I started my apprenticeship in Essex in early 2010. I was lucky enough to be taken on in a studio where I met a lovely hunk of man who taught me all he knew – Jethro Wood (love of my life). He let me do a couple of wobbly tattoos on him, and his lovely punk friends didn’t mind a shaky line or two either! I moved studios in early 2011 to work with Giselle Stock who gave me my wings. Drawing has always been a passion from an early age. My Dad and I used to sit and draw together, he is an amazing artist and inspiration. Dad and Mum always tried to encourage me to do something with Art. But after Art College, I had a party girl inside me begging to get out. It wasn’t until I started to waitress, that I had more time to draw and spend my tips on hair dye and tattoos. It was then that I built up a portfolio and was given the opportunity to learn this amazing trade.

Cat Hand

What influenced this career-turn? Starting to get tattooed and hanging around studios like a green-eyed monster, wishing I could be in such an awesome creative environment, with such talented people. I was 26 when I started my apprenticeship, so I really wanted to make something of myself, as I had pretty much hated all the other jobs I had done. I knew when I was given that golden ticket that I had to grab it with both hands and work my bloody arse off.

Rabbit

How would you describe your style? I hate this question, I get asked it quite a lot and I have no idea what to answer. Its either girly/pink/colourful or if it’s on a boy I get the black out. I’ve yet to discover a hashtag on Instagram that defines it. So until then, who knows!

What kind of customers do you attract? Mainly girls between 18 and 30ish, but saying that people from all ages and genders. I do tend to tattoo more women than men, I think because I find working in a feminine style a lot more natural.

What is your favourite part of the body to tattoo, and why? Legs, legs, legs! This skin is generally tight and I do a lot of symmetrical tattoos, so the placement normally works well.

Have you created a favourite tattoo? What is it? In every tattoo I complete, I can pick faults – we are all only as good as our last tattoo. I think it is important to criticise my work, as I would never want to become complacent. I am so lucky to be in a place in my career where I can create and push the boundaries in my own style. I’m very grateful everyday that people like my work and want to wear in on their skin.

Hat Face

If you could tattoo anyone, dead or alive, who would it be? Brian Cox. I find him fascinating and he could definitely teach me loads about our universe. I think a nice cosmic kitty would suit him.

If you weren’t a tattoo artist what would you be? Well. There used to be a programme called McCallum with John Hannah as a Forensic Pathologist back in the late 90s. At the time I thought, “Yeh I’d be up for doing a bit of that”. But at the end of school, when the results were given out and I got a double E in Science, all my dreams where shattered.

Jewels

Do the tattoos on your body take on any kind of theme? My tattoos tell my story, they start a bit shit and get better as the time has gone on…

What do you look for in a tattoo artist for your personal collection? People who inspire me. I choose an artist who I like and give them a vague idea of what I’m after, the space I have and let them have full artistic licence on the design. To me, that is my favourite part of tattooing. It’s their work I am choosing for many different reasons, so I put my trust in what they will create for me. I recently got tattooed by the amazingly talented Davee Blows, I told him I like cats and fruit. I ended up with a Saber-tooth tiger and a pineapple. I love it.

Kew

Do you have a favourite tattoo on your body? Going to sound a bit soppy, but my knuckles say Amor Loco – Crazy Love in Spanish. It sums up my relationship with Jethro, he’s a bit special.

 

 

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MR X DOCUMENTARY SHORT

This week I was lucky enough to attend the first screening of Duncan X documentary short at Into You, London. Duncan X is an iconic figure in the tattoo world, and his strong black tattoos – both on his body and in his portfolio – are unique and synonymous with him.

Duncan X

The film is beautifully made by director (and customer of Duncan’s) Alex Nicholson. Duncan speaks openly and honestly about his past, drug taking, tattoos and his son – by the end of the film, I was so moved I had tears streaming down my face. Duncan’s words would be moving if it was just him talking, but the film is made more powerful by Nicholson’s collaboration with MPC’s Motion Design Studio, and Duncan’s own tattoos come to life on his body as he tells his stories.

mr-x-poster

 

After the seven-minute film was over, I approached Duncan to congratulate him, and got to have a wonderful half an hour chat with him. I have always seen Duncan as a private man within a public sphere, and he agreed that was the case liking to keep away from social media – he doesn’t want customers to see a constant stream of his work. He doesn’t like to follow “tattoo trends”, either, or read tattoo magazines, as there is too much temptation to copy and imitate, and he never wants to do that.

Duncan also told me that when he first started getting tattooed, he did it to scare and repel people, however he is glad that his tattoos don’t really have that effect nowadays. He also said that he has become “cool”, but it wasn’t his intention. Duncan has a very powerful style of tattooing, so I asked him how he liked to work with his customers and create pieces for them. He said that he often sits down with his sketch book, to get a a feel for the drawings that people are drawn to – and equally what they do not like. I also asked Duncan about his son, who he talks about in the film. Duncan would like to be the first person to tattoo him, however as he wants a Japanese sleeve, he may not be the best person for the job.

Duncan chatted to me in a very open and honest way, and that also very much comes across in the film, which you can watch here.

MR X by Alex Nicholson from Sang Bleu on Vimeo.

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Mini Review: V&A Friday Late – Rules of Adornment

Last week while the Things&Ink team were working hard wrapping up issue five for print, which you will be able to order on Friday, a few of us made it down to the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) for a contemporary late night event ‘Rules of Adornment’.

This event has been on our calendar for the last few months so we were very excited to see what the night held. The V&A is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design which was founded in the 1852, so to be at an event in such a renowned building, talking about a various subjects which are part of the Things&Ink DNA was going to be a very intriguing night.

The Rules of Adornment key topics were a mixture of jewellery, technology and tattoos. The night was jam packed with live performances, cutting-edge fashion, debates, one-off displays, installations, special guests, drink, food and guest DJs.

The big question of the night was why do we adorn ourselves with jewellery, accessories, technology and tattoos? Is it about status or personal expression?

As we walked through the doors, hanging high was a giant chandelier of colourful glass spheres by Canadian lighting brand Bocci.

Making our way through various different installations we headed towards the far wing of the museum, “The Sackler Centre”. Randomly on the way we kept seeing a crowd of girls show-casing various ways of wearing different styles of jewellery. It was so interesting seeing jewellery being showcased like this. Jewellery is worn day in day out by billions of people, but it is worn in a way that most people would see as “normal.” Tonight it felt like the boundaries were being pushed.

As we opened the glass doors to the Sackler Centre, it felt like a mini festival of celebration of body art culture. The sound of Gyorgy Ono experimental techno-house jams where being fused with more avant-garde, Musique Concrète and sound art compositions. Drinks in every corner and ink exhibitions and live workshops in various studios in progress.

I spent some time in the Art Studio which was being managed by the Brothers of the Stripe team. I watched various people design and illustrating on flash sheets. All being inspired by the adornment theme.

There was a tattoo stamp workshop in the middle of the studio with people printing and drawing various pieces allowing them to take away a specially printed poster. You could see majority of the crowd learning about tattoo art culture for the first time, falling into a comfort zone with a surprise on their faces. 

We got a chance to catch up with Art historian Matt Lodder , who was speaking on the night about Japanese Tattooing as an Upper-Class Fad in Late 19th Century Britain and we asked him… why do we adorn ourselves with tattoos?

“I think trying to figure out the “why” of tattooing is probably ultimately a futile exercise. Adornment, including tattooing, seems such a fundamental part of being human – and there’s not a culture we’ve yet discovered in history which didn’t use adornment – through a mixture of clothes, jewellery and body art – in some senses. What interests me instead is the “what” – how do particular styles and genres and trends in tattooing come and go, how do they relate with the visual cultures from which they emerge, and what relationships between the individual, her culture and her world do these changing styles indicate? It’s fascinating being able to ask these questions at the Victoria and Albert Museum, as museums have shaped and continue to shape our understanding of adornment, and lead as well as illustrate our tastes and sensibilities. It’s certainly the case that tattooists in London were visiting places like the V&A and the British Museum in search of design inspiration, and that their clients were inspired by the things these places introduced them to. Adornment is constant, but what form that takes is constantly shifting.”