Sailor Jerry has embarked upon an epic quest to track down a rare breed of individuals – those walking the earth with tattoos inked by Norman ‘Sailor Jerry’ Collins himself. Not imitations, just tattoos inked by the man himself.
These men and women represent living history, so Sailor Jerry want to photograph their tattoos and interview them about their session with the father of old-school tattooing.
These stories and photos will contribute to an exhibition celebrating the life and legacy of Sailor Jerry. If you’re reading this post and you have an original Norman Collins tattoo (or know someone who does), please get in touch with the guys over at Sailor Jerry, by emailing them at originalink@sailorjerry.com.
Interview with Amy Savage, Jayne Doe Tattoo Shop in Hornchurch
See the full interview with more images in issue 1 – The Launch Issue – of Things & Ink magazine. Order here.
What got you into tattooing? It actually stemmed from an obsession with drawing Disney characters when I was younger. I always wanted to be an animator, then kinda grew out of that. But my love of art remained. Then when I was 16, I had a heavily tattooed boyfriend who suggested I start drawing flash for shops. I did so, until I thought, why do I need the middleman? Surely I can do it myself. It was a slow process, taking years for me to get an apprenticeship. In the mean time I did Art, Art History and Photography A-levels, then a degree in Applied Behavioural Science and Welfare of Animals. This just made me realise I wanted to tattoo even more. Finally, I got an apprenticeship in Kent and my journey began.
How did you practice? I started on fake skin and pig’s skin, then on any of my friends who were willing. We’re still friends, so that’s a good sign.
What influences your style? A lot of neo-traditional work, I also like a lot of animals, which I guess stems from my choice of degree. I’m known as a bit of a cat lady, I do loads of cats. I love doing fox tattoos too.
How would you describe your own style? Very girly. I would like my work to go in a more real direction, so it has a more natural appearance to it, I think somewhere in the middle of neo-traditional and realistic would be perfect.
If you could tattoo anyone, who’d it be? It would have to be Billy Corgan. Smashing Pumpkins are my favourite band in the whole world. If I ever did get to tattoo him, it would be the scariest, but best, situation ever!
If you weren’t a tattoo artist, what would you be? I can’t imagine not being a tattoo artist. But I would maybe have gone down the animal route as a pet behaviourist, specialising in rabbits. I love rabbits, I’d love to do more rabbit tattoos actually.
What’s it like working at Jayne Doe? It is an amazing place to work, none of the people who work here have big egos. It’s important as I tattoo all day – it’s my life, but I love it.
As regular Th’ink readers will know, it’s been a dream of mine for YEARS to get tattooed by Cris Cleen at Saved Tattoo. And tomorrow, I am off to NYC. My appointment is booked for next Monday and I couldn’t be more excited.
Very exciting news from our fave rum makers over at Sailor Jerry…
Iconic artist and musician designs exclusive pieces for the Sailor Jerry Clothing line ‘The Flash Collection by Paul Simonon’
Today Sailor Jerry announced The Flash Collection, a series of annual collaborations between Sailor Jerry and like-minded artists inspired by the legendary tattoo flash of Norman ‘Sailor Jerry’ Collins. And first up, it’s Paul Simonon, the legendary man who formed The Clash, with Mick Jones.
Paul Simonon – photo: Derrick Santini
Paul will design three limited edition pieces that I cannot wait to get my hands on – a leather jacket, a t-shirt and a neckerchief. Each piece will combine Norman Collins’ iconic flash artwork with Simonon’s signature design style to produce truly iconic and collectable items.
These will be available in a handful of selected stores around the world and on www.sailorjerryclothing.com, in September 2013. So watch this space for more details…eek exciting, and all sounds very exclusive.
In the meantime…watch this video with Paul talking about the collacboration:
For further information on The Flash Collection by Paul Simonon contact follow Sailor Jerry on twitter @sailorjerryUK #flashcollection or on www.facebook.com/sailorjerryUK.
