Stories we wear on our skin
Hi everyone,
My blog has moved to a fancy self-hosted new home, but I don’t want any of you to lose track of where Th’ink lives. Its new home is th-ink.co.uk, and all content will exist here from now on. All links should redirect automatically to here, but if there are any issues please do contact me (alice@th-ink.co.uk), as I would like to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Thanks for following.
Lots of love
Alice Th’ink
xxxx
I bought this lovely iPhone case from the Brighton Tattoo Convention last weekend. The lovely Rachel McCarthy, from Modern Body Art, makes them and she will make a unique one for you if you order one. She sells lots of other craft-type things and prints, too. Of course her tattoos are amazing and she is another person to add to my list of people I would like to get tattooed by.
I fell in the love with the work of Claudia De Sabe at my first tattoo convention in Brighton. I have wanted to get tattooed by her ever since. I managed to get on her waiting list at the Jolie Rouge, London, last year and I had a consultation with her at the end of last year. My one inspiration: a lamp.
This is all I told her at my consultation and, of course, where I would like it positioned –the inner top of my left arm.
After my consultation, an appointment was booked for 10 January 2012. And I didn’t see the beautiful drawing until then – the grand unveiling of my beautiful vintage-inspired lamp.
The amazing thing about this design is it captures both of Claudia’s styles in one tattoo. The beautifully intricate and vintage nature of the shade, then the Japanese-inspired base. It’s just perfect and I loved the stencil instantly.
Claudia was also so lovely when she was tattooing me, so friendly and concerned about how comfortable I was. It was actually a really lovely experience.
I decided to let Claudia pick the colours, too. I hadn’t quite decided. And I am so glad I left it to her because I couldn’t be happier with the finished tattoo…
I love you Claudia!
Alice Th’ink
xxxx
This is part of the exclusive Tattoo film series I filmed with Papercut Pictures for Zeitgeist magazine.
“Tattooing has become a victim of its own popularity” Zele
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/35528885 w=500&h=281]
Behind the Needle 3 features three more notable tattoo artists. Ninoslav Zelenovic aka Zele from Zagreb Tattoo, Jason Donahue from Idle Hand and Alex Binnie from IntoYou London/Brighton talk about the past, present and future of the tattoo world. Has it really become a victim of its own popularity in this Facebook-obsessed world?
Zele used to be a military man, and this is reflected in his love of historical, ethnic and traditional styles of tattooing. His tattoos reflect his value system and past. In this film he also talks about the negative impact of the growing popularity of tattoos and how this affects those who have been in the business for a long time.
Jason Donahue has always been into art, and as soon as he got his first tattoo he realised he’d found something he really wanted to do. His influences come from the past, his strongest being American traditional and Japanese. He also talks about the explosive nature of the tattoo industry now and the fact the he is his own biggest critic, constantly seeking tattoo perfection.
Tattooing was a very ‘closed’ world when Alex Binnie started out, and not at all fashionable. He tells us about his varied style and how the industry has changed since he has been a part of it. He talks about tattooing as a beautiful contract between the tattooer and the person being tattooed that avoids the constraints of the gallery system.
Watch the other films in the series: the London Tattoo Convention 2011, Behind the Needle and Behind the Needle 2.
Word by Alice Th’ink as featured on Zeitgeist
Behind the Needle 3 from Papercut Pictures on Vimeo.
Convention Special – I spotted these beautiful tattoos yesterday at the Brighton Tattoo Convention.
This lovely lady was at the Forever True Tattoo stand.
I saw this girl and her intricate and delicate tattoo a couple of times in the crowds at the convention. I finally tracked her down at the Tattoo Workshop stand and managed to get this gorgeous picture. The tattoo is by Saira Hunjan.
Photos: Papercut Pictures