Fashion Pearls of Wisdom: Tattoo Tea Party

Last weekend saw Tattoo Tea Party return to Manchester for its fifth season and our columnist Natalie McCreesh aka Pearl, a fashion lecturer, freelance writer and creator of Fashion Pearls of Wisdom popped along to see what this year’s convention had to offer… 

An action packed convention with an all the fun of the fair theme- dodgems, waltzer and side shows galore. Hosting over 350 artists over the sprawling Event City we wandered the maze catching up with old friends and discovering new. Tattoo styles were diverse with many artists choosing to offer walk-ups all weekend what better place to get your latest tattoo fix.

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We chatted to Bex Lowe who was offering the most kawaii flash think smiley pizza, grinning tea cups with some old school gamer influences too, Hadoooooken anyone? Tacho Franch came armed with bold traditional Japanese flash peonies, neko, Noh masks and fat toads. Whilst we and many others gathered around to watch in fascination the hand tapped tattooing by Lawrence Ah Ching.
Tea Party is a vibrant, family friendly show which return next year 4th-5th March 2017

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@fleckystattoo

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@tachofranch 

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@bexlowetattoos

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@goldiloxtattooer

ttt@tileproductions

Fashion Pearls of Wisdom: The Taxi Driver

Our columnist Natalie McCreesh aka Pearl, is a fashion lecturer, freelance writer and creator of Fashion Pearls of Wisdom. In this post she’ll be talking about the perception that all tattooed people are criminals… 

My boyfriend and I jumped into a taxi, on our way out for a few drinks. He starts telling me a story of what had happened to him earlier in the day involving a community officer giving him a telling off for putting an empty can into someone’s refuse bin which was out in the street. Needless to say, knowing James, this debate went on for about half an hour ending with him taking the can back out of the bin and telling the bloke what a jobs-worth he was. I’m crying with laughter by this point as I know how stubborn he can be in proving a point, when the taxi driver pipes up: ‘No way, I thought you were gonna say you smacked the guy one’, we both look at each other, ‘with all those tattoos and your clearly ripped’ (it was a tight t-shirt and biceps kind of day) ‘when you walked up to the car, I thought bloody hell you know’!

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We didn’t know, that was the first time I’d ever really thought about other people’s perceptions of us. The taxi driver was just having a laugh with us and nobody took offence, but it’s easy to forget how stereotypes still exist around tattooed people. Have we really not moved on from the image of the bad guy with tattoos? It reminded me of my guilty pleasure Australian soap Neighbours who always chose a greasy haired, leather jacket clad tattooed bloke to signify a new character who was inevitably up to no good. Australia has been in the news with reports of changes to the law under Queensland VLAD (Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Bill 2013) part of which would see all new tattoos photographed and recorded to create a new database of tattooed people – because only criminals have tattoos right?

Fashion Pearls of Wisdom: Winter Anonymous

Our columnist Natalie McCreesh aka Pearl, is a fashion lecturer, freelance writer and creator of Fashion Pearls of Wisdom. In this post she’ll be talking about how she misses seeing tattooed people in winter… 

Jumper and jeans, jumper and jeans, jumper and jeans… That’s been my staple wardrobe for the past few months. Three near identical pairs of skinny jeans, three near identical black shirts and three crazy vintage 80s mohair jumpers, my unfaltering uniform of warm semi-smart winter work wear. Replaced on the weekend by a less smart pair of baggy boyfriend jeans and a plaid shirt with a stray hole in the back. For someone who works in fashion you’d think I might be more creative but in winter I just long for comfort. I’m not alone, for the most part everyone you see walking around is wrapped up, in coats, hats, scarves, gloves.

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As we shield our skin from the elements however in doing so we also conceal our tattoos. It’s almost like becoming invisible, no funny looks, no rude comments, no sneaky stares – well maybe the odd one at the novelty jumpers. It’s made me notice how much I miss seeing tattooed people. The vibrant, colourful bodies of the summer replaced with a sea of grey coats and black umbrellas. When I’m sat on the train I look out for a tattoo peeping out from a cuff, or a little one tucked behind the ear, call it commuters eye-spy. Myself, I find a ripped jean knee or turned up ankle cuff the only way my tattoos can be on show and it makes me realise that I do very much enjoy being tattooed. Not to show them off to other people, but seeing my roosters claw slipping out from an ankle gaps just gives me a reassuring pleasure that this is my skin.

Fashion Pearls of Wisdom: The Look

Our guest blogger is Natalie McCreesh aka Pearl, a fashion lecturer, freelance writer and creator of Fashion Pearls of Wisdom. In this post she’ll be talking about how others perceive her as a heavily tattooed woman… 

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I’ve lived with tattoos longer than I have without, however I have only considered myself ‘tattooed’ more recently. There is a difference I think in having a tattoo and being tattooed. When you make the decision to become more heavily or more visibly tattooed, how people view you will change. You may or may not be aware of this at the time but it will happen. I first began to notice this after getting my knee tattooed, joining the other tattoos on my leg into a front-sleeve from ankle to thigh. Up until this point, though still fairly heavily tattooed the majority were in areas you wouldn’t see on a daily basis, back, thighs, feet. In passing you might only notice the large rooster on my shin. It seems there is a skin coverage ratio as to when you start to offend old ladies with your very presence.

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I call it ‘the look’. There are three main stages to the look: shock, repulsion and judging. It’s not the sole prerogative of old ladies either, they are simply the most reliable audience. Being the kind of person to walk around with their head in the clouds it wasn’t me who noticed this first but my boyfriend who takes a lot of enjoyment in my new found super power. Since he pointed it out though I can’t stop noticing it, especially in the summer when I took to wearing very short shorts (from M&S just to add insult to grandma injury). Having a laugh about it when you are with your friends is one thing, having it happen when you are on your own can be quite another and I’m not afraid to admit it’s upset me at times. When you’ve had a bad day, got a plate full of worries the last thing you need is a group of strangers being rude to your face when your only crime was walking past them. More often than not I will stick my headphones in and sunglasses on, blocking out he world as I walk along. Other days I’ll ‘have it on me’ as my mother would say and crack out the biggest Cheshire Cat smile to the nay sayers, ten points if you can get a forced smile in return.

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With tabloids reporting on Sam-Cam’s tiny ankle dolphin like she’s the first middle class woman to ever get tattooed it only broadens the gap between those of us who are more heavily tattooed rather than help shrink it. Having a tattoo is trendy, so long as it’s small and preferably cute, whilst being tattooed is still very much taboo. I’m not sure why anyone would particularly feel the need to have such a strong opinion on how I or anyone else choose to look. Perhaps I look like a criminal, or fallen woman in their eyes? Perhaps I’m just something to talk about in an otherwise boring day? Whatever the case I’m glad I stand out in a crowd, I’m glad I challenge the photoshopped beauty ideals pushed by glossy magazines. As for the old ladies, we’ll just have to wait until our generation are collecting pensions. Perhaps we’ll have something the youth of the day are doing to be shocked at, perhaps our wrinkled tattoos will be uncool to future younger generations. But at least we will have some stories to tell.

Pearls of Wisdom: Tattoo Conventions

Our guest blogger is Natalie McCreesh aka Pearl, a fashion lecturer, freelance writer and creator of Fashion Pearls of Wisdom. In this post she’ll be talking about getting tattooed at tattoo conventions… 

I went to my first tattoo conventions this summer, the first Liverpool Tattoo Convention, the second Leeds International Tattoo Expo. They were two fairly different experiences, Liverpool being a huge gathering spread out over a warren of rooms filled with artists and merchandise stalls whilst Leeds was a smaller, more intimate affair. I enjoyed both equally.

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Before my first convention I wasn’t sure what to expect, admittedly getting tattooed with an audience wasn’t on my list of fun activities but it was an occasion to get tattooed by my artist without having to travel as far. So I booked in to have my knee cap tattooed by Max Rathbone who had tattooed the rooster on my shin the year before. Yep my knee cap, in public – one of the most painful places or so I’d been told. I wasn’t getting tattooed until later in the afternoon so I had chance to say hello to friends and watch my boyfriend James get tattooed by Andy Walker. This is where we differ as a couple, I like to book my tattoos in advance whereas he prefers to be spontaneous on the day and go for walk-ups (choosing from the artists flash or pre-dawn designs on the day). He also got a little filler from Ad of Folklore Tattoo– a super fun bunch. My turn came and Max scribbled on my knee with coloured pens, he assured me these freehand scribbles would be a peony so I trusted his word and let him crack on. Max had tattooed me before and I was familiar with his style so I could sit back and relax knowing I would end up with an amazing tattoo. To my surprise getting your knee tattooed wasn’t half as bad as I’d expected, phew! Although the swelling after scuppered any plans for a night out, it was back to the digs with a pizza and a bag of frozen peas, our arms laden with prints and other trinkets.

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My second convention experience was just as good, after the vastness of Liverpool the intimate nature of Leeds Expo was a real contrast. Whilst there was less to do there was more time to chat. I had booked in with Holly Ashby whose work if been a fan of for a while, having bought some of her stunning prints for our home and as gifts so I was excited to meet her. Even though I’d not met Holly we had chatted before hand and decided on a design, having already been tattooed at a convention I wasn’t freaked out like I had been for the first convention. That said at Leeds there was a lot more people walking past and taking photos, at first I found this a bit weird but Holly was absolutely lovely and it ended up being really fun talking to other people approaching her booth. We got to chat to people from all over the globe including other people there to get tattooed by Holly – it was like joining a special club. Inner thigh was a bit of an awkward spot as I ended up sat on a bench with paper towels tucked in my knickers, but it was worth the slight embarrassment as I adore the placement of my gorgeous pooch tattoo. In one hilarious moment a couple came running up to us brandishing a napkin, after some confusion it turned out they wanted a lipstick kiss print too use as a tattoo template. I am still left to this day wondering if some has my kiss tattooed!

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Natalie getting tattooed by Holly Ashby taken by Graham Pile