tattooed women Archives

February 4, 2022February 4, 2022

Tattoo stories: Cicely

At Things&Ink we’re a curious bunch – we want to know about your tattoos. Why did you get that design? Why that artist? Tell us EVERYTHING! So we’re introducing our tattoo stories series, as a way to get to know you all better (and be nosy). Here’s Cicely Rae Jackson (she/her) sharing her tattoo story…

Hello! My name is Cicely and I live in Holmfirth with my husband Josh and our two kids Lilith and Abel. I create content for a living and spend the rest of my time hunting for treasures in our local charity shops!

How old were you when you got your first tattoo, what was it and do you still like it? I was 17 or 18 when I got my first tattoo. It was a pretty dodgy studio and there were a lot of red flags that would stop me going ahead with the tattoo now, but I was young and inexperienced!

I asked for a bow on the back of my ankle (they were super trendy back then ). I was never shown a design and the guy tattooed directly on to my leg without a stencil or freehand drawing, but I was happy enough with it for a couple of months. I then went to another studio and had it coloured in to try improve it, but it still wasn’t amazing. I later had it covered up with a bigger lilac bow, but you could still clearly see the original bow underneath.

So I eventually went to a great artist who worked it into another tattoo and covered up it up with a navy bow.

What made you want to get tattooed? I’ve always loved the look of tattoos and grew up with a mum who really supported us in expressing ourselves and I just knew I wanted to be covered in tattoos at some point in my life.

Can you tell us about your tattoo collection, any favourite pieces, artists or experiences? The majority of my tattoos are traditional designs or done in a traditional style. I love how bold they look and how they sit together.

One of my favourite memories of getting tattooed was when my sister and I took a trip down the country to Hastings to get tattooed by Cassandra Francis. We got a hotel room and stayed for the weekend, it was such a great adventure.

When I chose my wedding dress I knew I needed my shoulders tattooed. That was such exciting wedding prep going to shedwolf in our local town to get them done in the lead up to the wedding.

Jemma Jones has done kewpie baby tattoos of both our children, on both me and my husband. They are the same but different and I love how they represent the kids’ names.

One of my pride and joy tattoos is a crying lady head by Danielle Rose. She did a guest spot in Manchester on my birthday and it was meant to be. I had had a big year of crying, including a break up and getting this tattoo was a lovely end to that!

Do tattoos have to have a meaning? Not at all! Personally I consider my tattoos a collection of art from talented artists, I have a couple that mean a lot to me but I’d say 85% have no meaning!

What sorts of reactions do your tattoos get? I’m always happy to discuss my tattoos with people that have a genuine interest in them, the style or specific artists etc. I’d much rather people talk to me about them than just stare.

The negative reactions to my tattoos have predominantly been from family members or people of the older generation. A manager, at one of the jobs I had as a teen, was really against my tattoos being on show as I worked on the women’s wear floor of a department store. The same rules didn’t apply to the staff on the men’s wear floor and we had a lot of disagreements about this!

Can you tell us about your experience as a tattooed mum? My experience as a tattooed mum has been on the whole, a positive one. When my daughter was younger and we would go to different baby groups, I would always be conscious that other mums would judge me but I think a lot of that was in my head.

I’ve also found tattoos to be a really lovely talking point with like-minded mums at these kind of baby groups or in the playground! If my tattoos put people off wanting to approach me as a mum friend then more than likely we wouldn’t get on anyway!

What do your children think of your tattoos? They don’t really seem to notice them, I guess as they have been part of me for their whole lives. Sometimes my daughter will try to look for matching items that me and my husband have, like snakes or babies. My daughter’s friend refers to my tattoos as my patterns and she always wants to feel them.

Do your tattoos help you to view your body differently? I absolutely adore my body and I think my tattoos have played a big part in that. Sometimes when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror or see a photo that includes a lot of my tattoos, I feel so happy as this is exactly how I’ve always wanted to look.

Do you have any future tattoo plans? I would be completely covered if I had the money and the time! The next one I have booked in is my fingers and I would love to start on my chest this year.

Be sure to follow Cicely for charity shop treasure hunts, adorable kids and craft inspiration.

August 10, 2020August 10, 2020

Interview with YouTuber Lauren Petrie

30-year-old Lauren Petrie (also known as ‘Treacle Tatts’) is a popular YouTuber and social media personality who started her YouTube career in 2014 and has since amassed an 100k following. Her videos almost completely revolve around tattoos and she frequently addresses injustice in the tattoo community to raise awareness and help educate her viewers. I had a chance to speak with Lauren recently about her YouTube career, her tattoo collection and how she has been handling the covid-19 lockdown…

Tell us a bit about why you started your YouTube channel. There’s a few reasons why I started my channel! One is I studied media in college, and I loved video editing and I wanted to get back into video editing again. I thought making Youtube videos would be a great way to do that but had no idea what kind of videos to make. I definitely don’t have the best makeup, gaming or cooking skills so all of those were out of the question when it came to making content so I thought I’d make videos on tattoos.

To start off with it was more so to see if people related to stuff I had gone through as a tattooed person as at the time there was no tattooed people in my life. I then thought “hey use your experiences to help people when it comes to tattoos” as I didn’t start off getting the best tattoos and slowly learned how amazing and artistic tattoos could be! I then continued making videos on my experiences and giving advice on how to get good tattoos!

How has YouTube affected your life? It’s given me the freedom to be my own boss and work when I want and talk about stuff, I’m super passionate about! I managed to turn my hobby into my job and I got to quit my retail job to do it full time! It’s an absolute pleasure to do and will be forever thankful that I get to do it!

What do you enjoy the most about being a YouTuber? Being able to connect with people who have the same interests as me! Talking to fellow people who get super excited about an upcoming tattoo appointment and the such! Its also learning about other people’s experiences when it comes to getting tattooed and who they are as people! I just find other tattooed people fascinating! I make some videos that involve my subscribers and they are from all walks of life from lawyers, to grandparents, to chefs, to students, retail workers I mean the list can go on!

I love to share people’s backgrounds to prove that tattoos aren’t just for celebrities or criminals like some people like to think!

What first attracted you to the world of tattoos? I can’t pinpoint an exact moment because even as a child I loved them! I’d always cover myself in temporary tattoos! I’d be that weird kid that stared at tattooed people in a store and not because I thought they were weird but because I thought they were the coolest person on the planet! None of my family have tattoos so I never grew up around them so maybe that peaked my interest even more!

Can you tell us about your tattoo collection? Do you have a favourite tattoo? My tattoo collection is a huge mish mash of styles and colours. Some are personal or custom drawn and some are just flash drawn pieces from some of my favourite artists! I like symmetry and organising by colour. So my left arm is colour traditional and then my right arm is a black work blast over (still in progress) then my left leg is black work and my right leg is colour. I just thought it would be a fun way to style my tattoos.

It’s so hard to pick a favourite tattoo but at the moment I’d have to say it’s my black work peony neck tattoo by Heidi Furey! I spent a couple of years really deciding if I wanted to be very visibly tattooed and I finally went for it and it’s the best decision I’ve ever made!

We love your outfit posts on Instagram! How would you describe your style? Ow thank you!! My fashion is all over the place to be honest one day I’ll be wearing loud plaid trousers and the next I’ll be wearing all black and studded stuff but one thing I continuously wear I guess is oversized printed tees! I can’t get enough of them! Most of them are tattoo art inspired because why stop at getting just tattoos when you can have the art style on a t-shirt!

How have you been coping with the covid-19 lockdown? I’m very much an introvert so staying in didn’t really affect me much at first. I did start to get restless here and there as time went on! I really missed my best friend Yasmin and our little restaurant and cinema dates! Before lockdown we would go to the cinema and out to eat at least once a week!

Do you have any future tattoo plans now that a lot of tattoo shops have reopened? Yes! I have an appointment to do more work on my black work blast over arm! I also want to finally get my knees tattooed! I’ve been putting them off for years as the thought of getting major bony areas tattooed grosses me out – I hate the feeling!

Do you have any upcoming projects or plans for your channel or new merchandise you would like to tell us about? I don’t have anything major in the works at the moment I kind of just make content when I come up with the ideas or if something major happens with in the tattoo world like the recent sexual assault allegations I like to make content on that so more awareness is made!

At the moment I’m trying to create more awareness for black and POC in the tattoo industry! There’s a lack of representation so I want to use my platform to celebrate POC tattoo artists and those that tattoo on darker skin tones! As for merch, I think I want to start getting my artistic subscribers involved and commission some fab art from them to use on merch!

Words: Lucy Edwards, a 20-year-old tattooed university student, cat mum and trying-new-things enthusiast. You’ll most likely find Lucy posting about mental health awareness and self-acceptance on her Instagram.

January 14, 2019

Careers: Tattooed Critical Care Nurse

28-year-old Imogen Crisp is a critical care nurse in Manchester who sports an impressive tattoo collection. We caught up with Imogen to find out about her job, what sort of reactions her tattoos get, as well as how she feels as a heavily tattooed woman…

How long have you been working in your current role? I have been a nurse for four years and worked in my current role for three and a half.

What do you love about your job and what do you find difficult? I love my job because of the sense of reward I get for caring for someone and their loved ones in some of the darkest times. To connect with a person at their most vulnerable and even if only slightly makes it more bearable. I have seen the beauty of the arrival of life, the suddenness of the end of it and every stage in-between. Who can say that for a job? Before becoming a nurse, I felt my life had no real direction or focus, now (fingers crossed) I have a whole career ahead of me and a real sense of purpose. It’s a humbling job and makes you appreciate what you have in life. I have also met some of my closest friends through this work, there is no deeper friendship than a nursing one, trust me.

The most difficult parts of being a nurse I guess is sometimes it can be emotionally draining, you become attached to patients and families and having to see them in some of the toughest times never gets any easier. Also the sense of weight on your shoulders, that you have someone’s life in your hands and you can’t have an off day. You often find yourself sacrificing your own needs to make sure you get everything done for that patient, the old cliché but I have gone 12 hours without a wee. In saying all this though, the good most certainly outweighs the ‘bad’ there is nothing in this world I would rather do.

Are you allowed to show your tattoos at work? Our uniform covers most areas anyway, but you still must be bare below the elbow so any lower arm tattoos are visible and don’t have to be covered.

How do you think attitudes are changing towards tattoos, especially in healthcare? I have never had any issues with my tattoos at work, colleagues and patients have only ever had positive things to say, it can be a good conversation starter at times. Colleagues who don’t have tattoos or who come from cultures where tattoos are not as ‘popular’ find them very interesting and want to know more about them.

I like to think that attitudes are changing for the better towards tattoos not only in healthcare. People are becoming more open minded, and wouldn’t judge me on my capability as a nurse because I am tattooed which when I first started was a big fear of mine. So far four years in and it’s not happened.

What sorts of reactions do your tattoos get? Outside of work the majority of my tattoos are on my lower body, so if they are out, you get the odd few stares and comments, usually men shouting ‘nice tattoos love’ which I just politely smile at, other times people are genuinely interested in the art or meaning behind my tattoos. I think heavily tattooed girls still has a bit of stigma attached to it, more so than men, people see it as more of a shock factor for a girl to be so covered, but attitudes are changing we will get there eventually.

Do these differ when you’re at work? In work I only have one or two that poke out the sleeve of my uniform, people usually ask what it is and if they can see it properly, I am always happy to show, its usually only positive reactions.

Have tattoos helped you to love your body? Absolutely! I knew from a young age I wanted tattoos, and would spend time planning what and where, I didn’t get all the ones I had planned at 16 (thank god) but I did start as soon as I was 18 and now my body is a story of my life. I have tattoos that have meaning, tattoos that remind me of dark times in life, and tattoos from friends and ex’s (wouldn’t recommend but here we are!) I regret none of them, and I believe they make my body beautiful and even more individual.

Is there a particular tattoo that means the most to you? I have yellow roses on my thigh with banners that say ‘Nana’ and ‘Mumma’ the two strongest, women that influence in my life. I idolise them both, when my nana passed all my cousins also got a yellow rose tattoo as it was her favourite flower. I have script that says ‘Good night, God bless’ which is something my grandad still says to me every day. And I even have me as a pin up style nurse, which I got after being qualified for a year.

Do you have any future tattoo plans? At the moment nothing is booked, I’m thinking about getting my back done, but my god does the pain get worse with age! I don’t quite know if I’ve got it in me yet. Maybe something a little smaller.

November 9, 2018

Tattooed Travel Photographer Kym Ellis

We chat to 29-year-old Kym Ellis, a technical marketing lead and travel photographer, about her tattoos and work. At the moment Kym has no fixed address and instead chooses to slow travel around the world – right now she’s in Chiang Mai in Thailand…

Kym Ellis

When did you get your first tattoo and what was it? It was on my eighteenth birthday and it’s a small pisces star sign symbol at the bottom of my nape. I wanted it when I was 16, but my dad who has very old tattoos which he hates, told me to wait until I was old enough. It’s not a very good tattoo but I still kept it as part of my back-piece.

What inspired you to start getting tattooed? Music mostly, I grew up in my late teens with MSN and MySpace and getting into punk and metal was the first time I felt like I had my own identity. I actually kept my music tastes a secret from my school friends for quite a while because I knew they were not into that scene.

Then when I turned 16 I decided enough was enough and changed my style overnight. I never looked back, it was extremely freeing to express myself in the way that I wanted to rather than trying to please others.

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Have tattoos changed how you see yourself and your body? Absolutely – getting tattoos gives me agency over my body and I definitely became more confident as I started to get more big pieces. Whenever I get a new tattoo, it only takes a few days for it to become a part of me. I often forget I have so many, and when I see old photos of a less-tattooed version of me I find it very strange to look at.

I still have some big gaps on my arms and legs that I want to fill up, but I am just taking it steady and enjoying the proces.

Do you think your tattoos affect how others see you? Yeah, in both good and bad ways. To be honest I don’t get too much negativity about my tattoos these days, but it can happen occasionally because I travel so much and different places have a different perception of tattoos as a whole.

What sorts of reactions do your tattoos get? For the most part I get a lot of compliments about my tattoos and people often ask me where I got them done, how many I have, or how long they took. Sometimes people want to touch them, that’s kinda weird!

There are still certain places that I visit where tattoos are less accepted and I definitely notice people staring at me. But it really isn’t the majority of people, and my way of dealing with it is to be proud and confident.

If people ask me what the meaning behind my tattoos are, I show them the tribute portrait of my cat that I grew up with. I carry her memory around with me everywhere and yes I am aware that this puts me firmly in the crazy cat lady category.

Cat tattoo by Sam Stokes

My cat Tess, by my friend Sam Stokes

How do you find your work and tattoos mix? Can you show them freely at work? In the earlier days of my career when I worked for companies in the UK, I mostly had to cover my tattoos up. It’s not the worst problem in the world to have, but I never felt like I could take my full self to work and it did wear me down eventually. In hindsight I should have just had them on show. It probably wouldn’t have done me any favours in the workplace but I also don’t think it would have got me fired.

Ever since I started working remotely for technology companies, it’s been the complete opposite. I’ve always been accepted for who I am by all of my colleagues. I wouldn’t take a job where I have to hide my skin again.

Is your photography a creative outlet that allows you to share the real you? It used to be, when I started out with photography about eight years ago I did a lot of portraiture and used myself as a subject when there was no one else around to photograph. Alongside building my tattoo collection, this was a means of expression.

Travel photography is my main focus now, because that’s such a big part of my life. I share a lot of my photos for free on Unsplash.

Arctic

What future career plans do you have? I have made some big career leaps in the past couple of years, from finding my first remote job to becoming more of a technical marketer and improving my coding skills. I’m really happy with my career at the moment and in the future I’d like to move into senior leadership or marketing operations.

I’m going to keep travelling too – being able to work from anywhere is such an incredible opportunity. My next project is to learn how to sail a boat. Then my nautical tattoos will really come into their own!

How do you find travelling and getting tattooed? It’s really hard to get tattoos when you travel a lot. From living in places where there aren’t many artists who do the style you’re after, to trying to get a booking when you’re only going to be around for a few weeks. I have a full back-piece that is still missing it’s colour because I need to get back to the UK so Ben Stone can finish it up for me.

Back Piece by Ben Stone

That said I’ve managed to get some really great tattoos during my travels. I got a mountain range on my arm when I was in the Arctic Circle, a beautifully gothic traditional tattoo at a convention in Cape Town by @jarretcrosson, a gorgeous snake and florals from @mooreahum.tattoo in Vancouver, and my stomach piece was by @romain_labordille in Bali.

tattoos by jarret crosson and moorea hum

October 21, 2018

Blogger Style: Ayup It’s Shann

24-year-old Shannon Wright is a blogger as well as Production & Marketing Manager from Doncaster, South Yorkshire. We caught up with Shann to chat tattoos, her grungy style and body confidence…

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How old were you when you got your first tattoo? I was 19! And I was at a Gay Pride Festival in Birmingham.

What was it and do you still love it? I got some lyrics by The Smiths round my ankle. They’re one of my favourite bands. They say ‘Save your life, because you’ve only got one’. I wish the artist had used a thinner needle, because they’re harder to read then the second set I now have on my other ankle, but I still love it! It meant a lot to me at the time because I’d just come out of a toxic relationship, and it was the first time I felt like myself again and realised I had so much of life to look forward to!

What inspired you to get tattooed? Suicide Girls. I think I was about 13 or something when I first realised alternative models were a thing and I’ve wanted to be one ever since!

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Has having tattoos helped you to see your body differently? 1000%! Even before I decided to lose my weight, I wanted them to help me love my body. I always hated my legs because they were quite big (I was a UK28) and I’d never get them out. Even in summer when it was boiling! So my first lot of tattoos I got them on my legs and it gave me such a confidence boost! I learned to love myself and my skin. I just thought if people were going to look anyway, then I’ll give them something to stare at.

What do your tattoos mean to you? I couldn’t imagine myself without them now. They tell my story and make me who I am. Especially on my weight loss journey, they encouraged me to become a better and healthier me and gave me something to strive towards. I have to acknowledge my tattoo artists @lilyjtattoo and @pippa_kovacs_tattoos, without them I couldn’t look the way I do and be who I want to be so I owe them a massive thank you!

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Do you have any future tattoo plans? Of course! I’ve just started a chest piece. But I’m actually booked in later this month to finish my sleeve and start my new one! It’s going to be a spooky sleeve with all my favourite ghoulish things like the Addams family, Halloween and goosebumps!

Your style is pretty grungy do your tattoos reflect this too? Kind of! I think my tattoos add to the grunge look, but to look at then up close they’re all really bright and colourful. The majority of my tattoos have a meaning behind them so they tell a story, more than just reflect a style or image.

You’ve recently started blogging, what can readers expect to see in your posts? It’s kind of an extension to my Instagram, so it’s going to be full of recipes, fashion advice and just general chit chat. I get asked so many questions daily that I find myself repeating myself, so I thought if I started a blog, it would be easier to answer them and help people.

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You’re really active on Instagram, what inspired you to share your life on social media? Honestly, I think it was the key to actually making me change my life. I think it’s easy to wake up and say you’re going to change but if you post it on social media it’s a sort of pressure to mean what you say. But it’s also such a beautiful community and I have the support of my followers to thank everyday for helping me and encouraging me to be the person I want to be. It was probably one of the best decisions I ever made. It’s kinda like a diary and when I feel like I’m going to give up I scroll through and it gives me that boost to carry on.

You’ve also shared your weight loss journey, has being so open helped you stay motivated? Definitely. I have some of the best followers. I’ve made some beautiful friendships, and it’s just an amazing community. I think I’d have given up a long time ago if it wasn’t for those guys.

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What sorts of reactions do your posts and/or tattoos get? Does this differ to the reactions you get in real life? I’m lucky to say I rarely get any negative comments. Maybe two in about three years of posting. My goal is to just be real. I want people to see that I’m not perfect. I think it’s so easy to follow other people on Instagram and want to be just like them because they look and seem perfect. I think social media has a lot to answer for when it comes to us being negative about how we look, or having to look a certain way.

I just want to show men and women that it’s okay to just be you. We’re all special and beautiful. Which brings me on to real life. I’m very aware of the stares I get or the negative comments in supermarkets and shops. However, I’m being the person I want to be. I’m comfortable in my skin and I love the way it looks. I’m a massive believer in if it makes you happy just do it. I’d rather die knowing I did everything I wanted to do; than wishing I had done everything differently. Life’s too short!