The Art of Dan Baldwin

British artist Dan Baldwin works in ceramics and paints to create vivid abstract pieces that reflect reality, the power of imagination, as well as his inner self. His works change dramatically depending on the themes he is exploring and the emotions he is channelling.

His new exhibition End of Innocence will be hosted in New York City in association with PMM Art Projects and CCA Galleries starting 22nd October until 2nd November.

 

 

Hyper Japan Christmas Market

Here at Things&Ink we love everything kawaii and there is no better place to get your cute fix than at Hyper Japan!

Hyper Japan is the UK’s biggest celebration of Japanese culture, cuisine and cool. It brings sellers, performers, entertainers, traders and exhibitors all under one roof! A perfect place to buy all of your Christmas gifts and to immerse yourself in everything Japanese. You can get everything from a make-over to traditional Japanese crockery to exotic teas.

The Hyper Japan Christmas Market takes place on 14-16 November at the National Hall Kensington Olympia, London. 

General Entry Tickets are £12 each for Friday and the Saturday Sessions, and General
Entry tickets for the longer Sunday session are £15 each. Click here to purchase tickets.

Sin In Linen

Sin in Linen brings you soft goods with hardcore style.

Ten years ago Sandy Glaze founded the Seattle-based textiles company and, to this day, it is owned and run by women. Their textile and homeware collections are inspired by rock ‘n’ roll, pin-ups and, of course, tattoos!

Sandy collaborates with artists and manufacturers around the world to produce stylish home textiles on high-quality ethically produced cotton.

You won’t find homewares like this anywhere else, their out-of-the-ordinary style and eye-catching designs will transform any room into a sultry heaven. The designs are tough and bold while still being feminine and sexy, and their product lines include: bedding, bathroom and kitchen linen. Sin in Linen encourages women to express themselves through their home decor, igniting a passion in the home like no other.

Try Something New in Bed with Sin in Linen!

Follow Sin in Linen on their Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for new products and don’t miss the launch of their clothing line!

#sininlinen #trysomethingnewinbed

Take a peek on the website at www.sininlinen.com, plus they ship internationally.

 

Celebrities and Tattoos

Newspapers and the internet are crammed full of celebrities showing off their new tattoos and getting tattooed.

Rihanna flew tattoo artist Cally-Jo to the Dominique Republic to tattoo her hand.

We’ve even spied celebrities doing the tattooing!

Earlier today, after getting tattooed by Lauren Winzer, Miley Cyrus gave Lauren a tattoo. Miley is almost as famous for her tattoos as she is for her music, she frequently tattoos her friends and other tattoo artists including Bang Bang.

Miley’s Hands by Lauren Winzer

Miley's hands by Lauren Winzer

 

Celebrities are influencing tattoo designs and creating trends in the tattoo world. One of the most famous and replicated tattoos of the moment is Cheryl’s hand (also her bum is also pretty famous too):

What do you think of the rise in popularity of tattoos and celebrities?

 

Images from
DailyMail
Instagram.com/laurenwinzer
Stealherstyle.net

 

Female Tattoo Artist Show

Earlier in September, we had a stand at The 4th Annual Female Tattoo Artist Show in Leamington Spa.

But we wanted to find out more about the need for an all-female tattoo show, and why it was first set up. So we spoke to one of the organisers at CBA Promotions to find out more, see how the show went for them and if any changes will be made to the convention in the future.

How long has the show been running for and who started it? This was our 4th year of running the show and it was started by Dave Boyle with a lot of help from his team at Creative Body Art in Coventry

Why have you chosen to create a female only convention? Honestly, we just wanted to put on a tattoo show and this was the only thing that had not been done in the UK before. The idea came from a show in the USA that has run for more than 20 years.

Is it at related to sexism in the workplace or the tattoo industry? Do you think it is harder for women to get noticed purely for their work? It is not related directly to sexism, however people would be stupid to think that it doesn’t exist. Even now, in our tattoo studio, we have guys come in and ask the female artists where the tattooist is. We were also told by a female artist one year she was denied applying to work a tattoo show “because they already had enough female tattooists on the list”.

I don’t think it’s harder for female artists to get noticed these days, the tattoo industry has come a very long way in recent years and there are now so many amazing tattooists both male and female. Most studios have a female artist – and so they should, I’ve always had female artists in my studio and long may that continue. I can remember when you could count on one hand how many female owned tattoo studios there were in the UK and now that has changed and it’s totally awesome.


Why was the judging done by three men when it is a female only convention? It wasn’t something we gave a great deal of thought to to be honest, in recent years we have had female judges, but like all tattoo shows we grab what judges we can as it’s not a job everyone wants to do, it usually depends who’s free and available at the time.

The entertainment was very similar to other conventions – dancing girls, pinups etc – why did you pick the same formula? The 1st Annual Female Tattoo Show had a very vintage feel. This theme came from the Art Deco and up-market venue, so the show was born from that. We are only a very small, one-day show and we put a lot of time and effort into the entertainment.


What are your plans for next year? Will you change anything? We are currently in the planing stage idea wise for next year’s show, I don’t think we will change much. We have a few things to address and we learn every year and listen to feedback. We make slight changes every year, for example we reduced the entrance fee this year and allowed children in for free, whereas previous shows have been 18 only. We are looking at reducing the cost of trade spaces too, especially for smaller independent traders.

Was the show a success for you? Any words for people wanting to attend next year? This year’s show for us was a huge success! The number of people who attended was up on last year and we had a huge waiting list of artists wanting to work. We also sold out of tattoo booths three months before the show. Anyone thinking about attending next year’s show definitely should as it’s a great day out. There is lots to do in the local area if people wanted to make a weekend of it, we have Shakespeare’s birthplace just up the road, Warwick and Kenilworth Castle and Coventry Cathedral are all great places to visit. Leamington Spa itself has some lovely shops, cafes and bars.

Photos from Things&Ink and Female Tattoo Show