This post is about three years old, almost - but it's still relevant today. Let my mistake be your lesson - research your artist before you let anyone tattoo or pierce you. The results could be tragic...
" Monday, October 22, 2007 9:25 AM
 | Current mood:  ecstatic Category: Life Okay, so let's start from the beginning. I came up with the brilliant idea to get a tattoo in honor of [my sister] Cheyenne. I'd been thinking about this idea for months. I sketched it out (mind you, I am no artist) and researched a couple places that I could go. Janique has gotten three large pieces of work done at My Tattoo shop, and they look good, so I figured I'd go there as well. We went to the Fort Lauderdale shop on Sunrise because it was close to home, and stays open til Midnight. I went in earlier that day, got a quote, and the owner, Freddy [a well-known artist], told me that he would personally draw it out for me that night. We went back in, I gave the dude [who was not Freddy] my sketch, he took it and "redrew it," showed me the stencil and we got to work. I approved the stencil, and asked him if he would be shading and freehanding the rest - which he told me yes. Less than an hour later, I was done. I looked in the mirror - and - wow. I couldn't see it that well because I broke my glasses, so I figured it would look okay once the swelling went down. He bandaged it quickly and then went on to Janique. We paid, left and went out to the car, where we unbandaged and took pictures, since they were both on our backs. Ummm. Yeah. Hers was incomplete, mine just looked like crap. I was so pissed, but there was nothing I could do at the moment. I had to let it heal for at least a month before I could even dream of trying to fix it. I was at work, talking to my boy Antonio about it - and a regular customer came on my line named Leif. We brought him into the conversation, and found out he did artwork. His wife was with him, who he did a sleeve on - and it was this crazy picture of Buddha holding DJ headphones, mixing the ocean. It was incredible! So, he looked at my shoulder, and then proceeded to tell me the great story of My Tattoo Shop... He used to work there. Freddy's motto is, get the customer in and out as quickly as possible. He doesn't care what the stuff looks like; once you pay - you can basically get a line tattooed on you and leave. I of course, learned this the hard way. His goal is to create the McDonald's of tattoo shops. He even goes as far as to paint his shops yellow and red, and they're adorned with his favorite characters - scary, evil clowns. He used to dress in clown suits and makeup - check out his Website My Tattoo Shop when you get the chance. Anywhoo... I say that to say this. A tattoo is a permanent piece of art (or piece of crap depending on where you go). Research long and hard before you go anywhere and get inked. Make sure you see the artist's work before you do anything - don't even think about putting money in their hand before that. Make sure the facility is clean and neat, and that the artist cleans and sanitizes everything - cuz the last thing you want is to catch Hepatitis from someone else. Take care of your work afterwards, and make sure the artist reccomends aftercare for you (which was my initial mistake at not noticing - he didn't even try to get me to buy anything extra!). If not, look online and find a general consensus of what to use. If you don't like the job - DO NOT go back and have that same person fix it. If they didn't have the thought and skill to give you quality work the first time - you may leave in worse shape the second time. Please learn from my mistake. Take heed, and NEVER go to 927 Sunrise Lane Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304 Check out my album for pics. Thanks for listening... " While Leif no longer works at Tattoo Blues, they still do good work. Personally, I reccomend Leif - and you can check him out on their website link - or just walk in: 1750 East Commercial Blvd, Ft. Lauderdale, FL (between Federal and Dixie) on the south side. Directly across the street from CVS and Boston Market. Have fun, make it meaningful - and be safe! |
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