Pinup girls are one of those iconic images that are constantly evolving and changing as society does. There are many contributors that played into the development of the pin up girl through the 19th and 20th century. From illustrations, to photography with real models and into the tattoo industry the becoming of the pinup is […]
Category: History
Important contributors to mainstream tattooing, and the evolution of tattooing
American Traditional Part 6: Paul Rogers
Franklin Paul Rogers, known as Paul Rogers is a monumental tattoo figure, he has participated in every part of the industry through his years in tattooing. He is even referred to as the Father of American Tattooing. Rogers was born on September 9th, 1905 in a cotton mill town in North Carolina. He worked at […]
Women in the Industry
The tattoo industry, like much of society, has a long history of being male dominated, often it’s been called an old boys club. Today the field has grown so much, with lots of respectful men and women creating an ever diversifying landscape to uphold a new kind of tattoo scene. Though women have always been […]
Ukrainian Folk Art
In honor of the crisis in Ukraine right now and our upcoming flash day to support them next week I’m going to take this opportunity to dive into Ukrainian folk art and symbolism. This is kind of a unique article in that it is not tattoo specific, however could be applied to tattoos if anyone […]
American Traditional Part 5: Doc Forbes Hendry
The story of Canadian tattooer Doc Forbes is very much intertwined with the height of the American Traditional tattoo scene in the 1950’s across America. American Traditional is just the name of the style, it was extremely present in early Canadian tattooing at the same time. Forbes apprenticed under Frederick Baldwin, the first Canadian tattooer […]
Function Of Tattoos
Discussion post For my one year blog anniversary I wanted to do a post that encompasses a lot of the topics I’ve covered in the last year. Thank you to everyone who has read and shared so far, I hope to keep growing in following and as a writer. There are truly endless things to […]
Royals & Tattoos
Royal families have a surprising history of tattoos starting all the way back in the 16th century through today. Because royal events and public appearances have strict dress codes we don’t often get to see royals sporting ink but it’s not uncommon for them to have at least one tattoo. As tattoos get more mainstream […]
Maori Tattoos
Tā moko or moko for short is tattooing that is exclusive to New Zealand indigenous peoples, called the Maori. It’s an important part of their culture, not just a tattoo style. In modern tattooing some people have gotten these types of tattoos just aesthetically, with none of the cultural significance; in this context these designs […]
Tattoo Clubs to Conventions: The Les Skuse Legacy
Before social media and the contemporary tattoo conventions that we all know and love, there were tattoo clubs. Tattoo clubs were how people shared their tattoos or just love of tattooing starting in the 1950’s. Clubs communicated through sending out newsletters to members and meet ups at pubs or a tattoo shop. The original tattoo […]
American Trad Part 4: Lyle Tuttle
I have been putting off publishing a post on Lyle Tuttle for a few weeks now. He is just such an involved person in the tattoo community that there is a lot to cover and I wanted to make sure I got all of it. Tuttle lived from 1931-2019 when he passed away at the […]