NEWS — Tattoo

Tattoos and military has gone hand in hand through the history of time, from the fighting sailors of the Pacific landing in the ports of Honolulu in Chinatown, to present day branches of military personnel acquiring tattoos. Although the conditions of tattoo shops and the industry today has changed dramatically since the rough and ready times of the old sea dog legend, Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins’ tattooing, military was synonymous with getting inked. Bob Baxter post an interesting blog on the military’s changing views on tattoos.

http://tattooroadtrip.com/blog/army-set-ban-tattoos-elbow-knees/

Another little history of maritime tattoos.

War Culture – Maritime Tattoos

There are a lot of tattoos out there that tattoo enthusiasts have acquired through their lifetime that they regret, or wished could be improved. There is hope for some of those situations, it just takes a little time to consult with your artist and figure out a solution. Whatever the situation, do not rush the project. Research and due diligence is worth your time and effort. Our studio handles all kinds of issues and problems with existing tattoos. The key is trusting your tattoo artist and being open to suggestions. Total cover-ups may be the answer to some projects as opposed to re-working an existing tattoo to look brand new. Don’t loose hope if you are in that situation, often solutions are there, you just need to find the right tattoo artist for the project. Keep in mind there are some projects that an honest artist will admit that he cannot work with, it happens, so listen up. This particular tattoo circulated the internet and had a happy ending for the customer and his artist, thought you might find it interesting.

http://www.needlesandsins.com/2013/02/worlds-worst-tattoo-fixed-says-all-news-media.html

The east display window of Studio 21 Tattoo Gallery in Las Vegas has been decked out with a bit of nostalgia for a couple of months now. “Phil Luck”, our resident tattoo artist/ historian, has set up the long narrow space to resemble a mid 20th century tattoo parlor, it has all the necessary equipment to paint flash, cut stencils, and solder needles. The vignette is complete with antique medical furniture, vintage tattoo machines, power supply, mid century tattoo flash and a bucket and sponge to make it all official. Phil Luck has a plethora of tattoo stories of his own to take you down memory lane in the early years of tattooing in New York. If you are in the area take a moment to cruise by and take in a moment of tattoo history. For more information on Phil Luck see our previous post “Cultural Dynamic of Tattooing…New York City Roots”.

Tattooing in Las Vegas introduces our staff to a myriad of interesting characters. This was the case one Saturday afternoon.

Charlie’s skills were requested by Zac Nilsson to do a memorial tattoo on his forearm. The memorial was to his father, Harry Nilsson.

For those who don’t know, the elder Nilsson was a prolific singer/song writer with a career that spanned three decades, from the 60’s through the 80’s. Nilsson was friends with the Beatles’ John Lennon. After the death of Lennon, Nilsson devoted much of his time to campaining for stronger gun regulations in the U.S.

The song, “The Coconut”, was the inspiration for the tattoo. This song is best remembered for it’s chorus lyric, “put de lime in de coconut, and drink ’em bot’ up”.

Charlie Spencer had a nice little chat with Zac and his friends while performing the procedure. Zac left the shop with a smile on his face and a great tattoo that he can enjoy for many years to come!

Studio 21 Tattoo and Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum present the 2nd Annual Sailor Jerry Tribute at our studio. Phil Luck, our resident tattoo historian will set up a vintage window display, showcase his traditional style tattoo artwork and hold a mustache contest for the event. This event is sure to be an outstanding good time and the proceeds from the event raffle will benefit Las Vegas local Animal Foundation.