Age old Question- How do you do that?

Most customers are not only happy with the pricing offered in the shop, many ask "How can you price so low when the guys down the street wanted double?" Many times our responses center on one important answer. Other shops do not buy direct from Manufactures like we do. Most of the time other shops depend on Tattoo Supply warehouses for their tools such as needles, tubes and so on. That is a real big mistake because why use a middle man when you can go direct to the source?

Needles for example in our business cost an average of $15 per 50 needles. Aberration Pro Custom Tattoo pays for those same needles $2 per 50 needles. This extra savings on just this item combined with the other stuff that is needed averages out where we pass the savings onto the customer. We cut the middle man in the supply chain and are able to give out the great prices we do.

Another big problem that many shops have is overhead and expenses. I cannot possibly see paying more then $500 a month in rent anywhere a shop is going to be put. Anything over that is just plain stupid considering that the economy now is just in a downward spin. Those who choose to have the bells and whistles are naturally the ones who will be charging the prices they are- not because of the so-called artwork, but because they have so much in expenses to pay out.

Tattooing is a lifestyle, most involved in the industry see it that way. In my view though most lose sight that this is a business. If the shop is going to keep it's door open many will have to start thinking outside the box. Most will never do that because in this industry the shops will go back and forth like little kids calling one or the other stupid silly names. Or the famous one is " Your shop sucks and we always have to cover it up", Well if that's the case over 99% of customers leaving the shop say they love their work or they will be sure to return. Most of our customers are return clients. So I don't see that argument going very far.

I'm from Chicago and over the years worked in many shops in the Chicago Land Area. Most not all of us got along because it was indeed a lifestyle we were living. Conventions in town were always a blast, no one talked about the other and everyone was just out to make money and party it up. I have to say in the Rockford-Southern Wisconsin area this is not the case. Many here are out to take as much as they can while crying and whining what other shops are doing. 

This Trend has been going on the last few years. I mainly blame it on EBay because they opened the door to selling tattoo and piercing supplies to just anyone. This in turn has flooded the market with shops that shouldn't be there.These people see Miami Ink and think they are the next big thing. That has hurt the industry in a bad way. On the other hand I see the job we are doing at the shop and how happy our customers are. We are State of Illinois certified, clean and sterile, but don't have to charge stupid prices. Most people think that all shops charge outrageous prices. Well with us it isn't the case. Because of our choice to help our customers we receive funny ass "U Guys Suck" Your Artwork Sucks and so on. Well as long as my customers are happy I really don't care what other artist think. They don't pay my bills so hate or cry and whine because we will always take care of our customers. 

Prison Artists

We as a society have become a society in which we seek blood for retribution of crimes. Even when those who paid their dues to society we still seek to punish those long after they get out of the joint. I can see if those who commit crimes against children or any sexual crime should not be black balled. What about those who were imprisoned for drugs or involuntary crimes? Should we give them a chance to simulate back into society? I think so personally. I think a person should always get a second chance at life. In the tattoo industry I've seen some of the best artist come from behind the walls. Yea they screwed up but the art has to speak for itself.

Some states are regulating the industry where if a person is a convicted felon they cannot tattoo. I believe that is horse shit for one. Most of these agencies wouldn't know what a good tattoo is if it hit them in the face. Most inspectors never had any real experience in the Tattoo field so how could they try and pass a law like that? I have a standing rule for artist in the shop. NO Child Molesters or Sexual Based Crimes!! Other then that if your art is good and you have brains then lets see how it works. 

Tattooing is a lifestyle-Those who have the talent should be given the opportunity to make a living. Prison is always going to be a fact of life. There is more then 1 million people incarcerated in this country. Most of the crimes have to do with drugs. Personally I thought we would have learned from prohibition that making stuff illegal don't work. Again the so-called shot callers have an agenda of trying to make people offend again because thats 30,000 a year in their pocket. 

Artist in the joint are creative not only in the art that they put out there but also how they go about doing that art. Home made ink, Home made Tattoo Machines and not to mention being under the pressure of being caught with the supplies and spending time in seg. Most of the artist in the joint don't just make it through on the tattoos alone. They also do drawings on such things as cards or envelopes. Some of the best pen work I've seen comes out of the joint. 

Most people out there that do not already know that most of us are blue collar individuals. We work hard every day to make it in this world. Sometimes shit happens and people make mistakes.Below are a couple of links u should check out. Look at the amazing art that comes from the "Hood" and from the "Joint". Think about what the art is trying to convey and the experience the artist had to go through. Remember not all tattoo artist are Kat Von D who was spoon fed her career. Most street artist came from an environment that was picture perfect. 

Chicano Art  Convicted Artist

So what makes a Tattoo Shop?

How many times have you walked into a tattoo shop and felt comfortable? Has any of the employees ever greeted you when you came through the door? How did the staff address your concerns or help answer any question you might have? Working in the tattoo industry has been a dream come true for most people who are lucky enough to work in the shop full-time or even on a part-time basis. Most tattoo studios or as I still call them because old dogs are often hard to teach new things- Tattoo Parlors. 

Usually the studio is a very fun place to work. We do tattoos and piercings so we are already living outside the norm. You find all different types of people in the industry. They often express themselves through the art in which they live. The industry is not a job or career. It's a lifestyle in which people express their differences rather then what they have in common. It's funny that most of the time we get bunched in by our own people into a street shop or the custom shop categories. Someone working in either one just wants to be able to live the lifestyle but of course when money is thrown into the mix the real human beings come out.

So to get back to some of the questions I posed at the beginning of the blog. Tattoo shops have been slow to embrace customer service as part of their business plan. I knew of an owner that would be nice as day to get the clients into the door. But during the procedure was just an absolute bitch to them and employees as well. She was in an area that was mostly black urban customers and would target towards them. She thought since they were black it didn't matter how she treated them. Another instance is a big shop in Chicago. Brand name and very well known through numerous advertising media's. A customer walks in the door and is treated like a number instead of someone who is looking for something permanent. They become cattle that needs to get processed and moved out the door.

I once worked for a major automotive store who based everything they did on customer satisfaction. I'm not ashamed to say that AutoZone was a big influence on how Aberration Pro Custom Tattoo treats their customers. When someone walks through the door they are greeted and asked if we could help them with anything. The employees are free to express themselves and make it a very fun environment for the customer. Customers like to know they are part of the crew when they come into a shop. Most of the time our artist make good friends with people that are customers. 

I believe it's the environment that makes a tattoo shop. People come in for either a tattoo or piercing to express views or emotions that they have. They expect to find those who are doing the piece to be fun and outgoing just because the field they are in. Aberration Pro Custom Tattoo prides itself in having the environment that customers expect. Hopefully many more shops will start understanding the environment in their stores and make it where people feel welcome. It only makes our industry better in the public light.

The most done tattoo is? GRRR "The Name"

The most requested tattoo in the industry. The Name tattoo. We get dozens of these going out the doors at Aberration Pro Custom Tattoo. Since the new law in Illinois making it legal to tattoo at age 18 instead of 21 I believe most shops would agree that "Names" have doubled and tripled. Names at the shop cost only $10 Bucks for a 72 font Edwardian Script. We do so many of them thats why we include them in the stores daily specials. 

I have my wife name on my neck and arm. Of course I've been with her over 17 years. More and more we are seeing the kids 18-21 more and more getting boyfriends or girlfriends name tattooed on them. I cringe most of the time because me being in this business for so long I know its a matter of no more then 6 months before I'm covering it up or placing the void stamp over it. I personally try to counsel the person into not getting a name tattoo unless they have been married for awhile. Most don't listen and go ahead with the tattoo.  Then a few weeks later they hang their head down and tell us they should've listened to when I told them not to do it.

Does it hurt? Where would you put it?

At Aberration Pro Custom Tattoo  we get that question all the time. As artist we will always tell you that the tattoo or piercing process is an individual experience. My pain tolerance may be more then yours. One thing that I can tell you is some of the equipment  use can effect the level of pain a customer may feel. Our needles for instance. We usually use a 5 Round Shader to do most of our outlines. Shader needles give a nice line without the shakiness that would be seen with say a regular liner. Depending on the piece will give us an idea if we need to move up or down in sizes. If we move down in sizes the pain level for the customer will increase. Smaller needles are more sharper then the bigger sizes. A single line needle is rare in the shop industry, most of the time they can actually feel like a hot razor blade. Personally I never felt the need for them. Lots of scratchers in the industry use them because they don't know any better.

Well does shading hurt more then lining? Yes and no. The reason for the outline is so the ink we put in later in shade or color has a border to come up against so it doesn't spread. This in effect creates a cavern where the ink from shading or coloring falls into and pools. Depending on the magnum or shader configuration and again how many needles are in the pattern will effect the pain level a person feels. Flats are a needle that I never use. I find they tear up the skin real good. I use mainly the 7 and 9 Magnum. It's in a weave pattern and is pretty light on the skin. Again everything depends on the artist and how they tattoo. I usually use coil machines for both lining and shading. At times though you will see me pop out the rotary machine which most of my customers say is much less painful then my rotary. When I see a piece that needs vibrant color or is bigger in size thats when I decide on the rotary.

Where would I put it? This question is generally a women or man decision. What? Yes women can take pain much better then men while getting tattooed. Generally for men  the chest, ribs and front of neck are things that will bring us into the fetal position. Women on the other hand handle the chest and ribs much better. The famous tattoo on the foot is one I usually don't recommend in the winter time. Foot tattoos are 75% likely to get infected and require antibiotics because the location is surrounded by bacteria. Shoes and socks, the rubbing of these items against the tattoo get it infected usually in a few days after getting the tattoo. These tattoos should always be received in the summer to take away the chance of infection because the shoes and socks can be left off.

In the end it's personal choice on where to get the tattoo. It's going to hurt because we have needles going in you. The longer the lines the more discomfort you will feel. We recommend lots of thought before deciding on where and what will go on your body. After all its a permanent procedure.

Back in the Chair Again!!! Us versus them

Well been pretty busy at the shop and fell behind on the blog for awhile. I read an interesting post the other day where an artist was complaining about bargin shopping tattoos. Have one thing to say I guess to that person. "Wake up idiot and realize that there is a recession and people cannot afford your bullshit any longer". Hum well that was relief. Well anyways these are the artist who think they are worthy to receive your hard earn money and don't believe that you have no right to check prices. They also look down and rag on street shops because we do take care of the customer. One thing I usually say to them is "Our shop is up and running but where is yours?" See these artist don't understand economics very well. They are also the ones who like crying "Good tattoos are not cheap and cheap tattoos are no good". Again as their shop is closing because they do not know economics.

In this industry they believe all the artist must stick together to keep prices fixed at a certain level. Well I for one never really played well with others so I really make some waves in the industry. Oh well screw them they don't pay my bills anyways. The only respect I seek is from my customers, I do not seek the respect of any other shop out there. Some shops cringe when a shop like Aberration Pro Custom Tattoos opens up. Why? Because they know that pricing and quality will take the business every time. Heres a situation that really tickles the funny bone. You can sit in on one of their conversations and they complain about people buying a pair of shoes for example. Why would they spend that much money on shoes and not that much on tattoos? Well it's personal choice. Just because your a tattoo artist doesn't mean you can dictate someones spending habits.

Aberration Pro Custom Tattoos always posts a link to our portfolios in every advertisement. Potential clients can view those portfolios at any time before coming into the shop. We love all the haters out there because those shops really enhance our business. All the hate talk gives the customer the idea to check out our portfolios. So the hate talk turns into a positive for us because then a customer that hasn't heard about us then turns around to check us out. They check out our pics and then our business gets even busier. We always have a friendly shop. We involve our customers in every possible way from getting the tattoo or joining in on our weekend mini dance party. I guess you can say we are the destination to be. 

So I guess the moral of the story here is that it is the customer who drives this industry and not the artist. One of these days artist will figure it out.