A Tattoo Tale

Sit back for a moment and let me tell you a tale (excuse the silliness.  I saw "The Hobbit" last week and am feeling fantastical)...

     Once upon a time, long ago, in the magical village of Radcliff, Kentucky, there was a talented but lost artist.  He was wandering through the wilderness alone and confused.  Along his path to work at the cabinet factory was a special place, General Lee's Tattoo shop.  There, Big Daddy Tray, an old friend of the artist, toiled under the supervision of the White Bearded Wizard, General Lee.  The talented but lost artist would stop in occasionally to talk to his old friend.  They would discuss Big Daddy's success and plans to partner with the infamous General Lee.  The artist was SO lost that he never saw the obvious path.  That is until Big Daddy made the suggestion.  Still without any inclination of the potential success that awaited the artist, he considered the notion and eventually came around to give it a try...at least until he got a "real" job, so he thought.  The artist turned apprentice.

   The first few months of the apprenticeship were spent at General Lee's.  Plans were for Big Daddy and General Lee to become business partners with Big Daddy opening a shop down the street in a powerful business move to control the tattoo market in Radcliff.  The new apprentice, being an old friend of Big Daddy's, was obviously to go with Big Daddy as General Lee's was fairly self sufficient.  Another old friend joined the alliance as an apprentice.  Often referred to as AJ, his actual name is unclear as was his past.  He was a proven artist with amazing talent.  Big Daddy's Tattoo opened with a powerful trio who proceeded to dominate the local tattoo scene.

   For years, Big Daddy's continued to grow and prosper bringing in many excellent artists and amazing adventures to foreign, exotic lands (restaurants such as Shalimar and Los Nopales) and exhibitions of musical mastery (Limp Bizkit).  At one point, a trek to Miami, Florida where unsinkable jet ski's were sunk and friends stood together in the strange land.  Life was good but like all good things, they must come to an end.  Evolution occurred on many levels and soon the alliance was broken not only amongst the three old friends but also amongst the business partners.  

   Big Daddy prospered and grew his empire and continued to dominate the tattoo scene in Hardin County.  The talented artist moved to the enchanted village of La Grange far enough away as to not affect the Hardin County tattoo clientele.  The White Bearded Wizard fared not so well.   While maintaining the integrity of the legendary establishment, the world around him was changing.  Consumers became engrossed not with pursuing a quality tattoo experience by a master of the craft, instead they chose to pit tattoo shop against tattoo shop, brother against brother, in a fight for their business.  In all but a few cases, whoever offered the lowest price, won the battle despite their experience, expertise, or quality.

HOWEVER!  THE TIME HAS COME!  The return of the talented but lost artist to his tattoo home.  But he's no longer lost... still talented... but not lost.  Instead, he has evolved into the TATTOO WIZARD!  He has the answer to help General Lee's RISE UP! to the glorious status it deserves and defeat the evil Dragon of Cheapness.  What is the answer?  To educate the public about the difference between people.  Everyone seeks out the best deal, it's foolish not to do so.  However, there are two types of people.  The first type , which is the majority, will readily sacrifice quality for money, time, and effort.  This is why nearly everything is made in China as well as the vast success of stores like WalMart.  The type of person that Ink Well Tattoo and General Lee's Tattoo market to are the second type.  They are willing to sacrifice money, time, and effort to get quality.  Have you ever noticed that someone with a lot of terrible tattoos is almost always someone of ill repute?  That's not to say that someone with great tattoos is a saint, but it is a starting point.  It's not easy to get a lot of nice tattoos.  It requires planning, time, money, and understanding.

     SO, if you aren't already an Ink Well Tattoo or General Lee's Tattoo client, what you have to ask yourself is whether or not you're type 1 or type 2.  Neither is necessarily wrong, just know that you have options.

NOTE:  IN NO WAY IS THIS STORY INTENDED TO BE AN ATTACK ON OTHER TATTOO SHOPS SPECIFICALLY.  Just the ones doing it wrong.  If the shops could get together in a cooperative fashion, everyone would benefit, shops and clients alike.  I invite any and all shop owners, tattoo artists, whoever to stop in and discuss how we can work together to educate the public about the difference between a tattoo shop and a PROFESSIONAL tattoo shop.

I will be at General Lee's Tattoo tomorrow to begin this journey.  In case you didn't know, I'm the talented, but lost artist in the story :)

The End...for now.

Tattoo Wizard