I will admit that I never really thought about attending the Manchester International Tattoo Show before this year. This isn't because I didn't think it would be enjoyable or anything like that, but because I only had the time and money available to attend one convention a year and so I picked the Tattoo Jam - A) it's the biggest UK tattoo convention, and B) it was falling over my birthday (killing two birds, and all that...). Now, enough about my reasons and more about the actual event...
One obvious aspect of tattoo conventions that I absolutely love is the chance to see such talented artists of the medium. It's something that can go without saying, but I love being able to watch these people work, see their portfolios, and (when they aren't busy) get to meet and chat with some of them. I make a point of collecting business cards of any artist/studio I get impressed by when looking through their portfolios and/or watching them work - this I do whether I already know them or have previously picked up their card somewhere else.
One thing that really stood out while doing this in Manchester was that there seemed to be a few there that didn't have portfolios, and quite a few artists had portfolios that were only filled with illustrations. I will admit that in the latter case they presented impressive artwork, but it wasn't showing their skill with tattooing (as there is an obvious difference between creating artwork with a pen/pencil on paper and with a tattoo gun on skin).
I won't go on to list every artist that impressed me at this convention (seeing as most did), but I will name a few in particular (obviously including links to their sites):
- Ste Cairns
- Richard Guy
- Billy 'The Bastard' Hay
- Aga Mlotkowska
- Ania Jalosinska
- Craigy Lee
- Shane Baker
- Johny D Matthews
- Lee Brown
- Emma Garrard
- Claire Hamill
For the most part, I felt the entertainment for this convention was well chosen. The musical stylings of Jemma Krysa and Sam Draisey provided a pleasant soundtrack while looking around. They were a bit of a contradiction though to the music played between acts, and more so to the music played for the dance acts - these being the only acts I can't really comment on because I don't really have an interest in it, and so didn't go to watch them perform.
Finally (not counting the awards) were the trapeze artists - these were the performers that did actually draw me away from the tattooist, and they were very impressive. I can, sadly, only give an opinion based on what I saw at this convention because I've never seen trapeze artists before, but their routines seemed very well choreographed and showed a lot of skill.
There were, as can be expected, trading stalls for patrons to browse and buy from. Obviously, I am not talking about the trade-only suppliers - however much I love the idea of being able to buy the equipment and become a tattooist, I hate the idea of 'scratchers' and would not want to become one. Most of the traders were either selling clothing or jewellery, and all of which I found myself attracted to. It was kind of a shame there weren't a few more to increase the variety a bit though. But then, as with the entertainment, it's not really what the convention is about.
One other thing I'd like to mention here is that at one of the tattooist's stalls they were selling comic books. I will be the first to admit that I am a geek, and upon seeing them I did search through and make a purchase. I bring this up because I think (and I may be a bit bias here) that a comic retailer would go down rather well at these conventions. At the end of the day it is another form of art, and I've noticed over the years there have been an increase in comic related tattoos (of course this could be more to do with the success of comic book film adaptions such as X-men and Batman). Either way, it's just an thought.
With everything I've mentioned above, the highlight of the weekend for me was on the Sunday, when I was able to get a new tattoo on my birthday. On Saturday, while looking around, my girlfriend and I noticed there was one stall with a little bit of decoration but remained un-manned for the whole day. We later thought to check out what the decoration/posters were advertising. It turned out that Tattoo UK would be setting up shop there the following day and would be offering to do tattoos in exchange for donations for Children With Cancer. With us both being people of whom constantly crave new tattoos, it being my birthday, and always happy to be helping a charity, we decided to show up first thing the next day and attempt to get signed up for some new ink.
Now, to pause for a second, I actually have plans for tattoos that I want that will collectively cover most of my body, and with being a fan of so many tattooists I came to decision (at some point) that I would dedicate my left leg to being a 'collection' area so that, over time, I could attempt to get some work by as many of my favorite artists as possible. This idea went into practice last year when I had the opportunity to get a tattoo by Rose Elizabeth and become a member of The Cupcake Club - a group that do cupcake tattoos in exchange for donations towards the Help For Heroes charity. For this, I decided to get the Count Cupcake design, as drawn by Marcus from the daily online comic: Brainless Tales.
Jumping back to the present, it actually turned out that we would some of the last people to get inked at the Tattoo UK stall that day. Both of us decided to go for tattoos of swallows - I went for a more realistic design in black-and-grey (as seen below), while my other half went for a brightly coloured, traditional design. The guys were really run off their feet that day, and I greatly appreciate the help and patience Kathy showed us in organising our appointment and drawing up our stencils. Also, I absolutely love the work Klarysa did with our tattoos - they came out far better than we had envisioned, and I really hope we get to catch up with her again at the Tattoo Jam.
To close, I would like to say that I'm aware that I may have sounded somewhat disappointed about some things at the Manchester International Tattoo Show - this really hasn't been my intention. I absolutely loved every minute of the event, whether watching someone creating an amazing tattoo or just relaxing on a bean bag (NOTE: Every convention should have a resting area with giant bean-bags!). I plan to return next year, but until then I shall be waiting excitedly for the Tattoo Jam in October. Hope to see all you tattoo enthusiasts there!
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