What not to write

Winter is on us like a big, heavy, grey blanket and it seems to be suffocating my need to blog.

But we're good, don't worry! The shop is doing great, and since it's not nearly as cold as last year, we're not even freezing our asses off inside like we usually do.

I believe our often partially dressed clients appreciate that too!

Allan is busy working on his art show and his book, Nick is tattooing almost every day as well as working on his new web comic, and Eckel... where is Eckel anyway? I believe he's in Hamburg today, actually. And also tattooing a lot, when he is around. And next weekend he'll be moping around Brighton, mumbling about some vegan burger joint that no longer exists.

So yeah, all is well at the Conspiracy, gloominess aside!

Me and Allan's trip to Japan is moving closer and closer, and just to emphasize how much we friggin miss that place, we've already bought tickets to go back in April, which should be good news for all the people Allan won't have time to tattoo on this coming trip.

Speaking of clients and booking, i do have a bit of practical info, possibly in rant form, that i could squeeze into this post!

You see, i have started to book from the Uncle Allan waiting list, and all in all it's going ok.

Except for a couple of things...

1. Some people still don't seem to understand that you shouldn't write a bunch of questions to the waiting list. I will not email you back, and you will not be added to the list.

If you have any questions, ask them before submitting your ideas to the waiting list, and ask them via our regular mail.

2. You will also not be added to the list if you don't include tattoo ideas and placement.

Also, it's up to you to think of something interesting for Allan to do. Try to make it fun. 

If i'm going through the waiting list and the choice is between someone with an awesome, well thought out tattoo idea, pictures of placement and reference, all wrapped up in a polite email, and a dude who's whole email goes something like this; "hey, i wanna get tattooed, i don't know what i want, so just do whatever, i don't care", well... it's not a super hard choice, is it?

3. Lots of people apparently only read the part of this page that has the email address in it, and so again, those people, who don't read the whole thing (yes, i know it's long) and leave important stuff out, they won't be added to the list.

4. If you get impatient and decide to go get tattooed somewhere else, at least have the courtesy to send us an email, so we can take your name off the list. If you sign up for a service of any kind, anywhere, and decide to back out for whatever reason, you let people know, right? 

This especially goes out to the people who couldn't wait for Allan and decided to get tattooed by Eckel instead. It's fine if you don't have the patience to wait, but for christs sake, let us know so i don't waste time writing emails offering you dates to get tattooed!

5. You don't get to chose the date you get tattooed, another thing that's explained on this page, so if you write an email saying "i'd like to get tattooed in June 2012", that's probably not gonna happen. Once we book you, we'll do whatever we can to find a date that works for everyone, but until then, you shouldn't assume you can get tattooed whenever you feel like it.

Whoa, with the angry teacher-type ranting, sorry about that, but seriously, a good third of the mails i get for the waiting list are either missing information or missing the point.

But the rest of them, those who get it right, we're so grateful that they take the time to read all the rules, come up with fun projects and wait patiently for Allan to have time to tattoo them!

If you read Allan's blog, you already know that he has claimed the month of March for his book project, but as soon as that's done, it's back to regular booking!

Ok, if you've read this far, you deserve some friggin tattoo pictures.

And even if you've only skimmed this... whatever, you still came by to read the blog, so you deserve some pretty pictures too!

Here's a couple of newer Eckel tattoos, one from 2011 and one from 2012. Enjoy!

Tattoo by Eckel

Tattoo by Eckel

 

Tattoo by Eckel

 

 Ps. Sorry for the obvious iPhone pictures... ahem...

Milkshakes and rants

Phew.
After a very hectic, and very, very fun August, we're kinda back to normal here.
We miss all of our buddies, but it's also nice with a little quiet once in a while.
The quiet is not gonna last too long, though, cause London is coming up, and that convention has a way of sneaking up on us, fast!
Allan is working on designs for the convention, and maybe, if they're ready in time, we'll post a little preview. If not, you'll just have to wait and see!

I have some good news for everyone who've been asking ever since it closed; the waiting list will open soon.
Yay!
Not saying how soon, but soon-ish, so start thinking of fun ideas!
Also, since we're on the topic of the waiting list....

Sometimes i'll write someone about finally getting their tattoo appointment, and they're unable to accept due to various circumstances like loss of a job, moving house, or just being plain broke, which is understandable, of course, but also a giant waste of time for us and the other people on the list.
And then there are the people who are super stoked in their mails, but never reply, which is just weird... or my personal favorites; the people who get tired of waiting and go to another artist, but never think of letting us know.

The point is, while most people are more than happy to jump at the chance to get tattooed, and are well prepared, there are some who seem to sign up without considering that they will eventually have to get tattooed!
We do try to give everyone a few months notice, but my point (i have many points!) is: when you sign up for the waiting list, start saving up. And if something happens that makes you unable to get tattooed, like say moving house or getting pregnant, please just take yourself off the list and sign back up when you're ready again.
If you don't, you're missing the point and you're wasting our time.

Whoa, that sounded harsh! But really, i'm just looking to make our system as efficient as possible, and make sure that the people on that list who really want to get tattooed, can get tattooed with as little waiting as possible.
So if you're a person who's on the waiting list but maybe shouldn't be... please send a mail to uncleswaitinglist@gmail.com with the subject "delete me". You can always sign back up later.

Ok, rant over!
Here are some pictures from the Black Metal show.
And some other random shots too.
Most of these are taken with my analog Canon and as you can see, it was entirely too dark at the show for that kind of film, but i had to try anyway!

The dino looking rather blurry... and slightly constipated?

Statue

Another one

Front room goodness

And workroom

I already published these on my blog, but i like them a lot, so i'm putting them up here too! 

From left: Wendy, Allan & Lucifer, Matthew and David

From left: Matt, Davee, random photobombers and Nick

Here's one from the instagrams of our painting night a few days before the Aussies had to leave

A tattoo Matthew Gordon did on one of our coffee shop buddies

Oh, and here's one from that time me and Wendy wore floral jumpsuits and traveled through a wormhole and ended up on the cover of Time Magazine, and that was coincidentally also the time we liked stupid iPhone apps a little too much!

More exciting news soon, and maybe some tattoo pictures too?
I know i've been holding back on the Uncle Allan pictures, but we're kind of enjoying keeping them secret, so we can blow people's mind at the London convention with a portfolio full of never before seen tattoos!

Cats, cats, all about cats

As you may already know, Eckel isn't leaving Denmark after all!

At least not right now. I know, so confusing, but good news nonetheless. 

And in very related news, it's Eckel booking time again, but things are gonna be a little different for new clients this time around, as Eckel has made a list of designs that he would like tattoo, and if you're a new client wanting to get tattooed by him, you should pick something from this list of ideas. Don't worry, they're all awesome!

If you already have a piece in progress by Eckel that you wanna continue, this obviously won't affect you at all.

Booking procedures have also changed a bit since last time and to keep things simple, we've decided that all bookings should go through one email instead of two, so from now on all booking will go though: grifzzfizz@gmail.com.

However, i will still answer any general questions and concerns you might have on the conspiracy mail after you've booked in with Eckel.

From Eckel's blog:

"and here we go again.

as i said a few days ago(read post below for further information)here is a list of ideas that i would like to do:

small,one session pieces:

-small animals with wings(such as:cats,rabbits,mice/rats,frogs...)

-black cockatoo

-a worker bee carrying a factory

-bird getting its wing cut off with a scissor

-girl face with ONE eye(as in cyclops)

-zebra head

-a guillotine

-stagbeetle with a castle for a head

-frog on a girlshand

-an old,ugly witch

-girl wearing a burkha(ideal for cover-ups,and i am not even kidding,see painting above*)

bigger projects(such as sleeves/ribs/chests and stomachs)

-girl riding a polarbear

-a black and a white cat

-hammerhead shark head with a deer's body

-a rat king(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_king_(folklore))

-bird with a surveillance camera for a head

-crazy cat lady

-the young woman and the death(as in grim reaper)

-a hornbill

big projects(backs)

-a raging or dying horse

-large bird of prey with dead rabbit or smaller bird

-womans face with fancy hair and jewellery

-a sphinx(as in the egyptian woman with a lions body)

-a harpy(as in bird with woman's head)

-cat and bird/cat fighting cat/whatever CATS

the ideas and placements do not have to be combined in the way listed above,although some ideas categorized for big placements might be difficult to do on smaller areas.

note that the suggestions on this list are the only new projects and clients i will take on in this period of booking.

other than these i will just carry on with projects that have already been started.

in case you are interested to book appointments with me as a new client,i need all your contact info,even though i prefer communicating via email.pick one of the ideas from above for whatever placement,and a variety of dates that work for you if you have to travel to have an appointment with me.in case you want to get most of your travel,i have done two sittings on following days with a few customers in the past,and it works great that way as well if the piece allows working on different areas. in case you are up for a torture like that, let me know about it in your email as well.

that should be it.

thank you"

 * or in this case, below

So there you have it, now go book!

All booked up!

Just a quick little post to let you all know that Eckel is booked up for April, May and June.
That means we have closed for bookings for now.
So, what does that mean to you if you're a person wanting to get tattooed by him asap?
It means that you'll need to write us from June 1st. to book appointments in July, August and September.
As usual, we ask you to include your ideas for the design, size and placement, any relevant pictures of yourself or design reference, as well as a list of dates in July, August or September where you'd like to get tattooed.
And as usual, if you live in the area, we will ask you to come by for a consultation prior to your tattoo appointment.
If you are interested in an appointment later in the fall, do not write us yet.
In June we will only be booking for those three months.

That's all, we look forward to hearing from you in a couple of months, and remember, if you'd like to know more about booking, read the tabs named Eckel and client info.

Og så på Dansk:
Eckel er fuldt booket de næste tre måneder, og vi har nu derfor lukket for booking.
Det betyder, at hvis du gerne vil tatoveres af Eckel, skal du sende os en mail i starten af Juni for at booke en tid i enten Juli, August eller September.
Som sædvanligt vil vi bede dig om at inkludere alle dine idéer til design, placering og størrelse i mailen, eventuelle billeder, samt en liste over dage i de følgende tre måneder hvor det vil passe dig godt at blive tatoveret.
Og som sædvanligt vil vi bede dig om at kigge forbi til en konsultation inden din tatoverings-aftale hvis du bor i nærheden.
Hvis du ønsker en tid senere på efteråret skal du ikke skrive til os endnu.
Vi booker kun de tre måneder ad gangen, så hvis du vil have en tid senere, må du vente.

Vi håber at høre fra dig i Juni, og hvis du vil læse mere om booking kan du gøre det her på siden under Eckel og client info.

We're back

Sorry for the lack of action on this blog while we were in Japan.
I hope you've checked mine and Allan's personal blogs from time to time, at least they've been sort of active.

Today is the 30th and for some that means time to send your in submissions for some sweet, future Uncle A tattoos.
I just wanted to let you know that it's gonna be a little while before you'll get a reply to those mails.
I'm just gonna collect them all this week, and then get out the calendar and try to fit everybody in.
After that, i'll get back to you, so please don't mail me more than once.

Unfortunately, i can already tell that there won't be time for everyone this time around.
This is not because i don't want to give you all appointments (there's nothing i'd rather do) or because Allan doesn't want to tattoo you (if i didn't occasionally stop him, he'd tattoo all the friggin time).
It's simply because there's not enough time.
We're already booked for a really long time and we don't want to be booked so far into the future that it won't be possible for us to take a trip somewhere, or a day off once in a while, so we're gonna try to fit in as many as possible, and the rest will have to get back to us when we take new clients again.
The selection process is not gonna be first come, first served, so you still have all week to write me.
Ok, i think that's it!
If you don't get an appointment this time around, don't be discouraged, we'll open up for new clients again in a couple of months.

Oh, also, i'm starting to get a few Milan mails already too.
If we do Milan in February, it'll be the same deal as last year: walk ins only, and you'll be able to chose from a bunch of line drawings that'll only be tattooed once.
Kind of a custom flash type deal!
We don't take request for the flash, Allan is gonna do whatever he feels like, and if you like it, come by the booth and get it tattooed.
All be designs will be made to take around three hours and as usual he's not tattooing any weird or awkward spots.

Ok, now that's really it!
I'm actually super sick and the only known cure to this type of food poisoning* is Star Trek and Lucifer snuggles.

Just because no one likes a post with no pictures, here's one of us at Inkrat with our American buddies, Hata and Allans Singapore clients

*Damn you sushi, i have your image tattooed on my arm and this is how you repay me?
Shame!

Some Uncle Allan booking info

No, we're not booking new clients for Uncle Allan just yet, but we have decided that telling people to check back later isn't exactly working out either.
So, we have decided to start a waiting list for new pieces.
An official one for new and old clients alike.

All you have to do is send an email to the new email address (i will reveal that address later in this post) and you'll be on the list.
Simple, right?

In your email you should include your name and contact information and an approximate size/placement/general idea for the tattoo, so we can book the right amount of appointments for you.
Foreign clients wanting a bigger piece should let us know how often they can make it to Denmark, and those of you who have already gotten tattooed by Allan (or Eckel or Electric Pick) should let us know what you've gotten done here in the past.
If you don't include your ideas, we probably won't contact you first, so please don't forget that part.

When you have sent us the mail, you will get an auto reply in return, and when we have openings, we will contact you.
We cannot give you any idea of when you'll be hearing from us regarding an appointment, so if that's not something you're ok with, please don't submit your name to the list.
Also, this is not an email-back-and-forth type deal, so if you get impatient and decide to write and ask when the hell you're getting tattooed, you won't get a reply.
You can have your name removed from the list any time by sending us an email saying that you're sick of waiting, or that you just don't like tattoos anymore or whatever, and we'll take you off the list immediately.

If you have any questions to this new system, feel free to leave a comment below and we promise to reply here.
If you think you have all the information you need, go ahead and send your most fun tattoo ideas to:

uncleswaitinglist@gmail.com

Thanks for reading this (and for following this blog, of course), we look forward to hearing from you!

Og så en hurtig opsummering på dansk:
Vi har nu oprettet en ny venteliste for folk der gerne vil tatoveres af Allan.
Dette gælder for alle nye projekter, så det er både for nye og gamle kunder.
Du skal bare sende en mail med dine idéer og kontakt information til den ovenstående adresse, og så er du på listen.
Hvis du er blevet tatoveret i butikken før må du gerne inkludere en kort beskrivelse af hvad du har fået lavet.
Du vil modtage et auto-svar, der bekræfter at din mail er modtaget, og når vi booker igen vil vi kontakte dig.
Hvis du bliver utålmodig kan du til hver en tid blive taget af listen, bare send os en mail.
Vi håber at høre fra dig!

So... you wanna get tattooed or what?

Like i mentioned in the last post, Adam Hays is here tattooing this week, and it looks like he's gonna stay around for a few more days, so there's still appointments to be had!

Send me an email, or come by the shop monday to talk to him in person, and we'll work something out.

Below are examples of the work he's been doing since he got here. 

Good stuff!

Og så på Dansk: 

Vore gæste tatovør, Adam Hays, har besluttet sig for at blive i København et par ekstra dage, og har derfor tid til at lave flere tatoveringer mens han er her.

Så hvis du er interesseret skal du sende os en mail, eller komme forbi butikken mandag med dine bedste idéer, så finder vi us af noget!

Scroll ned for at se eksempler på det fine arbejde han har lavet de sidste par dage.

 Max's greedy Greedo

Ole's oni Dunny

 This is happening right now, so there'll be pictures of that on the blog some other time!

EPHK - KBH

Yup! I (Nick (Electric Pick)) is back in Copenhagen for August this summer!!

There is only about 10 spots to book but still some available so let me know if you happen to be that kind of person who might get their fancy tickled by such news...

pick@electricpick.com

Rock!!

2011 London Convention

Just a quick announcement about the London Convention, since i'm starting to get a lot of mail on that subject:

Yes, Uncle Allan will be working there, but no, you can't book an appointment.
Allan will show up with a bunch of line drawings ready to tattoo, and if you like on of them, and there are no other people in front of you, you can get tattooed.
So if this sounds like something you'd be interested in, get to his booth early.
If you want a custom design, please sign up for the waiting list to get tattooed in Copenhagen.

Eckel will be at the convention, but he'll be there as a visitor only.
If he chooses to do a guest spot while in the UK, i will put the dates in the "Travel and Guests" section.

Questions? Post a comment here.

Eckel info...

This is for everyone who's been writing us lately about booking with Eckel:
He is back in Cph, and booking the next three months.
That means no late fall/winter appointments just yet, so if that's the only time you can come get tattooed, you'll have to wait a bit longer to book.

Please email conspiracyinctattoo@gmail.com and be sure to include ALL relevant info:
Your ideas, the placement/size, what dates you're not available if any, your budget if you have a limit on how much you wanna spend and whatever else we could possibly need to know.
If we already have an email conversation going, please reply to the most recent mail instead of sending a new one, so i have all of our correspondence in one mail.
Thanks!

Update:
Only few appointments left.

The Berlin conspiracy

This is gonna come as a shock to some people, and others already know, but here it is, the official post telling you that Conspiracy Inc. is moving to Berlin!
Yes, myself, Allan, Lucifer and the shop (minus one Dino Baby) are moving ourselves, and all the crap we've hoarded though the years, to Berlin as early as December.

We had obviously hoped to be able to give our clients longer notice than that, but things went from going reeeally slow, to happening all at once, and now we are very close to being the owners (well, renters, technically) of a lovely space in Berlin were we will rebuild our little empire.
We couldn't go really for reals public with the news until we were certain that this was actually happening, and we literally just got confirmation yesterday, so yeah.. surprise!

If you're wondering why we're moving, we're not quite sure, it's just something we've wanted to try for a long time... and so we just decided to do it, and the dart we were throwing at a world map landed on Berlin, and so that's were we're going.
And if you're wondering if we're just a little bummed about leaving our beloved studio in Schleppegrellsgade, the answer is "hell yes!", but since that place was just about the only thing keeping us here, we decided it was worth it.

I'll be posting a lot more info later on; like the address and directions and important stuff like that, but for now, y'all just need to know that we are leaving Copenhagen and soon!
But there are of course a few other things i think you should know now and here they are, the ones i can think of right now anyway:

-First of all, the waiting list still exists.
If you're on the list and for any reason us leaving Copenhagen is a dealbreaker for you, just email the list with "delete me" in the subject and we'll take you right off. I'll be sending out an email to the people on the waiting list too informing them of the move.
The waiting list will open again soon, and it will only be for appointments in Berlin, not Copenhagen.
-Uncle Allan will come to Denmark once in a while, and maybe even tattoo a bit while he's here, but if you're in Denmark and have a piece in progress that you'd like finished before we leave, email me asap!
We're gonna be in Japan most of November, so there are very few appointments left before the move!
This would probably also be a good time to mention that airfare from Copenhagen to Berlin is ridiculously cheap, and the flight only takes 40 minutes. Just sayin'...
- Our friends and guest artists, Matthew Gordon and Wendy Pham, have decided to join us in Berlin and will be working with us from March 2013 and for as long as they are able to and feel like! We are so excited to work and hang out with these guys again, and i'll let you know when they start booking for Berlin.
We will also be open for other longer guestspots, think from a few weeks to a few months, but since we're still gonna be a private studio (possibly even more hidden away than we are now!), we're mainly looking for artists with a lot of experience, who've already made a name for themselves internationally. And preferably even someone we've met before! I hope it doesn't come off as too snobbish, but we wanna be as sure as we can be, that the artists who come work with us actually have something to do!
-Nick (Electric Pick) will be joining us in February or March for a guestspot and as always you can check his blog for travel updates.
-There is a very real possibility that David will take over at our current location, and since we can't take him with us, we're hoping he can make himself a wonderful new home in our old shop. So that's exciting too and eventually you'll be able to read about his plans on his blog!
-As soon as we know when we move exactly, like the date, and more importantly when we'll be able to have the studio up and running, i'll be taking appointments for December for anyone who's able to step in on short notice.
People who are on the waiting lists will get in first and we are primarily looking for people who want large one shots.
The only reason i will not be booking from the waiting list is because this will be short notice, and for some reason it simply takes too long for people to get back to me via the list. And we'll need to pay for paint and expensive German plumbers somehow!*
So if you wanna get tattooed in December, keep an eye on the blog and our twitter (@conspiracyinc) and email me as soon as i say go. So, not now. Later!

Sneak peek...

Ok, more info soon, we are so excited about this and can't wait to welcome our friends and clients to a hopefully even more epic Conspiracy Inc. in the near future!

Oh, and a special thanks to our friends in Berlin and Hamburg for all your help, and to all of our friends and family in Denmark and around the world for all of your encouragement and support!
And uhm... please come help us paint, ok?


*Speaking of German plumbers, if you are one, and you have time to do some work for us in December, send me an email. Not even kidding!

Adam Hays at Conspiracy Inc. next month

So, it looks like my last post here was a costume post of sorts, and actually this one was supposed to be one of those too (apparently we dress up a lot in the summer? I'll post those pictures real soon!) but as it turns out, i have more important news to share.

You see, next month we're having one of them guest artists at the shop, and i thought it was about time to tell you who, and to show you some of his work.
From August 18-20 (and possibly a day or two more, if his travel plans work out that way), super swell guy and fellow Star Wars geek, Adam Hays from Red Rocket Tattoo in New York will be working at our shop.
If you'd like to book with him, here's how to do it: send an email to conspiracyinctattoo@gmail.com with your ideas for the design and placement, possible budget and dates you are available. Remember that it must be custom, as always, and unless you're planning a trip to New York in the near future, it should be something that can be finished in one session.
After recieving your email, i'll get back to you with a possible date for the tattoo, and give you specifics about deposit and stuff.
So pretty much the usual.
Serious inquiries only, and i can't stress that enough.
It's bad enough when people cancel at the last minute with Allan or Eckel, but doing it to a traveling guest artist is completely unacceptable, so please think before booking.


DK: Fra den 18. til 20. August  kommer Adam Hays fra Red Rocket Tattoo i New York og arbejder i butikken.
Hvis du kunne tænke dig at blive tatoveret af ham skal du sende en mail med dine idéer til designet, samt placering til conspiracyinctattoo@gmail.com.
Som sædvanligt her i butikken tilbyder vi kun custom tatoveringer, og husk også på at tatoveringen skal kunne laves færdig på en session, med mindre du snart skal en tur til USA.
Når jeg har modtaget jeres mails vender jeg tilbage med et bud på en tid, og diverse detaljer ang. din mulige aftale.
Vær venlig kun at kontakte os hvis du er 100% sikker på at du vil tatoveres, og du har tænkt dig at overholde din aftale. Da dette guest spot er så kort som det er, vil det være et stort problem for vores gæst og os, for ikke at tale om at det ville være synd for folk der måske gerne ville tatoveres men ikke kunne få en tid, hvis der er nogen der booker en tid bare for at aflyse i sidste øjeblik, så kun seriøse henvendelser, tak.
Se flere eksempler på Adam's arbejde på hans hjemmeside eller i hans portfolie der snart skulle ankomme i butikken.
Spørgsmål? Læg en kommentar her eller send os en mail!

Uncle Allan booking info

Just a quick post to let you know that i am closing Uncle Allan's waiting list for (hopefully just) a little while.
There are a lot of people on the list already (and thanks for that!) and i feel like we need to get a few more of those good people off the list, and into the workroom before we accept any more new projects.
So, please don't write to the waiting list email account until further notice.

I will of course let you know as soon as we open it up again!

Anyone who has a piece already in progress can contact us from mid march for appointments starting in may.

Recent in progress