Pocahontas?

Morten-the-carpenter got tattooed on monday.
He wanted a traditional indian girl, based on some flash made by some sailor named... Joey? Jimmy? No, Jerry! Maybe you've heard of him?
Apparently he's kind of a big deal.

It's very unlike Allan to stay this close to the flash, but i think he does super traditional really well

After a few hours, Morten wasn't having so much fun anymore...

... but he made it, and got himself this fine looking lady!

Client's view

Our shop has come a long way since we moved in here almost two years ago (... really? has it been that long??), but since we're not in the construction phase anymore, thank god, we don't often get around to taking pictures of our progress.

So i was really happy when Luba and Roman from Russia sent me pictures from their visit earlier this month. 

It's nice to see the shop from a visitors perspective, and can i just say, it looks pretty good.

Of course we always see what's missing, and notice all the little things we'd like to improve, but all in all, it's not too bad!

No more talk, see for yourself!

Front room

 

 Front room/office view

 

Pretty Lucifer

Work room

 Uncle Allan

Electric Pick at work

 Hallway instax wall of fame

And Luba's free handed tattoo, stolen from Allan's instagram

Boring ass info post... but please read it anyway!

Here's a little late friday night info for you, since i'm stuck at work anyway:

Eckel will be in Germany from the 21st till the 29th of January.
And he will be working at the Brighton Tattoo Convention on January 30th and 31st.
So if you wanted to come by and talk to him at the shop, please wait until the 2nd of February where he'll be at the shop most of the day, doing just that.

Our work schedules are pretty random these days, so we advice you not to drop by without emailing us first, cause we might not be here.
Also, between January 29th and February 8th we won't be answering mails or taking any consultations.*
During that time Allan will be working, but the shop will be closed for everyone except the people getting tattooed.
So, if you have something urgent to discuss, please do so before January 29th.

Thanks for reading and have a fantastic weekend!

*Eckel's consultation day on the 2nd is obviously an exception.

That's one wacky kimono....

Finally, it's tattoo time!
Ok, only one tattoo, but at least it's a big one.
On Friday Sanna came across the bridge for another session on her back piece.
It wasn't the last session, as some people may have thought or hoped it would be, but it's so close now.
Just a bit more kimono and fan action, and that's it.

Kimono pattern done

Allan went nuts with tiny Kyōsai monsters

Frogman is my personal favorite

This guy is cool too

Monsters here, there and everywhere

So pretty and colorful, i can't wait to see this one finished!

A few random London shots

Our booth, merch overload

DooM!

Chriss and Hunter

Friday, on our way to the convention

Allan working

Chriss' fancy new rubber-bands (wonder if all the fanboys will be sporting this sweet combo in the future?)

Signing the super duper...

... awesome limited prints!

Thanks to our clients and all the people who came by the booth to say hi or pick up a t-shirt or a print.
And to our sweet convention family who made it such an awesome weekend.

To see Allans tattoos from that weekend, click here!

*Insert sound of me sneezing*

It's Tuesday, and we're back to work after a long and surprisingly unproductive break.

I'm not super bummed about being back to work, but that's not saying that today couldn't have been just a little easier. 

For the first time in what seems like a very long time the weather is cold and wet, i have a vicious cold that makes me sneeze every 5-10 seconds, and there's a mysterious draft coming from somewhere in my office (most likely the very old window, although i can't feel anything when i'm standing over there?) which is not helping with the whole sneezing situation.

But it could be worse. At least we have a work-from-home day tomorrow already.

Yeah, we're easing back into it for sure.

But although we've had time off, Allan did tattoo for a couple of days last week.

Max came from Russia to get his lower arm done, and to give us some sweet Russian souvenirs, and Martin came down from Norway to finish his frontpiece (something he wasn't quite prepared for) and to start a new piece on his lower leg.

A couple of brutal days, for us and the troopers.

Russian souvenirs!

Martins frontpiece of doom

 I was taking a picture of this fancy gentleman werewolf Eckel did on Brian, and i somehow managed to fit everyone in the picture!

Allan tattooing Martin, day two

Oh, and in case you missed it, we have a guest artist coming in the end of the month, and you should all get tattooed by him  (well, not all, but some of you should)!

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...

Quickie

Here are a few pictures of tattoos... from the phone, sadly, but still, better than nothing, right?

We have some news soon, and hopefully i'll have time to post some London flash preview before next weekend (gah! So soon!), but for now, this is what you get!

Finished rib piece on Mads (his second one, see the first one here)

Henrik's really old bodysuit in progress... 90% of our medical tape supply goes to wrapping up this guy!

We went to Berlin last week where Allan tattooed Sarah in her beautiful new shop... hopefully we'll have a healed picture of this soon... it's geeky as fuck!

We'll be bringing new prints, t-shirts, flash and possibly some originals to London, so that should be exciting!

Ta dah!

Sorry, i haven't forgotten about this blog, it's just that all the tattoo stuff seems to get posted over here.
So that leaves me and this blog with... a foot.
A rose on a foot.
Hope you like it, i really had to fight Allan for it!

Done at Inkrat sometime in April

So, we're (obviously) still in Japan.
We're trying to have a bit of a vacation, and for me that means not answering emails in a timely manner.
Bear with me, i need the time off.
Also, we're not taking any bookings at the moment anyway, so if it's not urgent, it'll just have to wait.
Everything will be back to normal (whatever that means) in the beginning of May.

Also, we have changed the date of the official opening party yet again.
It seems that me and Allan are the only two people at the shop in May, so it'd be a little silly to have the party then.
So, after much consideration, we decided to move the opening until July, when the whole gang is (hopefully) in Copenhagen at the same time.
The date should be announced soon, and you, dear readers, will be the first to know!

Worth the wait

One of our clients, Innina from Switzerland, did a lovely post on her blog about her and her husbands recent visit to our studio where they got their long-awaited tattoos done.
Such nice pictures!

This is her tattoo

The Red Cross print is selling really well, and i'll be shipping out the first batch tomorrow.
Thanks to everyone who bought one, retweeted for us, mentioned us on their blog and facebook or told their friends about us.
We really appreciate your support and we can't wait to send the money from the sales to Japan.

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!