Singapore Ink Show 2017

If you guys have been following this space and my Instagram long enough, you would know that one of my biggest weaknesses is ladies, beer, food, shoes, bags, toys, camera, travel tattoos. (I am seriously spending too much money on this hobby.)

I got my very 1st tattoo back in 2010 and my skin has since been itching for more.

The Singapore ink show has been in Singapore since... to be honest, I've no idea when and it wasn't stated on both their Facebook or website. If my memory serves me right, this is not the first year for sure.

Although it was not the first time this was held in Singapore (or at least from what I remembered), it was the first time that I've attended the event as well as participated.

Participated? It's funny how I was walking around Suntec City and a dude actually thought I was one of the tattoo artists and came up to me. Another dude came up to the booth I was at and asked me if I'm the person behind those tattoos samples. I would take that as a compliment as I find tattoo artists freaking cool, but sadly I don't think anyone would want my ugly drawing on their body. No, I'm not even being humble about it. Remember there was a period of time that I was very into drawing? Don't remember? Nah.

I know I recently published my own comic but I was the storyteller and not the artist? So I guess I've made my point that nobody would ever want to bear my drawing on their sacred body...

THIS IS DAMN HARDCORE! Even I cannot handle that!

The event is ticketed and no, you do not get a free tattoo or 2 free drinks with each ticket.

"So what do you get from the ticket?"

You get to shop around and take pictures of the artists. The truth is that besides such an event, there is no way that you can walk into any tattoo shop and tell an artist that you want to be in there not just to watch but also to take some pictures. They will probably just kick you out.

This event is actually very good for people who want a tattoo but have no idea where to go. You get to see not just some of the Singapore's best tattoo artists but also some of the best from the region including Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, and even New Zealand! You also get to see some of their previous work as well as pre-drawn unique artwork.

What does pre-drawn unique artwork mean? To be honest I am not sure if that is the term. I mean it is an original piece that they had pre-drawn prior to the event and just place it up for sale as you can see from one of the pictures above. Once the picture is sold and tattooed onto someone, they will not repeat it and sell to anyone else.

Some of these pre-drawn ones are really nice but too bad I'm a sucker for customisation so every single one of my inks are mostly my own design or at least adapted from somewhere and edited by myself.

 My Artist - @Jenniferneoh_tattoo on Instagram

 Her sister Tracy.

Tracy won an award during the event too!

I wouldn't recommend you to get a tattoo on the spot as a tattoo should never be something done on  impulse. That aside, having a tattoo done at the event is really very different. I find it really distracting with all the events going on and people talking, plus the space given to each artist was really very cramped. The most each of them can work on was like 2 people seated at one time.

 The famous Kinki Ryusaki from KL. Obviously she ain't just famous for her tattoo skills.

The famous Steve Butcher from New Zealand. How famous is he? He is so famous that even fellow tattoo artists were queuing to take pictures with him during his break! 

Tattoos Sighting 

Oh. And me... Of course I was there to get some ink done. It's still work in progress and my camera woman personal photographer wasn't available to shoot me thus there ain't much pictures like the last time when I was in New York.  Damn I miss having her around.

But luck was on my side. I bumped into a friend who was with a photographer and oh my did she took a nice picture of my ink!

Thanks Juan!

For those who missed it this year, better luck next year. And for those who want to visit but has no kakis to visit with, you know who to call next year. If you want a live model, I always welcome sponsorship from you. And no, I will not tattoo the word #sponsoredink on it.

I can't wait to complete my tattoo and show you guys soon!

buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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The Cathay - Ink and Cut 2018

The little new ink that I got from the event.


Would you put a tattoo on you that is not selected by yourself? What if it's something you don't like? These are some of the questions I've been getting from friends and readers about The Cathay's ink and cut event.

Let's put a pin on that and let me share with you more about this event. How does it really works?

INK

Step 1: Pick a word of inspiration.

There is this word with a whole list of keywords like strength, strive, rockstar, etc etc. It's random so the design is actually based on the word you picked. Of course if you pick a word that is totally not you, I'm sure you can negotiate with the organizers that you want to change a word.

What did I get?

It's not too bad fit for me considering how I like to travel ever since I started having the whole shutterbug thing infected on me. I don't mean a real illness, I just meant I started shooting for a living.

BUT... I thought this might be a better word for me.

THAT'S RIGHT! And please don't tell my wife. :x

Step 0: Spent $50 

Actually I kinda got it wrong. So I'm doing this starwars thing where I will release prequels. In order to be part of this event, one need to spend $50 at The Cathay and redeem this tattoo or hair cut/hair tattoo. It's really not difficult since The Cathay is filled with so many different type of food, services and retail. If you remember, my chio chio skin doctor, Dr Kellyn is also in the building.

Step 2: GET READY! 

So it's really that simple to be honest. All you had to do is to get the word and that's all. Insert your hand into the erm... "glory hole" hang on and wait for the surprise!

No, she wasn't tickling my armpit but I can't exactly remember why I was laughing so happily.

FAQ 

I always wanted to do a tattoo FAQ but this time round I would just like to answer this one question and also some others about this event.

IS IT PAINFUL? 

This picture should probably answer everything.

I was using my phone as if nothing was happening. I mean, look at me, I've this whole sleeve thing going on and if it was pain, that probably wouldn't have happen. Truth is everyone has different pain threshold as well as when it comes to different parts of your body. Your biceps and forearms are probably the strongest. You hardly feel anything really.

Because my crew asked me to act like it's very pain. I've no idea why he asked for it but I did it to entertain him anyway.

Would you put a tattoo on you that is not selected by yourself? 

Yes and I did. I did it because I like the element of surprise! It's kinda like arrange marriage. You have no idea what you are getting into and the commitment could probably be for a life time.

What if it's something you don't like? 

I believe that every tattoo tells a story and if the story is ugly or something I hate, I guess it still makes a good story right? And I guess was pretty lucky to get a word of inspiration that really meant something to me.

What if you see this person with the same tattoo with you because he/she went to the same event? 

There are pretty limited slots per day. Each tattoo takes around 30mins to 1hr so based on what I've gathered, the event ink no more than 10 pax a day and they actually remove certain keywords after they are being used but I'm not sure how many times will they actually ink them before they eventually remove it.

CUT

As you guys should know I've not much hair to begin with so the "cut" segment of the event do not really applies to me. So instead one of my crew actually went and gave it a go. The guys behind the cut segment are actually from THE GOLDEN RULE BARBER CO. These guys are so cool. They look like they walk straight out from a show set in Harlem or something.

I apologize for this out of focus image. And also because it wasn't taken by me. :x

If you noticed. The guy from the right actually look a lot like Ice 3. When asked, he said he knows and he calls himself Ice box. No clue why box but my best guest is before a box has 4 corners and 4 is bigger than 3. LOL.

Besides ink and hair cutting there were also other fringe event like this dude that does customized note books and stuff. This event is really my kinda thing where it's all about making things the way you like it.

Anyway, for those who had no idea, this event is actually their 2nd installment. If you are reading this in 2019 because you googled and was trying to find out more information about the event, it means that the 3rd edition is on it's way and hope to see you there! That is if I still have space for more ink. LOL.

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Bang Bang Tattoo in New York.

That's Kevin King aka @blvckwork

Hello from New York City!! The land of pizzas, blonde girls, and basketball! (I'm pretty sure there are more than just these but these are the things I love and this is my blog, so I'm calling it whatever I want. :p)  I'm so so so glad I'm here at this time of the year where the NBA season just returned and there are so much buzz about it!! I love love love this place despite the murderous cold weather. > <! It was forecasted that it's going to be around 15-18 degrees but there were a few days that it went as low as 3 degrees along with heavy rain and strong wind! OMG.

I love my inks but I'm not exactly the most adventurous tatt fan out there. I've always wanted to get a tattoo at every country/city I visit but the fear of aids is real. Can't blame me if you have seen some of those tattoo parlors at places like Bali, Phuket, Malaysia, or even Philippines. I've to give it to those people who have their tattoos done at such touristy spots where it just simply spells AIDS on their signboard. :x

Despite that, I've finally gotten my first travel ink at Bang Bang Tattoo at NYC! I first got to know of them via Instagram. (they actually have over a million followers!) What's so special about them that actually change my mind about getting a tatt overseas?

These guys are professional. Bang Bang is not just a single tattoo artist but it's actually a tattoo parlor that house a team of over 10 professional artists. Not only is the place neat and clean but they are so so so organized. Unlike most tattoo parlors in Singapore where it's a one man show, Bang Bang actually have an admin to help take care of their customers and bookings. They will not only help the artist to manage their time to avoid double booking, they will also take brief for them to know more about what the customers want before allocating to a specific artist for the specific style.

Very spacious studio that goes wayyy deeeeeeper in. And they have a very clean toilet and free wifi too. :p

Of course, you can choose which artist you want if you have a preference or simply because you want Bang Bang himself to do it because of his long list of celebrity portfolio. Yup, he is the guy who also inked famous people like Beckham, Bieber, Selena Gomez and many more.


He is also an author! You can read more about his stories with different celebrities in his autobiography.

Me, not knowing any of them was introduced to Kevin. Kevin is a nice young chap who is not only friendly and easy to work with but also very very very good with the thin lines. Trust me, those thin lines ain't the easiest thing to do and many artists in Singapore actually avoid doing such line artwork.



For those who are interested, Bang Bang Tattoo is located on Broome St NYC which is near to Little Italy as well as Chinatown. Or the famous "Egg Shop" which in my opinion is super overrated. (That's another story for another time)

Do not get cheated by its shop front and think that it's a very small unit. This place is huge. Like I mentioned earlier, they have more than 10 artists and when I was there, around 7-8 of them were working on their customers at the same time. And the others were either doing consultation with customers or working on designs on their iMacs. 

If you know when you are traveling, it would be best that you make an appointment way before hand. According to Shawn (the guy who replied my appointment emails), it will typically take at least 2-3 months for you to arrange for an appointment. Also according to Kevin, they get a lot of tourists coming in and out from around the world so I guess playing the "I will be out of town soon" card might not actually work.

So what did I get?

If it's a travel tatt, it has to be a tatt of my favourite city in the world and where I'm currently at isn't it?



For tatt fans who get a chance to travel to NYC, I would highly recommend Bang Bang Tattoo!!!

Anyway, I'm currently surviving on loads of coffee and my favourite bagels, doing work while trying my best to fight the jet-lag. It's not like I'm getting it bad but I actually need a few hours more of sleep as compared to my usual 4hrs avg sleeping time back home. And I'm putting on so much weight from all the good food here I actually can't wait to go back and hit the gym!!!

Can't wait to share more adventures with your guys but I've limited time in between work. So meanwhile do remember to stay tuned to my IG where I erm, give faster updates than on this space. LOL.

"New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothin' you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
The lights will inspire you
Let's hear it for New York, New York,
New York"

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Tattoo of the week: Tiger Tattoo

Haven't been doing this for awhile. And here is one of those tattoos that I really liked but being a Chinese guy, having this tattoo is just sending a different message. It's a Tiger!

http://lazerliztattoo.com

@resatgul

@vidoomka

 @gordonptattooist 

 This has to be my favourite! EYE OF THE TIGER!!

JPJtattoos.com

And you know who else has a sexy Tiger tattoo?? 

ROAR!!!

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