Jake Meeks' mostly weekly tattoo podcast answering viewer questions, interviewing artists and waxing philosophical to promote better tattooing and more informed collectors. He is often joined by fellow tattooers, artists of other mediums, professionals in other fields and collectors. We hope you enjoy! Also, we offer courses from artists on the show at firesidetattoo.com if you are interested! Thanks for supporting our show!
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Modernizing Tattoo Client Management | Nate Laff
33:52
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33:52Tattoo studios are evolving, and so is the technology that supports them. In todays episode of the podcast, Nate Laff, co-founder of Rev 23, discusses the journey of modernizing tattoo management software, transitioning from a Windows desktop platform to a streamlined cloud-based and mobile app solution. By focusing on essential features like clien…
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The Tattoo Collector's Perspective | Jenny Chambers
31:46
31:46
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31:46Something a little different this time around. We're not talking to another tattoo artist today - we're diving deep with Jenny Chambers, a serious tattoo collector who's got stories that'll make you see this whole world differently. In the current tattoo climate, it's not just about finding an artist who can slap some ink on you - it's about buildi…
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A Loose Approach to Tattoo Design | Edgar Marquez | Ep 287
41:15
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41:15In this episode, Edgar Marquez breaks down his unique freehand tattooing style, explaining how ditching stencils has allowed him to create more fluid, dynamic designs with intense focal points. He shares insights on balancing texture and value, harmonizing new tattoos with existing work, and the importance of observing tattoo masters to evolve as a…
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Are Scare Tactics Reshaping the Future of Tattoos? | Durb Morrison | EP 286
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34:50The tattoo industry is undergoing significant transformation, facing challenges from medical scrutiny to economic shifts. Concerns about health risks and heavy metals in tattoo inks have long plagued the industry, prompting ongoing debates about safety and perception. Despite these challenges, tattoo artists continue to innovate and defend their cr…
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Wanna Join a Guy Aitchison Coverup Masterclass? | Sandy McAndrew |
26:50
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26:50Sign up for Guy's Coverup Workshop: https://tattoos.social/reinventing-the-tattoo-coverup-webinar Join the Inside Fireside Tattoo Club https://explore.firesidetattoo.com/inside-fireside Join Reinventing the Tattoo: https://www.reinventingthetattoo.com/ Are you a beginning tattooer or an apprentice ? Click below https://explore.firesidetattoo.com/ta…
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Ink Masters & Old Timers: Tradition vs Progress in Tattoo Conventions | Jesse Smith | EP 285
58:01
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58:01We’ve got an excellent conversation for you today with longtime friend of Fireside, Jesse Smith! As both Jesse and Jake promote different tattoo conventions they discuss some of the difficulties in thinking about the attendees vs the tattooers, the struggles between progress vs keeping it traditional, education, and many other topics. There’s a ton…
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The Art of Competition Tattooing Part 3 | Pain Management
1:03:41
1:03:41
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1:03:41In this final episode with Kurt Jacobsen, we dive into pain management for clients during multi day sessions. Kurt shares his thoughts about how, when and where to use Bactine for maximum effectiveness as well as why clients might choose to use a regimen of ibuprofen during the tattoo process. Enjoy! And Go Here to see the extensive notes on the we…
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The Art of Competition Tattooing Part 2 | Kurt Jacobsen | EP 283
53:33
53:33
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53:33We’re back again for Part 2 of the 3 Part Series on Competition Tattooing! Check out the Deep Dive with notes on the website: https://www.firesidetattoo.com/tattoo-library/the-art-of-competition-tattooing-part-2-kurt-jacobsen-ep-283~29262 In the first part of this series with Kurt, we dove into the challenges and rewards of competing in the tattoo …
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The Art of Competition Tattooing | Kurt Jacobsen
1:17:32
1:17:32
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1:17:32We’ve got an exciting multi-part series for you with our good buddy, and previous guest Kurt Jacobsen! To us Kurt is known as ultra competitive and uniquely unflappable. He’s also EXTREMELY precise. In this part of conversation, Jake and Kurt discuss the challenges and benefits of competition in the tattoo industry. They explore the decision to com…
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Lifetime Value of a Client | Jesse Drach | EP 281
1:04:35
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1:04:35For this interview Jake dives into an insightful conversation with Jesse Drach, owner of Ink-Link, about the intricacies of marketing in the tattoo industry. Jesse shares expert advice on leveraging social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, utilizing Google Ads, and the importance of targeting the right audience to promote tattoo shops an…
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Find all the links and details about this episode on our deep dive page: https://www.firesidetattoo.com/tattoo-library/free-ticket-to-paradise-amy-nicholls-derek-youngberg-paradise-tattoo-gathering~29254 The Paradise Tattoo Gathering is one of the most unique tattoo events in the world. A place where artists can learn from some of the best in the c…
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"Money! How Does That Work?!" A Practical Finance Panel | Mindset Monday | Fireside Chats! EP 280
1:48:54
1:48:54
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1:48:54We’ve got something exciting for you today! The Inside Fireside Tattoo Club hosted a panel discussion focusing on finance and money management tailored for tattoo artists. Originating from our popular Mindset Monday conversations, this particular session delves into topics such as passive income opportunities, strategies to supplement tattooing inc…
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Side Hustle Gone Wild! | Thom Bulman | EP 279
1:09:14
1:09:14
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1:09:14Check Out the Deep Dive On FiresideTattoo.com: https://www.firesidetattoo.com/tattoo-library/side-hustle-gone-wild-thom-bulman-ep-279~29247 After COVID and the world had shut down Thom, a 17 year tattooer, was struggling to figure out where he was in tattooing. Between making custom shoes and not not knowing when tattooing might freeze up again he …
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Urgent vs Important: The Tattooer's Struggle | Inside Fireside | EP 278
1:19:35
1:19:35
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1:19:35This is a sneak peak of what you can find in the Inside Fireside Tattoo Club. We’ve curated this particular conversation because we think it exemplifies one of the pillars of what the group is trying to achieve as a whole. Creating conversations and provoking discussions that help tattooers get out of their own head and into their careers to make p…
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The Mentor's Role for Apprentice Success | Kurt Jacobsen
54:11
54:11
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54:11Join Tattoo Tips Tuesday for FREE! https://www.firesidetattoo.com/tattoo-library/tattoo-tips-tuesday~29102 Tattoo Apprentice's Toolkit https://explore.firesidetattoo.com/tattoo-apprentices-toolkit Tattooers Toolkit https://explore.firesidetattoo.com/tattooers-toolkit The current landscape of tattooing is inundated with a surge of new and untrained …
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Ahoy Wealth! Tattoo Pirates Hoisting the Flag of Financial Freedom | Ryan Roi | EP 276
1:06:29
1:06:29
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1:06:29Check out the Deep Dive Page on Firesidetattoo.com: https://www.firesidetattoo.com/tattoo-library/ahoy-wealth-tattoo-pirates-hoisting-the-flag-of-financial-freedom-ryan-roi-ep-276~29185 In the dynamic world of tattooing and artistry, financial literacy is often overlooked. And while being a pirate is all well and good, hoarding your cash in a box u…
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What Makes a Great Tattoo Apprenticeship? | Tim O'Connor | Ep 275
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1:12:16Join us in the Inside Fireside Tattoo Club https://explore.firesidetattoo.com/inside-fireside Apprenticeships are a hot topic in the tattoo industry, often emphasized for aspiring artists. While many have valuable insights into this process, there's a facet that tends to fly under the radar but holds significant weight – mentorship. Strangely, it's…
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Trials of a Tatttoo Machine Builder| Neuma 5 With Carson Hill
47:40
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47:40Check out the full Deep Dive page for this episode at: https://www.firesidetattoo.com/tattoo-library/trials-of-a-tattoo-machine-builder-neuma-5-with-carson-hill-ep-274~29180 Carson Hill is a real pioneer in tattoo machine technology. Since he has turned his attention to pen style rotary tattoo machines, and we are all better because of it. In today…
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Translating Graffiti Writing To Tattoo Composition | King Ruck
54:11
54:11
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54:11Check out the Deep Dive Page on Firesidetattoo.com: https://www.firesidetattoo.com/tattoo-library/from-bad-apple-to-tattoo-royalty-king-ruck-ep-274~29179 [09:57] “I would Just grab a marker, and start drawing on someone. Being a graffiti artist and a heavy visual illustrator, it just made it real easy for me to do that” — King Ruck Tattooing on ski…
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Creatures, Acrylics and Pop-Ups?! Oh My! | Tom Strom & Jackee Sandelands
55:10
55:10
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55:10Can't get enough Fireside? Take it to the next level. Join the Inside Fireside Tattoo Club https://explore.firesidetattoo.com/inside-fireside and Tattoo Tips Tuesday https://www.firesidetattoo.com/tattoo-library/tattoo-tips-tuesday Huge thanks to Tom Strom and Jackee Sandelands for taking the time to share their art brains with us. You can keep up …
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Tattooing Through a Painter's Eye | Chris Dingwell EP 271
1:22:46
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1:22:46Chris Dingwell has been tattooing a long time. Chris Dingwell has been painting a long time. In today's episode, we sit down with Chris to discuss his approach to tattooing and how painting and other fine art mediums have molded him into the tattooer he is today. Enjoy! Join Chris at the Paradise Tattoo Gathering October 12-15, 2023! https://tattoo…
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Are Tattooers Losing Control of Tattooing? | Carson Hill
45:41
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45:41Tattooing has obviously been through an incredible period of growth over the last couple of decades. But at what cost? As large corporations and investment groups buy their way into our industry and gain influence, the tattooers, artists and innovators who contributed so much to this craft get swallowed up or drowned out. In today's episode, we sit…
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Tattooing Through the Decades | JD Crowe | EP 269
53:20
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Is it Worth the Trade-off? Coil Tattoo Machine Talk with BJ Johnson (Soba One) | EP 268
43:47
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43:47See You at the Paradise Tattoo Gathering. Sign up below https://tattoogathering.com/ Join us in the Inside Fireside Tattoo Club https://explore.firesidetattoo.com/inside-fireside The rotary machine craze came fast. In fact, if you began tattooing in the last 10 years, there is a good chance you have never used a coil machine at all. In today's epis…
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The Cartridge Dilemma | Cooper | EP 267
1:10:38
1:10:38
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1:10:38Join us in the Inside Fireside Tattoo Club https://explore.firesidetattoo.com/inside-fireside Join Cooper and Jake at the Paradise Tattoo Gathering this October 12-15th https://tattoogathering.com/ In this episode, Back for round 3, we have Cooper! This time Jake and Coop take a deep dive into the technology side of things. They discuss how tattoo …
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Tattooing with Purpose Pt 2 |Patrick Paul O'Neil
53:13
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53:13Today we continue the conversation with Patrick O'Neil. If you haven't listened to part 1 of this interview, make sure to do that first.By Jake Meeks
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Tattooing With Purpose | Patrick Paul O'Neil (Pt 1)
1:05:24
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1:05:24Purpose, purposeful, intentional. These seem to be good descriptors for Patrick Paul O'Neil. Patrick is tattooing beautiful, large scale illustrative designs that are carefully thought out and fit the client perfectly. In today's episode, Patrick shares his tattoo experiences and how they helped to form his approach to his own work. This is the fir…
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Tattoo Like a Painter | James Hall | EP 265
1:03:49
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1:03:49The traditional tattoo approach of lining, shading and coloring (in that order) never appealed much to James Hall (or Jake for that matter). James has spent the majority of his tattoo career moonlighting as an oil painter and it definitely comes across in his tattoo work. In today’s episode we talk about the value of working in other mediums, James…
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REGULATORS...Tat Em! | Tattoo Regulations with Ben Shaw
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34:15We have all heard about new tattoo regulations coming down the pipeline. It's no longer a matter of if but when these new laws will affect tattooer's day to day lives. With this in mind, it's important to adopt a mindset that views these upcoming changes as opportunities for improvement and potential breakthroughs rather than the more common fear b…
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Community Growth And Abundance Mindset | Russ Abbott | EP 263
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36:52Russ Abbott is a true innovator in tattooing. He is always looking for a way to find creative solutions to challenges in our craft. Todays, episode was really not intended to be an episode at all. It was a simple "catch up" call between Russ and Jake that they decided to record. After the call, we immediately knew that the topics discussed and opin…
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Power Supplies and Needle Depth | Aaron Williams | EP 262
1:13:12
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1:13:12Sharpen your pencils and get ready for this deep dive into tattoo gear and technology with Aaron Williams of Tattcom Keep up with Aaron and Tattcom at www.tattcom.us Support us while buying the stuff you need at the links below! Get 10% off the Neuma 4 with code "Fireside" at checkout https://neumatattoo.com Get 10 % off all S8 Tattoo products with…
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3D Modeling for Realistic Tattooing
1:03:11
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1:03:11Javi Antunez @Javi_TattooedTheory specializes in beautifully rendered illustrative realism in tattooing. He is very well versed in ZBrush and other 3D modeling software and often uses these methods in his tattoo design. In today's episode, we take a deep dive into Javi's tattoo design and thought processes. We discuss tips mixing color accents in b…
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Smashing Mags | Mattlock Lopes | EP 260
1:00:37
1:00:37
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1:00:37This week we welcome Mattlock Lopes to the show. out of @inkredible_Tattoo_vb We cover a ton of topics in this episode that will surely be of interest to tattooers of all levels.By Jake Meeks
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Pioneering Color Realism | Nikko Hurtado | EP 259
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44:54Nikko Hurtado’s impact on tattooing over the last 15-20 years has been pretty extraordinary. In today’s episode, Nikko sit’s down with Jake to discuss his journey, his approach to color realism, his current relationship with tattooing, and much more. We want to give a special thanks to Jagermeister for arranging this interview! Enjoy! Learn more ab…
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Today's episode is all about the art of printing. As tattooers, we often print stickers, shirts, flash and fine art to sell at tattoo conventions, our shops and online. So we sat down with our friend Jason Leeser to pick his brain on everything we should consider when making or ordering prints. Here are links to some of Jason's favorite printing su…
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Why should we care about torque when it comes to Rotary Tattoo Machines (aka Tat Guns)? Well, today we welcome Carson Hill of Neuma Tattoo back to the show to talk about the role that torque plays in rotary machines. I hope you get some value from this episode. Thanks
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Launching Your First NFT for Tattoo Artists Pt 3
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27:35In this 3rd and final episode of our Tattooing and NFT series, we dive deeper into the various NFt marketplaces and talk about the moving parts of both launching and buying NFTs. Thanks again to our guests Jason So, Jesse Smith, Frank La Natra and Nick Baxter for sharing their knowledge.
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Today we continue our discussion on NFT technology and what it might mean to tattooers. We will dive a little deeper into utility, generative art and some of the problems with NFTs
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We tattoo artists have all been hearing about NFT, blockchain, crypto and metaverses lately. Every time I turn around, it seems someone I follow is dropping their latest NFT. So, I thought we would put together a series with some of our favorite artists who have some experience in the space.
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Plein Air Painting with Pumas! | Renee Little | EP 256
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46:43Our final show from the ParadiseBYOB is also our final show of 2021. We sat down with the incredibly talented artist, Renee Little for a super fun conversation about everything from tattoo cover-ups and building tattoo reference libraries to the dangers of painting with pumas! This is a really entertaining episode, we hope you enjoy it! Thanks for …
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Nick Mitchell Wants To Mess Your Face Up! | EP 255
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36:36This was a super fun conversation with the incredibly talented, Nick Mitchell (@nickmitchellhatesyou). We sat down with Nick at the recent ParadiseBYOB in Jiminy Peak, MA and discussed all things caricature, tattoo and zombie...how could this one not be interesting? Points for naming the tattooers Nick zombified in this episode. We know you'll get …
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2021: A Space Tattoo Odyssey with Haley Adams | EP 254
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43:47
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43:47We had such a great conversation with Castro Tattoo owner, podcaster, seminar presenter and bad ass tattooer, Haley Adams, who quickly became one of our favorite new friends we met at the recent ParadiseBYOB. We wind through a number of interesting topics in this one so sit back and enjoy! Like and comment below, let Haley know who she needs to hav…
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Invent Your Own Inspiration! | Jesse Smith | EP 253
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44:08We're back to one of our favorite series with one of our favorite artists, Jesse Smith! We filmed this after the recent Paradise BYOB, where Jesse gave his latest seminar (available at https://reinventingthetattoo.com/fireside if you want to check that out). We sit down and talk all about Jesse's history, process and brilliant creation, Carkayous! …
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Large Scale Like A Champion | Andy Chambers | EP 252
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1:17:38Our latest in the Illustrative Artist Series features one of our favorite tattooers, Andy Chambers! There is a ton of great info in this episode. We hope you enjoy it and pull some knowledge from Andy's process! Let us know your experiences and who some of your favorite illustrative artists are in the comments! Support us while buying the stuff you…
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Can a Rotary Feel Like a Coil? | Carson Hill | EP 251
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52:14Carson Hill from Neuma Tattoo Machines returns! Put your thinking caps back on, its time for a little bit of a deep dive into the differences between rotary and coil machines and if you can bridge the gap! Ever think about machine center of mass, stroke profiles? We do in this episode! This is the first of a few talks we have planned with Carson so…
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3 Days to Smarter Tattooing...hint, it's a process! | Cooper | EP 250
1:08:13
1:08:13
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1:08:13We are really enjoying this illustrative series and hope that you are too! Today we have a real treat with some great knowledge drops from killer artist and good buddy of mine, Cooper. Coop is very much about his process, he's very thoughtful, plans very thoroughly and is extremely process oriented. So, if you're curious about how really high level…
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Creating Memorable Narratives | Adam Shaw | EP 249
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48:45Adam Shaw is not only an award-winning painter, illustrator, and comic creator; he's also a long-time friend of the show and even longer-time friend of Jakes. There are tons and tons of nuggets in this episode, too many links and tips to list, but we hope/know you'll enjoy watching this episode! We hope you enjoy and remember to like, comment, shar…
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Keeping Recurring Themes Fresh | Rich Wren | EP 248
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46:59Continuing our Illustrative Tattooing Series this week we talk with one of our favorite and certainly one of the most prolific tattooers, Rich Wren. Rich puts out a lot of great work and always finds ways to keep his subject matter fresh and engaging. There are tons of nuggets and interesting stories in this one, we think you'll enjoy it! Let us kn…
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Finding the Right Clients | Teresa Sharpe | EP 247
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46:37Teresa Sharpe has changed the client relationship fundamentally. Instead of working with clients to bring their ideas to the skin, Teresa creates her own narratives and finds the right client to bring her ideas to life. When we first listed out artists we would like to interview for this Illustrative Tattooing Series, Teresa was at the top of the l…
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Innovative and Original Illustrative Tattooing | Nick Baxter | EP 246
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39:51We are excited to bring you this new series of interviews focused on Visual Storytelling. We have assembled some of the best illustrative tattooers we know to share their ideas and processes for creating incredible illustrative style tattoos. We are kicking off the series with one of the pioneers of modern, art-focused tattooing, our friend Nick Ba…
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