York tattoo convention 2017!
This year we had the fab opportunity to travel to York for the York international tattoo convention!
The weekend started off with us driving down (and getting lost on the way might I add.) for the first day of tattooing! When we arrived at the convention we could already tell it was going to be a busy day, With hundreds of tattooists from all over the place gathering together for this one event! There weren't just tattooists however, There were a variety of other stalls, from clothes to moonshine, you name it! The first task of the day was setting up the temporary studio so that we could get started on the busy day ahead!
Once we had everything set up it was time to wait for Beth's first customer. The first tattoo of the day was a lovely realistic heart on Sue's chest. The pressure was real as Beth timed herself to get it finished in time to enter into the 'Best of the Day' competition! Once it was finished, Sue had to step up on stage to be judged by the tough eyes of the judges! Luckily they loved what they saw and were full of compliments for Beth's work! Unfortunately we didn't win but it was certainly a great experience!
The next tattoo of the day was on Sue's Husband Kieran, it was a fab little tattoo of Boba Fett! Kieran sat like a champ for this and this took us up until nearly the end of the first day!
After both tattoos were done and we were tidied up it was time for a little wander round to see what other competitors and tattooists were doing and just to have a look at the other stalls! There were a few live entertainment acts on throughout the day, such as male burlesque and a swing band! Luckily enough just as Beth was finished tattooing we were just in time to see a live suspension take place. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's a form of body modification, where hooks are placed through the skin of the back or other areas, and are then suspended from them.
Second Day:
The second day started off with us making our way back to the convention, which was certainly a lot easier to find this time! When we arrived we set up our station again and waited for the first customer to arrive which was Lance, getting a large Japanese Hannya mask on his back. The stress levels were high this day due to being pushed for time in order to get the tattoo finished in time to enter into the 'oriental' category! The convention was a lot busier on the second day and there were a lot more contestants going head to head in the competitions! 5 Hours passed of Beth hard at work and it was finally finished! We entered it into the oriental category and the judges again loved the tattoo, and were amazed at how well Beth had managed to work the colours in, in such a short space of time! Unfortunately It wasn't the winning piece, but that didn't matter. It was an amazing experience and we met some great people along the way!
Bring on York tattoo convention 2018!!
