;@9C< K8KKFF@JKJ 8E; K?<@I ?LD8E :8EM8JJ<J
and have some white on top so it doesn’t look flat.
“I’ve spent so much time with John, he’s a friend to me now. Luckily my job as a fashion writer means I can do this – I’m not sure I could get away with it working in an office!”
Dream
Tattooist Pedro Mendonca is etching the phrase Self Made Established 1999 on the back of one man’s head.
Craig Kelly is one of just three Irish artists at the convention and has jetted in from Belfast for the weekend.
Fellow Belfast boy Aaron McCloskey, 19, has flown over to get further work on his leopard design done by Craig.
He says: “It’s worth the price of the flight to be here. We started the piece in Belfast and booking in here saved waiting over there.”
Bruno Santos and Isnard Barbosa are collaborating to give Emily Fleming, 23, from Dublin, her dream Native American design. Bruno says: “We will spend seven hours on this today – it’s just whether Emily can stand the pain for that long. But she’s doing really well so far.”
Emily adds: “I’ve been looking forward to getting this done for so long – I’m so happy it’s actually happening today.”
Tattooist Ryan ‘The Scientist’ Smith is etching a beautiful face design on the thigh of one woman.
Explaining his nickname, he says: “I used to be a music producer and I have a First Class Honours degree in sound engineering.
“So it refers to my approach to my work but also my background – I was the scientist of sound!”
London-girl Laura Snowling, 33, is having a griffin on her arm courtesy of Aimee Cornwell while Brighton lass Georgina Langford-Biss, 30, is having a huge chrysanthemum design on her back.
Among the other tattoo artists is Arron Raw, who has a detailed face inking on the side of his head.
Rachel Peppiatt is working with her husband Jack and the pair have travelled to London from Edinburgh.
She says: “Jack did most of the tattoos on my arm – I don’t get a discount though, can you believe it?”
Kris Wright, 32, from Romford, Essex, has been having tattoos for the past 16 years and admits he’s lost count of how many he has.
Painful
“The most painful was the five-eyed lion on the top of my head,” he says.
“I normally let the tattoo artist do whatever they want – I think you get the best out of them if they feel comfortable with what they are doing.
“I’ve never been unhappy with the result – I go to artists whose work I like, so it’s never a disappointment.”
Monami Frost, 23, who is originally from Latvia but now lives in Liverpool, has several striking tattoos on her face, including the word Devotion and a snowflake in white ink.
She says: “I’ve never had a negative reaction to my face tattoos – people are always interested and want to ask me about them.”