TIME FOR A TATTOO
Expo, which continues today, offers plenty of artists to choose from
SARATOGASPRINGS, N.Y.>> For the sixth straight year, Bill Lawyer and his brother, Jeff, are hosting the Saratoga Tattoo Expo this weekend at the City Center.
It costs $10 to get in for a day pass. It will be open from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. Sunday.
“It’s been a pleasure to come and work with the people here and everything seems to go good,” said Bill Lawyer.
When he’s not hosting the expo — which, depending on Easter, happens every spring — Bill runs a tattoo supply manufacturing company in Voorheesville.
“My grandfather started it,” said Lawyer. “His name was Huck Spaulding.”
Spaulding & Rogers Manufacturing has been around for 60 years now.
Lawyer said Saturday this
year’s event seems to be doing well.
“[ It’s a] little smoother now that we’ve done it for so many years,” said Lawyer. “I work with the same vendors for set up, tear down, building people.”
The $10 fee gets people in the door. Inside people find food, drinks, live music and, of course, tattoo artists.
“You can look at all the artists’ work and if you want to get tattooed by them then you will sit down and talk to them and tell you their own price,” said Lawyer.
The expo features about 100 booths this year, which Lawyer considers an average number.
The artists sometimes come from across the country to attend the expo.
“[ The furthest is probably] California,” said Law-
yer. “We have people from all over the U.S. I’ve had international artists here before.”
One artist, Ashley Bennett, appeared on season 4 of the TV show, “Ink Master.” Bennett tattooed a rose on Colleen Salisbury on Saturday afternoon.
Each day the expo gives out awards for six different categories. On Saturday, the categories were: chest piece (female), best collection (male), best collection (female), traditional, realism and tattoo of the day. The tattoo of the day has to be a tattoo that was started and finished at the expo.
Sunday’s schedule starts with free caricatures by Mark from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. There will be a Lenn Oddity slideshow at noon, followed by Halfmoon tribal belly dancers at 1 p.m. From 2 until 4 p.m., tattoo contests will take place followed by the reveal of the tattoo of the day winner at 6 p.m.