One year in the Things&Ink world – 2014, some highlights

A year in the Things&Ink world – 2014, some highlights

The first issue of 2014, was The Modification Issue, issue 6 of Things&Ink. And we shot our amazing cover with space elf Grace Neutral in January 2014 at the London Film Museum. The magazine was released at Brighton Tattoo Convention in February 2014.

Here’s some behind the scenes footage of the shoot, which really gives a feel of how impressive the photo shoot venue was and how beautiful Grace is. 

The Modification Issue also featured one of our most moving shoots to date. Therapist and model Laurence Moniasse tells the story of her tattoos and scarification, and how they link to her past and her family. During the emotionally charged photo shoot where old family photos were projected onto the background, Laurence shed tears as she remembered her grandmother. It was a beautiful moment and a stunning editorial feature.

In February 2014, our most popular blog posts were: SHORT FRENCH FILM REVERSING GENDER ROLES and CELEBS WITH TATTOOS #SHOPPEDTATTOOS

Issue 7, The Identity Issue, was launched in May 2014, and starred Wendy Pham on what is – surprisingly – our most controversial cover to date. She looks strong and powerful in the image we chose for the cover, however some readers commented that it was too “sexual” and were shocked that it wasn’t a “typical” Things&Ink cover. We like to divide opinion, and get people talking. But it also reminded us that all our covers are collaborations between us and the artist who is featured – they choose how they are portrayed too. Their personality is represented and so is the ethos of Things&Ink… what do you think of the Wendy Pham cover? We would love to know.

Things and Ink identity Wendy Pham

In June 2014, our most popular blog posts were: WOMAN TRANSFORMS HER FACIAL SCARS WITH TATTOO INK and MUM TATTOOS HER 12 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER.

September 2014 saw the launch of The Illustration Issue, starring tattoo artist Danielle Rose. On the cover she becomes one with her artwork – the artist becomes artwork, the illustrator becomes the illustrated. This cover was one of our most collaborative and the results are simply breathtaking. This issue also marked a change in our identity, instead of our tagline: Embracing Female Tattoo Culture, it was Independent | Tattoo | Lifestyle that was printed underneath our logo on issue 8. We had occasionally been criticised for being a “female-only” magazine (which we actually never have been, we set up Things&Ink as way to portray art and not objectify the person wearing it), so we wanted to clear this up in our strapline and allow as many readers as possible to enjoy reading the magazine.

In September, we also celebrated our two-year birthday with a charity exhibition of post card sized artwork by over 100 of the world’s leading tattooists. The opening of ‘Miniature Ink’ was electric – readers even queued outside Atomica Gallery from 3pm in the afternoon (the exhibition opened at 6) to get their hands on a tiny piece of art. We were even lucky enough to get a special guest appearance from tattoo artist Cally-Jo and her friend, supermodel Cara Delevingne. The night was incredible and the exhibition ran throughout September and during the London Tattoo Convention, with all profits from sales going to the charity Sarcoma UK.

Supermodel Cara Delevingne, tattoo artist Cally-Jo and editor Alice Snape at the launch of the Miniature Ink exhibition

 

Editorial Assistant Rosalie and Editor Alice
Editorial Assistant Rosalie and Editor Alice at London Tattoo Convention September 2014 – we LOVE conventions and hope to do even more in 2015

 

Throughout September and October 2014, we also worked really hard on issue 9, as it was the last issue of the year, we wanted to do something extra special. S0 we created three extra special covers for you to choose from – including a woman, a man (for the first time ever) and a couple. Flo Nuttall, Brian Wilson, and Yann Brenyak and Delphine Noiztoy were all a pleasure to photograph and each of their personalties shines through.

 

2014 has been an incredible year for Things&Ink and we want to thank everyone who has made it possible: readers, writers, contributors, photographers…  – we are sure 2015 will be as full of surprises… we can’t wait to share it with you. What has been your highlight of 2014?

New Strapline – Independent | Tattoo | Lifestyle

If you haven’t already spotted it on the cover of Issue 8 – The Illustration Issue – we have changed our strapline. Independent, Tattoo, Lifestyle is our new ethos. And we hope it is a more inclusive one…

We didn’t set up the magazine to exclude men, and male tattoo artists, we want to remain all-compassing and reflect this in our marketing. The tagline ‘Embracing Female Tattoo Culture’ was set up to say: “we’re here to appreciate the art, not objectify the person wearing it.” It wasn’t ever really intended to say: “female only!”

We feature both men and women, and strive to produce content that can be enjoyed by all – gender is irrelevant. So the old strapline has served its purpose and it’s time to move on and continue to open our pages to men and women all over the world. We also wanted people to know that we are an independent magazine, unruled by the restraints of a publisher. The magazine is also much more than just a print magazine, it’s a lifestyle and a community.

What do you think? What do the new and old straplines say to you?

Check out our website at www.thingsandink.com.

Things&Ink covers

 

Issue #8 The Illustration Issue cover star revealed – tattoo artist Danielle Rose

The Illustration Issue Danielle Rose cover

 

Issue #8 The Illustration Issue cover star revealed. 

Tattoo artist Danielle Rose is the face of The Illustration Issue of Things&Ink. Danielle Rose is renowned for her dark and weeping ladies. With a colour palette of black and two accent colours, her work is instantly recognisable and highly sought after by many tattoo collectors. For The Illustration Issue cover, we’ve created something truly unique and special. We did a photo shoot with Danielle, and she illustrated over the top of the images. Then we morphed them into one, turning Danielle into an abstract work of art. The artist has become one with her work, the illustrator has become the illustrated…

Order your copy online now, from Newsstand or our website. Free p&p in the UK.

 

Photography & artwork
Josh Brandão
Illustrations
Danielle Rose
Hair & Makeup
Keely Reichardt
using MAC Cosmetics
Styling
Olivia Snape
Assisted by Nicola Cook
Location
BlitzWerk Studio