Category: Travel

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Catching up with tattoo artist Mimi-Sama

When we first spoke to Anna “Mimi-Sama” back in 2018 she was a travelling tattooer beginning to specialise in manga tattoos. Since then she’s settled at Black Serum Tattoo in San Francisco and has become even more sought after for her blackwork and manga style. We caught up with Anna to chat all things tattooing the pandemic and what’s changed in the past four years…

When we last spoke to you you were a travelling artist has this changed? Indeed, it has changed as I settled in San Francisco in July last year. Before that I was in Montreal for just over a year. Of course, the pandemic had a big influence on me as travelling has been very complicated. So I took this opportunity to settle and find new exciting work opportunities. Later in 2022 I will travel again within the US as I’ll be at lots of conventions and guest spots.

What was it about the city that made you want to settle there? I chose San Francisco for several reasons. Firstly I met Brucius Xylander, the owner of Black Serum Tattoo a few years ago. I really liked his way of thinking and I loved the shop he had built. The second reason is the city itself. It’s a vibrant and cultural city, where a lot of our modern era changes come from. The weather is great, the people are nice and the city and surroundings are beautiful.

What’s the studio like? The studio is bigger than when I visited it a few years ago, but it has kept the art at the heart of everything. Brucius keeps his place entertaining and inspiring for the people who visit it with an array of art and craft objects. But what I really like the most is the opportunity I have to meet great artists from everywhere. Every month, we have artists from Asia, Europe and other places in the US visiting us, it’s a wonderful place of artistic exchanges.

While you were still a travelling artist was there a place that stood out to you? I worked for almost a year in Tokyo in 2019 in the Ichi Tattoo studio. Living and working there has definitely had a big influence on me. I was thrilled that I got to live amongst Japanese pop culture and it gave me more confidence about my own style and art. It was a special time in my life and for my family who were there with me.

Tattooers and tattoos aren’t very welcome in Japanese society, so I was very lucky to have the chance to tattoo there in one of the best shops in the city. It was definitely helped me to develop my technique and art.

How has the pandemic affected you? How have you found the lockdowns, did that have an affect on your creativity? Yes, of course, it’s had an impact on my work. First of all, I had a lot of tattoo conventions planned. When they were cancelled it was a huge financial loss as the reimbursement has been very difficult. We have to be empathetic though as everyone has suffered, but yeah it has been quite difficult at times. In addition, the studio I was working at had to close for several months. But, I don’t want to complain as it was the same for everyone! 

When it comes to my creativity, I think it was positive in the end. I am a workaholic and I don’t take as much time as I would like to for other things beside tattooing. So the lockdowns were a good opportunity to spend more time with my family, do more research about Japanese art (my biggest inspiration) and of course read mangas and watch anime!

Since we last chatted has your style changed? Would you say you’ve grown as an artist? Yes I do! Having a change of environment and perhaps moving a little bit less made me focus more on my technique. I can say that I have reached a higher level in terms of blackwork techniques, such as whipping and dotting. I have really progressed in the use of different textures and the management of light contrast.

Also I changed some of the tools I work with (my machine and needles) and I am now able to work with thinner needles with a great effect, even after healing (like in this Totoro tattoo).

You’re known for your manga tattoos, is there any character or film you haven’t tattooed yet and would like to? I would like to do some Gunnm tattoo projects. It is the manga that I started with as a teenager and I haven’t had the opportunity to tattoo it yet. But I am quite happy about the diversity of projects that I have, even if I would love to tattoo more of Dorohedoro manga, as it is a good match with my style!

Do you see yourself moving away from this style? Does it still excite you? It still excites me for sure. I am trying to put more of my own style into my creations. That’s why I came up with my concept of Mangala which is mix of manga and mandala. I really like the graphic blackwork and I really want to pursue this style alongside my love of manga. I really believe it’s a great combination and makes for unique tattoo pieces.

Can you tell us about your own tattoos: when did you get your first one, do you still love it and do you have a favourite tattoo? Similar to lots of other tattooers, my first one is far from being my best. But I still love it as it is a part of my personal journey. My favourite one is a rabbit made by one of my great friends Mademoiselle Hirondelle.

This tattoo tells a very personal story and she took the time to listen and draw something that incorporates that. The whole process has been very cathartic for me and it’s definitely an important moment in my life and on my skin.

With that tattoo in mind do you think all tattoos have to have meaning? Not at all! Just get a tattoo because it is fun! When you try to put too much emotion and meaning behind a tattoo, it can easily fade away before the tattoo itself! Of course, it’s not always the case, but I see it happen from time to time. In life and in my work I like to keep positive and fun, so I always advise people to have a positive feeling when it comes to their tattoo project.

We spoke before about motherhood and tattooing, what does your little one think of your job and tattoos? She is 4 years old now, but I don’t think she sees my work differently from other people’s work. For her, the main thing is mommy leaves in the morning and comes back in the evening.

She may be more interested in the temporary tattoos you find in candies than other kids but that’s it! She had a phase where she liked to draw on herself but it passed.

Make sure to follow Mimi-Sama on Instagram for more manga and blackwork tattoos.

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Interview with tattoo artist Sonia Cash

If you love traditional tattoos and pinups Sonia is the tattooer for you. Sonia Cash works at Berlin Ink in Berlin, in this interview we discover where her love for tattooing started…

How long have you been tattooing? I’ve been tattooing for eight years now. From time to time I take a break for a few months to gather new motivation and inspiration. I don’t like it when my work gets too monotonous.

What drew you to the tattoo world and how did you get into it? I have roots in the subculture of punk, hardcore and psychobilly. 20 years ago most tattooed people came from there. That’s why tattoos have always had a big part in my life. I always thought they were very beautiful, cool and outstanding. Also because tattoos weren’t for fashion and more about making a statement.

I got my first tattoo when I was 15 and I totally fell in love with this kind of art. Then I started to get tattooed more and get to know more people from the industry, which was very small and snobby back then in Israel. After some years I decided to follow my dream and with help from my tattooer friends I started to learn tattooing – that’s how I became a tattooer. Since I was young I’ve loved art and I always dreamt of having a job where I could share my art and make people feel pretty.

What inspires your work and how would you describe your style? I get inspired a lot by vintage photography, pinup drawings, athletes, body positivity and other tattooers like; Angelique Houtkamp, Paul Dobleman, Marie Sena, Jessica O, Olivia Olivier, Matthew Huston, Andrea Giulimondi and many many more!

What do you love to tattoo and what would you like to do more of? I love to tattoo lady faces, tattooed and non-tattooed pinups in different positions and flowers. I’m always happy to do more and more of them.

Where do you see your art in the future? On people all around the world and also in their houses or work places.

How has the pandemic affected you and your tattooing? The COVID-19 situation affected me in good ways and bad. Good because I became more creative and fell in love with drawing again. Also good because it made me accept a lot of situations that are not under my control. It has been bad because I can’t travel as much to see my family, friends and clients in Israel like I did last year.

Follow Sonia on Instagram for more traditional style tattoos.

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Interview with tattooist Pasha Et

A tattoo artist for 6 years, Pasha Et (Pavlo Kurylo) creates beautiful black and grey realism tattoos in Ukraine. We chatted to Pasha about the inspiration behind his pieces...

How long have you been tattooing and how did you get into the industry? I wanted to be a tattoo artist when I was 18. I found some videos about tattoos and decided that I could do it too. I’ve always liked tattoos and at 19 I bought all the necessary equipment and made my first tattoo, that was back in 2015.

What does tattooing mean to you? For me, tattoos are style, beauty, and self-expression. To be a tattoo artist is to give these things to other people. I enjoy the process of creating a cool tattoo, so after the tattoo is finished, my client will also enjoy their tattoo for life.

How would you describe the tattoo scene in the Ukraine and Belgium? If we’re talking about tattoo artists, then every country has some very cool but also bad tattoo artists. It seems to me to be about the same, there’s a balance.

If we talk about clients then the difference is really big. In Ukraine tattooing is still developing. Basically people aged 20-35 want to get a tattoo, but many of them are still students and can’t afford a quality tattoo. Most people over the age of 40 don’t understand tattoos or tattooing, they don’t see it as art.

Of course, there are exceptions, but it’s mostly like that. But in Belgium, clients consciously approach tattooing, they’re smart with their choice of tattoo and tattoo artist.

How would you describe your style? I work in the realism style with the technique of “whip shading”. I really like how tattoos look in this technique. I work mostly with small portraits (usually celebrities) and various sculptures or statues.

What’s the process behind your tattoos? How long does a typical tattoo take? It starts with the client sending me an example of what they would like, then we meet for a consultation and discuss all the details. Then we create a sketch in Photoshop (this is usually a collage of several pictures), if necessary, I finish sketching by hand. The next step is to determine the size and try a sketch on the part of the body they want tattooing. Once this is ok we agree on the date and time of the session.

Usually portraits take 4-6 hours. If they’re quite large portraits, about 20cm in length without additional details and heavy elements I can do them in one session (5-7 hours). If a portrait has lots of details, it can take 2-3 sessions each one being about 5-6 hours, but it all depends on how detailed and complex the design is.

Where do you get your inspiration? I am inspired by so many things. I’m mostly inspired by people in other creative professions, those who work hard on themselves and succeed in their field and beyond. It could be a tattoo artist, graffiti artist, a photographer or musician – anyone creative.

What do you love to tattoo and what would you like to do more of? Generally, I like to do realism by using photos. I would like to make even more portraits, especially shots from movies.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your tattooing? I’ve had more time to develop and improve my style, but I think COVID has had the biggest impact on my trips to other countries to either work or go to tattoo festivals. Unfortunately, until the situation around the world improves it will be very difficult to move. But someday it will all end and tattoo artists will be able to travel and make people happy with their tattoos again.

Be sure to follow Pasha on Instagram for more awesome realism tattoos.

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Getaway car: getting to know Stella Vlad

As I have mentioned before, I am a creature of habit. But some habits have inevitably been shattered. What I love the most about New York City is its ability to be a port in a storm; in a life that constantly hits unexpected turbulence, I remember the persistence of places in the city to shelter. Think of tattooing that way: they are moments, snapshots, and lyrics on your body, in a way that you have wanted; not something you passively accept as your fate, but an alteration that you know will also alter the way you see yourself. In that I’ve seen tattooing as my own armour, places where skin has been thickened by ink and scarred tissue is more resistant than what inflames in the sunlight.

Not all tattoos have the meaningful, weighty significance that the general public seems to ascribe to them. We’ve all been asked, “what does this tattoo mean to you?” – and for some of us, they do, in their own way, have meaning. But the process, the artist, and the location can have a much more significant impact on the duration and approach one has to their inked skin once it’s over. After a long and difficult winter, I retreated along the banks of the Hudson River, where world-renowned Patrick Conlon opened his own shop, Speakeasy, at the heart of the gorgeous town of Peekskill, about an hour north of New York. There, a bright, large, airy space covered in murals – including a spot featuring a starry night sky – he hired local artists and talents, gave them jobs, and collected an eclectic, both traditional and modern, group of artists, who in turn elected a queen – Stella Vlad.

Having been tattooed by Patrick several times before, and having taken days to go to Peekskill, enjoy its brewery, coffee shop, and small bookstores, I had seen Stella but never dared to approach her before. It’s a shame, as she is one of the nicest, kindest, and funniest people in this community – someone who is the embodiment of open arms and hospitality. I came with baggage, yet it didn’t matter. I was starting work on my stomach, a body part that causes me anxiety, and at no point was it a problem to accommodate the hills and dips of my body, its swollen curves or the ridges of a ribcage. Stella and I discussed what is a simple script – but one that encompasses my life as a whole – for a while, pondering flourishes, weighing sizes. Every single moment comforted me in knowing I would have the tattoo that I wanted, and as time passed, the little apprehension I still had about a difficult body part disappeared. At each step of the way, Stella explained what she was doing, when and how I should breathe, and in what felt like the blink of an eye, it was over.

Of course, I wasn’t the first client of hers to suffer from anxiety and body dysmorphia. It very much, in facts, pales in comparison to clients who identify as trans or who have been through major surgery, whether wanted or required. And so, Stella’s vision and placement suggestions were informed by an intimate knowledge of the various stages of an individual’s journey and the power of identity, how it can be a tool of suffering or one of empowerment. Her comfort within the shop is also a testament to the work Speakeasy brought to downstate New York: an inclusive, non-discriminating, and welcoming place for people of all walks of life, regardless of their class, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation. Speakeasy maintained a traditional vision of the art of tattooing by allowing modern and realistic creation, and provides a space in which a new generation can work, evolve and experiment safely. For clients, a place such as this one, close to the homiest coffee shop found outside Scandinavia, where other local business owners come say hi, and residents say hello, feels a million miles away from the busy rattle and hum of New York City. Being tattooed by Stella Vlad felt like a privileged moment.

Being an exile has defined my entire life. I had to cross a border into a civil war as a child, I found a home away from home as a late teen, and it wasn’t until very recently that I planted roots – roots I will leave to return to where I come from. The Menzingers’ new album contains themes of forced travel, solitude on deserted islands and the gaping void of separation, but by welcoming it, by accepting it as a fact of life, it had entered my body before Stella tattooed it on me. Every sensation was acknowledged and accounted for; her wonderful fiancé Emily being present added to the sentiment of being welcomed into a fold. I had known Patrick when he worked at Graceland in the early 2010s, and had followed him up on the Metro North. Sometimes it is necessary to be a little far away to appreciate what remains present, in your mind, in your heart, and in this case on your stomach, regardless of distance.

Stella Vlad grew up a punk kid and remained one, playing in a band, listening to music that reminds me of my own high school years, but offers wisdom beyond that – an intuition, that one can only presume has come from travelling through certain paths to find an understanding of the relationship with our bodies. The way our mind sees them, how we want them altered, and that carefully crafted art can inspire change. As the tattoo heals, I will be in three different countries on two different continents, and the sentiment of exile will perdure, but I grow up and create new habits, new locals, and new mindsets. Stella is capable of accommodating an extremely wide range of styles, and I saw on her next client, how the tattoo fits them and every part of what had been done previously showed experience. A well trodden path can sometimes be as exciting and as powerful as exiting a comfort zone. If the saying is true, and what we create can save us – then Stella Vlad added a few months to my life line.

Sarah’s ‘hello exiles’ tattoo by Stella Vlad

Sarah Kay is a very, very tattooed international human rights lawyer living between Paris and New York. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Sarah has kept its taste for cold rain and the rewards that come from sitting still under pressure. You’ll probably find her in London drinking wine.

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Tattoo Street Style by Alice Snape

Our editor Alice Snape’s Tattoo Street Style book came out last year. It features more than 400 original portraits in cities from London and Brighton to LA and NYC, and a directory of studios in each city, a guide to tattoo styles and a personal foreword from tattoo artist Cally-Jo. Here’s a peek inside, and the reasons why Alice wrote the book.

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Derryth Ridge, spotted in Brighton. Photo by Heather Shuker

I’ve always been fascinated by people and enjoyed glimpsing them from afar, and spying what they’re up to. When I travel to a new city, my favourite thing to do is find a little café and sit sipping a cup of coffee, watching the world go by. I love looking what someone has chosen to wear or their hair colour, wondering why I might be drawn to that person’s particular style, the way they walk or hold themselves. I make up little stories about them in my mind – perhaps they are on their way to a meeting, to call on a friend, to hang out at the park or to go to work? This fascination is why I fell in love with street style photography. I love that it captures a moment, a city, a person at that exact point in time. Street-style photos tell a story – tiny but complete – of a place and the people in it.

Manni Kalsi, spotted in London. Photo by Heather Shuker
Manni Kalsi, spotted in London.
Photo by Heather Shuker

What I have loved about writing this book is not only capturing a sense of each city, but working with different photographers in each location, whom we briefed to capture their city through their own lens. The result doesn’t just provide a snapshot, it communicates a particular vision, with each photographer contributing his or her own unique style and interpretation of what ‘street style’ looks like.

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Simone Thompson, spotted in New York. Photo by Elena Mudd

Alongside the imagery, I have loved delving further into what motivates each of those people and gathering snippets of their life stories. This volume of Tattoo Street Style allows me to introduce you to some prominent figures in the tattoo world, such as Wendy Pham in Berlin and Angelique Houtkamp in Amsterdam. But we’ve also spoken with random inhabitants of the eight cities we have featured – people I never would have discovered if I hadn’t written this book. In my everyday life, I often wish I could stop someone in the street and find out more about them – this book has given me the chance to do just that. In London, businesswoman Sian Rusu shared that her tattoos make her feel “different – and difference is what makes us unique”. In contrast, Berlin’s stylist Flora Amelie talks honestly about sometimes questioning her decision to become heavily tattooed, a revelation you wouldn’t expect from someone who portrays such confidence.

Flora Amalie Pedersen spotted in Berlin. Photo by Lisa Jane
Flora Amalie Pedersen spotted in Berlin.
Photo by Lisa Jane

It has been a joy to curate this compendium of tattoos and fashion in eight of my favourite places around the world, cities I have lived in, loved spending time in and dream of returning to. I love that it will immortalise this period in time. I love that one day, someone will look at it as a historical document, in the way that I have looked at old photos of tattooed women from the 1940s. What feels so thoughtfully current now as you flick through the pages will one day be but a memory of our own moment in time.

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Cally-Jo, spotted in Brighton. Photo by Heather Shuker

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In all good bookshops and available to order online here