Eternal Ink...Berwick's Tattoo Studio

I've recently met & got talking with the young crew of Tattoo Artists at Eternal Ink, here in Berwick.
Donny, Brandon & Meg are all doing some really nice, tidy work & I was very impressed by them & the Studio.

The subject of Machines, building & their maintenance arose, so I was able to offer up & show them some "Old Timers" Tips & Tricks.

Whilst we were discussing all things Tattooing, it suddenly occurred to me just how "Old School" my ways of doing things have now become...
...although I'm still not really sure if that's a "good thing" or a "bad thing" for me to be..??

The "old fundamentals" that I'd struggled so hard to learn about & then openly taught to my apprentices, seem to now be something from a "bygone time"...
What I'm referring to are those very basics that every (Old) Tattoo Artist had to know if they wanted to work in a Studio.

• Making your own Needle patterns & then soldering them onto a Needle Bar correctly.
• Mixing your own Colors from raw pigment, then making the various shades & tones.
• Machine basics like tuning, repairs & building knowledge.

Now with everything being  pre-made, pre-mixed & openly available on the web for any newly aspiring "Wanna-be", I really wondered if anyone knew that old stuff any more??

So it was refreshing to hear that Donny, Brandon & Meg knew some of the old fundamentals & that they were eager to learn even more of them.


Speaking of "Old", it's been actually kind of strange-funny-odd for me to see all this current style of work that's being done & just how popular it is.
The reason it's so strange for me?...because I spent a large amount of my Tattoo years doing Cover Up's over that very same old stuff everyone is getting now..!
hmmm...wonder if the Tattoos I'd previously done back in the 80's & 90's are now having Cover Up's done because they're deemed "Not Old Enough"??

I guess that old saying must be true...
..."If you have or wear something for long enough, it'll come back into fashion"...