{"id":40978,"date":"2017-12-11T11:21:29","date_gmt":"2017-12-11T11:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=40978"},"modified":"2017-12-11T11:21:29","modified_gmt":"2017-12-11T11:21:29","slug":"in-depth-ink-individuality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2017\/12\/11\/in-depth-ink-individuality\/","title":{"rendered":"In depth: Ink individuality"},"content":{"rendered":"

The tattoo industry in Cardiff is booming, but are there surprising reasons for going under the gun?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Naohoa Luxury Bespoke Tattoos is not your typical Cardiff tattoo parlour.<\/p>\n

The minimalistic d\u00e9cor which is matched with colouring books and potpourri, contrasts the generically gothic atmosphere another Cardiff tattoo parlour, Physical Graffiti<\/a>.\u00a0Newly opened Valkyrie tattoo parlour <\/a>also depicts your usual tattoo shop to some extent, with remarkable yet gloomy art work decorating the walls.<\/p>\n

More people are choosing to go under the gun, with Cardiff now having over 48 tattoo parlours, compared to just 3 in 1994.\u00a0The pressure for tattoos to be more individual is increasing, as too many people are having similar designs. Every scratch of a tattoo has a story, but how unique is our ink today?<\/p>\n

Paramedical cosmetic tattoo artist, Rachel Kennedy<\/a>, started tattooing nipples on breast cancer victims to help bring back their confidence, which leads in to question other surprising reasons for people to get inked.<\/p>\n

Reasons to get inked up<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

While it is already known that many people dedicate their tattoos to lost loved ones, there are also surprising reasons too.<\/p>\n

Valkyrie\u2019s resident, Justin Oldham says he has seen one of the biggest responses from communities getting bee tattoos in support of the Manchester bombing victims.\u00a0\u201cI actually went up to Manchester to tattoo at the event, he says, \u201cI tattooed bees for the terror attack and ended up getting one for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naomi Hoang, of Naohoa Luxury Bespoke Tattoos<\/a> was the only tattooist who tattooed bees on people in Cardiff itself. \u201cI had a call from someone living in Cardiff who was from Manchester who made a very passionate plea on the phone to me,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

Naomi offered the tattoo for a few weeks but says it was one of the biggest reasons to get a tattoo that she has recently seen. \u201cIt does seem that trauma is the main to stem for getting tattoos,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

Even though these thoughts were echoed by Physical Graffiti owner, Chris Jones, he also argues that a lot of it was because of social media and people wanting likes on their page.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m going to do this for charity,\u2019 he cries, “And everyone is like, \u2018You are amazing! Like like like\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Shockingly, lot of tattoo artists are asked to cover up caesarean scars. Justin recalled a specific client, whose scar was so bad the skin had fused onto the muscle. \u201cIt was quite interesting to do,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Even though she has not tattooed any caesarean cover ups herself, Naomi has been asked for a few, but they have always fallen through.<\/p>\n

Yet she also makes the remark that she does not find these reasons particularly surprising.<\/p>\n

What she does finds interesting is covering up names: \u201cCovering up exes names! That\u2019s always the big thing,\u201d she says, excitedly.<\/p>\n

The artists also argue that patriotism is a reason to get a tattoo in Cardiff.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve done a lot of red flags, and leeks on people,\u201d Chris explains, but he always thinks that people get Welsh tattoos because they do not know what else to get.<\/p>\n

Justin, who’s studio has just moved to a bigger location<\/a> feels that it was more fashionable 10 years ago but that he stills get clients wanting a Welsh tattoo whereas Naomi believes daffodils and dragons are aesthetically pleasing anyway.<\/p>\n