Several months ago I was contacted by Penguin Books out of the United Kingdom and they asked me join an international group of tattoo artists who have been designing tattoo-inspired covers for many of the more popular titles that they publish. What an honor! I was chosen to design a cover for "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby. These books are only available through the Amazon UK website for now.  You can see all of the books below and order yourself a copy of the whole set or pick and choose your favorites.

A guy named Jozef with a foreign accent similar to "Borat"  came by the shop a month ago looking to get his first tattoo. I was getting ready for an appointment but I took a minute to greet him and try to help him out. As it turns out, he was down to his last couple of weeks of being able to live in the United States on a work visa and he was going to be leaving the country soon.  He told me that he wanted to get a tattoo of the carving on Stone Mountain as a momento of his time living in Atlanta. Normally, my waiting list for new clients prevents me from taking on a spur of the moment project but I couldn't resist the opportunity to not only tattoo the carving but to put it on such a strange and interesting client. So I found a spot in my calendar a few days before he was planning to leave the country and set an appointment. 

Stone Mountain Park was a regular summer destination for me and my family. The mountain features the largest bas relief sculpture in the world. The scene depicts three Civil War Confederates on horseback including Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson. The carving measures 90 by 190 feet and is recessed 42 feet into the mountain.  If you're ever in Atlanta in the spring or summer, I highly recommend that you spend a day at the park and stick around for the laser show and fireworks after dark.

Jozef sent me this photo that was taken a few days before he set off on the next chapter of his life.  Thanks Jozef!

We are now accepting portfolio submissions for a rare opportunity to enter in to an apprenticeship under Russ Abbott. Ink & Dagger Tattoo is looking for an Atlanta area creative who dreams of becoming a tattoo artist. Great tattoo apprenticeships are hard to find and are rarely offered publicly so don't miss this chance of a lifetime.

APPLY NOW: Please submit the following materials by mail to Ink & Dagger Tattoo c/o apprenticeship 1036 West College Avenue Decatur, GA 30030 

1. Your resume

2. A 500 word personal essay. Tell us about yourself, why you think you would make a great tattoo artist, etc.

3. 15-20 samples of your drawings, paintings, sketches, and tattoo flash. No digital files please.  Print them out.

4. Several photos of you and your tattoo collection. (Having tattoos is a requirement).

 Please do not apply unless you are already deeply commited to creating artwork and collecting tattoos. 

We are expecting a huge number of submissions so please be patient and don't bug us. If you are selected as a finalist, you will be contacted for a series of personal interviews.  If you make it through the interviews and are selected for the apprenticeship, you will be required to pay a $2000 deposit up front that will cover the cost of your initial tattoo supplies once you are ready to start tattooing.  Leaving the apprenticeship early will forfeit the deposit.  There is no charge for the apprenticeship itself but you will be expected to be present and dedicated to the cause at all times the shop is open for business and sometimes longer than that. A typical apprenticeship lasts for one to two years depending on your progress.  At some point you will be able to start earning a living tattooing in the shop. For the next few years, you will not have a life, you're girlfriend or boyfriend will most likely break up with you, and if you're right for this job, you will love every minute of it.

Many of you may be unaware that my wife Beth is once again pregnant!  We are expecting our third child ( a girl) sometime in December.  Our two sons Jonah and Cody are very excited about the arrival of their new baby sister.  We all are. In order to avoid any uncomfortable cancellations on my part,  I have decided to limit all appointment scheduling in December 2011 to local clients only. 

We are excited to welcome Les Collier into our collective of artists. Les specializes in several styles of tattooing including neo-traditional, illustrative, Japanese, and black and grey realism. Collectors seek him out for his ability to create original designs that have a timeless appeal. Which, as you may know, is the Ink & Dagger way.

 Les hails from Warner Robins, Georgia where he recently closed his personal studio to make more time for adventures abroad. Since Atlanta is reasonably close to Warner Robins, we asked Les if he would like to take his Georgia appointments at Ink & Dagger. Thankfully, he thought that sounded like a nice idea! So for now, Les will be working at Ink & Dagger by appointment only. If you'd like to talk to Les about getting a tattoo, you should start by sending him an email or calling the shop.

 As always, click the button that says "book an appointment" to go to our booking page.  You can personally contact Les Collier or any other Ink & Dagger artist directly from this website. 

Ink & Dagger Tattoo proudly celebrates our 3rd Annual Man Day.  On Saturday August 13, we invite you to join us for a day of manly tattoos, stiff drinks, macho competition, and delicious eye candy.

The festivities begin at noon with a brand new sheet of manly tattoos for only $50. These exclusive designs are hand drawn by Ink & Dagger artists just for this event. Of course getting a rad tattoo won’t make up for a lifetime of poetry readings and cello lessons. You’re gonna need a bit more than that to raise your testosterone levels to an acceptable amount.  Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered.

The Man Day main event takes place at Twain’s Billiards & Tap from 5pm until Midnight. Our master of ceremonies is once again the great Captain Stabb-Tuggo whom you may remember from last year’s Man Day where he performed incredible sideshow acts including the world’s first performance of “Bobbing for Lobsters”.  As the evening unfolds, you will have the opportunity to put your manhood to the test by competing in one of our many competitions.  To ease your recovery between the contests, you can feast your eyes on the lovely burlesque dancers or catch a few songs from LaStrange Fantastic.

Of course, ladies love to celebrate Man Day too! Women and other non-men are totally welcome to join in the fun.  You can still win big too!  The Wheel of Destiny is back this year with bigger and better prizes including tattoo gift certificates, taxidermy, and exclusive Man Day merchandise.

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WATSON ATKINSON’S MITCHELL ATKINSON MEMORIAL/TATTOO TOUR TO GEORGIA
Many of you may have heard of the recent passing of Athens/Helen tattooer Mitchell Atkinson.  Mitch and his twin brother Watson, collectively known as the "Twins of Pain", have made an indelible contribution to Georgia tattooing and Mitch's death has saddened us and countless other tattoo collectors, artists, family members, and friends.  RIP Mitchell Atkinson -May 4 1971- May 3 2011.