Javier (pronounced with an "H") is the newest member of our team of professional tattoo artists. Javi and his fiance recently moved all the way from the tiny state of Delaware to join our ranks. I was so excited about Javier's work that I snatched up one of the first spots on his calendar and got tattooed! Check out the photos of the tattoo below. As some of you may be aware, my wife and I had our third child a few months ago. I already had tattoos to commemorate my two boys but I needed something special for my little girl. Well, It took me a few months to figure out what I wanted but when I saw Javier's exsquisite fine-line script, I knew what to do. He designed this piece for my left arm and needless to say, I love it. Thanks Javi, and I'm looking forward to your time here at Ink & Dagger.

If you're a current client of Russ Abbott or would like to collect a tattoo from Russ in the near future, please take a moment to review these changes to his policies and pricing.

First of all, I'd like to thank all of you for your support and patronage. In 1999, I began tattooing in the Atlanta area at the age of 19 and since that time, many of you have supported me and collected my work along the way. I am grateful to each and every one of you for your friendship and support. Over the years, I have tried my best to become better at this whole tattooing thing. I've reached some personal and professional goals. Together, we've been fortunate enough to win a ton of awards for our work, and I've received more than my fair share of recognition from the media. In that time, I've also managed to follow my dream of owning my own studio as well as getting married and raising 3 amazing children.

Somewhere around 2005, I got booked up for a few months. Things were getting really busy for me and showed no sign of letting up. I asked a few friends in the business who had been through this surge in popularity before and they suggested a few ways of dealing with it. The first thing I tried was a waiting list. If you wanted to get tattooed, your name went on the list and you were tattooed as soon as it was your turn. The problem there was that people who are determined to collect from an artist are willing to wait as long as it takes. The waiting list grew and grew.

In 2006, I started experimenting with saying “no” to potential clients. That is not an easy thing to do. The first couple of times I tried it went terribly wrong. I sounded like an asshole, and they never wanted to talk to another tattoo artist again. It was then that I learned that in order to say no in a respectful way, I was going to have to polish my routine a bit. I started telling everyone that I wasn't taking any new clients. Of course, I would eventually take new clients but when I did, it would not be because they had waited the longest, it would be because they had come up with an idea that catered to my strengths as an artist and struck a chord with me as a human being. There is no precise formula that I can share with you to explain how to come up with such an idea. I know it when I hear it and I definitely know it when it's wrong.

The main thing to keep in mind when thinking about your tattoo idea is "authenticity". Does the idea really reflect your personality and your culture or are you borrowing too heavily from someone else's? We all remember the Japanese Kanji tattoo craze of the 90's. A lot of us are still trying to figure out how to cover or hide those things. Why were they so popular? Because they meant something, right? They meant deep stuff like "hope" or "beauty". In the end, they became so popular with just about everybody that they bit the proverbial dust. Today, no one would dare request one of those symbols.

Personally, I really dig history; especially American history. Sorry, I'm an American, so I love to do tattoos that portray people, objects, and stories from the world as I know it. That's not the only thing I like. I'm also into portraits, animals, flowers, the circus, magic, folklore, and ornamental design. I’m not a very spiritual person and I have strong personal opinions about religion in general, so you may want to avoid approaching me with religious themes. Whoever you choose to do your tattoo, please try to match your idea with the personality and style of the artist.

Fortunately, enough of you share these interests with me to keep me busy and artistically fulfilled most of the time. Because my time is generally filled trying to start and finish my own work, I cannot make time to complete work that another artist has started. That doesn't mean I won't turn a half sleeve into a full sleeve, or simply add a piece to your collection. Just don't ask me to color in a piece that you had started by someone else. If you pitch an idea that I've already done every way I can imagine, I might turn you down. If your idea is too complicated and stresses me out, I might turn you down. If you're trying to get a portrait from a blurry photo, I might turn you down. If you’re trying to run the show and you make me feel like I'm just your tool, I might turn you down.

With that said, I'm excited to get some new projects started and I'd love to hear from you. Please read below for updated pricing information and appointment polices. If you'd like to run an idea by me in person, feel free to stop by the shop and see me. To get the ball rolling on your tattoo, please visit www.InkAndDagger.com and click the button that says "Book an Appointment". Choose my name and fill out the form. Then, be patient. Answering emails is not my top priority.

Sincerely,
Russ Abbott

Ink & Dagger Tattoo Parlour
1036 West College Avenue
Decatur, GA. 30030
(404)373-6655
www.InkAndDagger.com

2012 Appointment Policies (effective immediately for all new projects)

• All payments and deposits for services are non-refundable.

• Hourly rate $200

• I have a 3 Hour Minimum ($600). If you want a tiny tattoo from me, it still costs $600. So just get a bigger one.

• Deposit for single-session tattoo $600. This will be collected at the time of the initial consultation or sometime in advance of your first appointment.

• Clients wanting multi-session projects must pay a retainer equal to half of the estimated cost of the project at the time of the consultation. In this case, hourly time will be billed in a split manner; half from the retainer and half paid at the time of service until the tattoo is complete.

• A cancellation fee will be charged at a rate of $100 per hour booked for that day. Clients wishing to cancel or reschedule an appointment must give at least 48 hours notice to avoid cancellation fees.

• Clients with work in-progress will have priority scheduling and access to my time.

• Anyone who allows the time between appointments to lapse beyond one year is subject to lose priority scheduling. Special considerations apply in the case of extended illness or pregnancy

Discounts and special offers:

• Anyone who is able to pre-pay in cash for the majority of a large multi-session project may jump to the front of the waiting list.

• Long-term clients who have collected a substantial amount of work from me will receive discounts on a case-by-case basis.

• Tattoo artists and their spouses will receive special consideration.

• In-progress work will continue to be billed at the rate under which it was started.

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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