North Carolina Tattoo And Body Piercing
News And Articles...

Jacksonville, North Carolina
11/25/07

Fire Guts Tattoo Business.

A Jacksonville man has been charged by police with burning a tattoo shop he helped open. Flames tore through Bombs Away tattoo studio on Western Boulevard early Friday morning.

James Montgomery Stamford, 32, of Catherine Lake Road, was initially charged by the Sheriff's Department with possession of burglary tools and attempted breaking and entering with the intent to burn an unoccupied building.

Deputy Larry Nobles said Stamford had a pry bar, a DeWalt reciprocating saw, saw blades and two gallons of gasoline in his possession when he was arrested.

Bombs Away owner Brian Wolfe said he could not believe what he was hearing when police called to tell him Stamford had set one of his tattoo shops on fire and intended to torch the other one as well.

Wolfe and Stamford opened Bombs Away together but, after a disagreement about how to run the business, Wolfe said he bought out Stamford a year ago and did not hear much from him.

Stamford is now an employee of Ink Slingers tattoo studio, police officials said.

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Courtesy of: firefightingnews.com

Wilmington, North Carolina
09/19/07

Justin LaNasa: Offering a voice for common folk.

Justin LaNasa said he has never voted in a local election because it's usually about choosing between a bunch of bad options.

By running for mayor of Wilmington this year, he hopes to change that. People are tired of business as usual at City Hall, where regular residents are neglected and taxpayer money is wasted on expensive consultants, LaNasa said.

LaNasa, 36, is not your typical political candidate. He's a tattoo artist who owns Hardwire Tattoo & Body Piercing.

But earrings, ink and inexperience shouldn't deter voters, he said, because he's a regular guy who has no stake in any special interests and promises to look after regular folks.

LaNasa, who said he came to Wilmington with the Coast Guard in 1991 after leaving the Army, became interested in running after he examined the city budget and noticed how much money is spent on consultants and studies. He said no one on the council is looking at issues through a "normal man's" eyes.

"When people go to council to voice their opinion, they feel like they are talking and no one is listening," LaNasa said. "That's a real bad issue to not listen to the people who pay your check."

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Courtesy of: wilmingtonstar.com

Charlotte, North Carolina
08/31/07

The Art of Tattoos.

Tattooing is an art dating back to ancient times. Today, researchers estimate up to 20 million Americans have at least one tattoo. Among adults, 26 percent of men and 22 percent of women have a tattoo. Roughly 23 percent of college students have one or more tattoos. Even younger Americans are getting in on the act. More than 13 percent of adolescents have one tattoo.

No matter what the reason for the tattoo, some people eventually have a change of heart and decide they no longer want the body art. One survey found 17 percent of people with a tattoo have considered having it removed.

Some tattoos are very difficult to remove, despite many treatments. Black, dark blue and red respond best to the laser treatment. However, Dermatologist/Cosmetic Laser Surgeon, David Vasily, M.D., says some of the more unusual tattoo colors, like dark green, yellow and aqua-blue are stubbornly resistant to laser treatment.

Vasily has developed a tattoo removal approach that combines two technologies - the traditional Q-switched laser and the Palomar Lux1540™ Fractional Laser handpiece. The Lux1540 delivers infrared light to remodel scars (replace the damaged tissue with healthy tissue.). Patients with treatment-resistant tattoos often have a lot of scarring in the affected area of skin - both from the trauma of the original tattoo and the efforts to remove it. Vasily first uses the Lux1540 to reduce the scarring. Then he uses the Q-switched laser to target the remaining ink in the skin.

He says people who are thinking about getting a tattoo need to consider if they will still want to show it off twenty, thirty or even forty years from now.

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Courtesy of: wsoctv.com

Former mayor files for re-election.

Harper Peterson, who lost his re-election bid to former mayor Spence Broadhurst in 2003, then again to Broadhurst in 2005, signed up Friday, the last day of the two-week filing period. He will face current Mayor Bill Saffo and tattoo artist Justin LaNasa for the office.

Saffo was appointed to the position in 2006 after Broadhurst resigned to take a job in Greensboro; LaNasa has never run for public office.

Saffo said he's looking forward to upcoming debates and the election itself, set for Oct. 9. He said issues important to him are economic development, repairing the sewer system and rolling out park bonds projects. He said cooperation and teamwork are necessary to bring about positive change.

LaNasa, a first-time candidate who said he served in the Army and Coast Guard and owns Hardwire Tattoo & Body Piercing, said he represents the average person better than most candidates. "I think the city needs some changes," he said, adding that he believes many people in city positions aren't necessarily qualified.

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Courtesy of: wilmingtonstar.com

Parlor workers hope practice makes permanence.

Twisted Sixs Tattoo Cafe -- Durham's newest tattoo and body piercing shop at 1603 Guess Road, just across the street from Northgate Mall. The parlor opened about nine months ago and already has an established clientele. Most come back for additional tattoos within a few months, said co-owner Adam Hardman.

Bethany Olchers, 22, has been a tattoo apprentice at the cafe for nearly three months, and she expects to be one for three years before she is a full-fledged tattoo artist. Bethany is already a certified body piercer.

Tony Roberson allowed her to tattoo a small pair of smooching lips on his left hip. They all have to learn somehow, Roberson said, and it may as well be on each other. Roberson is finishing up his apprenticeship, so he knows the importance of gaining experience.

The most experienced artist has worked 11 years on tattoos, but the fledgling staffers are holding their own and building up a clientele.

The true test of whether you're ready to tattoo someone else is if you can tattoo yourself, said Hardman, so ask to see what the artist has done on his or her own canvass before letting them make their mark on yours.

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Courtesy of: thedurhamnews.com

Charlotte, North Carolina
04/03/07

A laser is shined on tattoo removal.

For 10 years, tattoo artist Steve Huntsberry has worked at his shop in Charlotte, removing tattoos with a laser and coming face to face every day with his customers' greatest regrets. He has removed more tattoos than he can count.

Empathy for those who seek tattoo removal — and his own experience regretting bad tattoos — is what led Huntsberry to offer tattoo removal services within his own tattoo shop, named, ironically enough, Immortal Images.

For years, dermatologists had been removing tattoos from customers using dermabrasion tools that essentially sanded off tattoos, or caustic salt solutions that burned the skin. Now, more and more tattoo artists like Huntsberry are offering the laser service themselves, generally at a lower cost, but setting off debate in the process.

Some dermatologists and medical groups say the work is safe only when done by a physician in a doctor's office; tattoo artists argue they know how skin, tattoo pigments and lasers interact and can provide an environment where their tattooed customers feel comfortable.

Tattoo removal has been robust business for Huntsberry, who eliminates 20 to 30 tattoos each week. Immortal Images makes more money on removals than on the tattoo work of all four of its artists combined, Huntsberry says.

Some states allow only doctors to operate tattoo lasers, others require varying degrees of doctor supervision, and some don't regulate laser procedures at all.

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Courtesy of: usatoday.com

Jacksonville, North Carolina
03/23/07

Think before you ink: Consider the ‘4 Cs’.

1. Commitment
At Odyssey Tattoo — one of the oldest parlors in town, serving the Marines and sailors of Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River since 1974 — owner Eric Reust has been working on one Marine’s sleeve project for more than a year.

2. Cost
How much does a tattoo cost? Depends on the artist, who sets whatever rate he chooses. A good rule of thumb is $100 an hour. Size and time are not the only considerations the tattoo artist uses in quoting a price. Coloring and large sections of black filler can drive up the cost, as can fine details and location on the body.

3. Criticism
There’s no question that tattooing has gone mainstream in recent years, thanks in part to celebrities, pro athletes and reality TV. A large, visible tattoo is meant to be noticed, but the attention is not always positive.

4. Career
It’s little wonder that tattoos and the military so often go hand-in-hand. Both the Army and the Navy both loosened tattoo regs last year — soldiers can now get hand and neck tattoos, while sailors have more choices on size and location — as part of an effort to improve recruiting. But the Marine Corps is headed the opposite direction, instituting new rules beginning April 1 that prohibit certain large, visible tattoos on the arms and legs. Marines who already have such tattoos — their existing ink will be exempt from the new regulations — have been scratching their heads since the message came out, trying to decide if they can finish current projects and what it means for job security.

All sleeves and large visible artwork must now be documented and added to the Marine’s service record book, which gets a serious look during promotion season. For older guys with narrower windows for promotion, there are fears that visible tattoos could be seen as a strike.

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Courtesy of: armytimes.com

Charlotte, North Carolina
03/01/07

Ear Piercing.

The Association of Professional Piercers advises ear piercing be performed by a certified professional. Ear piercing guns used by some commercial establishments are not recommended because there is no way to guarantee sterility of the equipment. Although new earrings are used each time a piercing is done, the gun can become contaminated with germs.

Long and/or heavy earrings may pull on the earlobe and stretch the size of the pierced hole.

Facial Plastic Surgeon, Allan Wulc, M.D., improves the appearance of the earlobe by using injections of Restylane®. Restylane is made from hyaluronic acid, a substance naturally found in living organisms. It's an injectable filler that has been approved to treat moderate to severe wrinkles around the nose and mouth. In the earlobe, Restylane adds volume and lift. Earrings can be worn immediately after the injection.

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Courtesy of: wsoctv.com

Teacher attire has schools thinking.

The New Hanover school board's policy committee is considering rules on employee dress, including whether to allow piercings outside the earlobe. There are no countywide policies at the moment, and board member Ed Higgins said some teachers dress too much like their students, which he believes reflects their attitudes toward their jobs.

The shift to staff appearance is pushed by concerns about body piercing, said Jeannette Nichols, vice chairwoman of the school board. She said she has received several complaints about such jewelry, which might be fine for Saturday night but not the classroom, she said. "No face piercing other than the earlobe - that's what we're looking at," she said.

Both Brunswick and Pender schools already have polices requiring professional dress and banning body piercing.

Superintendent John Morris is meeting with teacher representatives from each school Thursday to gather their opinions of dress codes. School board member Higgins said he preferred schools address the issue themselves rather than have the board create a policy.

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Courtesy of: wilmingtonstar.com

Current And Pending North Carolina Laws...

Tattoo And Body Piercing Conventions...

Greensboro Ink: Tattoo artists drawn to city.

They're in Greensboro through Sunday at the downtown Marriott. There are 72 of them from at least six states. They've come to network, party, make a little money and give clients self-expression that shouts.

Pamela Francis holds her 6-week-old son, Robert, as her husband, Robert Francis, of Chop Shop Tattoos, works on a tattoo of a skull and wreath on her left foot Friday during the 13th annual North Carolina Tattoo Convention at the Greensboro Marriott Downtown in Greensboro.

Brandon Bond has created his own tattoo empire, propped by the talent he discovered 16 years ago. He runs three studios in Atlanta. He has 15 company cars and 72 employees, many of whom spend 50 weeks out of the year hitting various conventions nationwide.

"It's dope, man," said Bond, who runs All Or Nothing Tattoo. "You have art-school kids coming in, everyone is pushing one another, and with the Internet, you can see everyone's art in an instant. The bar has been raised.

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Courtesy of: news-record.com

Tattoo Artist And Body Piercing Employment Opportunities...

BODY PIERCING /SALES.

BODY PIERCING /SALES experience preferred, will train right person. Hourly wage, reference required.

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Courtesy of: hotjobs.yahoo.com