This month the best artists at True Blue Tattoo Studios will be going to Germany to join the 25th Frankfurt International Tattoo Convention. I went to the studio to have a chat with Louis, Meghan, John and Marcel who will all be getting on an aeroplane to Germany in a few days! This is what was said in our interview:

Shance: So John this your 4th or 5th time that you would be joining the Frankfurt International Tattoo
Convention? Tell us a little bit about it and what the rest of your team can expect.
John Scully: 4th! Its big, it’s loud and ja, you tattoo people there… lol

Shance: So is there a difference from this convention to the South African ones?
John Scully: Yes, there is a big difference between the German one and the South African ones. There is a lot more individuality, more specialists, more exposure to the European culture of tattooing and there is more
techniques, irezumi tattooing and Maori tattooing so there is more of a collective tattooing as a world culture so, instead of a collective of tattooing as a local culture. Here there is a limited collection of artists.

Shance: Meghan, what are your expectations and what do you want to learn out of this?
Meghan: Just exposure to new things and to broaden our view in terms of tattooing. Short and sweet!

Shance: Marcel what do you think you are going to see that side and what do you want to experience?
Marcel: I am very excited as there will be a lot of very well known tattoo artists from around the world. To see a lot of different techniques, styles and I’m hoping it is going to be completely different from the whole culture that we have here in South Africa. Just stoked to be busy and stuck in a small place in Germany.

Shance: What are the schleps of taking everything to Germany?
Louis: Just the pure logistics of getting your stock there. We still don’t know what to expect, what’s going to happen on the airport, with us bringing some weird shit overseas – like our machines look like… Powerful
vibrators and we don’t know what they really going to do about that. We are taking inks over and needles over there so we still don’t know what exactly to expect. We’ve got a double booth where in South Africa that’s quite big, that’s like 6x4m or 6x5m and in Germany, our double booth will be 2x3m so that is really small. Which means we can’t put in beds or anything like that so the physical tattooing (how to place your client) that’s going to be quite tricky. There are also things like the language barrier – luckily we do have one of our clients that live in Germany who will be helping us with translating because apparently, Germans don’t like to speak any other language. You know just random things like that.

Shance: So guys (Louis, Meghan, John and Marcel) Do you think that you would want to do this again, I mean you guys have been through the whole schlep of the logistics alone, to get there sounds like an absolute
nightmare, but do you think this could become a regular thing for True Blue Tattoo Studios?
Meghan: Yes I would love that! Who wouldn’t enjoy the opportunity to tattoo and travel? Do what you love and travel!
Marcel: and get the exposure for True Blue Tattoo as well as representing South Africa.
John Scully: I can’t answer that, I don’t have the same schlep as you. Just to rub that in one last time…

Shance: Okay guys so if there was one artist you would not only love to meet or have a chat about a
technique and to get a tattoo from, who would that be?
Louis: Arlo or Phil Garcia or Ilya
Meghan: Nikko Hurtado, I wish he would be there but i doubt it!
John Scully: Electric Pic and Horiyoshi the 3rd
Marcel: Paul Booth

We would love to hear from your experience when you get back! We wish you luck!
Shance.