Minimum Charge

Quote: “The only thing worse than a cheapskate customer is a cheapskate tattooer” - Bill Waverly

In most tattoo shops there is an agreed upon minimum charge that is the base price for all tattoos.  This charge is intended to be the basic starting point for the cost to the clients. What is the right number?  Is this a good idea?  How do tattooers use this to decide the price for their customers?  Do customers price shop using the minimum? When a client asks for the minimum before discussing the design they want, how should an artist respond? Should you work with other artists and shops in your area to establish a local base price for tattoos? How should you feel about the guy down the street who charges less? These are some of the questions we will explore in this episode.  

Tattooing has a value, it is subjective, but the skills required to be a good tattooer are unique and that makes it valuable.  Charging the proper amount for your work is not an exact science, and understanding the way to determine the price of a tattoo is difficult. Often we quote a price and the client is delighted that it isn't more expensive, other times we are met with disdain and a question like: “Why is it so much?”  Clients know what they want to spend but every tattoo is unique so agreeing on a price isn't always easy. How do you know when a tattoo is the minimum or when you should charge more? Is your minimum charge fair to you and your clientele? 

Some folks have said there should be no minimum, others believe there should be a consensus among artists for minimum in a specific geographic area. Some people claim that the minimum is actually zero.  Tattoos are sometimes priced by the hour, and other times they are priced by the piece. Clients and artists are not always on the same page when it comes to the price of a tattoo and the minimum charge is no exception.  Artists get insulted at low ball price suggestions and requests for a “good deal” from someone who they have never tattooed, and clients can be offended by the price of something when they don't understand what it takes to perform the tattoo in question. 

There are a lot of issues surrounding the minimum charge when it comes to tattooing.  The opinions on this vary as much as the kinds of people who get tattoos.  I doubt there is one correct answer to any of these questions. This will certainly be a controversial episode and we are looking forward to your opinion about the topic. 

What are the Qualifications Needed to Have an Apprentice?

“Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.” -Matsuo Basho

What qualifies someone to have an apprentice? There is no one answer to this question. The combination of skills and experience necessary to successfully teach someone how to tattoo are numerous. Tattooing is a form of art, it is also a technical skill, in addition to being a personal service. Some say it takes a lifetime to master tattooing.  If that’s true, when is someone qualified to instruct another on the methods of tattooing?

Teaching tattooing requires many things.  Patience is mandatory, as are good communication skills.  Extensive knowledge and experience in the technical aspects of tattooing is obviously necessary. Understanding and practicing the ethics and etiquette of tattooing are equally as important, but often overlooked.  

Tattooing has been primarily an oral tradition passed down for generations. Now with the advent of technology the pace of tattooing’s growth is faster than it has ever been. The need to preserve the traditions and culture of tattooing is greater than ever.  For someone to be qualified to train another in all aspects of tattooing it takes a wide range of skills and experience. 

Being an accomplished tattooer is not qualification enough.  One must have a desire to pass along the knowledge, wisdom, and experience they have in addition to the skillset necessary to teach it.  Discipline, dedication, and determination must be coupled with a sincere love of the craft and the yearning to give back more than you received. 

The ultimate reward for a good mentor is the students surpassing them in the field. We always want the next generation to be better than we were.  This requires humility, perhaps the most important characteristic a mentor can possess. 

Share your thoughts on what it takes to be successful at teaching someone to be a great tattooer, we would love to hear your perspective. 

Some people view tattooing as a craft, some as a trade, some as an art.  They are all correct. It is all of these things and more.  It’s challenging, it's frustrating, it’s rewarding, it is a way of life. Getting a tattoo is a lifelong commitment, Becoming a tattooer is as well.  It will take you the rest of your life to master it and as soon as you think you have it figured out there is another aspect that you have to learn.  The beginning is the biggest learning curve and an apprenticeship is the traditional and most widely accepted process for learning. But how does this work?

If you commit to learning to tattoo, you commit to a relationship with a mentor that could last years. This is not a process that happens overnight.  Expect a two to three year time commitment to get to the point where you can make a decent living doing tattoos (of course its possible for this to happen faster) and a possible additional commitment to remain at the studio you learned at for another couple of years as well.  

Globally the tattoo business is over a billion dollar a year industry and is projected to grow to 3.5 billion by 2029.  The IRS has not ignored the tattoo industry. 

The trend of offering the W2 option probably began in a state like California where tax and labor laws are very strict.

The days of flying under the radar in the fringes of society for tattoo artists are long gone.  As the entire world moves more towards a cashless society and governments experiment with Central Bank Digital Currencies, the chances of tattooing to remain off grid are diminishing rapidly.  

Tattoo apprenticeships are a sharply debated topic. Unlike many other industries that use the apprenticeship method to train new workers, the tattoo world does not have a universally approved or recognized process for apprenticeships. Before Clay's entry into tattooing he was a welder and worked in a union shop that had a standardized structured apprenticeship procedure. In the trade apprentice Clay did, all parties knew their role and what their expectations were. Although Jack did complete a formal structured apprenticeship from a competent instructor, this has historically not been the case for tattooing. This void in the industry seems to have allowed an entire new business of tattoo schools to grow unopposed as well as enabled unqualified people to take on the role of tattoo instructor. Jack and Clay explore the issues surrounding todays apprenticeship method (or lack thereof) in tattooing today. Find us: Visit our website: https://ilovetattooing.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ilovetattooing?s=20 Telegram: https://t.me/ilovetattooing Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/ILoveTattooing/100092671900404/ Substack: https://ilovetattooing.substack.com/p/i-love-tattooing?sd=pf

A viral incident has the tattoo world buzzing! The TattooGate scandal is being discussed by tattooers and collectors alike. This controversy is a hot topic for a lot of people because it touches some emotional issues. The exploitation of the tattoo business, ripping off clients, understanding the value of your work, and ethics (or a lack of them) among many other things. Unsavory characters will always seek to take advantage of the gullible, but they can't function like that for a long time. They have to move on and find a new group of people to exploit. While this type of behavior may never be completely eliminated, if honest tattooers with integrity who genuinely care about the craft and clients who feel taken advantage of expose the unethical in the tattoo industry these instances will become less and less common.

Jack and Clay are street shop tattooers who work in walk-in shops that offer custom tattooing.  You can get a sleeve or an infinity symbol and you will get the same treatment and level of attention and respect.  Tattooing isn’t just one thing, it is an entire universe of different styles, opinions, beliefs, and ways of life.  The growing popularity of tattooing has changed some aspects of it but the magic that attracted Jack and Clay nearly 30 years ago is still very much alive.  “I Love Tattooing” seeks to preserve that magic and ensure it can continue for many generations to come.