Tattoo Master 10

Bloody hell, look at me sat in the big chair on Tattoo Master Magazine! To say that the phone call from the magazine’s publishers came somewhat ‘out of the blue’, would be an understatement. Certainly my decision to take the magazine on was not one I took lightly either. There was much to consider... Did I really want to take on a whole magazine? Did I really have the time to oversee such an important publication and yet continue to tattoo every day? My fellow artists were in fact the first people I spoke to after putting the phone down, and predictably the decision was unanimous... After all, an opportunity like this doesn’t come along every day.

As with every creative industry, tattooing cannot grow and thrive in a vacuum. When I first heard a few years ago that Jazz Publishing was launching an ‘Artist’s Only’ magazine in the UK, I was thrilled. Perhaps now we could read articles that had been written far more openly than ever before. Perhaps now we could find out a little more about how other artists worked, how they dealt with customers, what equipment they used etc. without the fear of feeding the scratchers too many of our valuable secrets. Perhaps now
we could really get down to the nitty gritty, the technical nuts and bolts without having to talk in veiled code. Because in my mind, this new open approach to discussing our art form is exactly what this industry needs.  If as artists we can all stop cupping our hands around our answers, like school kids in an exam room, then maybe we can help our own tattoos take that next important leap forwards. 

A gradual distribution of knowledge within our studios can only lead to better tattoos for our customers. And that is where I see Tattoo Master’s position in the grand order of things. My vision for the future of this mag, is that it becomes a forum within which the tattoo industry can share its stories, its experiences and its discoveries, both grand and small. I don’t want anybody to think that their day to day tattoo tales and advice are too insignificant for our pages. Please, I want to hear from anybody and everybody who wants to help me build this publication into the finest, most eclectic and enjoyable trade magazine on the market. A tattoo magazine written by tattoo artists, for tattoo artists. What a wonderful dream that is, don’t you think?

-Dave Perry

Branding Bond

Okay, so who better to help me set my ideas into motion than one of the greatest tattoo artists the world has ever seen? Certainly the most controversial. Brandon Bond is a name familiar to ink lovers everywhere (yes, I said ‘ink’, and I will call a tattoo machine a ‘gun’ if I want to too...). A former Tattoo Artist of the Year, and perhaps the most prolific studio owner on the planet, it was yet another great honour (it’s been a good couple of months for that) to get to work alongside such a tattooing giant in putting together my first issue of the magazine. Is he brash? Yes. Did he call me a retard at one point for trying to flat plan the magazine before I got hold of his art discs? Yes. Did I give him some shit back? Hell, yes! But would I work with the man again? Without question, and that tends to be a common thread throughout the world of Brandon Bond, just ask his artists at All Or Nothing... or just read their interviews in the pages ahead. I tried to maintain a certain level of control; honest I did but as it says on the magazine cover... Brandon Bond has Taken Over! At least for this issue anyway. Enjoy our ‘All Or Nothing’ special edition of Tattoo Master magazine. The words ‘lunatic’ and ‘asylum’ come to mind.