Tattoo Tales: Stories Behind My Friends Tattoos

Josef Hall- “I've had all my tattoos done over at Sacred Skull Tattoo by Cammy. Honestly, I didn't start getting inked for any deep reason, I just think tattoos are cool. None of my tattoos mean anything special to me, I get them more for the style and the way they look. As you can tell I like the blackwork vibe. There's something about the boldness of solid black ink that appeals to me. And that wrap-around piece on my thigh? That's probably my favourite. It's got this abstract look to it, all those lines filled in with ink. It's clean and bold”.

Molly Muggoch: “I went to Okey Dokey and my tattoo artist was Diana. Its a rhododendron in red ink. I got it because when I was growing up my garden was covered in them. It was also my grans favourite plant. I got the design from Instagram and tweaked it to fit what I was looking for. I found it quite sore as it was my first tattoo, and it was on my ribs, but it was nothing I couldn't deal with. Never had a moment when I regretted it”.

Molly and I both have a matching tattoo, so I wanted to hear her thoughts. We got the souvenirs in Budapest from when we were interrailing. We picked the image from Pinterest and went to the first tattoo studio we stumbled across. Molly shares, “I don’t see it often as it’s on our ankles but when I do it’s a nice reminder of our adventure that summer”, with which I agree.

Clarke Wilson – “I got my tattoo at Sacred Skull Studio, the tattoo is on my thigh, and the design is of a guy playing a piano. I got it because one day I just drew it, and it looked cool. Originally, I intended to place the tattoo on my arm. However, considering I want numerous tattoos on that area in the future, the artist suggested opting for my thigh instead. Given its larger canvas, it suited the design more anyway. For my university course, I use Illustrator a lot and I sometimes like to mess around with it this tattoo is a product of that”.

Jess- “I chose to get my tattoo done at Okey Dokey and decided Simon in black as the artist. I looked up gods and goddesses, and I then came across Yemaya who is the Ocean Mother Goddess in Santería. She symbolises fertility and abundance, embodying the divine feminine. I love having her own my arm as a reminder of my femininity and my identity as a black woman”.