June 16, 2008
SOUND OFF: The Ink Lovers
They live among us.
They may even look like us.
But when no one is looking, they gather together in the dark corners and subject each other to unspeakable horrors.
They are the tattooed.
OK, so maybe that was a little over the top. But when I first heard South Portland was considering a moratorium - a temporary ban - on allowing tattoo shops to open up in town, my first reaction was along those lines.
Was the city being overzealous in reacting to a tattoo business? Were they just unprepared to license tattoo shops because the city has none? Were they harboring deep-seeded fears of Harley-riding savages roaring into town and never leaving?
Of course, as I found out in writing today's column, the reality of the situation is not so simple to get at.
The guys at Infinity Tattoo upped and went to Standish because they felt slighted. The town is now looking to junk the idea of a moratorium while they make a law allowing tattoo shops to be licensed.
So in the end things worked out - sorta. But did all of this come down to people's ideas about tattoo shops and the tattooed?
Do people still have misconceptions about tattoo shops? Are there still stigmas attached to simply having a tattoo?
Would people be surprised by the amount of people who have ink somewhere on their body these days?
Personally, I've got nothing against tattoos - never got into the idea because I never thought I'd find a design I'd want on my body forever - but it's a choice other people have made. (Over and over.)
So now it's possible a new tattoo shop could come into town because of this situation. But is it likely? Does anyone think tattoo shops will come to SoPo?
And like one of the city councilors said, are tattoo shops part of "The Creative Economy?"
Sound Off!
Posted by at 10:35 AM
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Oh God. South Portland is driving people to work in Standish? That's only second to having to work in South Portland! Oh. Wait. It looks like these rules are improving upon working environs for tattoo artists. Nothing's right; I'm torn!
Posted by
Alex Steed (of Make Something Happen)June 16, 2008 12:48 PM
Love tatts. Don't mind 'em. Wouldn't get one, but that's my choice.
Yes, absolutely, they are part of the creative economy. How many other viable businesses are there where people get paid to draw pictures?
It's not your grandfather's tattoo parlor.
Posted by woof
June 16, 2008 03:07 PM
Mmmmm...old chicks w/tatts...Twice as Tasty!
Posted by
yamoJune 16, 2008 04:35 PM
Yes, it's true- I, too, have a tattoo! Never thought I'd get one, but the year was 2004, and my beloved Red Sox, after a year with so much promise, and a team that I just felt, just KNEW, was, this time, the right team, were suddenly down 3-0 to the Yankees in the ALCS. And I, the guy in the Sox gear all year long, was taking either good-intentioned ribbing, or fielding infuriatingly-patronizing commiseration from friends, customers and coworkers. So, in an act of defiance, on day I told everyone that, in payment to the baseball gods, if the Sox not only, impossibly, came back to beat the Yankees, but also won the World Series, I would get the Boston 'B' tattooed over my heart. Well, every day, I came in and said, with a little smile, 'Now all thhey have to do is win three games in a row against the best team in the world'. Then two in a row. Then one. And we all know the rest. So, before Spring Training next year, I went to John Biswell and he copied the 'B' off of my Red Sox cap onto my skin, and there you go. My one and only Tattoo. You do not welsh on the baseball gods.
Posted by
Videoport JonesJune 17, 2008 10:26 AM
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