You get what you pay for.

It has never been truer in any other industry that you get what you pay for. Tattoos are specialty pieces of art work, and the artists that give them to you have spent years honing their craft, and have earned the right to charge a respectable fee for what they do. In fact, if an artist is offering you a deal that seems to be “too good to be true,” well it probably is.                                                                                                            

Tattoo done by: Justin Diotte

The average cost of a tattoo is between $100.00 to $125.00 per hour. This is a lesson that is most often learned the hard way, exactly the same way that I had to learn it. As the saying goes, “with age comes wisdom,” well… they were not lying. In my early days of getting inked, I did exactly what I now preach against; I shopped around for the cheapest price I could find without looking at the credentials (portfolio) of the artists. I ended up eventually settling on a shop and artist who will remain nameless and I ended up paying the price both literally and hypothetically. Now eight to nine years later I am having to pay premium prices to have all of this sub-par work covered up. Hindsight is 20/20.                 

If I could back in time and tell my younger self anything on the subject, it would be to go with whoever was going to charge me the most for what I was asking for. Now, I am not saying that you are going to be held hostage to these prices for the rest of your life. As the years go by you will begin to form relationships with your artists that will allow you certain privileges moving forward. I do have one artist who only charge me sixty-five dollars per hour. Over the seven years he has been putting ink into my skin we have become good friends outside of the tattoo shop, but for those first couple of years I still paid the same prices that everyone else did. In other words, you have to earn that discount price.

                One last piece of advice I will leave with you prospective tattoo clients. NEVER, I repeat, NEVER, walk into a shop and try and weasel a lower price out of an artist by telling them that the guy down the street said that he would do it for a cheaper price.

 Alex Scantlebury

Alex Scantlebury is a married father of two young daughters, as well as being a very vocal tattoo enthusiast.

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And so it begins...

Yes it hurts - a lot 

 Getting your first tattoo is a badge of honour; it puts you into a select group of people who have adorned their bodies with permanent ink. Where you go from there is up to you, and quite literally the sky is the limit.

 I was 17 when I got my first tattoo. It was bribery from my mother to get me to pass all of my Grade 11 classes. It took me a few weeks of summer school but I got it done. It was great motivation for a guy my age. Nearing 10 years later I have over 50 percent of my body covered in ink. I have sat in the chair or lain on the kitchen table and many other variations of the two for over 130 hours to finish what I have up until now.

My first tattoo was a dream catcher, placed on the outside of my left bicep, a pretty standard spot for first timers. It has long since been covered up, but please don’t misinterpret the action, I did not regret getting it, I had got it young and it didn’t suit the direction I was headed in my mid 20’s. I think it is safe to say that when I tell you that at that age you should definitely think before you ink, I might just know what I’m talking about. Alas there will always be those who think that they know better (I used to be one of them) and just do it anyway, thus stabilizing part of a tattoo artist’s pay cheque.

I happen to have a little more advice for anyone interested in tattoos. One: Yes, it bloody well hurts. I have work done on almost every part of my body and I have never once found one that “felt good,” so stop asking every tattooed person you see on the street if it hurt. Use your common sense. Two: There is only one difference between people with tattoos and those without: We will not judge you for not having them.

Keep all of this in mind when deciding what you plan to do with your skin; you only have one living canvas, so make smart choices.

Alex Scantlebury

Alex Scantlebury is a married father of two young daughters, as well as being a very vocal tattoo enthusiast.                     

For more information: Ink Master /  Tommy Helm / Ventura Blvd Tattoos & Piercings