BLACK MOON TATTOOS

The League Against Cruel Sports aimed to ban fox hunting, stag hunting, otter hunting, hare hunting and coursing throughout the whole of the United Kingdom, back when the organisation was first founded in 1924.

Since then, sadly The League are still having to campaign many of the same issues today but despite this, their work has been essential in helping to bring about more protective laws with the backing of cross-party political groups, which to name a few include otters having full protection from hunting, the hunting act 2004 which banned hunting with hounds, they helped change the law on badger baiting to strengthen the law for badger protection. Not to mention their undercover investigations, leading roles in liaising with police and private prosecutions to help enforce the law in hunting activities, even persuading travel agents to stop promoting trips to the Pamplona Bull Run. Not only does The League Against Cruel Sports campaign and gather evidence of the cruelty involved, they also provide woodland and fields in the West Country that provides much needed sanctuary for hunted animals.

One of The League Against Cruel Sports many key crusades is dog fighting. After it being banned in 1835, these cruel activities still remain prevalent today. Project Bloodline was set up to protect dogs from being exploited, investigating participants and to educate and therein lies The League Against Cruel Sports motto: Investigate. Educate. Protect.

Here at Black Moon, we can’t think of a single reason why we shouldn’t be backing such a remarkable cause! So with this in mind on Friday 13th July Black Moon Tattoo Studio will be holding a fundraising event, whereby 30% of all the profits raised from the Friday 13th tattoos will be going straight to The League Against Cruel Sports.

The event will be starting at 11am and will last all day!

We pride ourselves on having a comfortable and friendly atmosphere, so bring your friends and family along to see what we have going on. We will have snacks and drinks available, kids are more than welcome! If you don’t fancy getting a tattoo we are more than happy for you to come and take a look at our beautiful studio, maybe even pop in a donation while you’re here!

Hope to see you there!

For more information on The League Against Cruel Sports visit: https://www.league.org.uk/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-ZCQip-I3AIVybHtCh2vPgGtEAAYASAAEgIp2vD_BwE

I wanted to just address something that we are asked regularly by clients. The question ‘Do you use vegan inks?’

The answer in short is yes we do. Most tattoo inks are now vegan and certainly all the brands we use at Black Moon are.

So, we could just leave it there and let people make the assumption that because we use vegan friendly ink, that means that the tattooing process is vegan also.

However, tattoo artists do also use many disposable items such as Vaseline, cling film, carbon paper, various plastic items such as our disposable razors, cartridges, soaps and balms as well as products that contain things like beeswax, lanolin and honey or occasionally even glycerine which are not technically vegan. Additionally, some products in the process may be made by companies that do not produce items in a manor which is not strictly vegan.

Some of these things are items that many of our Vegan customers (and there are a lot) are happy to ‘overlook’ because they are necessary in order to do a tattoo, however some vegans seek out studios that make an effort to source alternative ‘vegan friendly’ versions of these things. However, they are often very difficult to get hold of and much more expensive so many studios cannot maintain this ethical standard 100% of the time.

If you are searching for strictly vegan studios there is a really useful site here:

http://vegantattoostudios.com

So you see it isn’t a simple yes or not, really it isn’t just about the inks, there are tons of products to consider when deciding if the studio you use is a completely vegan one.

There is some really good info on line about the various products we use on a daily basis which are not necessarily completely vegan, we do source products that are cruelty free, from ethical companies but sadly ‘strictly vegan’ is not always possible in this industry.

https://www.vegansociety.com/resources/lifestyle/fashion/vegan-tattoos

As a studio, we are happy to discuss any concerns you have about products we use and would also be completely happy for anyone wanting to replace any of these products with a vegan alternative to get in contact, so they can purchase these items in advance and eliminate anything that isn’t strictly vegan such as Vaseline or razors etc.

We look forward to helping you to make your tattoo exactly what you want.

You can email enquiries@blackmoontattoos.com or call us on 01373464699 for more info.

JO BLACK:

The owner of Black Moon was originally from London, and grew up in Wiltshire.

Jo started tattooing almost ten years ago.

Before becoming a tattoo artist some of her previous occupations included life insurance sales, bar work and chef work.

Jo specialises in the illustrative – traditional style, but would love to design more dark and gothic inspired tattoos.

Instagram:

📱 @MISSJOBLACKTATTOOS

To book with Jo please complete her booking enquiry form:

https://missjoblacktattoos.wordpress.com/booking-in/jo-black-booking-form/

✉️ joblack@blackmoontattoos.com

JODIE YOUNG:

Originally from Haverfordwest, Wales, Jodie moved here when she was a child. She has been artistic since avery young age and joined the Black Moon team as an apprentice in January 2017. This has been Jodie’s first job in the tattoo industry and a far cry from the retail assistant that once was!

Jodie specialises in colour realism and would like to incorporate more portraits into her portfolio.

📱Instagram: @jodieeyoung

To book with Jodie email:

✉️ jodie@blackmoontattoos.com

AMY WHITING:

Originally from Buckland, Oxfordshire Amy moved to Bath back in 2012. Before starting her apprenticeship in June 2017, Amy has always worked in artistic and creative jobs ranging from design work for a florist, a print finisher for a letter press company and even a freelance illustrator.

Having an interest in the industry since as far back as she can remember, it wasn’t until after she had finished university that she developed her own style of illustration using pen and ink. Designing tattoos for people who asked she soon came to the realisation that she would prefer to be the one to tattoo her own designs!

Amy specialises in blackwork with themes of nature, the macabre, and the esoteric but would love to add to her ever growing portfolio by introducing some spookier and darker pieces, both in contrast and in theme!

Instagram:

📱 @INKANDWILDERNESS

To book email:

✉️ amy@blackmoontattoos.com to book in with her.

JIM WILDING:

Jim specialises in Black and Grey Realism, if you want a portrait of Someone famous or a family member, or a tattoo that looks like a photograph, Jim is the man for the job!

Instagram:

📱 @JIMWILDINKTATTOO

To book in email:

📱wildinktattoo@outlook.com

KERRY ST.CLEMENT

Instagram:

📱 @hello_kerry_tattoos

To book in email:

✉️ hello_kerry@blackmoontattoos.com

Originally from Belfast, Kerry moved to Bristol in 2006 to study fine art at university. Before starting an apprenticeship in 2012 Kerry was working as a bar maid and waitress alongside studying for her art degree, she also found the time to begin work experience at a tattoo studio in Bristol with tattoo artist Ben Boston.

With an early love of the art styles involved in tattooing, Kerry went on to collect her own tattoos when she was 18 and has been designing and tattooing pieces for 6 years.

Kerry specialises in anything cartoony, cute and colourful and would love to add more watercolour designs to her portfolio and to list a few themes she’d also love incorporating would be Hello Kitty, Disney, Studio Ghibli, My Little Pony, Pusheen, Rila Kumma, Simpsons and Sanrio characters!

@HELLO_KERRY_TATTOOS

Email: hello_kerry@blackmoontattoos.com to book in with her.

CHRISTMAS VOUCHERS AVAILBLE IN THE SHOP OR VIA EMAIL TO ENQUIRIES@blackmoontattoos.com

Minimum £50 purchase. Postage costs apply for vouchers sent via Royal Mail.

05/07/2017
It’s been a fruity week. 

We let Amy loose on a grapefruit to get to grips with using a machine. 

We are often asked ‘how do you learn to tattoo?’ And this method of using fruit skin is not an uncommon starting point for most apprentices. 

(Myself, I actually jumped straight into my own thighs but that was pure stupidity and desperation to learn as fast as possible)

And as such… grapefruit, bananas, oranges etc are all common starting points for apprentices to get to grips with holding a machine whilst it runs. There are several brands of ‘fake skin’ usually in the form of dismembered body parts, skulls or sheets of flat skin. This is good, but hard to apply a stencil to and less like human skin than you would imagine from the look of it. It doesn’t move, feel or flex like skin, nor does it take the needle and ink as easily. 

After several attempts to apply a stencil in the ‘normal’ manner we came to the conclusion that the waxy exterior of the grapefruit needed to be washed and powdered to remove the residue and allow the design to stick. Scrunching up the stencil to allow it to become more flexible, on turn making it easier to apply to a spherical shape, we were able to get a fairly good carbon copy on the flesh of the fruit.

Amy flew into concentration mode, tattooing a peony flower, and we hardly heard a peep from her for the whole afternoon except to tell us how much she was enjoying it! 

Proud mentors we are, myself and Yoji watched as she created a very beautiful piece of floral art, or food, or art food. Whatever it was it was gorgeous! 

Keep checking in to see more fruit art! 🍊

Jodie and Amy are quite the ‘pear’ two in a melon and I wanna say that I love them ‘from ma head tomatos’. 

What. The. Fuck.

JB 

04/07/2017

As I mentioned in the previous update, one of the weekly tasks I have set for our apprentices is the ‘classic tattoo re-draw task’. Where I ask then to recreate a classic Sailor Jerry tattoo design but in their own style. Check out this BEAUTIFUL snake Amy did this week. 

I am in LOVE with this and would totally have it tattooed on me! 

She’s also been practising some more lettering:I’m not neglecting Jodie this week, she’s having a well deserved trip to NAS festival. These young kids, I am still recovering from last weekend and it’s Wednesday! 😂

Growing old is compulsory, growing up is optional. 

JB. 

30/06/2017

So… as you know we have two apprentices at Black Moon. Mad you say? Berserk? We say no… just twice the clean, twice the laughs and twice as many chances not to fuck them up completely 😂

To me having two is a really useful tool in encouraging the drive and ambition in them. It is obvious to me already that they consciously compare themselves to one another and encourage the best out of each other. 

Jodie has been apprenticing longer, whilst Amy has a longer history in creative industries, Jodie favours colour and Amy favours Blackwork, Jodie is tall Amy is short… you get the picture. They are different, and this is GREAT! Neither seems to resent or feel threatened by the other, at least they don’t let it show if they do feel that way, but I can sense the fire that each lights underneath the other. The competition. It’s exciting to watch them… And I couldn’t be more proud of these kids. 

 As a mentor you need to always be thinking of ways to develop your little seedlings, sprinkle them with miracle grow, encourage and nurture them into strong, sturdy and mindful artists. That ain’t always easy. Sometimes just trying to think up your own creative ideas is a stretch… 

BUT… On this occasion I think I have nailed it. 

After the daily cleaning, shopping, setting up, researching artists, coffee fetching and watching vice documentaries about the tattoo industry is done, the girls have three additional tasks to complete. 

1. To re-draw a classic Sailor Jerry tattoo in their own style. 
2. To re-draw one of the tattoos either myself, verity or Yoji has booked in and interpret it in their own unique way. 
3. To do two or three words of lettering. 

For now, this is keeping them busy and they both seem really inspired to produce great artwork. 

JODIE: 

AMY: 

I will be setting new challenges for them as their  apprenticeships go on and making things harder and more exciting each time. Keep checking in to see what they get up to next! 

Make tea not war. 

JB

To send a general enquiry please email enquiries@blackmoontattoos.com
For specific artists bookings:

• Jo Black: joblack@blackmoontattoos.com

Jo has a questionnaire that requires completion before she can book you in. This will be sent as an auto reply to any email you send her. Please take a few minutes to complete this as it will allow a much faster booking process, emails regarding booking in will not receive a response until this is complete.

• Jodie Young: jodie@blackmoontattoos.com

Jodie is our junior artist, she is extremely capable of many styles of tattooing already and better than a lot of local artists who have been tattooing a lot longer. She is currently charging £60 an hour.

KERRY STCLEMENT @kerrence_tattoos

Email: tattooedkerry@icloud.com

Kerry has been working in Bristol and came to Black Moon to expand her creative ability and develop her style. Come and see Kerry for cute girly traditional tattoos and bright colours!

Tel: 01373464699 / 07422665796

PIERCINGS: currently not available.

Address:

Black Moon, Upper Floors, 7 Cheap Street, Frome, Somerset, BA11 1BN

Jo is really keen to do more of her incredibly detailed blackwork tattoos. If you are interested drop her an email on joblack@blackmoontattoos.com – here are some examples of a few pieces she has done recently 🙂

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This month we officially moved into our new beautiful 17th Century building, and in true Black Inc style, or Black Moon as we are now called, we threw a party!

It was a roaring success and a perfect way to celebrate the change. Look out for the video we’ll be uploading soon documenting the whole process.

We do however want to thank everyone that came and everyone that’s helped us open our dream studio, we couldn’t have done it without you.