• STUDIO NEWS

• BEHIND THE MACHINE

• FEATURE TATTOO

• UPCOMING EVENTS

• THIS MONTH'S STUDIO SPECIAL

• ONGOING HAPPENINGS

STUDIO NEWS

SACTE EZINE GOES QUARTERLY

The SACTE Ezine will now be updated quarterly. New issues will come out in January, April, July and October. Our schedule is so hectic that it is hard sometimes to sit down and update it monthly. By going quarterly we can keep you more updated on a more regular basis at a time when you can expect it.

BEHIND THE MACHINE  

SUMMERS OVER

Photo from Sturgis 2004 - left to right; Dick, Mary, The GYPSY and Debbie

What I did on my Summer vacation..... I drove, set up the mobile unit, tattooed and pierced, broke down the mobile unit, I drove home. I drove, set up the mobile unit, tattooed and pierced, broke down the mobile unit, I drove home. I drove, set up the mobile unit, tattooed and pierced, broke down the mobile unit, drove home, and on and on and on and on......  And that's what I did on my Summer vacation.

In other words.... I didn't have a Summer vacation! But that is not unusual for summer is the busiest time of year for us. We average about 40,000 miles between May to September every year going to various shows across the country. People often say, "It must be great going to all those different places and seeing all those different things." The truth is we seldom see much more than the inside of the mobile unit and the area surrounding it when we are at a show. We are there to work while you are there to party and work we do.

Before we go to a show there are things that must be done. We square away all licensing requirements, notifications and schedules. We have to inventory the mobile unit and restock it. Some items must be removed from the studio and transferred to the mobile unit. Then there is packing, cleaning and maintenance of the unit. All this before we even leave town. When we arrive at the show destination it is now time to set up the unit. 

The apprentice and the front person are instrumental in the set-up process. We work as a team which makes set-up smooth and easy in most cases. For the process to work efficiently each person has a job they must perform in a set order. I take care of the positioning, leveling and blocking of the mobile unit. Some of the shows we do are very difficult to maneuver into our space and out of it. Fortunately I am very adept at manipulating our 30' unit into and out of the places it has to go. I also set the awnings and help remove the heavier objects from the unit. The apprentice is responsible for setting up the supplies and equipment inside the unit. The front person sets up the tables, waiting and viewing areas outside the unit. All 3 of us help with the miscellaneous tasks and the cleaning of the unit, inside and out. I have an extra job which has become a running joke with the 3 of us, I have to handle the PR during set-up. This basically means that I must shoot the bull with every person that comes up to the unit during set-up while the apprentice and front person continue to work. It is important that I visit with the people that stop by. Some are personal friends, others regular clientele while others are are both.... clients who have become friends. Some people that stop by are the show promoters and others are City, County or State officials. Then there are the people with questions who may become eventual clients and friends. All must be treated with the courtesy and respect they deserve and I must make time for them, with pleasure. Average set-up time with 3 people working is 4 hours.

After set-up is completed it is time to do whatever running around must be done. This includes grocery shopping (soup and sandwich), license verification, purchase and supply pick-up. Yes even after all of our careful stocking of the mobile unit we sometimes find that we have forgot some type of supply. When all this is done it is now time to relax for the evening. This usually consists of finding a restaurant to have dinner then returning to the mobile unit to shower and vegetate with a book or a movie before going to sleep.

Our work day at a run starts at 8:00am when we have coffee and start preparing for the day. Cleaning and organizing are the order of the morning. By 10:00am we are ready to tattoo, pierce, talk to people, answer numerous questions and clean some more. I will do an average of 12 tattoos and 5 piercings a day at a run. I am responsible for the more advanced tattooing and piercing techniques. The apprentice will do an average of 5 tattoos and 6 piercings a day. We do piercings in between tattoo appointments. The front person is responsible for pricing the art, answering peoples questions, collecting payment, taking care of release forms and care instructions. The front person also visits with people who are waiting to be tattooed or pierced keeping them entertained during their wait. Between the 3 of us we talk to more than 100 people per day during a show and personally interact with about half of those people. The work day will usually end between Midnight and 3:00am depending on the appointments we have for that day. We fall into bed and at 8:00am the next morning we are ready to repeat it all again.

When it is time to pack up and go home we attack it with gusto. The 3 of us can have the mobile unit packed and ready to roll in 60 minutes time. It's hard but we have actually matched that time with just 2 of us doing it. Then comes the leaving. Most of the time we are the first ones to leave a show and to maneuver out and around other vendors is an escape trick worthy of Houdini. Now comes the long drive home but not before we stop and have our first sit down meal in several days. It sometimes seems like the closer we get to home the further away we are.

Once home we must unpack the unit, do laundry, clean the unit and prepare it for the next run. Usually the day after we return we are once again in the studio with a full day of tattooing and piercing.

Many is the time that people will say to us, "You must make good money doing this."  Let's take a look at that statement and we will give you an idea of the cost to us to do a road show. A weekend road show which consists of Thursday (travel and set-up), Friday & Saturday (work day) and Sunday (tear down and drive home), takes a $1,000.00* commitment. A show that is 7 days or longer requires a $3,000* commitment. The money invested includes vendors fees, fuel, supplies, licenses and misc. expenses. In order for a show to break even for us we must make back expenses plus what the studio daily average for each day we are on the road. EXAMPLE: If we are doing a weekend show (4 days) and our daily studio average is $300.00* per day, then we must make $2,200.00* before we can show a profit. If we are doing a 7 day show (usually gone 10 days total on this type of show), we must make $6,000.00* before we break even.

*The amounts listed are not the studio daily average, commitments, expenses or amounts earned. The figures that were used are merely for the purpose of this example. The studio average's  are no one's business save my own.

Sometimes a show is good sometimes average but once in awhile a show is lousy be it from weather, economy, poor promotion or any number of factors not of our making. It's a throw of the dice and you just never know how a show will end.

So, you might be saying to yourself right now, "They must be crazy." Yes, we are crazy! It is a lot of hard work and takes a lot of commitment but we would not trade it for anything in the world and the reason is you, our valued clientele and friends. People like Dick and Mary pictured above or Lisa, John, Bob, Tammy, Mindi, Tusk, Heather Heather, Chris, Jim, Russ, Kathy, Brian, Nelson, Janie, Pam, Charlie, Bruce, Cupcake, Robert, Laurie, and so many others that I do not have the time nor space to list them all here. To all of you that give us the opportunity to share our art with you and who we get to know and spend time with, Thank You!

Below are photo's of some of the people mentioned above.

FEATURE TATTOO

DRAGON COVER-UP

This issues feature tattoo belongs to a very dedicated fellow by the name of Don. The tattoo is a cover-up and free hand original by The GYPSY. We will not go into a lot of explanation on this design the work speaks for itself. We will tell you however that the only reason Don wanted the original tattoo covered was because it was too small. Don thought the original tattoo was good. He now knows that it wasn't and we are working on covering or fixing his other tattoos.

The tattoo took approximately 12 hours to complete. The tattoo is located on his left bicep.

UPCOMING EVENTS

SEASON IS OVER UNTIL NEXT MAY..... TIME TO HIBERNATE! 

To see a schedule of our upcoming events CLICK HERE.

THIS ISSUE'S STUDIO SPECIAL

This issue SACTE is having a sale and you tell us what's on sale! Simply come to the studio from now until December 31st, 2003 and tell us what you want on sale, tattoo, piercing, jewelry or merchandise and we will give you 10% off the price of the item you want. It can't be much easier than that. So stop by today and tell us what in the studio is on sale for you.

Offer good at Independence, Kansas studio only. Only one sale item per customer. Not valid with any other offer or special. Offer expires December 31st, 2003

ONGOING HAPPENINGS

The ongoing renovation of our new studio is proceeding on schedule. Projected completion date is Fall 2003.

The www.sekpress.net course "Tattoo Machines Equipment and Supplies" is now available.

Check Out our new Website ABLAZABLE.COM and our new Ebay Store ABLAZABLEDOTCOM.