By Donna Thornton/News Editor
The staff of Old School Ink surprised owner Jeremy Crawford April 12 with a cake inscribed with the image of a tattoo machine, the very tool Crawford has used to establish his business and train others in the artistry of tattoos for the past decade.
Crawford said he got started as a tattoo artist “the wrong way,” by ordering a kit on EBay.
He sought training, however, to learn how to master the art. Crawford does consider himself and the others operating the equipment at Old School to be artists.
While many customers come in with a picture or at least a clear mental image of what they want in a tattoo, both Crawford and Chris Whorton said they prefer it when people trust their expertise.
“We like if when they have some idea what they want and let us create something unique for them,” Crawford said, “instead of picking something off the wall.” He said they can take the customer’s ideas, create a drawing and then use a stencil of the drawing to inscribe that image on skin.
There are trends in tattoos, as in most things, each year, Crawford and Whorton said.
“We do infinity symbols and feathers all the time,” Whorton said.
“It’s super mainstream now,” Crawford said.