Everyone has them. Hell, even my own mother’s gotten inked twice in the past two years, and she doesn’t even own a cell phone. Point being, tattoos have rapidly ascended the social ladder from taboo to typical, and nary a scantily clad male or female crosses one’s path these days without some form of body art adorning their frame.

Of course, whether said décor is appealing to the opposite, or even the same sex in some cases, is entirely a subjective matter. The “hot-or-not” factor has morphed from an attraction once relegated to the rebellious outlaw to the common man, or woman as it were.

Thus, the attraction to and appeal of tattoos have shifted from a desire to date and/or fornicate with the bad boy/bad girl to an urge to find either A) a partner whose proverbial tattoo cherry has yet to be popped, or B) one whose ink is so unique it invariably begets compliments or an endless parade of questions pertaining to the meaning or motivation behind the ink itself.

So perhaps the attraction of tattoos in this day and age isn’t so much in their existence, but rather in the stories they tell. I mean really, let’s call a spade a spade here. Meeting a potential partner/bed buddy becomes that much more poignant if they can not only formulate coherent sentences on their own accord, but also if such sentences can be strewn together to create a sense of intrigue about what would hopefully be a significant piece of body art.

And I use the term “significant” very loosely in this particular context. What may seem meaningless to a passive observer may indeed hold profound connotations to whomever the tattoo happens to be adorning. But that’s where the leniency comes to a screeching halt…

I’ve seen more “bad” tattoos in the past six months than I’ve seen in the last six years. And I’ve really been unable to arrive at any other conclusion as to why, other than people, in general, are unoriginal sheep. And as much as I’d like to reject that observation, I am continually reassured of it on an almost-weekly basis.

Sure you love your hometown - everyone does. But must you inform the world of your adoration as you traipse about the beach shirtless, visibly proclaiming your “So-Cal” love or “SD” pride? I mean really, come on.

You don’t see others with “Poughkeepsie,” or “Tallahassee” across their backs in old English.

So, in an effort to keep tattoos from becoming entirely cliché, I say be original. Use that orb situated three feet above your ass for something other than a (flat-billed) hat rack or pretty conversation piece. Instead, make your ink work for you, rather than against, and you may just find yourself engaged in a conversation with an engaging individual. Because, like distinctive tattoos, such things are becoming harder and harder to find.

Haight Street Habit: Once the thriving center for free love and all things groovy, San Francisco’s famous Haight Street today feels more hipster than hippie. Amidst the overpriced thrift stores and numerous free-trade coffee options, trendy tourists will be thrilled to find there are roughly a half dozen tattoo shops on the street if they want to commemorate their trip with something a little sharper than a Golden Gate snow globe.

For the true ink connoisseurs Mom’s Body Shop is the only tattoo artist owned and operated shop on the street, and probably the most expensive.

Originally intended as a response to the egocentric custom shops and private studios popular in the late 90’s, proprietor Barnaby Williams envisioned Mom’s as an old-school street shop where anyone could walk in and get inked the same day. Today the shop caters to clients wanting custom work as well as designs picked from the wall.

Williams doesn’t remember who first thought of the name, but he knows plenty who would be willing to take the credit.

“Several people I know say they came up with the name in conversations with me and I’m not going to argue,” he says. “A bunch of us were talking about different ideas and the name Mom’s stuck in my head as a good one. You can’t fuck with mom.”

Mom’s Tattoo Shop was the culmination of one man’s quest for a place to call home, and a bunch of maxed out credit cards. In the process of opening his own shop, Williams left the neighboring shop he was working at to open his own because he wanted to do things differently. Evidently the staff felt the same way, as all of his co-workers jumped ship to follow him.

“We’re the only true tattoo shop on Haight,” Williams says. “There are other shops that have tattooers, but they are not a tattoo shop. We only do tattoos- we don’t sell bongs, we don’t have leather goods and we don’t have sunglasses. I don’t trust a gynecologist who sells tires. It doesn’t bode well when the driving force behind the shop is not tattooing, but making someone who’s not a tattooer money.”

“As an artist most of what I do is custom even if it is derivative.”

Williams has been working as a tattoo artist for about 15 years. He has a bachelor’s degree in fine art from

San Francisco Art Institute. He says owning the shop is not so different than working in it, except when he needs to discipline the staff, which he prefers not to do.

“I am not a confrontational person when it comes down to stuff and I hate having to be the boss,” Williams says. “That’s one of the reasons why I only hire people with ten years experience. Having a mature crowd, even though sometimes older people can be just as idiotic as young people, has made it easier. I own a shop so I can have a place I want to work in,and I also only work with people I like”

The full time staff has a combination of experience that adds up to over 60 years. Other than the shop Williams formerly managed and mutinied, he says Mom’s has been at the Haight Street location in San Francisco longer than any of the other contenders.

“We opened in ’98 and it was a really good season to open up, really good economy. We were doing really well from the beginning,” Williams says. “Of course there weren’t six other tattoo shops on Haight Street back then. Now there are six other shops and they all suck. But I say that because I’m bitter. It’s my street I feel. I’ve been here longer than anyone else.”

After eight years on a street popular with tourists, partiers and gutter punks, Williams and the rest of the staff all have their stories.

Vaughn has been a resident piercer at Mom’s for three years. Even as a kid he was interested in body modification and would often read National Geographic, and not just for the boobs.

“Sometimes shock will cause you to get nauseous, and this girl didn’t exactly make it to the bathroom,” Vaughn says. “Well her vomit made it, but from five feet away. I’ve had people pass out and hit the floor and I wasn’t even piercing them, they were just watching me pierce their friend.”

“I had a girl try to convince me she was over the age of 18 because she could put her entire hand in her mouth,” Williams recalls with a laugh. “That was her validation, that only a girl over 18 could do that. And once I tattooed a girl’s butt and she was so turned on that she wanted to have sex with me right then. I said no and she basically got crazy in the middle of the shop.”

The normal crazies like a guy in a pink unitard riding a unicycle into the shop aren’t the only benefits to working as a tattoo artist in San Francisco.

“San Francisco is Mecca, in the world of tattooing,” Williams says. “It goes through waves, but San Francisco has classically been known as the center of the universe. The availability to watch and learn from people just rocks my world. I’m satisfied that I do a good job and I do good work in a really competitive market, and that makes me a better tattooer on a regular basis.”

Photos by Brian Frank

Walking down a San Diego beach on a warm sunny day you’ll be hard pressed to find any scantily-clad sun bather without a work of art to display on their skin. The city’s warm weather helps the tattoo scene gain its popularity simply by allowing the bodyart enthusiast to clearly display their ink for the world to see.

“We have a lot more tourism here,” Jim Thomas of Black Rose Tattoo says. “And we have the beach so there’s a lot more skin showing so of course a lot more people are interested in body art than elsewhere in the U.S.”

The relaxing environment brings in certain situations tattoo artists and enthusiasts might not see in other parts of the U.S.

“I once saw a flying squirrel, and if you’ve never seen the movie “Waiting,” then you might not know what I’m talking about,” Buddy Lapel, tattoo apprentice at Black Rose Tattoo says. “The flying squirrel was soon hosed down with green soap.”

Among the hundreds of shops San Diego has to offer, the artists at Avalon Tattoo on Garnet Street are proud of their shop’s 16-year lifespan.

“I think our shop’s really unique because we’re really customer friendly,” Heather Sinn, a tattoo artist at Avalon, says. “There are a lot of shops that are really harsh. We’re really customer-oriented and plus we’re all really fabulous tattoo artists.”

“This is seriously one of the best shops in the country,” she says. “I feel pretty privileged to be here. I’ve been tattooing for about 10 years and this is the best shop I’ve ever worked in.”

“Probably the most unique thing is that we’re all friends here,” Marty Conklin of Avalon Tattoo says. “There are no egos at this shop. It’s really nice to come to work when you know you like the people you work with.”

Down the street at Guru Tattoo, shop owner Aaron Della Vedova feels he had the right idea by putting time and consideration into finding the best tattoo artists he could find when he was in the process of opening his shop.

“I waited it out and got what I believe are the best tattooers in the west,” Della Vedova says. “A lot of people will hear that and say oh yeah who wouldn’t say that about their own shop, but I’ll tell them to go do their homework and you’ll find what I said is absolutely true.”

“We don’t even have flash, it’s a full-custom environment,” he says.

As far as the atmosphere, Della Vedova says it’s pretty low-key.

“It’s pretty sad and normal here,” he says. “There’s not a lot of excitement and crazy shit going on. Our clients are serious tattoo collectors who don’t bring a lot of drama with them.”

Della Vedova is impressed with the tattoo scene in San Diego by how so many multitudes of people are showing more interest in the fuller, larger pieces.

“I think it’s just awesome to be in this industry right now because it’s a timing thing and it’s just exploding,” he explains. “I’m just lucky that I’m doing the right thing at the right time. It’s all about the art which is cool, because I’m all about the art too.”

“Not only am I doing it in the right time, but I’m in the right place. I think San Diego is a great place to be right now.”

Another artist out of Guru Tattoo, Turk, says the uniqueness of the shop comes from the sheer interest the artists take in their clients’ ideas.

“We actually treat them like their ideas are worthy of tattooing,” he says. “Throughout my career I’ve noticed a lot of tattooers think their shit doesn’t stink and they can do what they want. The industry would be nothing if we didn’t have clients. So here we’re very client-driven.”

Before he came to Chronic Tattoos, artist Bill Kieffer worked as a commercial artist, where his area of expertise was set to sell a certain product.

“Tattooing is done just to help people realize their visions,” Kieffer says. “It’s the closest people get to

thinking about and creating art.”

“We have more of a different art vibe than a street shop vibe,” Johnny Blaze, of Propaganda Tattoo, says. “We hope to set the standard for good tattooing in San Diego.”

Blaze feels there are hundreds of great artists in San Diego and he has to constantly compete with others as well as focus and keep his work progressing forward.

“Compared to other cities that I’ve been in, there are more tattoo-savvy people here in San Diego,” he says. “That’s what sets San Diego apart. Most places people don’t know what they’re in for when they walk into a shop.”

Up and down the coast of California, Blaze hasn’t seen as many tattooed people as he has in San Diego.

“That’s why our shop is so different though,” he says. “It’s more than just a tattoo shop, it’s like a gallery and a shop combined. We try to mix it up a little bit.”

“The best thing about being a tattoo artist is connecting to people and the creative freedom,” Blaze explains. “It’s not like a job; it’s having fun with it. Making people happy on a daily basis is what makes me most content about tattooing.”

Photos by Michael Wilson