Don't Forget April 16th!

Well here we are again, another week is over. I am a little disappointed today because we were supposed to get the keys to the shop next door. We had big plans to move over the weekend and unfortunately that has been pushed back a week. So it will have to be next week instead. It's probably a good thing, we have a lot going on right now and I seriously don't have enough hours in the day to do everything.

PLEASE don't forget our fund raiser for Japan day (I really should come up with a better name) on the 16th of April. We have had heaps of interest from people, so thanks for that. I just want to clarify what will be happening.

• We will be open from 10am sharp till roughly 5pm (but this may be extended, depending on interest).
• All tattoo's will be $80!! We normally charge $120-$150, so it's a good saving for you too!
• Matt, Jamie and Simo will draw up custom designs to choose from. Most will be Japanese inspired, such as Hannya, Kokeshi dolls, cherry blossoms and other Japanese flowers. There will be more, that's all I can think of right now.
• Also if people have a small tattoo idea, that is easy for our artists to draw up quickly, we will be doing this too. I must stress that it has to be small and easy to draw (we aren't going to have time to spend on anything really detailed or big). So things like small script, symbols etc would be the kind of thing we are talking about.
• Sorry we won't be doing large scale tattoo's or ongoing work for $80. We want to get as many people through as we can, only small work will be able to be done on this day.
• There will not be any appointments taken, it will be a "walk in" day. So it will be on a first come, first serve basis.
• We will have new merch and we plan to donate part of the proceeds of those sales to the cause too (we haven't actually made them yet, so the details of that still to come).

But here is a sneaky peak.

Onto tattoo's! Matt has started a bunch of new things, as per usual I got slack with photo taking again this week. Aaaaaand, he has one that is finished! Except I took some of the worst photo's ever, so it doesn't look as good as it does in real life. Hopefully when we get our photo station set up, I will get all Matt's recently finished stuff up on here and the photo's should be a hell of a lot better.

Dragon Koi Fish Sleeve, just the outline.

Side View

Paul's finished Hannya. This is the one that was started at the Melbourne convention. Will get better photo's soon hopefully.

That's it for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Matt's input this week "Watch Survivor Redemption Island, Phillip is my hero"

Summer time's coming!

All this sunshine is great! Also got to do some work on Chris, finished off a matching girl sugar skull on his other shoulder and managed to get a picture of the original one healed.

Also got started on this cover up, the original design was a bit of flash I'd drawn up and just changed a bit to help cover up the dragon, really pleased with the first sitting and can't wait to put the back ground and colour in

And a piece of flash drawn up by Jo of an Angel, really fun piece to do and get finished!

Autumn is here!

It really does feel like Autumn is already here, seems it has come early this year. I am actually ok with that, there is something nice about the cooler weather and being able to rug up again. In my older age Summer just doesn't seem as important. I think I fell in love with Autumn last time we were in Japan. I am obsessed with maple leaves, I took bunches of photo's of them. So what better way to welcome in the change of season than to post them and look over them again.

And since we are on the subject of Japan, please keep the 16th of April free, it's our open day/fundraiser. Please come along and help us raise money. Just because the media has seemed to move onto other things going on in the world, we cannot forget what's going on over in Japan and how much help and support is still needed there. If you read our blog and aren't in Adelaide, then see http://tattooersforjapan.com/links.html for a list of tattoo shops involved and get in on the action.

We hope to have a little more detailed info by next week on how we will be going about the day and hopefully I can post some of the designs that will be up for grabs. But please do come along, even a donation of $5 will be really appreciated and we should have a really fun day.

We hope to have new hoodies and T-shirts by then too, I will post very soon on what they are going to look like. But we hope to donate part of the proceeds of those sales too.

And on the tattoo front Matt started some new pieces and we got an update on one too:

So this is just outline of 1/2 sleeve. It is Raijin (God of Lightning). This client will be also doing Tajin (God of Thunder) on his right arm next week.

Again just the outline. Here we have a Tibetan Skull and snake. Matt chucked a chrysanthemum and a centipede in there too.

Front on

An update on our mate Luke. Still one more session to go but it's getting there.

Ok, I must be off. The couch, my puppies and a vodka lime and soda are calling. Have a great weekend everyone!

Matt's weekly input: Movie of the week "Never Let Me Go" and he has been "thrashing the pants off Ignite"

some new tattoos by Paul Nycz

tattoos now featuring the color BLUE!

Tattooing for Japan16th of April!

I just love this pic. Mainly for the fact that I took it really quick, just as this geisha was walking past me. I only just had time to point and shoot and I think it turned out ok considering. My friend Yumi (dressed in her kimono) is also in the background, so it's kinda special to me.

Well after much careful consideration and deliberation Matt and I have decided that we will not be going to Japan after all. We were due to fly out in just 5 weeks time, so it seems a little too soon to be going over there. There are many reasons why we have decided not to go but the main reason would be that it just doesn't seem right to be going on holiday, while many people are homeless or even worse. It also has to do with the billion fears I have about the current situation and I just know myself too well, I would be a nervous wreck the whole time. We have had a hell of a week worrying about friends we have over there and worrying about the situation as a whole. So needless to say our hearts go out to all the people of Japan right now.

So, since we are not going anywhere, we have decided to put our efforts into doing something to help. We are having an "Open Day/Fundraiser" on Saturday the 16th of April from 10-5pm. We will have a "walk in" day, where we will have no set appointments, it will be first come first serve type thing. Matt, Jamie and Simo are going to design a bunch of small tattoo's, probably Japanese themed, that people can choose from. There will be more information to come regarding the designs. But each tattoo will be $80 and EVERY cent we earn is going to help the cause. We are hoping to get together some cool prints and some new merch, so we would like to donate some of the proceeds of those sales to Japan too.

Anyone not wanting to get a tattoo that's fine! We still want people to come down and hang out, it will be an open house, so anyone can come in and say hi and possibly make a small donation. There will be a donation box for those who can't afford or don't want the $80 tattoo, so even the smallest donation will be much appreciated. We will be providing drinks and nibbles and we hope to make a real day of it!! So as well as helping Japan, we can have a little fun doing it! Regular clients, you will be EXPECTED to come, we would like to give something back to you guys for all your support too!

The finer details are still to be worked out but that's pretty much our ideas for now. We will keep posting about this in the coming weeks. But your support means a lot, thanks for all your responses on facebook!

As for normal work related stuff, Matt started a couple Koi pieces this week. I have been really slack on the blog lately and I have decided that I really have to start taking way more photo's of tattoo's each week, even if they are just the outline. Matt doesn't finish things all that often, since the work he does is so large these days. So I am going to take photo's of tattoo's all the time, finished or not, so hopefully that keeps people interested in what he is up to.

So here goes:

Matt smashed this out this morning in a few hours, start of Koi half sleeve on Brad. Got some big lotus flowers in there too.

This one Matt started on Tuesday on Scott. Koi back piece with chrysanthemums.

I think that is all for now. We would love to hear your thoughts about our open day and if you have any suggestions we are open to hear them!! Thanks for your continued support and helping our efforts to respond to a cause we feel so passionately about:)

Check out http://tattooersforjapan.com/home.html

Sydney Tattoo Expo 2011

First off before I get into anything I would like to pay our respects to Japan and our friends who are going through a really hard time right now. When I was first told of the earthquake and disaster that followed I was unaware at just how bad the situation really was. After getting home after our weekend at the expo, I sat down and watched the news for hours and I was kind of shocked to see just how bad things are over there. The scenes I have been watching the past few days have bought me to tears a number of times. I kind of feel guilty for having a good weekend now that I know this was all going on many miles away.

Some info I got from the Sydney Morning Herald online, in relation to donating digitally:

Some useful links:

For more information on where to go on Twitter to donate or get information, in Japanese and in English, visit: blog.twitter.jp/2011/03/blog-post_12.html

For more information on donating to the Red Cross on Facebook: http://www.causes.com/campaigns/154523

For Google's Crisis Response page visit: www.google.com/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html

For Google's person finder tool, visit: http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/

For further options on donating digitally, visit Mashable:

mashable.com/2011/03/13/japan-earthquake-tsunami-help-donate

Stay strong Japan, the rest of the world is here for you!

Now on a lighter note and as the title of this blog suggests we have been at the Sydney Tattoo Expo this weekend. It was amazingly busy (I kind of wasn't expecting so many people) and Matt tattooed all weekend. As I mentioned in the last blog we hadn't really pre-booked any tattoo's (apart from our mate Ozzy), so weren't too sure how that was going to go. I had a fear we would be sitting around bored all weekend but as it turns out Matt did a whole bunch of tattoo's and we were run off our feet! So considering how disorganised we felt, we had a really successful weekend. We are really enjoying the convention thing, it's exhausting but getting to know some other tattooers and meeting all sorts of people is fun!

I did have a whole blog of crapping on to do about our weekend but in light of what's going on in Japan I just don't feel like doing it. So I will just post a bunch of pics and maybe next week I can go into more detail:

Here is a pic of a tattoo Matt did on Thursday before we raced to the airport to jump on our flight to Sydney.

Traveling across the bridge on our way to the convention, first day. I am such a tourist.

About to start a tattoo on our mate Ozzy

During

Something tells me Ozzy has had enough in this one

Japanese Ghost lady, carrying skulls and stuff. Just the black and grey done at the show. Will do the colour in a few weeks. Crap photo

Matt's first tattoo on Saturday. Just a small finger tattoo on Rachel.

Second Tattoo on Saturday, black and grey rose on Natalie.

3rd Tattoo on Saturday. Old School Black and Grey panther on Joel. Excuse the shit photo again.

Me having a little contraband at the booth. What can I say, I got a little bored and needed something they weren't selling at the bar. Little nip of vodka and coke- yum

This guy is doing tebori on the head of another guy and it looked fricken brutal. Of course I love to watch the most brutal stuff going on.

You can kind of get the idea of how busy it was.

Our good mate Dann Ritter from After Ink, who was kind enough to share a booth with us! What a great guy!

A portrait Matt did on Sunday on Josh. Took a while and Matt hasn't done a portrait in ages but I think it turned out nice.

And Joel ended up coming back again on Sunday to get the other side of his leg done, with a snake. Bet he was sore on Monday.

Joel getting one of his tattoo's, think this one is the panther side.

Big thanks for Bec and Lachie who allowed us to crash at their place all weekend. It was great to see you guys, even though we didn't get to spend much time together. We will be back very soon for sure, Sydney is really starting to grow on us.

That's it for this installment.

Matt's contribution "Best wishes to everyone in Japan and our friends in Japan, please let us know if we can help in anyway".

buncha new paul nycz tattoo designs in the shop now!

And the Winner is Sydney!

Hello again! I have been very bad at keeping up with the blog lately. I just haven't felt there has been anything that interesting going on, so I didn't want to bore anyone. I have been reluctant to post, cos Matt hasn't finished many tattoo's lately and it's kinda boring not having that stuff to share. But today is a new day and there is a little bit of news.

Today we had a blackout and it was a right pain in the ass. Matt, Jamie and Simo all had jobs starting at 1 and that's exactly when the electricity went out! And of course you can't tattoo without it, so there was a lot of mucking around and non work related stuff going on. I decided to go around the shop and take photo's of all the candles we decided to light.

So back to news, we leave for the Sydney Tattoo Expo in two days!!! Can't believe it has snuck up on us already! I am not very organised to say the least! Check out the website for further info but it is this weekend 11th, 12th and 13th of March. We are trying something a little different with this convention. Matt is pretty much not pre-booking anything but he will have a bunch of stuff drawn up that people can choose from or he can draw something up for someone wanting something else. But if you were interested in booking beforehand you can still contact us at progressiontattoo@hotmail.com. So check it out and come along if you happen to be in Sydney! http://www.tattooexpo.com.au/

Second thing is we have decided to expand ourselves. The shop next to ours came up for lease and we have decided to take it. It is actually joined to our shop by a doorway in our reception room. So even though the shops have different entrances, we still have access between the two from upstairs. So it's very exciting, anyone knows I love a new project! We all just need a little more room and need to spread our wings a bit. We have many plans for it already like, getting ourselves a proper office, drawing area, photo station and a kitchen that we can actually use for our food! In case your wondering, no there won't be any new artists joining the crew. This is purely to give us more room we need to do our everyday stuff. I am planning on putting a fold out couch in there, for those slow afternoons when I just need a little cat nap.

As for tattoo's there is an update on Paul, who Matt tattooed a Hannya and Snake at the Melbourne convention. It's still not finished (may have got closer- had the power not gone out). But it's nice to see it with some colour now.

On the social side of things, we made it to Soundwave on Saturday. It was a beautiful 27 degrees and I think the event was one of the most organised, best run festivals I have been to. My highlight was Gaslight Anthem, Matt's was H2O. Unfortunately I feel myself getting over these types of things though, as I found myself ready to go home at about 8pm. It was a good day though, I shouldn't complain, I think I am just getting a little too long in the tooth for these things.

Not a very attractive one of me but it's funny so that's all that counts. I think we are watching Pennywise.

I also just wanted to put it out there that Matt has finally caught up on his long waiting list. And what was once an 18 month to 1 year wait is now looking more like a 4 month wait. He won't be taking on anything new till June but if you are keen he is taking interest now. It's probably best to send an email with what you want to get, where you want it and size etc. He really would like to focus more on Japanese larger work but takes on all sorts of stuff, if it's a good idea and he thinks it will be a cool piece to. If he can't do it Jamie and Simone probably can. He won't be doing anything in black and grey (not even Japanese) so if you want a black and grey tattoo Jamie is your man!

I think that is it for this installment. Stay tuned for a Sydney blog.

Matt's final word- "80's Sci Fi movies are badass and music wise, get onto Plan B, Sick of It All and H2O".

New piece by Budha