I swear we're still alive...

Sorry for the blog silence in the last, what, month?
Wow, that's embarrassing...
Anyway, not much shop stuff to blog about when you're not actually anywhere near the shop, but we're back now.
Our trip to Japan was wonderful, and i hope those of you who are on instagram have been able to follow Allan's tattooing there (@unclea), cause he did some really fun pieces on this trip!
We also went to some really fun places (as always), helped Inkrat move to their new shop, took Japanese lessons, and just enjoyed the crap out of Tokyo, our forever favorite city in the world.

But we're back at work now, on a more or less regular basis.
A few things have changed around here, though, for one thing, Eckel does not work here anymore.
So please, if you have any questions for Eckel, about anything at all, send them to: grifzzfizz@gmail.com.
And as you've maybe already seen here on the blog, Nick, or Electric Pick and some like to call him, is coming to visit for a month in August, and we're pretty fucking excited about that. Hope you are too!
Ok, i think that's actually it for news, but i could be wrong, i swear my brain is still in Tokyo...

I found this beauty on one of my film rolls...

I'll be back soon with some info about our upcoming mystery event in June... exciting, huh?
Yep, it will be!

Eckel is leaving... it must be Thursday!

That was a Buffy reference there, in case you're less nerdy than us... which, let's face it, you probably are!

Anyway, Eckel finally decided to go public with his news of moving (again), so now i can post it here too.

If you're a Danish client who needs to finish a tattoo, you should get in touch with Eckel right away, and if you're not a regular of his, but just someone hoping to get tattooed by him, all you can do at this time is to keep an eye on his blog for future dates and booking info.

"i will leave denmark for good in may, therefore i wont take on new clients.

people with ongoing projects should get in contact with me as soon as possible.i will hopefully come back once in a while to keep in touch with allan and amalie(and lucifer,of course!)so in case stuff needs some finishing,there will be another chance later on.

i will announce me next destination on here in a few months,,but i have a long summer travelling ahead,and that will give me time to figure out where to go.

thanks to everybody who made my time in denmark a life changing experience.you are the best."

Og så den danske: Eckel flytter fra Danmark, så dette er din sidste chance i denne omgang hvis du er ved at få lavet noget af ham, som du gerne vil have færdigt inden han rejser i maj.

Hvis du ikke er kunde, men bare havde håbet på at blive det i den nærmeste fremtid, må du væbne dig med tålmodighed, og tjekke hans blog for opdateringer.

Han vil selvfølgelig komme tilbage til København og besøge os engang i fremtiden.

THANK YOU COPENHAGEN!!!!

What not to write

Winter is on us like a big, heavy, grey blanket and it seems to be suffocating my need to blog.

But we're good, don't worry! The shop is doing great, and since it's not nearly as cold as last year, we're not even freezing our asses off inside like we usually do.

I believe our often partially dressed clients appreciate that too!

Allan is busy working on his art show and his book, Nick is tattooing almost every day as well as working on his new web comic, and Eckel... where is Eckel anyway? I believe he's in Hamburg today, actually. And also tattooing a lot, when he is around. And next weekend he'll be moping around Brighton, mumbling about some vegan burger joint that no longer exists.

So yeah, all is well at the Conspiracy, gloominess aside!

Me and Allan's trip to Japan is moving closer and closer, and just to emphasize how much we friggin miss that place, we've already bought tickets to go back in April, which should be good news for all the people Allan won't have time to tattoo on this coming trip.

Speaking of clients and booking, i do have a bit of practical info, possibly in rant form, that i could squeeze into this post!

You see, i have started to book from the Uncle Allan waiting list, and all in all it's going ok.

Except for a couple of things...

1. Some people still don't seem to understand that you shouldn't write a bunch of questions to the waiting list. I will not email you back, and you will not be added to the list.

If you have any questions, ask them before submitting your ideas to the waiting list, and ask them via our regular mail.

2. You will also not be added to the list if you don't include tattoo ideas and placement.

Also, it's up to you to think of something interesting for Allan to do. Try to make it fun. 

If i'm going through the waiting list and the choice is between someone with an awesome, well thought out tattoo idea, pictures of placement and reference, all wrapped up in a polite email, and a dude who's whole email goes something like this; "hey, i wanna get tattooed, i don't know what i want, so just do whatever, i don't care", well... it's not a super hard choice, is it?

3. Lots of people apparently only read the part of this page that has the email address in it, and so again, those people, who don't read the whole thing (yes, i know it's long) and leave important stuff out, they won't be added to the list.

4. If you get impatient and decide to go get tattooed somewhere else, at least have the courtesy to send us an email, so we can take your name off the list. If you sign up for a service of any kind, anywhere, and decide to back out for whatever reason, you let people know, right? 

This especially goes out to the people who couldn't wait for Allan and decided to get tattooed by Eckel instead. It's fine if you don't have the patience to wait, but for christs sake, let us know so i don't waste time writing emails offering you dates to get tattooed!

5. You don't get to chose the date you get tattooed, another thing that's explained on this page, so if you write an email saying "i'd like to get tattooed in June 2012", that's probably not gonna happen. Once we book you, we'll do whatever we can to find a date that works for everyone, but until then, you shouldn't assume you can get tattooed whenever you feel like it.

Whoa, with the angry teacher-type ranting, sorry about that, but seriously, a good third of the mails i get for the waiting list are either missing information or missing the point.

But the rest of them, those who get it right, we're so grateful that they take the time to read all the rules, come up with fun projects and wait patiently for Allan to have time to tattoo them!

If you read Allan's blog, you already know that he has claimed the month of March for his book project, but as soon as that's done, it's back to regular booking!

Ok, if you've read this far, you deserve some friggin tattoo pictures.

And even if you've only skimmed this... whatever, you still came by to read the blog, so you deserve some pretty pictures too!

Here's a couple of newer Eckel tattoos, one from 2011 and one from 2012. Enjoy!

Tattoo by Eckel

Tattoo by Eckel

 

Tattoo by Eckel

 

 Ps. Sorry for the obvious iPhone pictures... ahem...

Cats, cats, all about cats

As you may already know, Eckel isn't leaving Denmark after all!

At least not right now. I know, so confusing, but good news nonetheless. 

And in very related news, it's Eckel booking time again, but things are gonna be a little different for new clients this time around, as Eckel has made a list of designs that he would like tattoo, and if you're a new client wanting to get tattooed by him, you should pick something from this list of ideas. Don't worry, they're all awesome!

If you already have a piece in progress by Eckel that you wanna continue, this obviously won't affect you at all.

Booking procedures have also changed a bit since last time and to keep things simple, we've decided that all bookings should go through one email instead of two, so from now on all booking will go though: grifzzfizz@gmail.com.

However, i will still answer any general questions and concerns you might have on the conspiracy mail after you've booked in with Eckel.

From Eckel's blog:

"and here we go again.

as i said a few days ago(read post below for further information)here is a list of ideas that i would like to do:

small,one session pieces:

-small animals with wings(such as:cats,rabbits,mice/rats,frogs...)

-black cockatoo

-a worker bee carrying a factory

-bird getting its wing cut off with a scissor

-girl face with ONE eye(as in cyclops)

-zebra head

-a guillotine

-stagbeetle with a castle for a head

-frog on a girlshand

-an old,ugly witch

-girl wearing a burkha(ideal for cover-ups,and i am not even kidding,see painting above*)

bigger projects(such as sleeves/ribs/chests and stomachs)

-girl riding a polarbear

-a black and a white cat

-hammerhead shark head with a deer's body

-a rat king(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_king_(folklore))

-bird with a surveillance camera for a head

-crazy cat lady

-the young woman and the death(as in grim reaper)

-a hornbill

big projects(backs)

-a raging or dying horse

-large bird of prey with dead rabbit or smaller bird

-womans face with fancy hair and jewellery

-a sphinx(as in the egyptian woman with a lions body)

-a harpy(as in bird with woman's head)

-cat and bird/cat fighting cat/whatever CATS

the ideas and placements do not have to be combined in the way listed above,although some ideas categorized for big placements might be difficult to do on smaller areas.

note that the suggestions on this list are the only new projects and clients i will take on in this period of booking.

other than these i will just carry on with projects that have already been started.

in case you are interested to book appointments with me as a new client,i need all your contact info,even though i prefer communicating via email.pick one of the ideas from above for whatever placement,and a variety of dates that work for you if you have to travel to have an appointment with me.in case you want to get most of your travel,i have done two sittings on following days with a few customers in the past,and it works great that way as well if the piece allows working on different areas. in case you are up for a torture like that, let me know about it in your email as well.

that should be it.

thank you"

 * or in this case, below

So there you have it, now go book!

A couple of tattoos and some news

Ok, so after London (still trying to catch up here!) Ryan Mason came to work with us.
His stay was a little hectic cause he got in later than planned, so he was super busy all week.
Which is great, of course, i just wish we'd had more time to hang out and show him around our city.
Maybe next time, if he decides to come back!

I didn't get pictures of all the tattoos he did cause i was a little preoccupied by my work in the darkroom (i've practically lived in there since we got back!) but luckily Ryan posted most of them on his blog, including the ones he did at the convention, so when you're done reading this, check his blog out.

But here are the two i did get pictures of; a large lower arm piece... and an even larger one!

Kasper's magpie

 

Rebecka's lower arm... she got pretty much all of it done in just one session!

I know this doesn't say much about the darkroom, but i wanted to post our progress anyway... those shelves were a bitch, but luckily Allan helped me out with the heavier table!

Just so this doesn't turn into a million posts in one day, i'm just gonna put this in here too: most people seem to already know this (people would even come up to us in London and offer their condolences!) but for those who don't; Eckel is leaving Denmark in December.
He's gonna travel around Asia for a couple of months, and while he doesn't know where he'll settle down after that, we already know it won't be Denmark.
However, don't despair, he'll still be coming back to do guest spots, much like that other guy, so your chance to get tattooed by him hasn't passed you by.
But he is booked for his last months here, so for those who didn't get in, you'll just have to wait till he comes back, probably in the spring sometime.
Keep an eye on the travel section of this blog, and on Eckel's personal blog too.

What his departure means for the shop, we still don't know.
But rest assured, Allan isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and neither am i!

We're obviously really going to miss Eckel, but we're finding it hard to put our feelings into words... so we'll leave that up to one mr. Axl Rose! Enjoy!

2011 London Convention

Just a quick announcement about the London Convention, since i'm starting to get a lot of mail on that subject:

Yes, Uncle Allan will be working there, but no, you can't book an appointment.
Allan will show up with a bunch of line drawings ready to tattoo, and if you like on of them, and there are no other people in front of you, you can get tattooed.
So if this sounds like something you'd be interested in, get to his booth early.
If you want a custom design, please sign up for the waiting list to get tattooed in Copenhagen.

Eckel will be at the convention, but he'll be there as a visitor only.
If he chooses to do a guest spot while in the UK, i will put the dates in the "Travel and Guests" section.

Questions? Post a comment here.

Happy 400 to us!

I just noticed we reached 400 followers on the blog, and what better way to celebrate than posting pictures of two dudes looking really smug about their hair... wait, what?

Anyway, this is what happens when you let Eckel play with extensions and Allan be, well, Allan.

Wait, did i just spend our celebratory-400-follower-post praising the two people who have never once posted on this blog?

When we reach 500, it's all about you and me, Nick!

*Insert sound of me sneezing*

It's Tuesday, and we're back to work after a long and surprisingly unproductive break.

I'm not super bummed about being back to work, but that's not saying that today couldn't have been just a little easier. 

For the first time in what seems like a very long time the weather is cold and wet, i have a vicious cold that makes me sneeze every 5-10 seconds, and there's a mysterious draft coming from somewhere in my office (most likely the very old window, although i can't feel anything when i'm standing over there?) which is not helping with the whole sneezing situation.

But it could be worse. At least we have a work-from-home day tomorrow already.

Yeah, we're easing back into it for sure.

But although we've had time off, Allan did tattoo for a couple of days last week.

Max came from Russia to get his lower arm done, and to give us some sweet Russian souvenirs, and Martin came down from Norway to finish his frontpiece (something he wasn't quite prepared for) and to start a new piece on his lower leg.

A couple of brutal days, for us and the troopers.

Russian souvenirs!

Martins frontpiece of doom

 I was taking a picture of this fancy gentleman werewolf Eckel did on Brian, and i somehow managed to fit everyone in the picture!

Allan tattooing Martin, day two

Oh, and in case you missed it, we have a guest artist coming in the end of the month, and you should all get tattooed by him  (well, not all, but some of you should)!

All booked up!

Just a quick little post to let you all know that Eckel is booked up for April, May and June.
That means we have closed for bookings for now.
So, what does that mean to you if you're a person wanting to get tattooed by him asap?
It means that you'll need to write us from June 1st. to book appointments in July, August and September.
As usual, we ask you to include your ideas for the design, size and placement, any relevant pictures of yourself or design reference, as well as a list of dates in July, August or September where you'd like to get tattooed.
And as usual, if you live in the area, we will ask you to come by for a consultation prior to your tattoo appointment.
If you are interested in an appointment later in the fall, do not write us yet.
In June we will only be booking for those three months.

That's all, we look forward to hearing from you in a couple of months, and remember, if you'd like to know more about booking, read the tabs named Eckel and client info.

Og så på Dansk:
Eckel er fuldt booket de næste tre måneder, og vi har nu derfor lukket for booking.
Det betyder, at hvis du gerne vil tatoveres af Eckel, skal du sende os en mail i starten af Juni for at booke en tid i enten Juli, August eller September.
Som sædvanligt vil vi bede dig om at inkludere alle dine idéer til design, placering og størrelse i mailen, eventuelle billeder, samt en liste over dage i de følgende tre måneder hvor det vil passe dig godt at blive tatoveret.
Og som sædvanligt vil vi bede dig om at kigge forbi til en konsultation inden din tatoverings-aftale hvis du bor i nærheden.
Hvis du ønsker en tid senere på efteråret skal du ikke skrive til os endnu.
Vi booker kun de tre måneder ad gangen, så hvis du vil have en tid senere, må du vente.

Vi håber at høre fra dig i Juni, og hvis du vil læse mere om booking kan du gøre det her på siden under Eckel og client info.

For the locals...

This one is mostly for the readers in Copenhagen, so i'm afraid it's gonna be one of my rare in-Danish posts.
But if you're terribly curious, there's always good old google translate!

Vi er (igen) ved at rykke om og små-renovere i butikken, denne gang i hoved arbejdslokalet.
Siden vi nu pludselig har to i stedet for tre tatovører siddende derinde, besluttede vi os for at give (eller rettere, for at få vores trofaste håndværkere til at give) rummet en velfortjent overhaling.
Vi skal have lavet paneler, sat fancy tapet op, og lavet nye arbejds stationer, så vi har nu hele to store skriveborde som vi skal af med, nemlig Allans og Nicks.
Jeg har derfor sat dem begge i den blå avis (se annonce her og her) og håber selvfølgelig på at der er nogen der kan bruge dem, da jeg hader at smide gode møbler væk.
Hvis du skulle være interesseret i at hjælpe os af med et eller begge, kan du ringe eller skrive til butikken, eller lægge en comment her, og så giver vi dig en sweet deal!

In other more tattoo related news (hence the switch back to English); Eckel has a few unexpected openings in February and March, so holla if you're interested!

Guns & ammo

Sunday we had our (first) annual Conspiracy Christmas party.
Or Christmas hangout you might call it, since four people in a kitchen does not a party make... but close enough!
Nick and me made some pretty amazing food while Allan tattooed Martin. Our friend Suzy came by, with Lucifer's best friend Palma, to sew some doggie clothes and i made Christmas presents.
After dinner we listened to jazz and then converted the basement into a shooting range.
That's just how we roll.

Our BFF came by to get his Christmas present (a portrait of his mom)

The Conspiracy library is both educational and entertaining

The tards getting ready for dinner

Beuf Veganoff (Get it? We thought it was hilarious!)

Presents for some, post-it's for others (what? I've been busy and i totally am gonna get them stuff, so back off!)

This is what "WTF?!" looks like

Don't worry, it's not real, we ain't THAT crazy*

One of the perks of having a tattoo shop; easy access to script books and stencil paper

Allans pile

Ready to settle it with the Canadians once and for all?

Lucifer wasn't a fan, but the rest of us had a great time!
The next day, me and the ninja went downstairs again to kill something

Only this time it wasn't innocent plastic bottles, but a terrible beast (possibly from outer space) we had to deal with

We're only gonna be at the shop some days during Christmas, so if you really need to get in touch, don't call or drop by, just send us an email.
But if there's any chance it can wait, please wait to contact us until after new years.

Happy holidays, everyone!


*If anyone should be interested in an explanation, and i'm sure that some of you are; Nick decided to get rid of some of his most priced possessions since he's moving to Hong Kong where everything is dirt cheap, and that's why Eckel is now the lucky owner of a bb gun!

The fox and the ratter

Today we got word that construction is gonna start on the kitchen in about 8 days.
I however, am not gonna get excited because, as regular readers may have already noticed, not a damn thing happened the last time someone told us "within a week".
Whatever, it has to happen some time, right?

Anyway, tattoos!

Here's what Eckel did on Zule today.
Oh, and Lucifer is back home after an extended weekend in the country with his human grandparents, and he was so excited to be back that he snuck into the forbidden zone, and managed to get in the picture too.

A fox and a Prague Ratter (who appears to be very interested in whatever Eckel is telling him)

Here's a majestic piece of embroidery that Allan bought for my office while i was sick

And, uhm, i actually bought this guy for the apartment (don't judge me) but i haven't figured out a safe way to bring him home on my bike yet

My parents brought us apples and pears

And Allans client Morten brought cake!

Allan posted the tattoos he did in London, so go check those out!
And also, go check out some pictures a friend took at the shop not too long ago.
Her blog is awesome, by the way, so stay and check out her work while you're there.

Supplemental

Here's another view of the horse tattoo Eckel posted on his blog a few days ago.
Yes, on his blog.
A picture.
Of a tattoo.
I know, right?

Side

Front

Aaaand a whole different view, that you maybe didn't wanna see

Sorry for traumatizing y'all, i'll make up for it with more pretty tattoo pictures in the near future, and maybe even a finished shot of this!

Dinner is served

Sorry for the blog silence lately, but as you may know, Allan and myself took a much needed week off in the country.
Too short, but good nonetheless.
But now we're back... in fact, we're all back.
Now, i don't wanna get all sentimental on y'all, but i can't tell you how good it feels to have the whole gang back together again, for the first time since we moved.
It's fun and awesome and... magical.
Like, unicorns and rainbows and Zorgon magical.

The following pictures are from Wednesday.

Yes, Nick really is back (see more here)

I can't say for sure, but i think we might be the only tattoo shop in the world that produces our own coriander (and it's good too!)

Allan started this lovely laaaady on Jens

Here's what's happening on the other side of that leg... to be continued soon

Nick bought a rice cooker and made dinner for everyone

Ta-dah!

Tuna surprise!

Geeks, geeking out

More geeking, and a sleepy Lucifer

We all stayed at the shop till around one am.
Who wants to go home when being at work can be so much fun?
It's probably a good thing we only have two sofas and no shower.

We saw this on the way home: a tea party on the middle of the road, in the pouring rain.... Copenhagen, what will you think of next?

Happy b-day Eckel

Hope it was a good one!


(To explain the controller; we got Halo 3, but it won't let you play co-op for three people, so i'm stuck watching... boo!)