Permanent Ink – part 2: The Planning

Once Angel and I were both solidly on the same page for me to at least start getting more information around getting a tattoo, I began taking my design around to several different little shops that I knew about in the area. Needless to say this is not exactly my normal type of hangout! 🙂 I’m sure pretty much any of these places have tattoo artists employed who would be able to do a fine job with what I’m looking to have done. But most of these places, I just didn’t really feel very comfortable with if you know what I mean!

Some did suggest that I call in and book an appointment with someone (anybody) to go over the design. Others said whenever I was ready to just come on back in and first come, first serve, they would get it done. But most of the people I talked to at the front desks of these establishments just seemed.. kind of gruff. And not particularly helpful. And definitely didn’t give me any good vibes about wanting to come back in there for such a personal experience! The thing that stuck out to me the most in these shops, was the floorplan. I guess I don’t really know what I was expecting, but pretty much all of them just had a bunch of chairs and/or tables just out in the open, doing tattoos on folks sitting not 10 feet from someone else also getting a tattoo.

Now that might be all fine and dandy for someone getting a tattoo on their arm, leg, back, etc. I’m sure a lot of people probably enjoy that type of environment where they can talk to their neighbors while getting a tattoo and have kind of a shared experience. There is nothing wrong with that.  But not for me. Not being a tattoo virgin and getting my first one ever as a kinky, pubic tat! I observed that one place I went into did actually seem to have separate little booths with curtains, where it was only the tattoo artist and customer in there at a time. So I decided pretty early on that this is how I wanted mine to be done. If a shop didn’t offer that kind of privacy, then they would be ruled out for that reason alone.

One thing that DID come out of my initial searching, was that there seemed to be a consensus that the design I had printed as a temporary tattoo probably would not work exactly as I had it. I printed it as about a 3″ x 3″ image, and was very pleased with the size and placement so that is how I wanted to do the real thing.

However, it seems that if they tried to do the words “Property of Angel” that small, it would all smear together and you’d never be able to read it. So to keep that exact design, it would have to be a significantly larger piece! Which means not only would it cost more, but would take longer to draw (more pain!), and worst – might end up sticking out above my waistline a bit. That would only be a problem when swimming or boating with a group of friends, but that’s not exactly a topic that I’d be comfortable talking about in those circles! So that information did leave me a little bit down for a while as I contemplated what changes I would be OK with making to the design in order for it to fit where I wanted it.

Finally, I decided to just go back to the original artwork of Angel Wings surrounding a heart-shaped padlock. Even if it didn’t spell out that I was “Property Of…” Angel and I still knew what it signified. And really that’s all that mattered! Angel pointed out that it also somewhat alleviated her one concern.. IF I were to ever end up with someone besides her, at least this way the tattoo wouldn’t have her name all over it! I still don’t ever really want to think about being without Angel though!!

Anyway, I resumed my search for a shop & specific artist. I even expanded into neighboring cities, figuring that something meant to last a lifetime would be worth a drive if I found the right place somewhere else! I finally found a place online which was about a 30 minute drive for me. The pictures of the shop and artist bio’s really kind of stood out to me as being different (better) vibes than I’d been getting from most other places. And unlike most shops I’d seen, even those who had an online presence, I could request a consultation online and submit pictures/ideas ahead of time so they could try to connect me with the best available artist for my style.

It was only a couple days later before an artist (Amanda) reached out to me about my inquiry. We texted back and forth a few times to make sure she knew what I was asking for, then suggested I go ahead and come in to meet her for a consultation – which I was able to schedule for the next day! The shop was clean, the people were all quite friendly, and they DID in fact have private booths for their work. And Amanda was great! She very quickly and professionally confirmed exactly where I am looking to have the tattoo done and how large I wanted it to be. She also confirmed what I’d already heard, that if I did the words it would need to be drawn quite a bit larger.  But if I stuck with a more simple design then it should be no problem to get it into the 3″ x 3″ space.

She expects it will only take a couple hours worth of work, so not terribly expensive (less than I had anticipated!) She did also confirm however, that YES it will hurt! She doesn’t really do a lot in the pubic area, but says that it would be pretty much the same as doing the stomach, or in her case she had a tattoo done on her sternum so knew firsthand how painful that one had been. Anywhere in that region is pretty sensitive and won’t be particularly pleasant to have tattooed. But it’s definitely doable and will be worth it in the end!

I left there feeling very good about the whole thing and pretty much knew that this is where I want to have it done. I told Amanda that at that point I was still just getting the information, but I would go over it with my wife and let her know if/when I was ready to schedule it. After all, I DID promise Angel that I wouldn’t proceed with something like that without her blessing!

And her blessing was quickly received! I really don’t know why I thought it would be an issue, but I do just sometimes get myself worked up and nervous when asking Angel for anything like that. I know I shouldn’t after all the years that we’ve been together, but it still happens. Anyway, I told Angel about what I had found, and even showed her a picture of Amanda from the shop’s web site. I asked if she would be OK with me having this woman working on me down there in a pretty intimate location, and for the sake of something like that Angel is totally fine with it! She is fine with everything! She reiterated her concerns as they relate to ME, but said quite clearly that as long as I am OK with those points, then it’s my body and she won’t try to stop me from getting the tattoo. Plus she knows that she would also enjoy seeing me with it once complete!

The only potential issue was that we were both a little bit disappointed about losing the “Property of Angel” text due to the size constraints. It makes sense, but unfortunately does kind of take away a little bit of the personalization of the artwork. I really want this to be specifically about HER, and FOR her. So my next suggestion was to keep it simple and small, but maybe go ahead and just add Angel’s real-life initials to the top, between the Angel wings. She definitely liked that idea, so the next time I speak with Amanda I will let her know that we want to add that.

There will be more to come on this developing story, but for now I have called the shop to confirm that I do want to proceed with the tattoo, and placed the required deposit on it. I think that Amanda has been out for the past week or so, but as soon as she is able to confirm a date, this long awaited tattoo idea will become a reality for me!