Question:
There are obviously several people who feel rather strongly about what Skin & Ink has done regarding Shannon’s form letter to them. Personally, while I do feel that their decision to print it may have been in poor judgement, I don’t think it warrants a boycott. That’s my opinion. I don’t buy the magazing, although I do usually look at it when it shows up in our shop. I do have to say that I feel that it’s one of the better tattoo magazines out there. There are a couple of reasons I feel this way, but one reason that I would like to point out: They are, to my knowledge, the ONLY tattoo magazine which will not accept adds from manufacturers trying to seel "do it yourself" tattoo and piercing kits, which NEVER come with an autoclave. As such, I think they are taking a very important stand within the tattoo/piercing community. And as such, they loose a good amount of advertising revenue. I applaud them for such a move. While I don’t take kindly to any condecending attitudes towards piercing and other body art, I do understand their desire (and right) to have a tattoo-only magazine. Shannon has created BME as a format for multidiscipline bod mod. That is/was his choice; just as Skin & Ink’s choice to have a tattoo-only mag is their choice. I think their committment to not having advertisements for do-it-yourself kits far outweighs any damage or hurt feelings created by the publishing of Shannon’s letter or their comments regarding other forms of body art. That’s my thoughts. — Derek Lowe (member, APP) Steve’s Tattoo and Body Piercing Madison, WI Tel: (608) 251-6111 http://www.inxpress.net/~piercer
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I think their committment to not having advertisements for do-it-yourself kits far outweighs any damage or hurt feelings created by the publishing of Shannon’s letter or their comments regarding other forms of body art. That’s my thoughts.
I think that Derek hit the nail on the head here. I can’t very well boycot, because I’ve never read the magazine in the first place! I admit that what happened was in poor judgement, but life goes on. So long as safe piercing/inking is being promoted by both camps, that’s good enough for me. From these posts that you have all written, I gather that S&I is a well put together magazine. As Derek said, they have no adverts for do-it-yourself-kits, and that to me shows responsibility to its readers. Lapse of judgement happens to all of us. Why penalize the magazine for that? As it is sung in Rent, "Let He Among Us Without Sin Be the First To Condemn." I think the line speaks for itself, and embodies my opinion! xxx & sunny days LA Ooh the Spice Girls…First I’d fetch the stick out of Posh’s ass, then be sure to hurt Baby with it…severely. Then I’d kidnap Sporty for my harem. L.A.
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They are, to my knowledge, the ONLY tattoo magazine which will not accept adds from manufacturers trying to seel "do it yourself" tattoo and piercing kits, which NEVER come with an autoclave. As such, I think they are taking a very important stand within the tattoo/piercing community. And as such, they loose a good amount of advertising revenue. I applaud them for such a move.
As do I. I’m pretty conservative even when it comes to my chosen artform, tattooing. Celtic because I am and can’t see using someone else’s heritage on my body. Portrait because I like the style and have some reasons of my own for what I pick. I’ve found it to be a high-quality mag about *tattooing*…which is why I buy it. As a personal opinion only, I follow the trends in other bodmods but don’t have the desire to pursue them further. I think their committment to not having advertisements for do-it-yourself kits far outweighs any damage or hurt feelings created by the publishing of Shannon’s letter or their comments regarding other forms of body art.
As a magazine writer myself, I can applaud an editor’s decision to stick with what they know. I buy S&I because it covers tattooing and offers the kind of outlook I want. My dollars go to ink, so I want to know more about that as opposed to piercing. I’m conservative and I admit it. There is ample room in today’s niche-market publishing world for a piercing magazine if someone wants to start one. Skiv 
=)}…HLA#2…ASSHOLE #41…DOD #1049 The Cast-Iron Asshole "God is an Iron." — Spider Robinson ……Go Eddie!……
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There are obviously several people who feel rather strongly about what Skin & Ink has done regarding Shannon’s form letter to them.
It’s strange… aboot 2 weeks after Shannon told me about his letter from N Ink, I got an email from the art director of the magazine, trying to use photos from the SPC. Tattoo history photos of crappy tattoos is what I have to assume they were after, they never actually told me. I have to think that since the mag has remade itself into yet another wannabe 1950s "hey daddy-o lets rumble" traditional (can we say trend-itional?) jump on the band wagon thang. For sweetchrist’s sakes, they have a section featuring tattoo artist’s "rides"… that’s pure pandering to that trendy subculture. If you want to boycott SKIN N INK, do it because it sucks ~ It’s a dime-a-dollar publication that finds new ways to annoy me… I have yet to read what they printed aboot Shannon/BME, but I’ll look at the newsstand. And Derek…if you want to comment on supplier ads, dont just blame the magazines that run them, blame the companies that pay to have their products advertised to the uneducated masses as well! ~ Don’t they advertise piercing supplies, though? Shawn/SPC *"Is that a subincision in your Pocket, or are you just glad to see me?"* "In clandestine clinics fugitive technicians experimented with test-tube babies and cuttings" William Burroughs
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says… And Derek…if you want to comment on supplier ads, dont just blame the magazines that run them, blame the companies that pay to have their products advertised to the uneducated masses as well! ~
I agree 100% with you on this. However, companies (most anyway) are going to do whatever they can to make the money. One way to stop, or help reduce, the effect these companies have is to not allow them to advertise in the places that people usually look for them: tattoo magazines. Don’t they advertise piercing supplies, though?
Actually, you are right about this. As I spent some time thinking about this, I remember seeing ads for self-piercing kits as well as reading a letter about it. The editor’s view was that the magazine was about tattooing and that was where the tattoo artists had the beef: do-it-yourself tattoo kits. Since it wasn’t a piercing mag, they would continue to allow them to run those ads. I think it’s a silly stance to take, but whatever. I still have to back them on their stand regarding tattoo equipment. Derek Lowe (member, APP) Steve’s Tattoo and Body Piercing Madison, WI Tel: (608) 251-6111 http://www.inxpress.net/~piercer
Response:
There are obviously several people who feel rather strongly about what Skin & Ink has done regarding Shannon’s form letter to them. Personally, while I do feel that their decision to print it may have been in poor judgement, I don’t think it warrants a boycott.
I agree. As a tattoo’d person with an interest in the history and practice of tattooing, I can tell you that most tattoo magazines are worthless. "Skin & Ink" and "International Tattoo Art" are the only tattoo magazines to which I subscribe. I’m sorry that the editor doesn’t understand other body arts, but hey, at least he’s honest. Would you really *want* a person with no appreciation for piercing, et al, to be making judgements on what goes into his magazine? Those of you who wish to boycott S&I, answer me this one question: Which tattoo magazine provides better coverage of the tattoo scene? As to their publishing of Shannon’s form letter, let me offer this, as an ex-editor of a magazine: When you receive multiple requests on a particular subject, it is common to take the one that best illustrates the range of letters received, and to reply to it in a generic manner. In that light, it was really a compliment to Shannon that his (albeit a form) letter was chosen as the vehicle to allow the editors of S&I to point out that they are about tattooing, and that they don’t believe they have the acumen to publish articles about other forms of body modification. :-) — Guinness
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Derek Lowe wrote and was cut: Don’t they advertise piercing supplies, though? Actually, you are right about this. As I spent some time thinking about this, I remember seeing ads for self-piercing kits as well as reading a letter about it. The editor’s view was that the magazine was about tattooing and that was where the tattoo artists had the beef: do-it-yourself tattoo kits. Since it wasn’t a piercing mag, they would continue to allow them to run those ads. I think it’s a silly stance to take, but whatever. I still have to back them on their stand regarding tattoo equipment.
So S&I won’t run tattoo DIY ads because it’ll hurt business for the proffesional artists? Not because it might be hasardous to use these kits… :-/ Ulf
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So S&I won’t run tattoo DIY ads because it’ll hurt business for the proffesional artists? Not because it might be hasardous to use these kits… :-/
I guess that’s not the way I understand it. As I understand it, piercing kits have nothing to do with tattoo. It has no relevance (probably debatable) to tattoo. Since S&I only wants to deal with things tattoo related, they have no reason to take a hard-lined stance against something related to piercing. Of course, you could also say that because it DOES have nothing to do with piercing they shouldn’t have it in there at all. Not a bad argument at all. I think it basically comes down to this. The magazine wanted to revamp itself. In doing so, it wanted to bring on board several well-known tattoo artists to write for and support the magazine. No one would do it with the ads in the magazine. So, they got rid of those. The artists couldn’t care less about piercing, so they didn’t care if they were in there or not. Plus, taking those ads generates revenue. It in the end, as with most things, it’s simply a business decision. What’s the least amount of self-damaging (money loss) activity could they get away with to achieve their goal — Derek Lowe (member, APP) Steve’s Tattoo and Body Piercing Madison, WI Tel: (608) 251-6111 http://www.inxpress.net/~piercer
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I agree 100% with you on this. However, companies (most anyway) are going to do whatever they can to make the money. One way to stop, or help reduce, the effect these companies have is to not allow them to advertise in the places that people usually look for them: tattoo magazines.
So that that just says one thing: the almighty dollar (not to be confused with "Almighty Rob Petroff") is more important than the ethics of their industry. Period. Fin. Over and out. Paying the bills is a necessity, but selling out your industry for even more money is unforgivable. Please understand I’m not just talking about selling needles and instructions to the masses via advertisments in tattoo mags, I mean "How To" videos and "Starter kits and delux starter kits" from so called reputable companies. Such as Gauntlet with "PIERCE WITH A PRO" and their series of how to videos, Rings N Things with their starter kits, and Pleasurable Piercings, which has the starter kit, the delux starter kit, and if memory serves a video. (correct me if I’m mistaken) I didn’t mean to make those 3 the only examples, and I’m sure someone will call it unfair to not list others, but those were off the top o my head. If you’d like to give me the names of other companies that encourage untrained piercers to pierce, please do. Stopping them from advetising is peanuts compared to my thoughts on the subject. If they continue to be unethical soley to make money, boycott the companies. Your dollars go to further their advertising, which furthers the amount of "do it yourself starter kits" that can and will be sold. So there. ~ Don’t they advertise piercing supplies, though? Actually, you are right about this. As I spent some time thinking about this, I remember seeing ads for self-piercing kits as well as reading a letter about it. The editor’s view was that the magazine was about tattooing and that was where the tattoo artists had the beef: do-it-yourself tattoo kits. Since it wasn’t a piercing mag, they would continue to allow them to run those ads. I think it’s a silly stance to take, but whatever. I still have to back them on their stand regarding tattoo equipment.
Big Daddy Derek…in this post you have said "I agree 100% with you on this." and "Actually, you are right about this"… do you think you can write those down and send them to me? It’s rare that someone says both of those to me!! Now if only I could earn Rob Petroff’s love, I’d be giddy like a goose ~ And one of the tattoo artists they had help revamp the mag, one who’s standards shaped it, is opening a combination tattoo shop/bar, so you can get drunk and tattooed in the same place, so there ya go on professionalism. Sigh. Thanks for letting me blow off steam. I’m back in Ann Arbor, you should come and visit me, Derek ~ Shawn/SPC *"Is that a subincision in your Pocket, or are you just glad to see me?"* "In clandestine clinics fugitive technicians experimented with test-tube babies and cuttings" William Burroughs
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Paying the bills is a necessity, but selling out your industry for even more money is unforgivable. Please understand I’m not just talking about selling needles and instructions to the masses via advertisments in tattoo mags, I mean "How To" videos and "Starter kits and delux starter kits" from so called reputable companies. Such as Gauntlet with "PIERCE WITH A PRO" and their series of how to videos, Rings N Things with their starter kits, and Pleasurable Piercings, which has the starter kit, the delux starter kit, and if memory serves a video. (correct me if I’m mistaken)
Selling out the industry? In what way? By giving people the information and equipment to pierce properly rather than letting them experiment with sewing needles and safety pins? People are going to pierce themselves. At least let them have access to proper information (including warnings of the dangers and side effects invlolved) I can not comment on Rings N Things or Pleasurable Piercings, but I have read several of the info packets available from Gauntlet. These packets stressed sanitary conditions, sterilized and new equipment, and proper procedures. My one piercing (now removed because of migration) was done by a man who was not a pro. He got his information from the Gauntlet info (which he insisted I read before-hand) and from practice on himself and others like me. He was fanatical about sterlization, anal-retentive about placement (depth, levelness, etc) and explained every step of the process. I couldn’t have asked for a better piercer. Offering accurate information and instruction and quality equipment to those who are interested in piercing as something other than a profession is not selling out the industry. There are many people who are interested in piercing– and are serious about doing it properly– that don’t have the time, money, or inclination to apprentice with a profesional studio for a year or more to learn how to do it. So long as the information is correct and the equipment quality, I say let it be sold. — Brother Blaze The Unintentional Monk (B.G. 2:15)
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