Kari Barba (1960–) is a distinguished, award-winning tattoo artist with more than four decades of expertise in the industry. She is a co-owner of Outer Limits Tattoo & Museum, the oldest continually functioning tattoo studio in the United States and the second-oldest in the world. This establishment was founded in 1927 by an unidentified person […]
Category: Body Art
Snakes and Dragons: A Chat with Tattooer Intat
Intat served almost two years in the military after dropping out of college. His index finger was nearly amputated due to a terrible hand accident he suffered while on active duty. After finishing his military service, he studied tattooing and developed more effective hand-use methods since he had lost most of his sense of touch […]
Girin’s Fine-Line Illustrative Body Art
32-year-old Girin studied animation and cartooning at Sejong University in Seoul and taught at an art academy for a while. Still, he was more intrigued by tattoo art and learning the craft. Self-taught and beginning a career in tattooing in 2017, Girin enjoys utilizing a three-needle liner to give a great deal of texture and depth […]
State of Grace Tattoo Studio’s Twentieth Anniversary
We interviewed tattoo legend Takahiro “Taki” Kitamura; we are now in San Jose, California, for his studio’s 20th-anniversary celebration. In addition to permanent and guest artists tattooing in the shop, there is street art, a panel discussion, an art display, and much more. State of Grace studio collaborated with Empire Seven Studios, the Japanese American […]
Taki: One of America’s Finest Japanese Tattoo Artists
Takahiro “Taki” Kitamura was born in Tokyo in 1973 and moved to the United States with his parents when he was two. His father taught for 18 years at the University of California, Davis (UCD), and his mother instilled Japanese culture in her children, from cuisine to folktales, to preserve their history. Kitamura got his […]
Kirk Nilsen, a Tattooist Inspired by the Ancient World
Kirk Nilsen’s early works were motivated by customer demands for Mehndi designs, while he avoided drawing inspiration from cultures other than his own. Nilsen has been influenced by historical European buildings, medieval art, folk art, and textile art since he began tattooing in 2007. His mandalas tattoos are more symbolic and intricate, emulating specific examples […]
Shane Tan, a Tattoo Artist, Talks About His Incredible Bodysuits
Shane Tan was born in Singapore in 1984 and has had a passion for tattooing since he was a child. His immediate family members had tattoos, and they were acquainted with first- and second-generation tattoo artists. Tan’s father bought him a coil machine for his sixteenth birthday, which he taught himself how to operate. Spending […]
The Rebirth of Old Crow Tattoo: An Interview with Owner Hannah Wolf
Old Crow Tattoo studio was founded in 2009 by Philip Milic and acquired by tattoo artist Hannah Wolf in 2020. Now situated at 5250 College Ave in Oakland, California, it is a female-run studio with resident artists Hannah Wolf, Laura Taylor, Natasha Tsozik, and international guest tattooists. During an in-person conversation with Wolf, we learned […]
Kari Barba: The Queen of Modern Tattooing
Kari Barba has been tattooing for four decades. She was one of the few female tattooists in the 1980s and has devoted herself to promoting gender equality and advancing tattoo hygiene standards to what they are today. She is tattoo royalty and the co-owner of Outer Limits, the longest-running tattoo studio in America and the […]
Delphin Musquet: On a Mission to Produce Timeless Tattoos
The first time I met Delphin Musquet, he was lying on a portable table in agony as Giorgio de Duesanti inked his body at a Californian event in 2019. Both he and Duesanti are part of the resident team at Sang Bleu—a well-known brand and studio based in London, Zurich, and Los Angeles. Musquet established in the […]