74 • SKIN DEEP MAGAZINE
those years of fading had stories to tell. Those tattoos have seen some things. I
think that’s what I love about tattoos the most,” he adds.
But if he thought learning to tattoo would be easy, he had another thing
coming. He did his first piece at 17 and the “amount of patience it takes” was
what surprised him most. “From the outside looking in, it’s just drawing on
skin,” he reasons. “But actually working on someone and say they’re not sit-
ting well; the stencil wipes away too soon; the sweating and panicking; that
stuff will humble you really quick.”
He persevered and eventually found his footing, and his signature style.
“Initially, I really didn’t have any particular style—I just wanted to be around
tattooing,” he says. “I fell in love with American traditional when I started col-
lecting tattoo books and flash. I’m a big antique collector and I love the stories
behind everything.”
“It’s timeless. It’s classic,” he continues, explaining the appeal. “A solid black
line, some black shading, and a pop of colour. There is something so simple
and pure about a nice panther head or pin-up. It’s like the soul food of tattoos.
It doesn’t need to be crazy and cutting-edge to have a nice feel,” he argues. “To
me, it's more about the story than it is about the tattoo. It’s a little token that
you carry with you to remember moments you’ve lived.”Kyle Jeffas On... Dogs And Antiques
“A majority of my life is tattooing and
hanging out with my French Bulldog,
Rascal. Outside of that, I go antiquing
and looking for vintage clothing a lot.
Everything from vinyl records to moose
heads. Everyone jokes that my house is
going to look like a museum someday.”