Tell us about working the
Mondial du Tatouage in
Paris.
That show is sowell organised.
The whole weekend was amazing.
It was humbling. It made me
realise – as if I didn't know
already – that even after 17 years
there’s still so much I can learn. I
made a point of stopping to watch
the competitions. The atmosphere
was incredible, like a rock
concert. When they announced
the winner, the person who had
the tattoo started crying and I
found myself caught up in the
moment and crying too!
What about winning
awards yourself?
I entered my first competition
only because the tattooist I
was sharing a booth with
suggested it. I didn’t really
know anything about how they
worked. But I can see now why
they're almost addictive for
some people – that adrenaline
rush, stopping work for the
day to watch your pieces go
onstage, seeing what everyone
has done and feeling inspired!
It doesn’t matter to me if my
work wins or not. It's the fact
that my customer chooses not
only to get tattooed all day,
but then wants to go on stage
and present it. I've been lucky
enough to win a few times. I
do wish, though, that you
could hear the critique from
the convention judges. Even if
it’s done privately, it would be
so nice to get feedback about
what they liked or what could
be improved; just so there’s
more of a learning curve. It
should at least be available as
an option. I do also think there
are some conventions where
the organisers maybe favour
their friends, so there are some
results I would take with a
pinch of salt.