Ink Inc. Why having a tattoo is no longer taboo (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/ink-inc-why-having-a-tattoo-is-no-longer-taboo-7668389.html#)
With 1.5 million Britons getting one each year, it's not the sign of rebellion it once was, discovers Sarah Morrison at the UK's biggest inking show
Sarah Morrison
Sunday, 22 April 2012
When the comedian Harry Hill fronted an advert for T-Mobile earlier this year called "What Britain Loves", he proudly stated that Britain loves gardening, marching bands, nostalgia and – er – tattoos. One person who would not disagree with him is Stacey Evans. Sitting in a corner, facing the wall, she is an object of stillness amid a blur of mohicans, burlesque artists, BMX dancers and scores of inked arms, legs and torsos at London's Olympia exhibition hall, hosting the Great British Tattoo Show, believed to be the country's biggest ever.
The 25-year-old accountant from West Yorkshire is nervous and visibly uncomfortable as an artist's needle hovers. This is her ninth tattoo, adding to the Salvador Dali-inspired design on her back. She laughs as she describes how, "drunk, at a Christmas party, my boss once told me to 'Cover 'em up'." But, while she says she takes care to wear coloured shirts at work so her tattoos stay out of view, she adds: "Our generation is much more open. A girl at work also has one, hidden on her foot."
It is not just the accountant at the next desk who might surprise you. When the wife of the Conservative Prime Minister wears one – a dolphin, below the ankle – it is hard to maintain the illusion that people with tattoos are part of a rebellious underground scene. One-fifth of Britons are now inked, according to a recent survey. Roughly 1.5 million tattoos are drawn each year, and some 14 per cent of teachers wear them.
For Sion Smith, editor of Skin Deep, the UK's best-selling tattoo magazine, the industry...
With 1.5 million Britons getting one each year, it's not the sign of rebellion it once was, discovers Sarah Morrison at the UK's biggest inking show
Sarah Morrison
Sunday, 22 April 2012
When the comedian Harry Hill fronted an advert for T-Mobile earlier this year called "What Britain Loves", he proudly stated that Britain loves gardening, marching bands, nostalgia and – er – tattoos. One person who would not disagree with him is Stacey Evans. Sitting in a corner, facing the wall, she is an object of stillness amid a blur of mohicans, burlesque artists, BMX dancers and scores of inked arms, legs and torsos at London's Olympia exhibition hall, hosting the Great British Tattoo Show, believed to be the country's biggest ever.
The 25-year-old accountant from West Yorkshire is nervous and visibly uncomfortable as an artist's needle hovers. This is her ninth tattoo, adding to the Salvador Dali-inspired design on her back. She laughs as she describes how, "drunk, at a Christmas party, my boss once told me to 'Cover 'em up'." But, while she says she takes care to wear coloured shirts at work so her tattoos stay out of view, she adds: "Our generation is much more open. A girl at work also has one, hidden on her foot."
It is not just the accountant at the next desk who might surprise you. When the wife of the Conservative Prime Minister wears one – a dolphin, below the ankle – it is hard to maintain the illusion that people with tattoos are part of a rebellious underground scene. One-fifth of Britons are now inked, according to a recent survey. Roughly 1.5 million tattoos are drawn each year, and some 14 per cent of teachers wear them.
For Sion Smith, editor of Skin Deep, the UK's best-selling tattoo magazine, the industry...


































Illusion