![]() "There are some people who have credit cards just for their tattoos," he said. He said one of his clients took 75 hours over four years to complete her back piece. Wjuam said the industry standard is around $125 to $175 an hour, and the bigger and more detailed the piece, the more hours you'll need to invest. Some people pay serious money for unique ink work. “That’s what separates the old-school guys from these younger kids trying to reinvent the wheel and I know, because I’ve tried to reinvent the wheel too.” “You get these young guys who are getting famous by doing flowers with no lines, but in a few years that’s not going to look so great,” he said. Wjuan notes a good tattoo artist will steer a customer away from a tattoo style or a placement they feel will not hold up over time. You need lines, because the black holds the color together.” "If you have fair skin, and you just throw a bunch of color on it, in a few years it’s going to look like a bruise. He remembers black tribal patterns being big in the early '90s, and sending people to a translator in Portsmouth when they wanted a Japanese kanji tattoo. Wjuan notes there are always trends in the industry. “If you can’t draw, you don’t belong in this business,” he said, “because everyone wants something just for them.” He remembers when people used to just pick a piece of art off a wall to get tattooed, something not done as often now. Shaun Wjuan has been tattooing for 25 years, and owns Tattoo Junkies, with three shops in Dover, Newmarket and Barrington. “I don’t advertise at all - everything’s based on referral.” “I tend to have an intimate relationship with all my clients,” he said. If someone is looking to get work done right away, and he is unable to accommodate them, he will recommend another local artist. Rutland said it is important to have a good relationship with his clients to figure out exactly what they want, and does not hesitate to make suggestions if he thinks a piece could be improved. “Our goal is to make each tattoo attractive and classic without putting a date or a time period on it so that clients don’t feel like their tattoo can go out of style.” Wulfe and Rutland agree people place a high value on getting work done that’s unique, and being able collaborate with clients to make their vision come together is crucial to building a business. Both artists are currently booked through the later months of the year. Wulfe feels the rise in shops and ink is due to the city’s low unemployment rate, the desire of young people to have freedom of expression, and a general public acceptance for the art form. “There aren’t a lot of cities with as much talent as Portsmouth has,” she said. She said Portsmouth has grown from one to five shops in a short period of time, and feels the city has developed a strong tattoo culture. Stina Sardinha Wulfe has owned Grim North Tattoo and Piercing on High Street in Portsmouth with her husband James Wulfe since 2012. He said shops sometimes are started by groups of friends across the country, and can feature “guest spots,” where a visiting artist is available for work. Rutland has noticed more artists opening custom shops that open by appointment, such as his. ![]() But since he’s started tattooing, he’s seen several shops open and close in Dover alone, and there are currently six shops in the city. When he got his first tattoo at age 18 at Hobo’s Tattoo in Portsmouth, he remembers there not being many shops in the area. People looking to tattoo in New Hampshire need to be licensed in the state, regardless of whether they have a license in their own state or if their state does not require a license.īryan Rutland of Rutland Studios on Washington Street in Dover has been tattooing in the city since 2010. Licensure and Certification Clerk Connie Beliveau said those numbers include people from out of state who may get tattoo licenses here to attend tattooing conventions, such as the Live Free or Die Tattoo Expo held in Manchester July 22-24. ![]() This year is on track to exceed that number, with 71 people getting licensed in 2016 to date. Of those licensed, 114 got their licenses in 2015, up from 2014’s 57 new licenses issued. There are currently 453 licensed tattooers in New Hampshire, according to data from the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification. ![]() This shift in attitudes has driven an explosion of artists opening shops and getting tattooing licenses. Tattoos have become a common means of expression in America, and no longer carry the stigma of earlier times, according to local artists. Everywhere you look, there’s a portrait on a shoulder, a daisy peeking out from a skirt hem, a bird taking flight from a collarbone.
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