Where does our infatuation with red roses in art come from?
     For many people red is a strong, passionate color that intensifies an array of meanings; love, war, blood, anger, hunger, etc.
      So perhaps seeing a flower as delicate as a rose contrast most of these ideas catches our attention. Many will feel represented by a rose, and not realize that is why they were drawn to this subject for a tattoo in the first place.
        ...And of course they make for a great background/filler in any sleeve or collective piece.

*By Mike Harmon (NeckBone)*
-Looking to book an appointment? E-mail us or give the shop a call!
Shop Email: nbi@neckboneink.com
Shop Number: 484-328-8760

It can be tempting to run out and show everyone your new ink after a session with your artist, but your tattoo process isn’t over yet. 

All of our clients are gifted an aftercare goody bag featuring aftercare instructions and lotions to help keep your new ink moisturized during the final stages of the healing process once your bandaging comes off.

How you take care of your ink after you leave NBI is up to you, but proper care is crucial and much appreciated by our artists for the best results keeping your piece looking good as new for years to come. 

You are, after all, a walking canvas featuring expensive art! (Start acting like it)

Have an itch for a tattoo but don’t know what to get? Many feel pressured to not only find a great artist, but to come up with individual, never done before, creative ideas for subject matter. People will put off getting tattoos because they feel like their ideas aren’t meaningful, or even cool enough. Little do they realize they are sitting on a goldmine of tattoo ideas. The great thing about tattoos is that they are almost always symbolic without trying and can be super abstract to the story or personal meaning behind them. 
          Mike once encountered a client who was looking to get a tattoo that was a tribute to his daughter. This tribute wasn’t too deep with meaning as much as it was a fun way to forever poke fun at her. The daughter, being very pregnant, was being compared to a T-rex by her family due to the way her arms looked small in contrast to her belly. She had been asked by a friend who had been deployed overseas to watch over their dog. Being pregnant, dog sitting probably seemed like a walk in the park, or even like some puppy therapy for an anxious soon to be mommy. Except it wasn’t-and the dog died under her care. Nervous, embarrassed, upset; many emotions for anyone to feel as a dog killer, let alone a pregnant woman. Her family mocked her, asking if she planned on interacting with a stuffed animal while her friend was oblivious overseas as she decided to keep the news from them. Making fun of her is just considered tough love, right? This client had pulled the most random (and somewhat meaningless to him) story as the subject of his tattoo. What was his tattoo of you ask? A T-rex pulling a stuffed dog on wheels of course. Perhaps it’s a bittersweet story, but it made for a fun and creative tattoo.
           It’s not an over the top piece, but it’s definitely one that will always be a great conversation starter and an interesting way to keep his daughter with him everywhere he goes. It’s overwhelming to find a tattoo idea individual just to you. It’s tempting to find tattoos on Pinterest for inspiration, but then we find it hard to stray away from exactly replicating the tattoo we fell in love with on the internet. Find faith in the fact not all tattoos have to be serious or have in-depth meaning behind them. Being able to form an idea for a tattoo, even if the inspiration may seem small or insignificant, is a great form of expression and creativity itself!

             You may be, like many, under the impression that a "Professional Tattoo Artist and/or Piercer" leads an extraordinary, wild party lifestyle. These assumptions, I guess, could be due to our appearance and maybe your preferred shop's vibe. Maybe this idea is due to the nostalgic fantasy of the type of craftsmen/craftswomen of yester year and in a time when the industry was dominated by the hardest of men and the occasional female artist whom most likely did indeed lead crazy life styles. The sad reality of it is, the majority today have very common lives. 
             I think in our younger years we were all wild to varying degrees, (I'm actually banned from a country, hehehe) and regress in our middle age (some earlier than others) with a vision of a slower, quieter family life. For most of us come kids, and we realize the real pressure of responsibility. The responsibility of child care cost, college, mortgage, dog, white picket fence, medical insurance and the general rising cost of living, the list goes on.  It puts a demand on how valuable our shop time is.
               There is something customers and clients need to keep in their forethought; This is not a hobby, This is how we make our fuckin living. If you can't grasp that basic concept and reject your personally worked up fantasy that we're here just for party$, you couldn't be further from the truth. And if you convey that attitude to a "Professional Tattoo Artist", don't be surprised by, quite possibly, an abrasive response from your image building "Technician". After all, that's what we're doing here isn't it? Quality image building isn't cheap. None the less, the majority are willing to spend more on instant gratification from purchasing that days look as it expires and becomes old in the near days following.
               So as you are donning those $200 sneakers, $100 shirt $150 pants/shorts or skirts, (totaling $350 on the average and that's not including a jacket during the winter), Remember that regardless of what stage, we as Tattoo Artist are at with our after hours life, We aspire the best for our families and ourselves, as does the rest of the working the world and that costs money.
    "The Uniform of The Day" is temporary, your tattoos are not! Tattoos are for life, even if you have them removed by modern technology there is always the scars and remnants of yesterdays indelible idea in your skin.
         In addition, professional tattoo supplies from reputable suppliers are not cheap and are necessary to perform our craft at the highest, most proficient level available and possible. Every year new products enter the tattoo industry that enable us "Pros" to provide to you, the client, the best in tattoo application and aftercare products performance as a standard to rely upon, and those fore-mentioned products do not come cheap.
So, before you go whining to your tattoo artist that you want what you want and want it at your price, Remember "Cheap Tattoos Aren't Good and Good Tattoos Aren't Cheap"


-Neckbone 

Hello Everyone!
         NeckBoneInk Tattoo&Gallery is happy to announce Guest Artist Jose Carire will be in the shop on Tuesdays and is now booking appointments. Jose specializes in black and gray, but can apply tattoos in color equally as great. Check his work out in our gallery. We will be adding some of his frame-able art work to our location in the shop gallery for sale as well. 
         If you would like to set up an appointment with Jose, call the shop 484-328-8760, email nbi@neckboneink.com, or stop in at NeckBoneInk Tattoo&Gallery to set up an appointment for some phenomenal ink.
shop minimum is $100, also, $100 deposit, (Non Refundable) is required to secure the appointment



Looking forward to seeing you here
​-Neckbone