Latex or rubber gloves did not work for me. I found them to be too hot and cumbersome to work in.

An item that I used and was so enthused about fizzled with the rest of our customers. I found finger gloves to be the answer to my problem. These were little rubber covers for the tips of your fingers. You would roll them on over the tips of your index finger and thumb and they fit snuggly on your fingers. They went past the first knuckle on your finger, stayed in place and I thought, worked well for applying tats. They kept your fingers clean too. We provided a package to each customer who purchased a system. In all the years that we carried them, no customer ever reordered them so we quit offering them and did not reorder. I guess I was the only one who liked them.

I do have some suggestions that helped me keep cleaner looking hands while applying tats. First of all, start with clean hands. Keep your finger nails clipped short. Next, apply hand lotion generously to your hands and fingers. When you get a break, wash your hands and use a scrub brush to clean as much ink off of your hands as possible. Don’t forget to reapply hand lotion each time you wash or sanitize your hands.

By following these simple steps I have found that most of the ink comes off the first day. By the second day my hands looked pretty close to normal. They were not as clean as they were when I used finger gloves but a close second.

I read the Wednesday Spotlight about Barbara Erickson of Tats All Folks. I could easily identify with her. When she got her equipment she felt frustrated getting the equipment to work. She stuck with it and worked out all the bugs and now is a successful tat artist.

When we sell a system we often get a call from the new artist feeling frustrated because they cannot get the system hooked up right, or the airbrush gun is not working as it should. Often times these problems can be solved over the phone with a little adjustment here or there. The more the customers work with the system, the more familiar they get. Pretty soon they are able to solve their own problems as they arise. It is a little overwhelming getting all that new equipment. Not only do most people need to get acquainted with the equipment, they also need to learn how to apply a tat.

It does take a little time and practice to do it right but not a whole lot. I am constantly in awe of people who call up, order a system on Monday and almost as an afterthought, say “I got to have that by Thursday because I am doing a show on Friday.” It is true some of theses people have had some airbrushing experience but a lot of them have not. We get calls from them at the show on Friday needing help with one thing or another. Talk about Baptism by fire……

What I am trying to say is the key to being successful is the desire to want to make it work. If the desire is there, that alone can help you get over all the road blocks that pop up along the way. Persistence does pay off.

I was also happy to read that Barbara has been applying the crystals to her tats. Way to go Barbara!

Happy tatting,
Bonnie

I really had a hard time trying to buy these brushes locally. The pipe shop I had always gotten them at, no longer carries them. I had to travel to the other end of the city to find them. If I remember correctly, they sold for over $7. I then tried the Gum brand of go-betweens for cleaning between your teeth. I got these at Walgreens, $4.50 for a package of 8. These are really too small to clean an airbrush gun efficiently. Keep your airbrush gun clean and looking like new with a thorough cleaning using our new cleaning brushes. I really don’t think you can beat the price either.

Now your airbrush gun will no longer be embarrassed by unsightly ink build up. It will proudly hold its trigger high and show itself off with its new clean appearance and will thank you with outstanding performance.

Happy TATing!

Bonnie

Happiness turned to disappointment when they arrived at the speed way. The prime location had already been assigned to Big Bill’s Airbrush Tats. Cindy said Big Bill’s operation looked so professional and intimidating. Big Bill had a 10 x 20 space, all his staff was dressed alike with polo shirts embroidered with Big Bill’s Tats. They were already open and ready for business. Cindy looked at Dave and said “Let’s go home. “ Dave replied “We are here, let’s set up and make the best of it.”

The crowd was a fair size but not really big enough to support two separate tat artist locations. Cindy reported the morning sales were slow. Then before the big race in the afternoon, Big Bill announced over the speaker system for the next half hour they would be spraying tats for free. The mob descended on Big Bill’s booth. Being a professional, Big Bill drew the line as to where the cut off for free tats would be and told the people behind the line that they would have to pay for their tat. Not wanting to miss out on the big race and expecting to get a tat, the overflow crowd worked their way down to Cindy and Dave’s booth. They wanted to know if they were giving free tats. “No we are not” Replied Dave. To most of the people it did not matter if they had to pay for their tats. Now Cindy and Dave had a line of paying customers.

At the end of the day, after deducting all expenses, Cindy and Dave went home with over $600 in profit. They were happy they decided to stick it out and do the show despite Cindy’s initial instinct. As Cindy said “Some people work all week and don’t take home that much money.”

I guess the moral of the story is that the circumstances are not what determine your success or failure; it has more to do with your attitude. Cindy and Dave could have thrown in the towel and quit, or even quit before they ever started, but they decided to put a smile on their face and go for it. In the end they were rewarded for their effort. Who knows what Big Bill did for the day but it does not really matter because Cindy and Dave were happy with their results.

I hope this summer is going well for you and you are making lots of money. I have heard a few stories from customers that I will relate to you in a later blog so you can see how some of our other customers are doing.

So you think you are keeping your airbrush gun in tip top condition. You keep it clean and after every show, you take it apart and do a thorough cleaning of every part. You cannot understand why it just doesn’t seem to be operating smoothly. Hmmm, what could be the problem?

A lube job is the answer. We sell a special lubricant for airbrush guns at TAT International. You can also use Vaseline or 3 in 1 oil. The important thing to remember is “A little dab will do ya.” After applying the lubricant to your needle, take your clean index finger and thumb and run them along the needle to remove the excess. On your trigger, all you need to do is apply a dot of lubricant to the end tip of the toggle that fits into the airbrush gun.

It is easy to forget to do this because it is not necessary to oil your needle and trigger every time you clean you airbrush gun. Although I am told if you do oil your needle every cleaning it prevents ink from sticking to the needle. I guess it is a good habit to develop.

I’ll be back next week. I promise.

Bonnie

A few years ago, a friend was planning to do tats at a hunting and fishing show. I thought it would be nice if we had some sportsman oriented tats. Now I know we do. Check out the designs under the Original Collection. When you are at a show applying tats it is good to have a wide variety of stencil designs. You need something for everyone. You do not need to purchase an entire poster and the stencils that go with it; you may purchase just a few specific designs and spray the design on a plain piece of paper. Laminate or frame the designs and display them at your show.

I can pick out the designs I like and add them to my inventory. I will also choose some designs that I may not be crazy about, but I think my customers may like and add these to my inventory. Sometimes I will add designs that I think are ridiculous. But it never fails… some people go nuts over ridiculous tats. I don’t mean “Aww look at this, I’ll take one of these.” It’s like hyper spasm ga ga! Shrieking “Oh, I can’t believe it! Kathy, Look at this. I just gotta have it. Do you believe this?” ending with an ear piercing scream from Kathy.

Tats are personal statements. People want their design to reflect their personality, a belief, attitude, or to recall an event.

Who said you will never go broke underestimating the taste of the public?

Happy tatting!

Bonnie

Here are some health related items I have learned that could be related to the tat business:

1. The largest organ of your body is your skin.
2. Never apply anything to your skin that you could not eat.
3. Just because you can purchase something over the counter at a grocery or drug store does not mean it is safe. Google “dangerous cosmetics list” and check it out.

I guess my point is; everything seems to boil down to choices. You probably will not experience any ill effects if you get a tat that is applied with alcohol based ink, you probably won’t experience any ill effects if you use a chemical based cleaner to clean your floor once or twice. But who knows what the cumulative effects will be to you over time with repeated exposure to these products. Getting a tat is one thing but what about you, the person who is applying tats repeatedly? When it comes to our health, people today are getting more sophisticated, thank Heaven! We are demanding safe “green” products to clean our homes. Even our local, small town, health food store now has a cosmetic counter. I do not know what the real cause of my Cancer was, but I do know my reaction to hearing the news in my doctor’s office. My first reaction was panic stricken fear; the next was how could I have prevented this? If, at that moment I could have gone back in time and changed all the dangerous behaviors that I thought, for one moment had contributed to my Cancer, I would have done it in a heart beat.

This brings me back to the Duratat ink. Duratat ink is safe, non toxic. It is water based ink and has all FDA approved ingredients. Although we do not recommend it, you could drink a bottle and not be harmed by doing so.

So in conclusion, be smart, be safe and start to take good care of yourself. Keep making small healthy changes in your life and eventually they will add up to big, life changing events. Your body will thank you with good health.

I am not asking you to switch to Duratat ink, but I do recommend it and I am pleased to be associated with a company that offers this awesome alternative to alcohol based ink.

Stay healthy!

Bonnie

PS. I must say, the new black Duratat ink we got in from the lab is a luxurious, deep, rich, black, the best I have ever seen! Awesome!

I HOPE YOU ARE PLANNING ON OFFERING YOUR CUSTOMERS THE SWAROVSKI CRYSTALS AS AN ADD ON TO THEIR TAT. $1 PER CRYSTAL CAN MAKE A NICE LITTLE ADDITION TO THE BOTTOM LINE… I HAVE BEEN WRITING ABOUT THIS IN MY BLOG FOR SOME TIME NOW.

MY INTENTION FOR MENTIONING IT AGAIN IS JUST TO LET YOU KNOW IF YOU NEED CRYSTALS, WE HAVE THEM ON SALE. THE SALE WILL EXPIRE FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009. SO IF YOU NEED ANY CRYSTALS YOU CAN GET THEM ON SALE NOW. BUY ONE GET ONE FREE. WHAT A DEAL!!!!!!

I WOULD LIKE TO SAY A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THE USA VETERANS WHO HAVE SERVED OUR COUNTRY, HATS OFF TO YOU, NOT ONLY THIS WEEKEND BUT EVERY DAY. ONE OF MY FAVORITE BUMPER STICKERS IS “LOVE YOUR FREEDOM? THANK A VET.”

HAVE A SAFE PROSPEROUS MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND.

Bonnie

If the flow of ink is slow and spattering, then more than likely you have a crack in the nozzle of your airbrush gun or a damaged needle. This problem can only be solved by replacing the damaged nozzle or needle. The cracks in the nozzle and needle are very difficult to detect with the naked eye, so these components may look fine to you but in reality they are damaged. The only solution to this problem is to replace the components.

When you have ink bubbling out of the gun in the area of the trigger, you will need to readjust the seal. We have a video on our website that will show you how to do this procedure. On our home page scroll down to Free Training Video, under User Made Videos, click on How to Clean You Trigger by Franco. In this video you will see how to readjust the seal. Presto, problem solved!

After you have solved any of the issues regarding a leaky airbrush gun, it is always a good idea to clean the tip of your airbrush gun before resuming use of the gun.

It is always a wise idea to carry extra parts for your airbrush gun with you when you are at a show. It is also a good idea to have an extra gun with you. If you have a line of customers and a problem develops, you can easily switch guns as opposed to stopping in the middle of a tat and replacing a part. When your business slows down, then you can take the time to do any necessary repairs.

Keep yourself up and running by planning ahead. Expect the best, but prepare for the worst.

Happy tatting!

Bonnie