LOCALS GET LUCKY: $13 TATTOOS ON FRIDAY THE 13TH
Happy Halloween!
Our friends over at USF St Petersburg’s Connect wrote up a great article on Black Amethyst Tattoo Gallery that we wanted to share.
Friday the 13th is well known for being unlucky, but Black Amethyst Tattoo Gallery owner J. Michael Taylor was satisfied with his turnout considering this year was his first year participating in the $13 tattoo trend. Taylor’s shop will have been open for three years this coming January. He and another artist, Jeremy Hulett, are usually so booked that finding the time to squeeze in Friday the 13th tattoos isn’t entirely possible. However, this year they allowed the superstitious holiday to be a day where their apprentice Todd could step in and help.
“It’s a good experience for people to get an understanding of what tattooing is kind of like, and it gives him the experience to actually work on real clients,” Taylor said. With eight clients booked for Friday the 13th tattoos, Todd was able to put his months of training into action. “Tattooing is more difficult than you think,” Taylor said.
Despite having drawn up pages of flash designs for clients to choose from, Taylor was willing to personalize, but wasn’t willing to say yes to everything. “I’ve had some crazy requests,” Taylor said. “I don’t do everything, especially when people want bad mistakes, or premature mistakes that they don’t realize 20 years down the road they’re still going to have to be dealing with this.”
Taylor, who has been tattooing for 11 years, eight of them in St. Petersburg, wanted more than just a tattoo parlor. After working at another tattoo shop in town, he decided he wanted to start his own business. “I wanted to open up a tattoo shop my mom could come and get tattooed at. Something comfortable, clean and nice,” Taylor said. A collection of apparel and jewelry are sold in the shop as well as various art pieces.
For such a luckless day, Taylor and his team at Black Amethyst are positive about finding their niche in St. Pete and turning out creative work always, but especially for Friday the 13th.
Black Amethyst Tattoo Gallery is located at 689 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N. Unit A, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. For more information visit Black Amethyst Tattoo Gallery’s website at https://stpetetattoo.org
Written by: Ambria Whalum at USF St. Petersburg’s Connect
Source: http://usfspconnect.com/locals-get-lucky-13-tattoos-on-friday-the-13th/