208 - that inky feeling ✒️🪡
It's been a while, - I've missed you!
There's lots of new stories and experiences and photos and fun things to talk about and chat through from my trip, but at the moment I'm still tired and slowly getting back into the swing of things, so please forgive me as I sort through all my thoughts and experiences from the last 5 weeks or so.
One thing I was most anticipating, and found most exciting, was the tattoo I now sport on my upper left bicep!
I got a lot of questions about my experience in getting one when I posted on insta, so I thought it would be useful to note some of it here, for posterity but also in case anyone wanted to know the process!
Step 1: work out that you want a tattoo
- This is not only the psychological barrier of 'wow this is going to be permanent for the rest of my life' but also the 'I wonder what is meaningful enough for me to do this'. This is truly the most personal part of it - and probably took me the most time to get over (I thought about this tattoo for a year before I actually got it!)
Step 2: find an artist that you like
- This is similar to finding art you like for your home, or going to a gallery and being like 'I hate this, I like that'; Instagram was the place I found the artist that I wanted (and I have a bunch more on the list that I want to go to once I have a better idea of what else I want).
- Steph found this wonderful artist in London (Georgina Leung - @chop_stick_n_poke) who does a lot of really cool art - illustrations, not just tattoos - and coincidentally shares a last name :D I decided to go with her!
Step 3: work out what you want from them - either a flash or a custom
- A flash is a pre-made piece that the artist has already designed, and you might like. For example, you might want to get the egg tart above tattooed - it's likely that the artist will already have this ready rather than having to design something from scratch. What this means is that it's typically cheaper to get a flash done (can be $150 - $250 depending on the artist and size for the ones I've looked at)
- A custom is where you come up with an idea that you want - for example, a mahjong tile with a specific design - and they can design the piece for you in their own style. This is typically $300+, and can quickly soar upwards depending on the size and the placement of the piece.
- Note: it is frowned upon to take art from an artist and then ask another artist to copy it wholesale - just an fyi!
Step 4: ask them for a quote, and pay the deposit
- Because I knew I was going to London for Steph's wedding, and I wanted to get in touch with the artist early on, I emailed her 3 months in advance to make sure I could get a slot, and detailed what I wanted
- We had a bit of back and forth, and she gave me a quote for the custom, and I paid the deposit to hold the spot
Step 5: as the time gets closer, start finalising the design
- About 2 weeks before the actual appointment, Georgina sent me her first cut of what she thought I wanted. I had asked for a mahjong tile, because my best memories of my family are when we play mahjong when Steph comes back to Australia, and I wanted to remember this trip in my 30th year of life.
- I chose the blank tile because I thought it would be fun to have some chinese art within the tile, which Georgina was able to do for me:
- However, this first version I thought was a bit plain, so I asked for a bit more design in terms of having some clouds around the inside or outside to make it a bit more visually interesting (like a Nimbus cloud or something!), and she came up with:
- Having seen the options, I thought it would look best to put 2 and 4 together, and finally ended up with this which I was really happy with!:
Step 6: get ready for the tattoo
- No alcohol 24 hrs beforehand, eat a good meal before you have the tattoo (to make sure you don't panic and pass out) and drink a lot of water - essentially, make sure you're healthy and happy and won't pass out while having the tattoo
- It was a HELLA hot day in London when I got it, but I was able to keep myself steady on by bringing a ton of water and wearing loose-fitting clothing for dat breeeeeze
Step 7: GET THE TATTOO
- Georgina was absolutely awesome at explaining what was gonna happen; we tried a few placements and sizes of the tattoo (they use some transfer ink to show where it's going to go and what it's going to look like and how big it's going to be).
- The pain I would say is as painful a thorn from a rose being lightly raked across your body - it's a little bit of a pinch but it's very bearable, and the place I asked for was not as tender so was probably easier. Depending on where you get it I was told it could be much more painful (like your ribs!) - the more fat, the better :D
- The time it took was about 2.5-3 hours - not too crazy for a tattoo that size! If you get a really big one, it'll probably take a number of sessions.
Step 8: healing takes like 2 weeks
- I was given some 'second skin' which is like cling wrap / tape on your skin, but is really thin so it doesn't get too much air / water on it. It gets oozy, and itchy, then it starts peeling over the next week or so - but you just gotta make sure to keep it moisturised as it heals. Mine started oozing blood a little bit, but it was fine - just a natural part of having a tattoo apparently.
- Essentially, it's had a bunch of inflammation and cuts that it's trying to heal from - but the ink is there in the skin.
- You just gotta keep it out of the sun (otherwise the ink will fade) - so it's really just making sure you're more sun smart.
Voila, you have a tattoo!
I definitely want more tattoos, but no, I don't know what I want yet. It'll come with time (and they're expensive!). Not everything has to be so serious - but I did want the first one to be more meaningful.
A really fun experience - I recommend it to those who wanna try something new and different, and/or are having a lil' mid-life crisis :D
Any other questions, let me know.
Chat soon :)
Let me know if you have any feedback for the newsletter!
✔️Real Life Recommendations
-
Bun House - London - Look, get ready for a lot of these to be pretty much overseas recommendations. Bun House is a specialist dim sum / yumcha place that opened in Chinatown London - it's got these AMAZING buns - char siu, chicken, curry, and custard - that you HAVE to try if you're in London. They are DELICIOUS. They also sell a bunch of classic Hong Kong street foods (like cheong fun, curry fish balls, swiss chicken wings) which were very high quality! Super recommended.
-
HOKO Cafe - London - in the same vein, this was a really fun specialist HK cafe that was super nostalgic - very old HK cafe vibes complete with slightly dirty tiles and transparent glass tables with newspaper clippings and menus underneath them - and sold some great french toast, pork chop rice with egg, and a bunch of classic drinks (like milk tea, or black cow / white cow (which are just floats with funny names)). REALLY enjoyed the vibe and ambience here - but that's because i'm a HK cafe boi.
🚌 Adventures on the Information Super-Highway
Don't expect a lot in the links list - I spent a LOT of time offline so I'm going to have to pull a lot of these out of the archives - apologies in advance for the next few weeks!
-
A Duodecade of Numberphile: The "Original Maths YouTube Channel" Turns 12 - you ever watch Numberphile? A YouTube channel that has some really fun presenters that break down interesting things in the world of maths. Loved this breakdown and reflection of the last 12 years.
-
Japan’s 72 Microseasons- a fascinating look into ALL the micro-seasons that exists in the traditional Japan calendar ("Hibernating insects surface", "Frogs start singing", "Farmers drain fields").
-
How to Steal a Masterpiece - advice from an art thief; be quick, don't run, and get out quick!