Bryan talks tattoos

Tattoo artists, thanks to increasing female demand, are bucking the downturn in the economy. According to a 2009 UMR survey 20 per cent of New Zealanders have a tattoo. Furthermore, 55 per cent of those getting tattooed are women.

And things are no different in Stratford. Stacy Drummond from Impressions in Ink, on Broadway, says 70 per cent of his clients are women. There have been a myriad of essays published explaining the feminisation of tattooing.

It seems the stigma and anti-social prejudice often associated with tattoos has gone.

Foremost in making tattoos acceptable, according to sociologists, has been actress, Angelina Jolie and football

superstar, David Beckham. Their sexy bodies are a tattooed shrine to their children.

The tabloids hail Megan Fox, the lead actress in  Transformers, the world's sexiest tattooed women, closely followed by bodacious pop star Katy Perry.

Studies suggest that the permanence of tattoos appeals to people because life seems so uncertain.

Unsurprisingly women often opt for commemorative tattoos, such as their children's names, birthdays and birth signs. 

Women also like having input into the design of their tattoo. It is the ultimate designer fashion statement and can be either very visible or concealed on the private parts of the body.

Tattooing appeals both aesthetically and existentially to women.   Drummond, who has been a tattoo artist for 18 years, jokes that women like spending money and they like doing things together. He says women typically start off with a small butterfly, fantail or star, and often graduate onto something more significant and expensive.

 Drummond, who prides himself on his professionalism, says the industry is self-regulating and he is fanatical about hygiene. All used needles are disposed of, and he gives considerable advice to his clients, to ensure they do everything possible to avoid infection.

He loathes tattooing partner's names due to the high incidence of divorce and the transitory nature of relationships. He actively discourages it. He also avoids tattooing people's hands.

Drummond, who describes himself as both artist and craftsman, has an excellent reputation and charges $120 per hour, and $100 an hour if the tattooing takes longer than three hours.

He doesn't get nervous tattooing people, but admits to nerves when doing a portrait of a deceased loved one, because of the need to get the likeness right.

 Drummond says there is no stereotypical customer, people from all walks of life get tattooed - and business is brisk.

The oldest Stratford women he's tattooed is 77. And in case you are interested, it was a fantail.

Drummond will no longer tattoo anyone under 18. Previously he would tattoo 16-year-olds with parental consent.  He has a bold sign in his studio saying ``that under no circumstances, will he do racist, gang related or facial

tattoos'' - unless of course, it's an authentic Ta moko (Maori traditional tattooing) and the person has to prove their iwi connections.

Drummond respects the privacy of his clients, but when pushed admits that perhaps the most unusual tattoo he's ever done was a series of male genitals around a woman's ankle.

One of his clients, a Hawera man has spent more than $4500 on his tattoos. Drummond has also done  sleeve tattoos (on the arms) that have taken more than 27 hours, over many sessions.

According to Time Magazine the 10 most popular tattoos are tribal, stars, the cross, angels, wings, Maori designs, dragons, the phoenix, butterflies and fairies.

Anna, a 22-year-old office administrator with a degree, works in Stratford and comes from a respected farming family. She has a floral design that goes down from her mid-ribs down to her upper- thigh.  The tattoo which can only be seen when she wears a bikini, was mostly her own design and was done in three parts, starting when she was 18. So far it has cost around $600.

Interestingly, studies show that 55 per cent of men regret getting a tattoo.  Yet, for women, buyer's remorse is just 15 per cent.

The costs of removal, however, are expensive.  The laser treatment cost for removing a small tattoo is $100 for 15 minutes, and it typically takes three sessions. On average the cost for removing a medium-sized tattoo is around $2250. So it pays to be really sure before proceeding.

So, I might just wait a while, before I get ``I like Stratford, but,'' tattooed on my butt.