TATTOO TALES

30. LAL HARDY & DR. OLE WITTMAN- The Off The Wall Project

This episode is part of the OFF THE WALL project, a new art project within the tattoo community to celebrate the flash as foundation of traditional tattooing, while raising money for those families affected by the war in Ukraine.

 

In this series of short interviews we ask our guests a little bit about tattoo history and the origin of the flash, what it means for them and how to make the best use of it today. 

 

We sat down with Lal Hardy, British tattoo legend, and Dr. Ole Wittmann, tattoo historian. In these chats you will find a great deal of information on english and German tattooing, insightful views on the relationship tattooer-artwork-customer and more. 

 

A special thanks to tattoo museums and private collectors for providing vintage flashes for the project, in particular:

 

Dana Brunson

Paul Ramsbottom(Rambo)

Derin Bray

Lal Hardy

Dr. Ole Wittmann

Andreas Coenen

Jason Brooks

Gabriele Donnini

Ahren Bloomquist

 

Find Lal on Instagram

 

Find Ole on Instagram

 

More info on current and previous projects on @stef_bastian_presents  and stefbastian.com

 

 

29. DAVID SPEED from Creative Rebels

David Speed is the co-host of the Creative Rebels podcast. His rich personal experience in the creative world(David has tattooed for a few years and has been a graffiti artists for two decades) enabled him to understand what it takes to build the best version of yourself and your business, often one being a reflection of the other. 

What gave birth to the successful CREATIVE REBELS podcast is the willing to share these insights and build a community around some of the most accomplished creatives, to deliver value to the listeners and their journey. 

In this episode we talked about the formula for success, the importance of consistency, David’s relationship with failure and much more.

 

You can find the CREATIVE REBELS podcast of all major platforms and David on Instagram

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If you like the show, it would mean the world if you could help us reaching more people by leaving a 5 star review on Spotify/ITunes and share your favourite episodes on social medias ❤️

 

28. HOLLY ELLIS, CHAD KOEPLINGER, ROBERT RYAN, ANDREAS COENEN- American Traditional

Today I want to introduce you to a new series that I’m incorporating in what we normally do in the podcast. This series of extra episodes is called PANEL, and it will feature multiple guests at once, breaking down a specific topic. Each artist with their own unique experience and perspective.

 

For the first panel, I sat down with four of the most inspired and experienced artists, Holly Ellis, Chad Koeplinger, Robert Ryan and Andreas Coenen, to talk about something they excel at: American Traditional.

What does “Traditional” mean for them; where do they draw inspiration from; what’s their unique process and approach.

 

I believe that multiple perspectives can foster originality, the pinnacle of creativity, and hopefully these points of view can inspire you and your vision.

 

After two years of restrictions, cancelled conventions and trips, it’s been beautiful to sit down with them, even if virtually, to share an honest moment about something we all love. At least for me it’s been the closest thing to those shows and dinners we all love, made of friendship, technical talks and laughs. I want to thank these artists for sharing their insights, giving me a lot to think about.

 

If you find value in these episodes and would like to help me create more, I’d be very grateful if you could give the show a 5 star rating and a review on ITunes and Spotify. And if you are listening to it now, why not taking a screenshot and share it on your social medias. 
It doesn’t cost you anything and it makes a big difference in helping the show reach more people.

 

Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy the episode 😊

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Holly

Chad

Robert

Andreas

Follow updates on the show on Instagram

27. SHOTSIE GORMAN- Larger than life

Shotsie Gorman is a character larger than life. One of those old timers that, you know, “they just don’t make them anymore”.

Behind his 4+ decades of tattooing there is a deeply routed drive for Art, with capital A, and perhaps a la even deeper appreciation for Life and the people he crossed path with. 

In this episode we talk about his start in tattooing with Mike Bakaty, the crazy characters he met along the way, his love for Italy and what it means to be a tattooer. 

You can find Shotsie on Instagram and at Tarot Art Tattoo

You can follow the updates on new episode on Instagram

26. DANA BRUNSON- There’s more than a pretty picture

I could introduce Dana Brunson mentioning all his accomplishments and all the majorly influential artists he crossed path with in his 50 years tattooing, Huck Spaulding, Paul Rogers, Cliff Raven, Don Nolan, Crazy Eddie… but we won’t do that.

The aspect that I feel best describes Dana is his wonderful heart and genuine love for tattooing and the people he meets along the way.

The wisdom that comes from a lifetime of dedicated appreciation is priceless and I am extremely grateful for hearing these words directly from him. They inspire us to not only aim at being better tattooers but better and more connected human beings.

 

You can find Dana on Instagram

 

Follow the updates about new episodes on @tattootalespodcast

25. GOOD TIME CHARLIE- The birth of fine line

Charlie Cartwright is a living legend.

Crossing paths with some of the most influential American tattoo artists(Bert Grimm and Owen Jensen, to name a few), he’s been tattooing for six decades now.

Together with Jack Rudy and his team of artists, he developed in the 70’s what we call today “fine line”, bringing tattooing from 3-6 needles to just one, mimicking and refining a style that was developing amongst the Hispanic community within the Los Angeles prison system. 

 

Today Charlie is working on the non-profit “Tattoo Heritage Project”, with the goal of establishing a large scale Tattoo History Museum in Long Beach, CA. 

To support the project and learn about tattoo history, you can head to tattooheritageproject.org

 

Find Charlie on instagram

Check out the project on instagram

24. FRANK ROSENKILDE- A big heart in Danish tattooing

Frank Rosenkilde is a walking piece of Danish tattooing history. From a country with a very rich tradition, Frank has been tattooing for over four decades, crossing paths with some of the most significant tattooers of his time. Tato Ole, Mike Malone, Tato Svend and Henning Jorgensen, to name a few. 
His passion, burning today as forty years ago, made him collect memorabilia from all over Scandinavia, to the point that he created the Danish Tattoo Museum with the intention of preserving this craft’s history. 
History that, in his words, is important to form a more conscious new generation of tattooers. 
Frank is also committed, with the Danish Tattooers Association, in shaping a better industry in his country.  

You can find Frank at BEL AIR TATTOO in Copenhagen and on Instagram

 

 

Follow the updates on the podcast at Stefbastian.com and on Instagram

23. TAMARA SANTIBAÑEZ- Social justice and the political potential of tattooing

Tamara is a talented and respected member of the tattoo community. There’s much more than what meets the eye tho.
Artist, Anarchist, Teacher… a spirit that transcends and breaks the boundaries of one specific field. Tamara’s work in the field of social justice highlights the potential that tattooing carries with the concept of trauma-informed care and enriches this world with unique compassion and vision. 

Please find these amazingly valuable resources at santibaneztattoo.com

 

Find Tamara on Instagram at @tamarasantibanez

22. KARI BARBA- Continue to learn

When Kari talks about tattooing, a rare quality strikes you right away. The fresh sparkle in her eyes tells you, better than a thousand words, that her 42 years in the business haven’t diminished her passion. If anything they distilled it into a deep, humble appreciation for what this represents. Personal growth, meaningful friendships, craftsmanship and dedication. 


Her personal trajectory crossed with some of the most significant tattooers in history -Ed Hardy, Jack Rudy, Paul Rogers, Horiyoshi II to mention some- and just listening to her recollections is a reward on its own. 

I hope that her words will make you feel inspired and humbled as I do. 

 

 

Stef Bastiàn

 

You can find Kari at outerlimitstattoo.com

21. C.W. ELDRIDGE- The importance of history

C.W. developed a passion for tattooing very early on. His service in the Navy in the 60’s brought him across the world, collecting tattoos in exotic parlors like Pinky Yun’s in Hong Kong.
After getting tattooed by Ed Hardy he got offered the opportunity of learning tattooing and from there he crossed paths with pillars of modern tattooing. Paul Jeffries, Good times Charlie, Jack Rudy, Jerry Swallow to name some. 

Since 1980 he has been promoting the history of tattooing through research and education, founding The Tattoo Archive and, together with Alan Govenar, D.E. Hardy and Henk Schiffmacher, the non profit “Paul Rogers Tattoo Research Center”. 

Find and support his work on Instagram and at tattooarchive.com