The 15th Annual Bay Area Tattoo Convention came and went and we could not have asked for more. A sincere thank you goes out to Taki, Molly, Roman, and everyone at State of Grace and 45's Forever who make this magic happen each year.
The night before the convention was awesome celebrating Black Heart's 15 year anniversary at Zeitgeist SF and drinking their special anniversary beer brewed by Rustic Ales.
We have been attending this convention for over ten years now so to be apart of the process with a helping hand is something we are forever grateful for. Thank you Taki, Molly, and Roman for allowing us to join in on the fun. We have your guys' back for life!
One of the highlight's of this year's show was the Hardy Youth Mashup put together by our pal, Andreas Coenen. If you were't able to catch the show this year or in Germany and London, be sure to purchase the catalog the first chance you get.
And of course the "Hardy" Youth Mashup wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the man himself. Shit, this entire convention probably wouldn't even take place if it weren't for the father of modern, contemproary tattooing; Mr. Don Ed Hardy. To have him in the house brings the presence level to new heights!
While other conventions put so much focus into factors outside of tattooing, the BATC puts tattooing at the forefront. That is what this convention is all about! 100% tattoo!
I was fortunate enough to finally collect some script from Stefano at Frith Street in London; An artist I otherwise would never have the chance to collect from unless I were to travel across the globe. Thank you Stefano!
The wife on the other hand was able to add another tattoo from the legend himself, Jack Rudy.
At the end of the day it is always so refreshing to catch up with friends and tattoo familia. Simply walking the floors of the BATC lights us up with happiness as we run in to so many familiar faces. We appreciate everyone taking the time to talk, walk, and bullshit with us.
I have been collecting tattoos from Stewart Robson at this convention for almost ten years now! This year he laced me with a fine line dragon on the back of my right knee or better known as the ditch. If it weren't for the Bay Area Tattoo Convention none of my Stewart tattoos would have ever been possible!
Other than tattoos we collected a shit ton of merch including t-shirts, books, catalogs, stickers, and more. Check out our recent Instagram post to see exactly what kind of pickups we left with this year.
In the words of Charlie Cartwright...
We will see you all next year!