TATTOOED SHOES, WHAT?

Last week my work week started with my tattoo clients cancelling appointments one after another due to illness. If a cancellation comes too late, it's always harder to find a new client to fill the whole day, and my first thoughts were worries about losing a few days' pay. But the more you worry, the more worry you carry, so I immediately turned my thoughts to what this brings with it. What do I need to prepare for, because space was freed up in my life? 

In the evening, my husband share me a video on Instagram of tattooing shoes, and with the video was a message:

"Should you start tattoo shoes too?"

Well, at least I have to try, if nothing else. 

I asked my followers what they thought, hit or miss? Messages started pouring in - "Count me in, because it means I get to buy shoes?"

Then over the weekend, I tried tattooing my shoes with leather paints, and without watching any tutorial videos, I started tattooing in the usual way, as if I were tattooing skin. But it wasn't the same thing, of course. I wondered why the color remained so pale, but my husband, being wiser, suggested that maybe the color is supposed to stay on the surface and not be wiped away like in tattoos. Stubbornly, I didn't believe it at first, because I was the one who had been tattooing for years, not him, haha. Until I watched the tutorial, and it advised leaving the color in place. Often the right advice or a new idea comes from the one closest to you, so listen up!

By Friday, I already got my first order, before I had even practiced a single shoe. I received an order for my friend's golf shoes, and I was nervous about what if the leather was different and the color splattered. What if, what if. 

What if I do it as well as I can, and they turn out to be the best, as far as I know, the first tattooed golf shoes in the world. And guess what, they did - I was happy, and so was the customer. On Friday, they'll be turning heads at the golf fair in Helsinki and soon on the golf courses.

Is tattooing shoes faster than skin? 

Yes and no.

 Some factors are removed from the process, which speeds up the work, but the actual tattooing takes about the same amount of time as on human skin. Making one pair can take about 1 hour to 40 hours, depending on whether you want a small detail or to tattoo the whole shoes, and whether the shoes are sandals or tall boots.

 For example, these golf shoes for my friend took about 6.5 hours, which included recording videos, etc.

What does that time include then?

Shoe protection, cleaning, and preparation

Sketching the tattoo design on the shoe's surface

Tattooing

Drying 

Finishing touches

If you surf the internet and look for tattooed shoes, you'll find a lot of tattoo-themed, old school-style shoes. 

I want to do something different, stylish, and unique. I want to make you shoes that will pique others' interest, and above all, I want the shoes, or any leather accessory I tattoo for you, to bring you joy and for you to wear them proudly, representing yourself and your style.

 Let's see where this takes us, I'm open to the world and ready to welcome the next step!

Are you ready, boots? Start walkin'