This is the time of year for gift giving, and what could be better this holiday season than a permanent memory in ink to celebrate ol’ Kris Kringle for Christmas? As it turns out, quite a few images win out over Santa, even Frosty The Snowman.
“In my 21st year of doing tattoos and I’ve never done a Santa,” said Kipper Thomas, at Above All Tattoo, 1142 Garnet Ave. “I am making a snowman next week for a client. I remember years ago, I did $50 turkey tattoos for Thanksgiving. People get a lot of tattoos on New Year’s Eve. Christmas just isn’t much for tattoos.”
Meanwhile at Funhouse Tattoo, 1453 Garnet Ave., Leo Cadenazzi, a 26-year veteran tattooist, was covering co-worker Brandon Rathgaber’s dragon tattoo with a new image, possibly a Christmas montage.
“A lot of people come during the holidays. I have appointments through the week, right up to Christmas,” said Cadenazzi. “But no holiday themes and no one gets a Santa Claus tattoo. I have made a snowman; it’s the one from ‘Frozen.’ That’s the closest I’ve come to doing anything for the holidays.”
Leo Cadenazzi works on Brandon Rathgaber at Funhouse Tattoo. PHOTO BY TERRY L. WILSON
Farther up the street is Guru Tattoo, 1122 Garnet Ave., where manager Heidi Garcia says: “No Santa’s here, we do mostly this, (pointing to a wall-size poster of a fully tattooed man). Our artists do large projects like this.” Garcia is a tattoo collector from head to toe; she displays her collection proudly.
“I love the art,” Garcia said. “There are different types of tattoo collectors. I collect large pieces; it makes me feel good to have someone else’s art on my skin.”
Garcia is, however, camera shy, showing only the tattoos on her hands, but no Santa or even Rudolph for Garcia’s collection, maybe next year.