What about shop owners who are self taught?

Ok, this is something that pisses me off but I rarely see it get talked about. First, it seems that to everyone in the industry, what matters most is that you're working out of a shop. Fair enough. But what about these self-taught hacks who have never apprenticed or worked in a shop but go straight to opening their own shop? It seems to happen a lot and I don't get it. To me there are basically 3 aspects of tattooing. Health and safety, artistic ability and technical ability. I know many of you won't agree but, me, I could personally overlook the "artistic" ability if the tattoer could lay a really technically sound tattoo and was a safety nut. I do think there is still a place for good flash artists. (And I'm not saying that flash artists have no artistic ability but I think you get my drift). Now, I only add that part because I see so many tattists opening their own "flash shops" who have zero technical ability. Who friggin' knows how they handle the safety aspects of the business. But these guys get away with what they do because they are "in a shop". Granted, I'm sure they don't really gain the respect of other tattoo artists and is probably why a good majority of shops don't make it. But what about the fact that these guys are posing as pros? Now, I would never get tattooed by someone without looking at their portfolio. But a lot of people are pretty stupid. It is reasonable (although not too realistic, I guess) to walk into a shop and expect professional services - clean, skilled and artistic work. With the tattooers I'm talking about, you can look at their work and it's very clear why they opened their own shops - because NO reputable shop would ever hire them. Anyway, to the point, do you guys think that there should be some type of regulation on who can open a tattoo shop and when? Now, this would kind of alienate people like GABE who don't even tattoo (yet own very respectable shops with top-notch artists). And I suppose that the system is sort of self-regulating in that a poor shop probably won't make it very long. But for example, my boyfriend is an electrition. And first you need to get an appreticeship license, then a journeyman's license and only then can you get a contractor's license. I'm sure most would agree that some real feild experience should be aquired before opening your own shop but should there be regulations that require it?

is this true....gabe is a non tattooing shop owner????

I believe thier are some regulations concerning health safety in MOST states. I've met a couple "shop-owners" who didn't actually ink, so much as put up the money to open up because of a love of the art. I see no problem with that as long as they make that known. I also see that this "industry" is, and needs to remain, evolving. So, some old models need to be, or CAN be, changed, while some need to remain. Im finding there are great "self-taught" artist and some really bad ones- however I've seen some really bad artists who did the whole apprentice thing as well. (Im babbling now) Bottom line- cream will rise to the top- if someone is not smart enough to research a shop and thier artists, or at the very least look at thier portfolio(s)- sadly, they deserve what they get. It is not always so, but most of the time in life you DO get what you pay for. If some idiot wants to permanently mark thier body, but wants to do it for as cheap as possible- I think common sense would dictate they are making a grave mistake. Even as a kid I would not consider letting anyone ink me without a thorough look at thier portfolio and shop- that always came first!! I have seen shops with great artists close- but it was usually a matter of finaces or location, and in any case those artist were still able to go on without a mar to thier rep.

I do not tattoo, and do own a studio, OfftheMapTattoo.com Inksane, hacks are hacks, and professionals tend to dislike hacks. Of course hacks that work out of a studio, whether they own it or not, are just as likely to draw ire from a professional. Honestly, most professionals tend to ignore the hacks and focus on their own artwork, and the artwork of those "better". I think overlooking the "art" part of tattooing is a BIG mistake. In a perfect world, (excuse me, MY perfect world HUH) the non-artistic walk in tattoo ideas should go to the artistic apprentice to practice on. Taking art out of the tattooing equation is horrifying to me. If someone puts a technically sound but bad artistic tattoo on someone, then its even harder to cover or get off! I believe wholeheartedly that tattoo artists should be very sound in all three of those areas, without any of them you get a bad tattoo and bad tattoos are BAD! As far as regulation goes, if the industry polices itself then theres no need for government intervention. I think that the solution to problems is education, and a band aid is legislation. you live in CT, so honestly, if anyone has a problem finding a good tattoo artist to do a slamming tattoo and instead goes to a hack (in a studio or at home), then they deserve the crap they get. Government should keep out until they are needed, and they arent needed from my point of view. As you know, the hacks dont last long, the quality artists survive and eventually thrive. If their art is good enough... :-P