BY SKYLER, DEB AND TIM SMITH
Last week I left you at Markus Tattoo where owner Seth Markus had shared with us some of his background and a story about the most unique tattoo he ever did. This week Seth and I will move on to cover his favorite client stories.
MOST UNUSUAL ~ My follow up to the most-unique-tattoo question was, “Does anybody stand out as your most unusual client?” Seth had an immediate musical answer. One couple that he knows well are big music fans, and go to a lot of concerts. Anytime they are able to, these rock fans have the performers literally autograph their bodies. Then before the ink wears off, they schedule “emergency” tattoo appointments and have Seth trace the temporary autograph and turn it into a permanent tattoo.
In our on-going attempt to add to the English vernacular, we are hereby suggesting a new cliché. While the non-tattoo people may resort to the old standby, “Sometimes the pen is mightier than the sword”, based upon Seth’s story, we are hereby proposing the new cliché to become part of the tattoo artists’ vernacular. “Sometimes the tattoo needle is mightier than the pen.”
FAVORITE CLIENTS ~ When I asked Seth who his favorite clients were, he was ready with a quick response. “My favorite clients of all time,” he said, “would certainly be your Dad and Deb.” Yep, Dad and Deb both went under the needle, and as usual there is a funny story to go along with it.
A few years ago they got up one morning, walked out our front door, turned right, and strolled 100 feet through beautiful downtown Mendon to get tattooed by my friend Seth. They had given this some thought and decided to get identical images inked in different colors on their right arms. The basic image is that of a sunset behind a crashing ocean wave which kind of ties in with a “Margaritaville North” theme we have incorporated into our home.
The surf is always up when you visit the Smiths in Mendon. And now, thanks to Seth’s tattoos, every time Deb puts on her bathing suit or Dad takes off his shirt I can’t help but see the waves crashing on the beach, so I get to admire his work on a regular basis, no sunscreen needed.
When they got the tattoos Dad went first and told Deb that the feeling was kind of tingly and didn’t hurt all that much. When Seth started on Deb’s tattoo her face contorted into a grimace of shear agony.
When I saw their tattoos for the first time I asked Deb if it hurt. Her response was, “In all honesty, it felt like I was getting one shot after another for 45 straight minutes.” Dad’s expectedly nonchalant reply was, “Mine felt like it was licked on by kittens.”
Next week we’ll be visiting a new business just opening in Mendon called Savvy Nails.
