Tattoos have been a form of self-expression for thousands of years. Seriously. It's been scientifically proven that we've been getting inked for 5,000 years. It's become part of the mainstream, and most workplaces are pretty relaxed with their tattoo policies these days. Which works for me, because I'm starting to have quite the collection (it's true what they say: once you get one tattoo, you want another one...and another...) And it makes us all wonder, what's the next tattoo trend? We're all about the new white tattoos for winter/for when we feel like queen frostine, but those are temporary. When we heard that DIY tattoos were going to be a reality soon, we were a little surprised - and very curious.
It's called the PTM - the Personal Tattoo Machine, and it's exactly what it sounds like. Not unlike the stick and poke tattoos, the PTM is a kit that includes everything you need to tattoo yourself at home. Created by Jakob Pollag, a Royal College of Art graduate, this gun was designed with the philosophy aiming to "democratise the tattoo industry," and capturing a special moment or event in your life without the hassle of having someone do it for you. According to Pollag's site, it's about making tattoos that are "not about aesthetics instead their main function is to reflect meaningful memories...The primary goal is to give the user a quality tool that is safe and comfortable to use." They say, "it is a short and simple process to setup the machine and sterilize the surrounding environment, everything else is up to the user."
Yeah, it's the last part that makes us raise our eyebrows. While they have some cool pictures on their blog of people that've given themselves tattoos with the PTM, we're wondering...what about those of us that aren't artistically inclined? I can't even color inside the lines! Or draw a straight one, for that matter.
Maybe it's just me, you guys - maybe I'm old-fashioned (and spent a lot of time planning and saving money to get tattoos from some amazingly talented artists), but this seems a bit like a recipe for disaster - it's a cool idea in theory, sure, but right now I'm picturing a bunch of "drunken regret tattoos" and lawsuits. But hey - they haven't worked out the kinks; the PTM isn't for sale yet, but it's proposed cost is somewhere around $75-$90.
Needless to say, we'd proceed with caution on this one. Or just buy some Tattlys. We love us a good Tattly.
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