When you are unemployed and sitting around on a Wednesday afternoon what else is there to do but get tattoos? And tattoos we got.
We had been talking about getting wrist tattoos for about a year and a half and last Wednesday took the leap. It wasn’t that either of us hadn’t gotten tattoos before we each have one from when were 19 and trying to be defiant. You guessed it they ARE both butterflies!
A couple friends of the QueenPins had gotten tattoos at American Electric and raved about them so we knew it was a good place to check out. American Electric is in Silver Lake in the Sunset Junction part of town. Not only was everyone really cool in there they also have the most reasonable minimum I’ve heard of in LA. Just a mere $60!
We both got tattooed by Tyler Borich who was great. For something he could probably do with his eyes closed he still made us feel comfortable and still held a conversation and joked around with us. We were able to walk in and with minimum wait were able to get tattooed. Depending on the day and what you plan on getting you may need to make an appointment.
Jess Says:
From the point I decided I was going to continue getting tattoos I had decided I was going to get things that actually meant something to me. I was 19 and the simple fact of being able to get a tattoo on my own is what drove me to get tattooed in a man’s apartment. But hey! I’m here to tell the story. This time around I wanted a reminder.
After much thought I decided on Love and Faith on my wrists written in my own handwriting. Here’s the thing they are common words and as cliche as wrist tattoos get. Trust me I know this. However, I’m a Christian and Love and Faith are two things that I know I need in my life at any given moment. When life is harder than you want it to be the two things you can always count on having are those two things. Not only Love in the sense of personal relationships but giving Love to others. Smiling at a stranger in the street, especially in a city like this one, can mean the world to them. Love is free and should be constantly given to others and yourself. Faith in knowing that whatever is going on it will be better on the other side. Faith in God that He’ll provide and Faith that I was given this life for a reason and that everything will be okay.
Having these somewhere I will constantly look at and in my own writing will hopefully cause me to live out the actions instead of just talking about them.
Chances are within the next year I’ll have another tattoo…since I’m already sketching it out. Stay tuned!
I went in public looking like this…
Britt Says:
When we got to the tattoo shop, I was still on the fence on what I wanted permently inked on my body. It was between my last name and “Always Love”. My last name has always been a big part of my life. ”Wait, that’s your real name? Like the drink?!” I just wasn’t sure if I wanted it on my wrist. But like Jess mentioned, having a wrist tattoo with the word Love on it isn’t exactly the most original concept. But I knew in my gut that it was the one.
When I was in college I was a speech minor and took a class called Interacial Communications. I have to admit, the reason I took it was because it was a summer class but only a week long (5 days, 8 hours a day, a semester worth of credit). But in the end, I got so much more than I bargained for.
The class was one of the most intense weeks of my life. It was the first time that race was discussed in heated battles everyday. It was the first time I cried in class, saw teachers crying, and stories of extreme heartache were shared freely. Our class was tough. Filled with people full of rage against others just because they were different. We all fought and like I mentioned, most of us cried. But at the end of the week, you would not believe how much we all came together. People I had seen on campus before and never thought I would meet, now knew my name. It was one of the most amazing and eye opening experiences of my life.
The following year, one of the teachers I had for the class asked if I would come back and be a teachers helper. I graded journals and listened to the other classes stories. I watched all of them become a big family just like my class had. One day one of the teachers told a heartfelt story about a time she was young and segreted against because of her skin color. Again, we all cried. After her story she passed around a basket full of tiny red glass hearts. ”Keep these with you always. Just as a reminder to Always Love.”
I have had that red glass heart in my car now for over 5 years. It made the journey with me to LA. I’ve never lost it, which is unbelievable. But I’m so glad I haven’t, because I need a daily reminder to Always Love people. We have no idea what others have been through or what they have seen. Some people are so full of hate, that it’s easy to hate them right back. But why?
Sorry, I didn’t mean to get all sappy on you. But this is the reason why I got what some others may call a “cliche” tattoo. I wanted it in a place that when I’m about to scream and honk and flip off that guy that just cut me off, that I don’t. That I realize everyone has had their own battles. I should just smile no matter how mad I get and realize how lucky I am. To remind myself that I am Loved and to return it right back.
Gone but not forgotten…our bare wrists!
American Electric Tattoo
3532 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(323) 664- 6530
americanelectrictattoo.com
- J & Britt
