It is hard to believe that on July 1 2015 Pure Steam Tattoo was founded, so much craziness has happened since then and most of that craziness had nothing to do with owning the business! We were shut down due to the statewide mandates from Covid for two and a half months. I never thought a pandemic would almost put my shop out of business. Every time they would extend the shutdown by two more weeks I would go through the five stages of grief all over again. I mean how crazy was the curfew during all of this? Not to mention all of the political unrest too, but thankfully the shop made it through and is doing better than ever. I am very exited about the new artist I just hired Beck and it looks like Bethany my regular guest artist will be officially coming full time here in about a year from now :) As I write this I am filled with so much gratitude to each and every tattoo and piercing client who help support my business all of the years! Thank you so much and I love you all!

The event I am talking about was that many years go on all hallows eve I left Bob Jones University and leaving was not only the best decision but also my most scary decision that I have made in my life...sigh I can't believe that I actually went there... anyway, back to the present I love this holiday so much cause it really brings out the creativity in people. I was in downtown Asheville this evening hanging up flyers for the shop and my favorite costume that I saw was a guy dressed as Westley from the cult classic movie The Princess Bride. I really should have taken a picture if him cause he had nailed the look perfectly. I hope all of our clients have a safe and spooktacular evening of debauchery and treats :) 

he makes niobium body jewelry! His hand crafted pieces look super cool and are exactly what the eclectic Asheville population is looking for. Oh and did I mention that he also does heavy body modifications such as scarifications and implants? Truly a man of many talents. I am really looking forward to seeing all of the beautiful things that he will create at my shop and for our clients. 

Answer: "It's going to take awhile to get me hard cause I just got laid by some chick!" Haha you see totally worth the wait ;) Anyway the shop has been so busy for me that it has been difficult to keep up with everything that needs to be done, but luckily I have finally gotten some tattoo help in the form of the gifted Stephen Taylor. His timing couldn't have been better, and I am very excited to see all of the wonderful tattoos that he will be doing out of my shop. On a personal note with spring being here I am trying to make a real effort to not be so tied down to work and to actually explore what Asheville has to offer such as the hiking, the food, and the unique people here. Spring equals renewal and this is my hope. 

because they are afraid to ​unwind​! I hope that all of our clients have a very safe time tonight, and that you don't suffer too much from indigestion from eating all that unhealthy candy :) and I will leave you with a riddle...The maker of this product does not want it, the buyer does not use it, and the user does not see it. What is it? The answer is located in the caption of this picture of the beautiful rook curves that we just got in from Anatometal jewelry.

With about 10 years of piercing experience his passion for the industry and his dedication to providing clients with the best possible customer service is very apparent. He has breathed in new life and energy into the shop. The work he has done so far looks fantastic and it will be great to see in the up coming months all the super cool piercings that he will do. I am very happy that he is here :)

Today is Pure Steam Tattoo's anniversary and I took a shot of this 4 o'clock flower that grows out in front of the shop, because every year they come back even stronger than the last and that is my hope for this business that I have spent a lot of blood, sweat, and tears over. I want to thank all of our clients for helping to support this shop it really means so much to me. I am very grateful :)

 Our first guest artist was Stephen Taylor from Elite Tattoo Gallery in Jacksonville, NC and he did some very pretty work including a  blackwork seashell and a sushi cat (the cat's name was Sushi and she wanted a portrait of her cat wrapped in sushi). Then we had the always charming Brandon Hendrickson who has been with us before, and he did a super cool neo traditional Star Wars tattoo with a rebel helmet. All in all it was lots of fun having these talented artists visit with us, and I hope to see them again. On a completely different note I got to do my first piercing on a client! It was a 4mm NeoMetal tiger's eye cartilage piercing. As some of you may or may not know I have been struggling recently to find a respectable piercer for my shop. After much soul searching, I have decided to bite the bullet and learn some of the more simple piercings. If my first attempt is any indicator I think I will really enjoy doing some more piercings in the future :)

After a dreary winter there is nothing more wonderful than when it turns to spring. The days are longer, the smells are fresher, and the people pile in with their tax refunds for tattoos and piercings ;) yep I always feel a renewed sense of hope and happiness, and I am excited about the changes that are happening to Pure Steam Tattoo for instance I've added some cooler steampunk things to the shop which I think really add to the place. However, the most important change of all is that I'm also going to be hiring some new talented people, so that is going to be lots of fun! Oh spring how I love you so...