This was the first year that OklahomaInk.com had the opportunity to attend the OKC Tattoo Convention although it was the second year for the event. We loaded into the OklaInk mobile and headed north to downtown Oklahoma City to enjoy the festivities.
The convention was again held in the Farmers Market in Oklahoma City. If you have never visited this location it is an amazing building. It is reminiscent of a bygone era and filled with architectural wonder. The convention was held on the second and third floors of the building and did not prove conducive to those of us that are aging. By the time our shaky knees brought us to the second landing it took a few moments to recover before proceeding into the exhibit hall.
The hall was large and the layout created for the show was well done. There was plenty of maneuverability room through the aisles and the food and bar area were easily located at the front of the room. In addition to all of the various tattoo professionals on hand there were vendors like H2Ocean, Eternal Ink, various jewelry vendors, “tobacco” bong vendors and even medical/tattoo supply companies. The Art Intensity Network was also on hand providing video coverage of the event for their Tattoo DVD series. I even caught a glimpse of some local OETA reporters lugging their camera and tripod around.
The fantastic crew of H2Ocean ran the first booth that I approached, Chris gave me a thorough walk-through of the product and even some great samples to take home to play with. I continued doing a quick round of all the booths in the exhibit area, stopping to shake hands and greet those artists and shop owners that I knew. My second trip around the hall was taken at a much more leisurely pace, stopping to take photos of booths, people and tattoos and visiting with many of the various booth staff. I also stopped and visited with the fine gentleman that were at the Eternal Ink booth and got the low-down on their amazing product.
The day held much of my talking to various artists, viewing portfolios, running up and down the stairs to the upper portion of the venue and even sitting on the floor as I got tired. The later part of the afternoon picked up when Lizardman showed up and we spent some time together doing an interview. During the interview I missed the Corset show and it was something I was really looking forward to but my conversation with the Lizardman proved to be quite enlightening. I arrived back upstairs just in time to see Spunn take the stage and rock out followed by the tattoo contest. Tracie Brady was one of the co-MCs of the contest and provided quite a bit of humor throughout. Many photos were taken of the contest until finally I had to make my way outside for a breath of fresh air and then finally deciding to call it a day.
It was unfortunate that I missed the remainder of the tattoo contest as well as Lizardman’s performance and the suspension later in the evening. But, my old bones were weary and the battery on the camera was drained. From what Chris Brady told us it was a bit slower than last years event but I found the size of the show manageable for my needs and I was pleased to meet all of the people that I did.
I want to extend a big thank you to Chris and Tracie Brady and all of their crew who worked tirelessly over the last year to bring this event together. Putting on a show of this size is never easy and often thankless. So, Thank You! Also, to all of the artists and vendors who traveled from far and wide to attend. You are the ones that make up the core of this show and without you there would be no need for the public to show up. Lizardman, you are an amazing man and I cannot wait to get your interview written to share with others. The music provided by Spunn was top notch and hopefully one day we will see them headlining around the world.
http://oklahomaink.com/articles/okc_tattoo_convention_comes_to_a_close.php
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