The Philadelphia Tattoo Convention has nothing to do with gelato.

So, in case ya didnt know.... this weekend was Christmas The Philly tattoo convention over at the ol'Sheraton. I went with the kids from Tru Blu Tatu. The convention hall was packed in to capacity for 3 solid days and there were so many tattoo machines buzzing that it blew the breakers on the house lights a dozen times. The first rule of the tattoo convention is; wear comfy shoes. The second rule of conventions is; move fast in those shoes when the Zombie burlesque troop and the dancers from Risque start a topless brawl in the hallway, because every boy on the planet is going to risk life and limb for a better view.

It wasn't my first rodeo but, it was my first time as a working artist (the last few times I was an apprentice...). You can always pick out the apprentices, they're the ones scurrying around the halls with a panicked look on their faces, an arm-full of crap and they're generally searching for something unattainable. "APPRENTICE, go fetch me the Hope diamond! I need it for reference on a traditional chest piece.... Don't come back without it." 

I did my very first convention tattoo (not my first tattoo.... 1st convention tattoo.) It was a Misfits skull on a sweet Jersey girl. We sang David Bowie songs together and she sent me this sweet pic of her piece. [above].  

The bad part of the weekend was the food. I'm talkin' to you, Sheraton hotel. Not to be like one of those angry foodie bloggers BUT... if I pay $11 for a turkey sandwich, it had better be the best turkey sandwich I've ever had. That sandwich had better tap dance off my plate, gobble out a turkey rendition of Freebird and tip it's hat at me before I take a bite.... Needless to say, it did not. The sandwich took forever, came out on the wrong bread and the meat tasted like old slimy deli turkey. The french fries were soggy, the order was botched and I was too crunched for time to wait another 30 minutes for a redo. For the rest of the weekend, I lived on beef jerky, trail mix and tootsie rolls.

My friends at Leah Creation sold their awesome jewelry downstairs and offered me sweet sanctuary from my chaotic booth. I even sold some crafty little boxes.
(Yay, beer money!!) All in all, it was a really fun event. I stayed in a fancy hotel and ogled an awe-striking amount of art. I did so much running around that it wore the heels off my boots and I feel like I could sleep for a month. Thanks for rockin' my weekend, Philly... you always wear me out :)