Things & Ink, The Face Issue + Video

When we got home from vacation, I had the lovely surprise of finding The Face Issue of the UK's Things & Ink magazine, a publication that I described in my first post on it as "a love letter to tattooed women."

This second issue is cover-to-cover fantastic. Bob Baxter, the former editor of Skin & Ink magazine, once said that you need a woman on the cover of a tattoo magazine because sales drastically drop when you don't. Well, Things & Ink shows how you do it right, respecting tattooed women who make up at least half of the tattooed masses according to recent US polls.

The front cover, featuring tattoo artist Cassandra Frances, is fabulous, with a close-up of her beautiful face and facial tattoo, and the back cover is the back view of that portrait, with an up-close look at her neck tattoos and sleeves. Cassandra is not clutching her boobs or sucking on her finger. I know, crazy!  You can watch a video of the cover shoot below.

The concept of focusing an issue primarily on facial work is one I really dig. As noted on the Things & Ink site,

The face issue examines what it means to be a woman and have facial tattoos. It also asks a number of artists their rules when it comes to tattooing the face, explores cosmetic tattooing for people to regain control over their bodies while recovering from illness and features all the usual tattoo artwork and artist interviews.

Other highlights for me is the profile on Mo Deeley, a 54-year-old "Glam-ma," who is covered in tattoos after only started getting tattooed a year ago. Her photos and story are inspiring.  I also really enjoyed Amelia Klem Osterud's article on whether Lady Randolph Churchill really did have a snake tattoo, which so many have speculated on. A sexy bit of tattoo history.

I asked editor Alice Snape what her highlights are, and here's what she said:

My highlight of Issue 2 is the article by Kelli Savill on the sexualisation of women with tattoos (page 54). It explores how tattooed women are portrayed in the media, including Suicide Girls, and how women's bodies are used to market objects including the tattooed Barbie Doll. It has received such a powerful reaction to readers and it seems to have really resonated. The feature is accompanied by a beautiful shoot by Kristy Noble, of a mannequin tattooed by Dominique Holmes, Inma and El Bernardes. I also loved hearing such diverse opinions of how people feel about face tattoos, it made me question how I feel about them myself. The cover photo of tattoo artist Cassandra Frances is stunning, I am so happy she said yes to being on the cover. She is an amazing artist and person, and I would love to work with her again in the future.

You can purchase the magazine online here, and from the stockists listed here.  For updates in between issues, check Things & Ink on Twitter and Facebook.