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[Admin_Mac]

Hi.

(Please note, I am not against people tattooing from their home or where ever they want to do it, just as long as it is done in a clean hygienic way, All care is taken)

Just had to write this,

In the Merimbula News, local news paper, on Wednesday 01 July 2009.

There was a write up in the local news paper warning about back yardies tattooing,
It was mainly about the risk of infection etc,
What got me was there was a quote from the local tattoo studio, saying you get what you pay for,
This is from a tattooist that allows dogs, into the studio, and also heard of one bloke getting tattooed while smoking and drinking alcohol and having his dog on his lap while getting chest tattooed.

I do not disagree with what was said,
Yes people should be very aware of cleanliness of the back yarder, and also some studios, (not ones i have seen on here, Scorpion you would have one of the cleanest looking studio, i have ever seen, Murph yours is up there to.)
Cross Contamination is a very serious subject. and should not be looked upon lightly.

I will go and buy the paper and put the whole article up here for you all to comment.

One thing i found out about is, the Bega Valley Shire Council  (B.V.S.C.) will not approve any home based tattooing or piercing business. Because of the above mentioned things that should not happen in a tattoo studio,

B.V.S.C goes on the Skin Penetration Guidelines of the year 2000.

I will post more.

Don't get up me about the title i chose for this post,
As i practice tattooing at home on piggy, so this can be a touchy subject for me too.

I really want to write to the paper, but i haven't got a clue on how to say what i want too, without getting in major trouble for it,

I have contacted the health inspector, am waiting for a reply from him, if i not heard from him in a couple of days i will be phoning him again.

[Admin_Mac]

OK here is the article taken from the newspaper.

Think before you Ink.

If you are considering getting a tattoo or a piercing at a mate's place tonight-think before you ink.

Many people think that the hardest decisions about having a tattoo done are the design and colour, or where the tattoo should go.

However, you should be more concerned about the real risks of infectious diseases, including hepatitis C, according to the Bega Valley Shire Council's environmental health co-ordinator, Greg O'Donnell.

"The most important decision is who you select to do the tattoo or body art," he said.
"Most body and tattoo artists should know the potential risks to themselves and thier clients of infections from contaminated equipment and surroundings." ( i would have thought all artists should know)

"A professional artist practices good hygiene, follows standard infection control guidelines, such as sterilization of equipment, and is happy to discuss with clients their shop's approach to customer health and safety."

Mr O'Donnell said the greatest risk for of infections came from  "backyard" operators who did not follow advice of tattoo associations and infection control recommendations of health authorities .
"Such operators may work from home or from unregistered tattoo shops.
"In NSW, councils only register tattooing premises. The NSW Health Department requires tattooists to comply with Skin Penetration Guidelines (part of the NSW Health Act).
"Unregistered tattooists may not care about their professional reputation or business and, while they may charge a lot less than other tattooists, the risk of infection are greater.
"Having a tattoo done in a person's home or anywhere other than a registered business can carry great risk.
"For that reason, council does not register any home based tattoo or piercing businesses or any mobile sites such as people working from a van or caravan."

Ink This, Pambula, tattooist Adam Harley said people should think twice before being "marked for life".
"People will get what they pay for," he said.
"If you go to a backyard tattooist you get a cheap, nasty job," he said.
"If the tattoo is going to be on the body for life people might as well invest in the money and get it done properly."

Mr O'Donnell said people under 18 years need parental permission for tattoos or piercings.
"Tattooists or body pierces are committing a criminal offense and can be fined or imprisoned if they tattoo an under-18 without written consent from a parent or guardian."

Mr O'Donnell said people considering getting a tattoo should check out the studio and look for a certificate of registration from council; look for clean hygienic premises; check benches, sinks and other work areas: ask the tattooist if they use new needles each time and ask if you can watch someone else being tattooed and observe if the operator washes his or her hands and then dons new disposable gloves for each client.

That the tattooist ensures the area to be pierced disinfected: opens pre-packaged sterile equipment in front of the client; uses separate small containers of ink for each client instead of one big container for many clients; and explains everything to the client and fully answers any questions.

It then has the contact details of council etc.

It also had a picture of a tattoo with a nasty looking infection.

Link for Skin Penetration Guidelines
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/pubs/2000/pdf/guidelines_skin_pen.pdf

[cudac]

It is an interesting subject and article and I think what they are trying to ssy is:

If your going to supply a service to the general public and charge for your services by being setup in a shop/studio and being registered with the local authorities they can (council health inspectors) walk in during open hours and carry out an inspection without notice - if you are doing the right thing and being transparent this would not be an issue.

If you work from a spare room in your own home this may not be an option (not knowing the law) on the Heath Inspector just being allowed to walk in your door.

In general thinking of it that way I would have to agree as last time I read Hep C is a serious issue and is not going away

That's my pennys worth

[Admin_Mac]

Well i had the health inspector phone me back about the local tattoo studio in Pambula.
It was a very interesting conversation indeed,
Found out that there is now a new tattoo studio opening in Bega, (yes Tatzy i go see him for you).

We had a chat about animals inside body art studios.
He will be going to see the artist in Pambula, and let him know that it has been reported that there has been dogs going into the studio. I said just give a warning this time, but if i ever see it happen again i want something done about it.
(Adam and i have spoken about this subject, all is ok, we get along fine)

I admitted to the health inspector that i tattoo piggy at home, and that if he wants he can call in anytime, its not going to be a problem unless someone complains i am tattooing people.
He appreciated my honesty.
He did ask me about, if i knew of any other back yarders working.
I told him there is one in Wolumla, but he already knew about that one,

The health inspector is going to be sending an email about getting onto the NSW Health Department to inquire about updating the Skin Penetration Guidelines,
The guidelines as they are written allows wide interpretation of them,

I just spoke to the brother of the back yarder in Wolumla,
He told his brother is trying to open a tattoo shop in Wolumla, this bloke has no idea about tattooing or what health regulations are required, and his personal hygiene is not something to write home about, he not the cleanest person around.

The inspector and spoke about the health risks involved,
He is very surprised that basically anyone can open a tattoo or body piercing business without any formal training,
We both agreed that with tattooing being so main stream these days that there is no formal education to be done,
We spoke about sterilization etc, i said, "i can buy an autoclave off ebay (not that i would anyway) and the pouches etc, that does not mean i know how to use it properly, i can only go by what the manual says."

He is also worried about how to go about getting certificates for CC' BBP etc,
He has spoken to TAFE about this, without much luck.
I said there is courses that can be done, but he said "does it cover body art in particular, or is it just a general sterilization course." like for a hair dresser etc.

At the moment he is pleading with people to write to the Health Department saying the current guidelines are not up to date for the body art community.
After all he is looking after our best interest.
 
If anyone is interested in taking up this plight, let me know and i will get details of who to address it to.

I asked him about getting a home studio approved, i was told if i am serious about it go and see town planning, and see what they have to say, but he cant see why not if it is all fully approved, ( no i am not thinking of opening a home studio, i would like to get into a shop and get trained properly.)  (HINT HINT)

Someone in the Bega Valley got tattooed by a back yarder, poor bastard had to get skin grafts done, sounds like it was no good,

[Admin_Mac]

Ok.

Please note,
I do not have anything against people tattooing at home, as long as it is done in clean and safe manner.

I practice at home, so what can i say.

It was an article written in the local newspaper, and i decided to post it to see what sort of response it would get.

[LoneWolf]

I agree to a certain point. Too many people have seen one of those "reality" tattoo shows, logon to eBay and buy one of those cheap, shithouse kits then start "tatting" up their mates for piss money. They have no thought for CC and BBP issues and think that they use single use needles and disposable tubes, so they are tattooing clean.

Do they wipe their machines down with Matacide or some other infection killing formula between each tattoo? No.
Do they have bags over their squirt bottles? No, and even worse, they use cheap $2 shop spray bottles that they spray the fresh tattoo with and unknowingly cause blood, ink and whatever the hell else is present to then become airborne from the force of the spray, which they or there victims then usually breathe in.

Some "backyarders" I know of have entire rooms decked out as a studio, and they keep them spotless using barrier protection everywhere, gallons and gallons of hospital grade cleaners, and from what I have seen, these people are cleaner than some professional tattooists I have seen. Then you get the guy that doesn't clean anything, tattoos over carpet, uses spray bottles and disposes of used needles into 600ml Coke bottles. Yes, I have seen that too.

People will tattoo from rooms in their house, and there is no way to stop it. But The RESPONSIBLE person will know and perform safe proceedures and rigorously follow CC and BBP protocol. It's easy to tattoo safely and reponsibly, but it's not cheap and that's where the problems lie.

[Ganesh]

Very interesting reading. I wonder if there are any stats on diseases gained from tattooing.

[blondie]

I think I've said it before but I will say it again, I believe the reason why theres so many people doing backyard work is because there is no formal educational protocol set out for them to learn by. Personaly I have only found two ways to get into the Tattooing industry... one, teach yourself, and two be one of the lucky few who can get an apprientiship position in a decent studio with a mentor who wont take you for a "ride".
How can it be labled an 'Apprientiship' when there is no formal tertiary educational structure to it like a Hairdressing or Electricial Apprentiships? The Tattooing Industry should be classed under the same structure as an other medical procedure. Learning that procedure should be under the same govenment regulated learning systems that is put in place for all other Trades and qualified Professions, it's the only way to reduce the numbers of 'Backyarders' and their associated issues.
I can't go out and get a job at the local pathologists and take blood samples without the proper qualifications and educational experience, so how come someone who knows fuck all about Tattooing can open up shop in the first place?
Someone with a bit of balls needs to shake up the govenment into realising the fundamental Health & Financial advantages to regulating the Tattoo Industry's foundations to the same playing feild as any other trade or qualified Profession.
Some may say this will cause influx in the number of people wanting to become a Tattooist or run their own studio, but at least the standard of students, competition and ultimately the studios themselves, will be of a higher standard, which can only benifit the Tattoo Industry in Australia!

[Admin_Mac]

I still think,
That a proper tattoo teaching centre would have to be the way to go,

Somewhere you are able to learn all aspects of body art,
Look at some of the modifications people are getting these days.

Get professional people to teach proper sterilization procedures etc.
Get top artists to teach classes in the different styles etc.

[blondie]

Too true Mac, imagine having the money to set up a private Tattoo Schools! Who ever finally dose it, will be a very smart and rich man! Especially if the govenment gets online too. I cant believe there's no formal training providers already?  We just have to wait and win Lotto first I suppose?

[cudac]

Please check the link below to find out what colleges offer the Tattooing course and contact them about enrolment.
The information you requested
For course: Design and Perform Cosmetic Tattooing - TAFE PLUS Statement
Course details can be obtained here: https://www.tafensw.edu.au/howex/servlet/Course?Command=GetCourse&CourseNo=26894

If you require further information please do not hesitate to contact us here at Sydney Institute on 1300 360 601 or email sydney.info@tafensw.edu.au

i suppose it's a start is it not

[blondie]

Nice info Cudac, that for Cosmetic Tattooing (perminant makeup). Which I also thought about, but its a long way off from a Custom Body Art Tattooist. 

[cudac]

The basics are the same for both are they not ??

[The Inker]

Learning under a mentor IS considered an apprenticeship it`s not only formal qualification that dictates what an apprenticship is. The lucky few that get these get them because of artistic skill and persiverence. I have done two apprenticeships ones that lasted years and when you mention training schools for tattoo artists I`m afraid all you will do is lower the standard as people will open shops based on how much money they have  and not on their level of skill. Ever been to a hairdresser that did a one year course that their parents paid for and subsequently open them a shop??? At least your hair will grow out, I know there`s alot of bad press about backyarders and no one can stop them tattooing their friends. For anyone serious about making a living tattooing there is plenty of education to be found both in the areas of hygene and better understanding of the basics behind art. You must be an artist before you can be a tattoo artist!! Thats my 2 cents.

[Admin_Mac]

You must be an artist before you can be a tattoo artist!! Thats my 2 cents.

That is why, i decided not to go into the studio for some training,
I am no artist, so i really do not have the right stuff to be a tattoo artist,
That studio has now got another artist working and they will be putting on two apprentices,
One traveled up from Melbourne to show his portfolio.
So i am glad i did not waste the studios time, and that apprenticeship has gone to someone who deserves to be given a start.