Swallows and Daggers Drop 1 of 2012

Video look books are a hard thing to crack, with many brands resorting to half naked women for a couple thousand views on Vimeo. Thankfully, UK streetwear brand Swallows and Daggers avoided the low-rent route and stayed true to their influences with this first glimpse at their 2012 collection.

Pairing another strong line of graphic tees and the introduction of fleece to the line with a very well executed and directed video, S&D continue to go from strength to strength in the independent world of UK streetwear. The short film itself does well to showcase the clothes in a wearable and likely environment for their target customer base (another hurdle so many brands stumble at) whilst also focussing heavily on the tattoo and skateboarding culture they are so heavily part of. Furthermore; you cannot argue with that tailwhip from flat.

 

 

View the lookbook below and be sure to head over to http://www.respect-tradition.com to treat yourself to some new threads.

Undercover shoot with Zombie Boy.

 

 

Via.

Temporary Tattoos - Yes or No?

So, today we got sent a rather shocking temporary tattoo press e-mail we won't say who as there is no need but it was pretty bad. Anyways, after doing our daily lurk on It's Nice That we came across this. Some pretty, well designed temporary tattoos and we were wondering what YOUR view is on them? Tacky or kinda cool? Leave us a comment below.

Keegan Gibbs Photography

via, and.

Scott Campbell's Skin Flick

Scott Campbell’s Skin Flick  on Nowness.com.

A pile-up of wrong decisions and the influence of talented “fuck-ups” led Scott Campbell to improbable success. The tattoo ace turned art star details his road to fame in today’s film, the first in a series titled Reflections from director Matt Black. Campbell made his name inking Hollywood royalty such as Robert Downey Jr. and Orlando Bloom, and has since carved out a reputation for his fine art, a body of work which includes laser-etched renderings in US currency.

EXHIBITION: Pens and Needles

PENS AND NEEDLES- A contemporary exhibition celebrating the realisation of tattoo art,
culture, and lifestyle.

The opening night of Pens and Needles will be a unique fiesta of tattoo art with live music performances and live tattooing
taking place in London Miles’s very own pop-up tattoo parlour. The exhibition will document, discuss and most importantly
celebrate one of contemporary art’s most burgeoning yet contentious art forms.

Tattoo art has helped shape cultures, trends, and identities across history, from ancient Maori and Japanese tattoo art to the markings of
gang members and, latterly, modern day trendsetters. With the affirmation of body art as an essential fashion accessory, tattoo art’s
cultural visibility and status continues to rise significantly. Whether it is images of Lenny Kravitz bedecked in inky splendour, or the
reporting of new trends such as ‘white ink’ tattoo’s as sported by Kate Moss, tattoo art has undeniably established itself as a prominent
and accepted facet of popular culture.

This exhibition features some of the best artists including Shawn Barber, Alex young, Holy Fox, Claudia Saube and many more.
The opening reception will take place on Friday 25th 2011 7pm - 11pm at the London Miles Gallery. Richard and Stephanie will be going so if you see us say Hi! x

For more information please click here.

Russian Criminal Tattoo Exhibition

There is currently an exhibition on in East London of a series of photographs of Russian prisoners, taken over a more than 50 year period by prison warden Danzig Baldaev. Delving into the cultural crises that have plagued Russians over recent years through the medium of tattoos was something I never expected to see, but the exhibition is worth checking out.

It runs until the 29th November at No. 4 Wilkes Street, Spitalfields. You might want to contact ahead, as the gallery's opening times are subject to constant change (the first time I went it was shut). Admission is free for all.

Tattoo Galore

Tattoos represent a meaningful and significant part of your life journey, I don't have any as yet but I've spent a few good years pondering over what I would get if I had the time, money and pain threshold to do so.

I've wanted an old vintage owl, highly detailed on my forearm for some time now.
To represent my life, learning, growing, loving and getting wiser it will remind me of all the times I've loved, fought for what I've believed in and it will help me to remember that if it wasn't for all the struggle and good times I've had in my life so far I wouldn't be where I am today. I'm just so god damn anal about attention to detail being a design student never helped that! So if anything wants a challenge of drawing a spot on gorgeous owl then please do and show me by leaving a comment here or e-mail steph@deerbrains.com cheers.




Anyways, my friend Joe who has this marvelous detailed tattoo has got me re-thinking about getting my owl tattoo by showing me some awesome blogs that are full of perfection. Here are some of my favourite pieces from them.




You can view more here.






You can view more here.


Do you have any tattoos? What do they mean to you or did you just get them on a whim? I'd like to know people.