One of the first things we talked about doing when we arrived in Amsterdam was to go see the Tattoo Museum, see Hanky Panky's shop, and see Tattoo Peter's shop. We found out quickly the Tattoo Museum had bee closed for a few years now, and Hanky Panky's old shop in the redlight district wasn't owned by Hank anymore. Not to far from the old Hanky Panky's, we made our way over toTattoo Peter. From the moment we stepped in, it was old time magic.
We inquired about getting tattooed and unfortunately did not realize that we had arrived the same weekend as the London Tattoo Convention, and that Bill was leaving for London a few days early. We met Dan who worked the front who told us Bill would get us both in at the end of the day. So we went literally out the door and around the corner and had a beer on what quickly became our favorite canal patio.
These would be the first of many pannekoeke consumed on our trip
We headed back to the shop for our 4:30 appointments. Living up to being a true old timers shop, the second we arrived I knew there was no way that either of us would be getting tattooed at 4:30. I also realized really quickly that the more time went by, only one of us would be getting tattooed. Teagan was so excited to pick from the wall of old flash, and I am a gentleman and let my lady have the only appointment available.
This is Dan. He works the front at Tattoo Peter and Hank's new studio. He also worked at the Tattoo Museum and takes photos of tattoos that come through Amsterdam. He's published a few books of his photo collection, as well as a couple of books of drawings done on the back of coasters by tattooist passing through town. He was a wealth of knowledge about the history of the studio and tattoo scene in Amsterdam, and had amazing suggestions for things to do and see while in town. I'm pretty sure we may have skipped the Rembrandt House all together if it hadn't been for Dan telling us we needed to go see it, which was by far one of the highlights of our trip.
There was a whole wall of old hand painted flash, old photos and articles right as you walk in. Absolutely amazing. Dan was super excited when we told him we just wanted to pick flash off the wall. It's sad so many people pass through the doors of that shop and have no idea what they're looking at...This is the sheet Teagan picked from
Of course Dan did all of the prep work including placing the stencil while Bill rolled cigarettes and smoked out front. Awesome service, no asking if the size was right, no asking where exactly on the back of her arm she wanted it... Nope... He placed the stencil and walked away. Obviously it was a bit off centered, and a bit crooked, so basically perfect.
Teagan said the tattoo hurt, but Bill's snake bit grip hurt 100 times more. The inside of her arm was bruised for days from that grip. Look at how red her arm is.
Classic bandage. Plastic wrap and making tape applied way too tight. Awesome. She was pretty happy considering the guy before her got dry paper towel and one piece of tape for his bandage.
Tattoo Peter was probably one of if not my favorite part about visiting Amsterdam. It's amazing to see all of that history in such a small space. Just looking at the walls, you know many sailors had picked from that same flash 40-50 years ago. It is such an amazing piece of history. If you're ever in Amsterdam, do your self a favor and go check it out.
1 comment:
Amazing!
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