When we were growing up as tattoo obsessed children, our parents used to tell us the odd tall story about how tattoos would one day be illegal, and anyone with them would have to go to prison. Luckily for us their threats turned out to be lies and obviously we never believed them anyway – yeah right!

However, in California (which we thought was supposed to be the land of the free living?) one tattoo artist is having some serious legal problems. Johnny Anderson, owner of ‘Yer Cheat’n Heart Tattoo Parlour’, wanted to move his shop from Gardena to Hermosa Beach because his current location is a little…. on the shabby side, apparently.

When Anderson applied for a new permit in the more up market neighbourhood of Hermosa Beach, the local authorities turned down his application because local laws state that tattoo parlours are illegal in the area. An understandably shocked Mr. Anderson then proceeded to take local legislators to court on the grounds that creating tattoos was a form of “communication and art” and therefore should be “protected by free speech laws”.

Unluckily for Anderson the judge ruled against him, so he decided to take the case to a federal court, but sadly they ruled in the cities favour too. Still undeterred, Anderson is planning to appeal against the federal court’s ruling. Legal experts in the US believe he’s got a good chance of getting the decision overturned as they say tattooing should be considered a form of art rather than a simply a business service.

Here at Tattoo Fashion we will all be crossing our fingers for Anderson. Hopefully he’ll be able to open his brand new shop in new and nicer surroundings as soon as possible and get what he deserves!

If you live in Hermosa Beach, or anywhere else where tattoos are deemed to be illegal (even if by illegal you just mean not allowed by your mum) then have a look at our temporary tattoos.

Unless you live under a rock, you will probably know that this summer in South Africa there is a rather large football competition known as the World Cup.

Tattoos and football have gone hand in hand for years, with many of the top players in the world, such as Wayne Rooney, David Beckham and Fernando Torres, all sporting famous tats. There are also plenty of fans around the world who have marked their loyalty to their teams with tattoos; usually not in the most tasteful manner.

Here at Tattoo Fashion we thought we would take a look at some of the more dubious football related tattoos; ranging from footballer to fan; so we hope you enjoy these pics as much as we do!

1) John Westwood

Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/donshappysnaps/4167925081/

2) Scott Lee

Sunderland fan Scott Lee was so impressed with Roy Keane’s work as manager at his beloved club, that he decided to get his face tattooed on his back. Unfortunately for Scott, just over a year later the Irishman walked out on the north-east club! We wonder if Scott is now an Ipswich fan…?

3) Stephen Ireland

Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shunk/4313919246/

It’s not just football fan’s that have an insatiable taste for dodgy looking tattoos – case in point Manchester City’s Stephen Ireland and his interesting angel wings. Enough said.

4) Leeds and England Fan

Image from TheOffside.com: http://www.theoffside.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/leeds-and-england-tattoo-2.jpg

This Leeds and England fan is surely not bothered by the looks he must get every time he walks past a school, nursing home, hospital or in fact anywhere he goes! However, we have to take our hat off to this man’s…er, commitment to his club and country.

5) Chris Atkinson

Manchester City fans were extremely excited and intrigued when their club was taken over by wealthy owners back in 2008; however, it’s unlikely that any of them got more excited than Chris Atkinson (above).

After reading rumours in the press that City were going to mount a £100 million bid to sign Kaka from AC Milan, Chris decided he would get the Brazilian’s name tattooed on his chest. Unfortunately Kaka signed for Real Madrid, but undeterred by his disappointment, Chris then decided to get Robinho’s name tattooed next to Kaka’s! However, Chris was to experience further disappointement when Robinho went on loan to Brazilian club Santos in January this year. Atkinson wasn’t too upset though, telling the BBC “I’ll just wait until I have kids and call them Robinho and Kaka”. Bless him.

In case you’re not sure if your football loyalties run as deep as some of this lot, or (hopefully) you have a few more brain cells, you should check out our world cup flag tattoos which are temporary and mean you won’t have to worry about naming your Mancunian children after Brazilian superstars…

We hope you’ve all had an enjoyable and relaxing Christmas and are raring to go for 2010! Last year was certainly the year of the celebrity tattoo, with the likes of Becks, Rihanna and Megan Fox – to name but a few – all adding to their existing body art portfolio in some way.

We think that 2010 will be another great year for all our favourite celebrities and their tattoos, which means that we will be keeping a very close eye on them as they hit the headlines, before they hopefully hit the Tattoo Fashion website for you all to have fun with!

We’ve been having some fun in the office this week guessing who will be the first celebrity to sport the first tattoo of the New Year, but we now want to know your predictions. Will it be Amy and Britney, or Posh and Becks? Or, maybe it won’t be the usual suspects during 2010; either way we now want to hear from you.

Get in touch by emailing mytats@tattoofashion.co.uk and if your foresight is right, we’ll give you mention on our blog!

Check our or fantastic selection of temporary celebrity tattoos to really kick start the party season this year!

Christmas is the time of the year when you can ask for whatever you want and maybe you’ll receive it. You often here of elaborate and expensive requests, but when we discovered one girl’s very unconventional tattoo-related wish recently, we just had to share it with you.

Michelle Price, a 23 year old student from the University of Central Lancashire, is auctioning her tattoos on eBay over this next week in order to raise money for her final year at Uni. Her cheeky plan is to get people to sponsor the seven new tats she hopes to get early in the New Year instead of getting tattoos themselves!

The tattoos on offer, including a butterfly and Pegasus, will hopefully compensate the fact Michelle was refused several loans and help her get through the next six months of academic life.

None of us here at Tattoo Fashion have ever come across such a creative AND cheeky way to make money, but we have to take out Christmas hats off to Michelle for her resourcefulness!

This is our last post of the year, so don’t forget to get your temporary Christmas tattoo packs before they all go. They’re the perfect way to impress your mates at the party that night and can be washed off the very next day!

Merry Christmas from the Tattoo Fashion team!

You know that we just love our celebrity tattoos here at Tattoo Fashion, with the likes of Becks, Megan and Rihanna all being popular temporary tattoo designs with our customers this year.

During 2009 we’ve seen a clutch of celebrities, including Becks’s and Rihanna, add to their already impressive array of body motifs – and all in the public domain. It’s not surprising when these high profile celebrities use the media to attract even more attention to themselves. So, we’ve compiled the Top 10 celebrities with tattoos for 2009. You’ll notice some very well known starlets, as well as some inspiring newcomers too:

1) Angelina Jolie
2) Rihanna
3) David Beckham
4) Megan Fox
5) Jessica Alba
6) Peaches Geldof
7) Pink
Britney Spears
9) Christina Aguilera
10) Amy Winehouse

Hopefully in early 2010 we will feature some newcomer tats on our website for you to enjoy and share with friends. We’ll let you know as soon as they’re ready!

In the meantime check out our superb Christmas Tattoo Packs containing all your favourite temporary designs from 2009!

We all know that Christmas is a time for giving, sharing and at times forgiveness. However, when it comes to the tattoos below, we’re not so sure if forgiveness is quite enough. But, we still wanted to share these, erm, interesting and quite frankly festive body designs with you. Whatever your reaction, we’re sure that you’ll appreciate them. Enjoy!

1) “Mum, have you done something different with the tree this year?”

2) Ah, the Grinch really gets under my skin. Well, on it anyway

3) This is definitely a tattoo nightmare before Christmas…

4) Somehow Santa’s lost his approachable quality?

5) Er Will, you’re too old to be Santa’s little helper!

Why not see our fantastic temporary Christmas Tattoo Packs for great present ideas for yourself, family and friends!

It was only so long that another celebrity would indulge in a philosophical (in other words meaningless) tattoo. We all admired, loathed or giggled at Victoria Beckham’s gushy “I am my beloved, my beloved is mine” tat; testament to her love for spouse, David, earlier this year.

This was, if you remember, stenciled on the back of Posh’s neck, so this was also testament to the fact Beck’s was constantly following his wife everywhere they went and would always be reminded of her beautiful admission. Maybe not…

So, it was no surprise here in the Tattoo Fashion office when the flamboyant Lady Gaga, who recently had the video of her new song ‘Lovegame’ banned due to it being too raunchy, has hit the headlines again after getting a new piece of body art.

Not be outdone by the ex-Spice Girl, Lady Gaga now has her very own profound statement inked on her body, but hers being approximately four times longer! The curling script tattoo, which is on the inside of her left arm, reads: “In the deepest hour of the night, confess to yourself that you would die if you were forbidden to write. And look deep into your heart where it spreads its roots, the answer, and ask yourself, must I write? The quote is from her favourite philosopher and poet Rainer Maria Rilke and inspired her visit to a tattoo parlour whilst on tour in Japan recently.

We have to admit we love the quote and we’re sure that Ms Gaga will continue to write without many casualties along the way….!

Check out our fantastic temporary Lady Gaga Tattoo Designs and you never know the next time you’re out, maybe the “paparazzi” will find you!

Last month on the tattoofashion.com blog we told you about Kimberley Vlaminck – the 18 year old Belgian girl who allegedly fell asleep whilst having hree star tattoos applied to her face. According to the rebellious teen, she woke some time later to discover 56 stars of various sizes all over the left side of her face!

Since then, Kimberley has admitted that she was in fact awake the entire time, and lied to the press because her father was outraged with her new permanent features. She was reported to be suing Toumaniantz for his efforts, and to cover the £9000 for laser removal although since the truth has come out I’m sure the charges will be dropped!

When it comes to tattoos, you just have to “face up” to your mistakes…..

As expected, this year’s Brighton Tattoo Convention provided everyone with the usual amount of colour and eccentricity and we loved every minute of it! From the bikini-clad Spearmint Rhino girls displaying their tats (no, not those), to the masses who were being inked for everyone to see, the event lived up to its flamboyant reputation!

Even though it was cold outside, the atmosphere inside Brighton race course was red hot. As we strolled in and out of the popular artists area, the intricate buzzing of the tools of their trade resonated around the vast space. This was not a place for the faint-hearted, and in particular, anyone who hates a trip to the dentist!

Check out more of our stunning and crazy photos from the weekend at Flickr and if you didn’t make it this year, then you will certainly be there next! We definitely will…