My First Tattoo and the Creative Path That Led Me There
My Journey Into Tattooing
In July 2024, I began a tattoo apprenticeship with Curtis (@Evils on Instagram) at Sword of Thorns Tattoo Studio, based in Stockton-On-Tees. Tattooing has always been something I’ve been drawn to — both as an art form and as a culture. It’s shaped pretty much everything I do here at Thirteen Supply Co, so when the chance to learn how to tattoo came up, I knew I should go for it.
Tattoos and Thirteen Supply Co, hand in hand
Tattoo culture, its art and its community, have been a huge influence on everything I’ve created at Thirteen Supply Co. I’ve been into tattoos for years, and getting them myself only deepened my respect for the craft. For a long time, I've thought that I would learn how to tattoo, but I didn’t actively pursue it because I was focused on running Thirteen. I had the opportunity to scratch that itch through the illustrations I was creating, designs like 'A Lifetime Mark' and 'TRAD Flash' show the heavy influence of tattoos in my work. But when Curtis reached out, I saw it as the perfect opportunity to learn from one of the best and knew I had to make it work.
The Learning Curve: From Screen Printing to Tattooing
My main background is creating illustrations for print, predominantly screen printing for clothing. One thing I’ve quickly learned is that a design that works for clothing doesn’t always translate well to a tattoo. I’ve had to adapt my design process to fit the needs of skin as a canvas, and it's something I think I'll continue to learn about as I gain more experience.
I started with a practice sheet of “A Pound of Flesh” fake skin, provided by Ink Drop Shop, another great Middlesbrough-based company that kindly supported me through my apprenticeship. This allowed me to experiment with different techniques — shading with a mag needle, single-needle stippling etc, as well as the overall feel and getting used to the the machine before moving onto real skin. Once I had completed the full sheet, Curtis felt I was ready to start working on actual people.
My First Tattoo: Friday the 13th
In December 2024, I did my first real tattoo. It felt like fate that it landed on Friday the 13th — a day that holds personal meaning for me, and again has that link back to the company. I tattooed a good friend of mine, who was supportive enough to let me practice on him, and who has been a huge support of Thirteen from day one. I was initially nervous, but once I got into the rhythm, it came together well. The tattoo itself was a skull with exactly 13 teeth, and I had to get a small number 13 in there as well (which was done freehand). For my first piece, I couldn’t have been happier with how it turned out. You can see a picture of the finished design below.
Broken Lungs Tattoo - Follow for everything tattoo related
I’ve created a separate Instagram account for my tattoo work: Broken Lungs Tattoo. If you’re into tattoos or want to follow my progress, give it a follow. I’ll be posting tattoo-related designs and taking bookings through that account.
There's a lot of people with designs from Thirteen tattooed already, so I’m planning to create flash sheets based on my designs for the brand. Popular ones like “Until Death” and “Love You To Death” will be available. For booking inquiries, you can reach me via brokenlungs.tattoo@gmail.com or DM me on Instagram. I’m only tattooing 1–2 days a week alongside running Thirteen, so spots will be limited, but I’m organising bookings for February and the rest of the year shortly.
How Tattooing Connects with Thirteen Supply Co
Some people have asked what running Thirteen and starting to tattoo means for the brands future, especially since I create all the designs for the brand. Thirteen Supply Co is still my main focus, this is an exciting way for me to broaden my skills. So you can expect plenty of new designs and products to come through Thirteen, as well as my ongoing work as a tattoo artist. We strive to keep Thirteen running exactly the same, with collections launching every couple of months just as we usually would.
Becoming a tattoo artist just brings me closer to the culture and the community that inspires pretty much everything I do. Sword of Thorns has a great team of artists, each with their own style, and being around that environment is just going to push me to progress as an illustrator/designer more.
Upcoming Events: Tattoo Conventions
This year, myself and the team are taking Thirteen Supply Co to a couple of tattoo conventions. I’ve always wanted to attend these sort of shows, and so far have secured two events for the first half of the year as traders: Brighton Tattoo Convention (Feb 22-23) and Big North Tattoo Show (May 10-11). I’ll be there selling our products in person, meeting customers and maybe even getting a couple of new tattoos. In the future, hopefully I’ll doing both tattooing and selling at conventions.
Thanks for the Support
As always, I’m beyond grateful for the support from everyone who’s been a part of Thirteen Supply Co. You’ve made it possible for me to continue growing as a creative. I’m excited about where tattooing takes me, and I can’t wait to see how it shapes my work and the brand moving forward.