Happy 400 to us!

I just noticed we reached 400 followers on the blog, and what better way to celebrate than posting pictures of two dudes looking really smug about their hair... wait, what?

Anyway, this is what happens when you let Eckel play with extensions and Allan be, well, Allan.

Wait, did i just spend our celebratory-400-follower-post praising the two people who have never once posted on this blog?

When we reach 500, it's all about you and me, Nick!

The buy of the century (probably)

Buying a grill for the shop is something we've been talking about doing ever since it started to get warmer in Copenhagen, and on Friday we finally bought one.

Me and Eckel went to the hardware paradise known as Silvan to look at the selection, and found the Dancook 7400 to be both reasonably priced and sized.

This is one of the (many) test pictures we sent to Allan

And here's our fancy new purchase

I may have also bought this giant toolbox that fits almost all of our tools (and a ton of stuff for the garden)

The weather wasn't all that great, so we ate in the kitchen, but it was awesome and delicious nonetheless!

(Sorry for the crappy picture!)

Shop barbecues are so my new favorite thing, and i hope we'll be able to do this all week until it's freezing outside again!

Ps. Don't forget we have a guest artist coming soon, click here to read more about him and see some of his work!

Recent events

In case you were wondering, we're still a little bummed about not going to Japan this spring, and a little bit in denial too.
I'm sure it'll hit me around the 29th, but for now i feel ok.
Honestly, i was a little worried about leaving our pretty shop home alone for so long anyway.
What if it wouldn't recognize us when we came back?
That would be bad.

We're missing so much by not going, but hopefully we'll be able to go to some birthdays, concerts and events that we'd otherwise have missed. So there's that.
There's actually a convention going on in Copenhagen in the beginning of April, the first one in years, and i think we might drop by.
We're not working there by the way, even though there has been some speculation about that. Ahem. But we were never meant to.
But i think it could be fun to check it out because, really, how often do we get to go to a convention and NOT work and NOT stay at some crappy hotel afterwards? It's even close to our place, and we do know some people working there and it'd be nice to say hi.

Chriss Dettmer was here visiting us this past weekend, and with the earthquake happening, i totally forgot to blog about that.
I didn't announce his mini guest spot on the blog either, and i am sorry for that, but he was here for such a short time, and we wanted to have some hangout time too.
He did do a couple of tattoos, but i promise that we'll get him to stay longer next time, so you guys get the chance too.
Anyway, it was wonderful to have him here. He's such a good friend and an easy house guest, both at home and at the shop.

Like i wrote in the last post (by the way, sorry that this post is all over the place, but it's Friday and it's late and i'm in no mood to write anything coherent right now, so you'll just have to bear with me) we're working on making some prints to sell for Japan and that's still happening for sure. We got some test prints today, so hopefully we'll have the finished product sometime next week.
They'll be limited, as usual, and we'll sell them alone and with other prints/flash at reduced prices.
More about that when i actually have a product!
I already started raising a bit of money for Japan, so if you like hats and animals, and hats with animals on them, check out my etsy shop. If you don't, just ignore that last sentence and scroll down for some tattoo pictures!
Pictures! Yes! More of those and less of... me ranting.

The orchid in the office came back from the dead, maybe thinking it's spring? Poor, dumb bastard...

Anne got another session on her backpiece, this time in color

Clients from Geneva brought us delicious chocolate

Young brought us cake

So did Tom and Ellie (the A is for Amalie, there was one for Allan and Eckel too)

Eckel and Lucifer plotting world domination, as usual

Chriss finished this one that he started a while back

I cleaned up the back rooms for god knows what time, so the dark room is just waiting for our carpenters now

Today on the way to work i rode my bike through the old hood.

We needed Dettol and the grocery store that i usually buy it at has closed down. So i went by Nansensgade cause i knew they had it there, and boy, did that street blossom since we left!

I mean, really, when we were there all the cool stores were always closing down and in their place hair salons and coaching cults or new age-y massage places would open. You know, boring shit.

But now, i spotted a bunch of new shops and at least two new café's.

One of them was even called "Amalie's Kaffebar" so it's obviously a coffee shop for people named Amalie.

And it opens right after we move out? Oh, the irony.

Anyway, it was weird to see the street looking alive again, and it made me wonder; did we kill it?

I hope not.

At least there are no shops to kill here in Schleppegrellsgade!

As good as it'll get

I finally got around to fixing the laminator (that i am perhaps, maybe also responsible for breaking) so we now have a sign!
Well, almost.
It's more of a sign than the handwritten Rilakkuma note was anyway.

It's the same size as the handwritten note, only slightly more official looking

More projects

Yesterday my parents drove in from the country with our new dark room.
Or, everything we're gonna need to put in it, that is. The room itself has yet to be built, but we're working on it.
And we're wondering why the shop is never gonna be finished?
Maybe we shouldn't.

I have no pictures of the back room, because it's a total mess, but i do have a picture of my new custom made granny blanket!

Thank yous

It's the last day of 2010 and we've had quite a year.
Anyone who knows us, or follows our blogs, knows that 2010 was the year that we moved to our new home in Schleppegrellsgade. And although the decision to move to this particular location looked like a terrible idea at first, it actually turned out to be a good one in the end.
We love our new home and couldn't imagine being anywhere else.
But that doesn't mean that it didn't nearly kill at times. It's been a rough path, getting to where we are now, and not just for us.
Without the help and support of our team of carpenters and painters, the shop simply wouldn't have happened. There was only so much we could do ourselves, so if they hadn't decided to go all-in with us, we wouldn't have made it, and the shop wouldn't be the magical place it is today; a place we actually look forward to going to every day.
They basically worked two jobs for months and got even less sleep during that period than we did, and trust me, that wasn't much. Some day oil paintings of their handsome faces will grace the walls of Conspiracy Inc. Or we'll write a nice song about them or something, but for now they just get a blog post dedicated to them.

Our friends and family have also been a huge support throughout the year. Whether they helped us paint our new walls, loaned us money when our most valuable equipment broke down, gave us crap to put in our empty new shop, or loaned us their car so we could go to a million flea markets, it would have been hard to get to where we are now without them.

I know this is turning into a lame blog version of the Queens new years speech, and that really wasn't where i was going with this, but i have to give one last thank you. To our clients.
In the beginning, around March when we first moved, there was no furniture for them to sit on, no real entrance, and in some rooms, no floor. In the winter time there was (or is) very little heating and some days they'd be lying almost naked in a freezing room for hours and hours, and afterwards they'd give us money.
They keep coming up with awesome ideas for the guys to tattoo, and rarely complain when they get something completely different from what they initially asked for. And sometimes they bring us cake too.
Thanks guys, i hope you know that we appreciate the crap out of you!

Last tattoo of 2010; Jon's death metal swallow

We hope you all have a super happy new year, wherever your are, and we hope to see you at the shop or around the globe in 2011!

Will the real Conspiracy please stand up

I'm just gonna get the topic of this post out of the way before i start ranting and creating this huge build up, and then when i get to the point everyone is all "really? that's it? i thought something bad happened!"
So, in order for that to not happen, here it is: someone took our name.
There. That's all i'm pissed about, and i guess the rant could stop right here, before it even becomes a rant, but of course it won't.
So if you already know you're gonna find this pointless and tedious, feel free to quit reading right here.
The next post will contain pretty pictures and little text, and if that's your thing, i won't hold it against you.

Still here? Then let's continue.
I can't even remember how many years we've been Conspiracy Inc.
Maybe 5? Maybe 6? Maybe even 7?
It was before i was at the shop full time, and while Franz was still at the shop too, but i'm bad with timelines, so let's just say it's been a while.
And even if i don't remember when exactly we became Conspiracy Inc., i do remember the time we spent trying to come up with a name everyone could agree to; the notes with scribbles of bad suggestions and the many friends, neighbors and clients who were involved in the process.
But finally we found it, and we've stuck with it ever since.
That's not to say that i'm always happy about our choice of name.
At least a couple of times a week the phone rings and this conversation takes place:
Me: "Conspiracy Inc."
Person on the other end: "Huh? Uhm, who is this?"
Me (thinking): "Who did you call? Yeah? THEN WHO DO YOU THINK IT IS?", (but actually saying): "C-o-n-s-p-i-r-a-c-y-i-n-c, how can i help you"
So you see, it's not the smartest name ever, but it's ours and, up until recently, i thought it was at least a pretty unique one for a tattoo shop.

But then one night while i was checking our blog stats, i ended up on a search engine i don't normally use, and i noticed something.
"Conspiracy Ink."
I've complained about this before, people spell our name wrong all the time, and everyone from friends to magazines have been doing that for years, but this time there was a result for the misspelled Conspiracy.
In fact, there were not one, but two.
Two shops are now named Conspiracy Ink Tattoo.
One since 2008 and one more recently since July this year.
One in Australia and one in the States.
Both obviously have websites, one of them is even on facebook, flickr and twitter.

Now, i know what you're probably thinking and i have thought that myself: "couldn't it be a coincidence?", and the answer is "sure, of course it could and maybe it is".
People come up with the same ideas at the same time all the time, and of course that totally could have happened here too... twice.
But do i think that's the case here? Not really.
These other shops may be located very far away from us physically, but on the internet we're all neighbors, and if you're somewhat active and visible online, which we are and apparently they are too, it doesn't really matter where you are in the real world.
And for years we've been doing conventions, had work in various magazines, participated in art shows, printed stickers and t-shirts, been active on myspace, blogger, twitter, and, for a second there, even facebook.
We represent.
And the tattooers who work at our shop are not exactly unknown, so i'd say there's a good chance that people in the same industry could have heard of us.

So what's my problem? Well, my problem is that it's rude!
And what am i gonna do about it?
Besides this, probably not a damn thing.

I guess this discovery just comes at a time when i've been thinking a lot about respect, or lack thereof, i should say.
When we first moved to our new shop i was so worried about offending people who had shops in the same zip code, including our former partner.
I even worried that our neighbors across the lake felt that waving distance, even if it is across a body of water, was a little too close.
But since we're a private studio, more so now than ever before, on a small, kind of anonymous street, we decided that it was probably ok.

But since we moved in March, two studios have opened in our area, one of them literally around the corner from us.
When i first discovered the one right around the corner i got a little pissed... ok, i got mad as hell and considered bagging one of Lucifer's little poops and lighting the bag on fire outside their door, but i have since calmed down and accepted its location. Mostly due to the fact that i don't actually believe the guy even knew we had moved to that area in the first place, and even our clients have trouble finding us at times, so who can really blame the guy?
But the whole idea of opening up shops really close to other shops, something that was not even a possibility a few years ago, is a reality now, and we didn't get the worst of it.

A new shop opened recently in the center of Copenhagen.
No news there, i'm sure it happens all the time, and we're usually too busy with our own shit to pay attention to the local scene, so it's all good.
Except in this case, it isn't.
This shop opened right next to an established studio.
Not down the street, or in the same area, but right next to it, and when i first heard, i couldn't believe it.
No one could be that rude, right?
Wrong.
Apparently we've entered the age of i-don't-give-a-fuck, and that includes not giving a fuck about common professional courtesy and good manners.
And for a person like myself who actually does give a fuck, behavior like that can be hard to accept.
And this new place is apparently really bad too.
Home-parties-and-staph-infections-bad, or so i've heard.
I have never used this blog to air personal beefs, or write shit about other shops, and that's why you won't find any links to the shops i'm referring to in this post, or names of the local shops here in Copenhagen.
This is because i believe in internet courtesy, and i try not to say and do anything online that i wouldn't be prepared to say to a persons face, and seeing how i hate confrontations, there's a lot i wouldn't say and therefore i don't (that was a ridiculously long sentence, and i'm not even sure if it worked, but i'll just leave it and move on...)
But if anyone would like to know the location of this studio, so they don't accidentally take their business there, i'd be happy to inform them via email instead of a public forum.

Anyway.
Respect.
Borders.
As you may have picked up on, i take internet behavior quite seriously, almost as seriously as real life behavior.
I believe that if we choose to live out part of our lives online, which most of us do, the same basic manners have to apply here as they do in real life.
I choose to let a lot of shit slide, due to the fact that if you get all riled up about every idiot behaving badly on the internet, you'd have a full time job right there.
And a stressful one at that.
So i try not to get worked up about the little things, and i think i'm getting pretty good at just ignoring dumb stuff.
But finding out that someone did what is basically the internet equivalent of opening up a shop right next to ours, and i believe name plagiarism is just that, just pissed me off.

This post is all the attention i'm gonna give this subject.
I'm not even sure it deserved a rant like this and to be honest, i'm already looking forward to posting about cake and tattoos and taxidermy again!
You're not likely to find any words on this subject on Allan's blog either.
He's much better than me at ignoring shit, and when i first told him about the other shops he barely shrugged.
You'll probably never hear him bitch about anything as petty as this on his blog, but there's a lot of shit i choose to care about, so he doesn't have to.
That's a good partnership and that's a good marriage, so there.

In conclusion...
I don't know what this rant was supposed to accomplish exactly.
I think i just needed to vent, and blogs are good for that, aren't they?
I know for certain that i am not looking for for friends to leave angry comments on my behalf, nor will i approve comments about what a dumb bastard i am for even caring, i'm well aware of that already!
More drama is the last thing anyone needs, and i'm already worried about crossing the fine line between a personal rant and a full on internet war on words.
I apologize in advance if this has left anyone feeling bored or offended, but getting it out has certainly made me feel better!

Comments are open (with moderation) and anyone who has an opinion one way or the other are welcome to participate.

On a lighter note, here's Maru sliding into a box...

The green room

Here's a picture of the shelves i put up yesterday.
We found them at a flea market this weekend, and although i paid more than i should have (everyone does at that market) i still think they were good finds.
Now we just have a few books out front, and most of them are just there because they're decorative.
I'm so glad we moved the IKEA bookcase into the drawing room/library, it never did belong in our lovely front room anyway!

Cozy corner

Mr. Owl

A lamp we also found at the flea market

Some day i'll get someone else to take some real shop pictures for you.
But we have to wait until the kitchen is done... soooo, around the time of not-in-a-million-years, would be my guess?
Yeah, the optimism is long gone!

Uhm...

That just happened.

Art & updates

As you may have already seen on Allans blog, three of his paintings will be in a show in San Francisco opening in just a few days.
He has been working his ass of to make the deadline, and we just got word a few days ago that his works finally arrived.
Phew.
Anyway, the show is called "Scream With Me" and the venue is the 111 Minna Gallery.
We're pretty bummed that we can't be at the opening on the 7th ourselves, but we hope that it'll be a huge success.
If any of you lovely readers are in the general area, please go check it out!

Click here to see a preview of Allans paintings!




In other news (or what passes as news on a lazy Sunday) i have been working a lot on the blog layout for the past few days, and besides just making the blog look all pretty, i've been trying to make the booking, waiting list and general info easier to find.
So to do that i've added a top menu, where you can now find info on how to book with each of the artist that works here, as well as examples of their work.
There's also an updated FAQ with links to hotels, directions to the shop, and some newer frequently asked questions, and a Travel tab with our current travel dates.

We are also on Twitter now, so click here, or click the pretty little bird in the right-hand menu, to follow us there.
Not much has happened there yet, but i promise to use it regularly to post lost of pictures and random Conspiracy goodness!

Open!

I was actually gonna post this on my personal blog, because it's a craft project, and i've been posting progress pictures over there, but since it's very much shop related, i decided that it belongs here.
So what am i talking about here?
The shop open/closed sign, that's what!
I finally finished the sign that i have been working on for months.
We still don't have an actual shop sign, and we really don't plan on getting one, but now people will at least be able to see when we're open.

In progress

Nick got the idea for the bird cages, clever right?

Almost done

Open:

And closed:

It took me a while, but i finally found two antique frames in the exact same size, that fit the signs too (thank god we're smack in the middle of an antique neighborhood)

Bird detail

Deer detail

Voila!

In the beginning i used a pattern, but the closed sign i pretty much made it up as i went along.
And considering that this is only my second cross-stitch project (the first finished one is this), i think it turned out pretty well.
Hope y'all like it!

Non-news

So, here we are.
It's July and we still haven't set a date for the opening party we were supposed to have back in May.
I don't know exactly when it's gonna be, but i can say that it's not gonna be this month either.

We've long accepted that the shop is never gonna be completely finished, so we shouldn't wait for that to happen, but there are a few more things we'd like to see done before we invite everyone to come see our new home.
There are still lamps that needs to be fixed and hung, and stuff that needs to be painted.
And then there's of course the big, gaping hole in our kitchen ceiling that's about to get a whole lot bigger.
I almost can't handle the thought of more construction dust, but water leaks need to be fixed, even if they aren't technically our problem.

I wanna say that the party will be in late August-early September, but since shit seems to happen a lot, i'm not making any promises!

So instead of an exciting news post, or even one with tattoos in it, you get a plants-and-random-crap-around-the-shop post!

Office window

Last week i planted sunflowers and poppies, and today i planted carrots, radishes and peas (not pictured)... all the unnamed plants in the back were there before, i just moved them a bit

More herbs and veggies, if i don't manage to kill them, outside the kitchen window

My birthday flower is still alive!

While digging in the garden i found several buried treasures, this one even made it inside

This one wasn't found in the soil, but it in an antique shop for 10 kr.

It never friggin ends, does it...

Ok, more garden related posts coming soon*, and some tattoo stuff too i guess.

*Yes, i'm aware that i'm the only one who cares about project carrot, but it's my blog, so the vegetable posts are happening whether you like it or not!