On March 23, 2005, I lost a child. Getting this tattoo was such a huge deal to me because this was something that I wanted to get for a long time. I finally got it this year.

I don’t need a tattoo to remind me of that day. It is something that will stay with me forever.

-Amber

Tattoo Artist: Bub
Tattoo Studio: TNT Tattoos in Van Wert, Ohio

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Natty’s Rose Tattoo Story

My boyfriend and I dated for 2 years and during those years, he was falling apart with his father… The relationship between them became insanely bad that he got kicked out of his own house, so my father and I let him in. Eventually, his father kicked him out of school and depression and suicide attempts started.

ADM are the initials of his name

08.07.09 is the date that he died. Everytime I am reminded of this date, I know that I have to keep moving forward because I cannot turn my life around. At one point, I was suicidal myself but I was so glad I was still alive because I met him… but now that’s he’s gone, I have to keep walking the path that I hope he will help me go through because I know this is what he wants me to do…

The Rose is the symbol of our love. My boyfriend dedicated this song “Kiss from a rose” by Seal and ever since, he has nick named me “his rose”. He said I was like a rose: beautiful to look at but hard to hold. Though once possessed, it’s even more beautiful to have.

-Natty

Tattoo Artist: Ken
Tattoo Studio: BOOM

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Here’s the story behind my heart tattoo. My mom raised me and my brother essentially alone. It was hard, but she did a great job. I love her to pieces, she’s my best friend.

Two years ago, my mom had open heart surgery. One of the valves in her heart was very leaky, and it caused her a ton of problems. She ended up being in the hospital for 2 straight weeks, recovering. She would’ve been out sooner, but she stopped breathing one day, and had to have a pacemaker put in.

The day she stopped breathing, was the first day I wasn’t going to go see her in the hospital, I called her room on my way to work, and someone picked up, said her name twice, and hung up on me. It had just happened. The entire experience was really hard on me, seeing my mom like that. She pulled through, and while I’ve always wanted one, I knew from then that I would get a tattoo in her honor.

So the heart has a bandage because it’s repaired. And it’s inside a rose because while it may be a slightly damaged heart, it’s encased in something very beautiful. (I asked my mom last year in preparation for this what her favorite flower was, and she told me roses. So last year for her birthday, I sent her roses to throw her off my trail. And it’s purple because if it was red there’d be too much red, and purple is my favorite color. Haha.)

Placement because it’s close to my own heart, it’s somewhere easily hidden/no one will see it unless I want them to.

Design and ink done by Mike Ski.

Tutu for funsies

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My Roisin Dubh tattoo has a many layered meaning.

My father’s family is Irish, and my mother is South Korean. Roisin Dubh means “Black Rose” in Gaelic. I look more asian than Irish so it confuses most people to see an asian girl with Gaelic on her. They think it spells out my name. I’ve actually had people argue with me about my heritage. Which I find quite funny, because my last name is obviously Irish. I figure I’m quite dark for an Irish girl.

My birth month is June, so my birth flower is the rose. My tattoos with flowers have roses in them, so this just ties into the rest. This is also the only tattoo I have right now that is visible when I’m wearing my regular work clothes. (I work in a hospital.) Since it’s so well done, I haven’t had any complaints about it. And it’s usually the older people who absolutely love it. They seem to love the fact that I’m Irish.

And the last reason…I adore the band Flogging Molly. They have a song called “To Youth (My Sweet Roisin Dubh). It’s the song I love the best out of all their songs, so I got this to pay tribute to the band. Plus, no one who isn’t a Flogging Molly fan knows what it means, so it kind of helps me to find other fans. I’ve also shown it to the band member I met and he loved it.

John at Smiling Buddha Tattoo shop did this one. They are based in Savannah and Statesboro, Georgia. He works at the Savannah shop. I love his work and all the artists there are great. I’ve gotten all my tattoos except one done there. If you’re ever in the Savannah, GA area, go see them. They are some of the best artists I’ve ever met.

-Jackie

Inked by John at Smiling Buddha – Savannah, GA