A large, warm, heartfelt thanks goes out to: Ruben, Sky, and Ellen of Chameleon Body Arts. Natan of Witch City Ink & Lightwave Tattoos. The wonderful Jack Mosher. Jebb of Lightwave Tattoos. And of course, each and every individual who has donated or bought a tee. Every little bit helps quite a lot.

You can still come by Witch City Ink (186-3 Essex St, Salem, MA) or give us a call at 978.744.9393 to make a donation or buy a tee. Shirts are $25 each, and 90% of the proceeds go towards Japan disaster relief, and the remaining 10% goes towards disaster relief in the United States. They feature a phoenix design on the front, and a small Boston Tattoo Convention logo on the back.

We’re still having media pour in from the 2011 BTC. We’ve had quite a few talented photographers send us their stuff. Today we had the pleasure of going through Russ Mezikofsky’s pics, and we’re thrilled to be able to share them with you. Thank you, Russ!

These are only a few examples, so make sure you take a look at the rest. There’s a lot, but they’re worth your time. Promise.

You can see more of what Russ does over on his website: http://russmezikofskyphotography.com

You may have seen the HOPE for Japan booth at the BTC, and even though this year’s event has passed, the HOPE mission has not! Six months has passed since the Japan earthquake and tsunami, and news coverage in America has moved on to other things while Japan still fights to rebuild. We here at the BTC may be a half a world away, but we have not forgotten and we still want to help — you can too!

We have HOPE for Japan tees (image above) available for sale at Witch City Ink, located at 186-3 Essex St in Salem, MA. They are $25 each, and 90% of the proceeds go towards Japan disaster relief, and the remaining 10% goes towards disaster relief in the United States. The tees feature a gorgeous phoenix flying towards a red sun with the HOPE logo on the front, with a small BTC logo on the back. Don’t live near Salem? Give the shop a call or email and we’ll see what we can do: 978.744.9393, or witchcityink@gmail.com.

If you want to donate a little less or a little more, we also have a donation jar set up in the shop. Anything that you can give is much, much appreciated. Please feel free to check out the HOPE Facebook page as well, and see the amazing HOPE tattoo project that is going on all over the world.

Photo by Tong Mangklarat

Now that the Boston Tattoo Convention has come and gone, we are basking in the afterglow of a successful 10th event! We hope that you enjoyed the BTC as much as we did — it certainly wouldn’t have been nearly as great without each and every one of you. We’ll be sharing photos and other tidbits with you soon, but for now we simply wanted to extend our sincerest thanks! To the artists, performers, staff, volunteers, vendors, sponsors, and especially YOU. From the bottom of our big ol’ tattooed hearts, thank you, and we hope to see you again next year!

We know you’re just as excited as we are to see all of the weekend’s photos, but while you’re waiting, head on over to our Facebook page to see what everyone has been posting and share your own photos or stories with us!

In a slight change of plans, please note that advance/online ticket sales will now be closing TONIGHT rather than tomorrow morning. Repeat:

ADVANCE/ONLINE TICKET SALES WILL ONLY BE OPEN UNTIL 11PM TONIGHT.

Don’t panic, you can still buy your BTC tickets at the door, but we’re encouraging online sales because they’ll save you a bit of cash. Click here to buy your tickets – we look forward to seeing you at the show!

It’s Wednesday, and we know your excitement for the BTC is building! Have you bought your tickets yet? Did you know that you can save a few bucks by purchasing them online, instead of at the door? Well then, get to it! ADVANCE ONLINE TICKET SALES CLOSE FRIDAY MORNING.

Ticket Prices:
Single-Day Pass-$20 Advance/ $25 At the door
4-Day Weekend Pass-$45 Advance/ $55 At the door
V.I.P. Pass (4-day weekend access, poster, t-shirt)-$55 Advance/ $70 At the door

Click right here to purchase tickets while you still can!

Boston was very lucky over the weekend and received a minimal amount of damage from hurricane Irene, so the BTC has NOT been affected. However, the storm was less kind to UPS, and as a result, Paco Rollins’ shipment is currently being held hostage in a warehouse somewhere in Massachusetts, and will not be set free until possibly after the weekend.

Good news: Paco is still coming to the convention, and his seminar is still happening!

Bad news: He needs to borrow a few tools, since his are residing in box purgatory. This is where you come in! If you have any of the following, we would be eternally grateful AND we’ll give you a ticket to the BTC!

-2 tattoo machine power supplies
-large butcher paper, white or brown
-spring punch
-tin snips for cutting springs
-small hammer

Email info@bostontattooconvention.com, or call us at 978.744.9393. Thank you, thank you, thank you.