The Great Tattoo Hunt - The Result!!!

Before I reveal all in true "Dun Dun Duuuuuuuun" fashion I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been involved in this project, the hugely talented illustrators/artists, everyone who voted, anyone who retweeted my endless tweets, no matter how small your input, you all are amazing and I send you big hugs and lots of love!

This morning I hopped on a train to Crediton to go through the final part of The Great Tattoo Hunt....actually getting the winning design etched into my skin forever!!

Crediton Station is pretty cool, a proper little time warp of a place.....

I met my friend Ross on a random night out in Exeter, I think I drunkenly just started talking to him about all sorts of rubbish and still waffle rubbish at him now every once in a while....Ross opened Tanners Yard Tattoo and Piercing in February of this year after working at a tattoo shop in the town where I live for a number of years. He's got 6 years experience under his belt and the set up he has now is really lovely, working with a lovely lady called Lauren (I have heard very good things about her work from some people I've met!) who has been tattooing for 2 and a half years now. The shop is in the attic room of a cool old building containing all sorts of interesting little businesses. The space is really well set out and feels comfortable and not at all clinical as some places I have been to before but also not weirdly decorated and creepy (as a lady it's not very nice entering a shop where a large scary man behind the counter leers/shouts/just stares at you) or geared for a certain kind of clientele.

You head out the back of this lovely old building, go through a little door into a courtyard...

up the curly red stairs to a door surrounded by greenery and you're there!

I have really enjoyed the process and journey this competition has led me through/on. I've always had a lovely of art/illustration/tattoos and thought it would be great to combine all my loves in one project and I really feel I've done that with the help of some very lovely people! In fact I've enjoyed it so much I'm thinking of doing it again next year so keep your eyes peeled!

The winning design really makes me smile.

I grew up in the North East of England and used to go visit my grandparents very regularly as they didn't live far away, this tattoo reminds me of my northern roots and the times I spent with them at their house, playing in the terraced streets as a child and climbing over people's walls and getting shouted at and the occasional clip round the earhole for being a cheeky sod.

Congratulations Sanna Dyker, your work will be with me always! xxx

The stencil....

Inking beings....

The outline...

Colouring in!

The final result!!

It's a bit raised and sore at the moment but I'm hugely pleased with how it's turned out,

the colours are amazing and I keep looking at it and grinning.

So thank you thank you thank you to Sanna for coming up with this amazing design and to Ross for doing the inky work for free for me!! I highly suggest that if you're in the Exeter/Crediton/general Devon area and you're thinking of getting tattooed that you head over to Tanners Yard and have a chat with Ross or Lauren about it, they're wonderful!

Look out for a big feature on Sanna and her work coming soon!