A conversation with Jay Rose, new interviews every Monday.

You describe your tattooing as bold folk art, I’ve watched you draw and a lot of it feels like the imagery is just stored in different folders in your brain. How do you feel your style of tattooing has evolved over the years?

I do try to use my brain as a reference filing system! Its useless for remembering anything else haha when i started drawing for tattoos the designs were very loose, it took some help from experienced tattooist friends of mine to tighten them up so they still had the wobbly charm but made nice read able tattoos. When i was an apprentice i was a sponge for the history of it, looking at old flash constantly, I feel like ive met in the middle now and I’m very happy with how my work looks now, its where i always wanted it to be :) 

You’ve had some amazing conversations with some of the older school tattooers, you obviously hold such respect from where tattooing originated from and have a strong desire to keep learning more about their processes then and now. You must have heard some amazing stories from ‘back in the day’, is there a part of you that wishes you learnt to tattoo 20-30 years ago?

Yeah definitely, I think i can only get an impression of it from old photos and stories from these pioneers, I think id have thrived in that era haha I always say to Rosie that I want to be the tattooist above the joke shop. Id have love to have been tattooing in the 50/60’s it had such a charm to it. I’m reliving it through these legends and I feel very lucky to be able to call some of them friends. 

Who do you think were the most influential and important people in allowing tattooing to move more into the mainstream? And do you think they really realised what they were doing at the time?

From talking to people now in their 70’s and 80’s who did traditional for most of their career the change all seems to come with Ed Hardy. I think its hard to imagine modern day tattooing as we know it today without him. He completely revolutionized tattooing. I think he knew that his forward thinking mindset would effect it, for sure, maybe not to the scale it did though! There are definitely other things in play that brought tattooing to the mainstream though, tv shows and football players. The black and grey cherubs and angels sleeve is such a massive thing now and that comes from football! The early tv shows, miami ink etc gave people a window into something that they may previously have considered outsider. 

Last year you did a big tour around the UK with your beautiful fiancé (and incredible tattooer) Rosie, how was that? Do you find you get a lot of inspiration from other artists when you do long legs of guest spots like that? I know a lot of the time it’s just like being at school and getting to hang out with your friends again. 

I get a lot of inspiration from Rosie, shes so talented and really helps focus my scatty brain haha we really enjoyed that trip, it was nice to see our friends and you definitely get inspired from going into other shops and seeing what people are up to. I think guest spots in general are great, you meet new people, get to tattoo customers that might not be able to travel to where you usually work and get to see a new place all at once! 

I know we’ve spoken about this before but as tattooing changes and evolves within younger cultures do you feel like it’s losing its value from where it originated from?

I think tattooing has room to move in different directions, there are still plenty of people carrying torches for styles that have been prevalent in tattooing for decades and that will always be the case. It’s exciting now when you see someone doing something new that you havent seen before! I think they can co exist in harmony :)

How do you feel about these more experimental styles that are becoming more popular now tattooing has really integrated itself into society?

Whilst i think its great to push tattooing in new directions I think it has its limits. I don’t think tattooing is for everyone, Its a sacred thing that should be honoured and cared for, I think some people get into it for the wrong reasons. 

You are by far one of the most joyous people I’ve ever worked alongside, you’re full of banter and can brighten anybody’s day. You’re almost always painting flash (or drinking coffee, or both) when you’re not tattooing. Do you think working in a big shop surrounded by artists makes you more productive or is it just the caffeine? 

Haha thank you! I think a lot of that comes from working alongside people you enjoy, I like working in a big shop I’d get bored rattling around on my own. Without people to bounce off my personality would look like a excited puppy chasing its tail.

That being said, what do you find you do when you’re not really feeling creative and inspired?

I think its really important to have interests outside of your main focus. I’ve always played in bands, that for me is a completely different part of creativity and definitely works as a form of therapy. I basically run around shouting for 30 minutes and after I feel ready to paint flash again. 

You’ve been a big activist for mental health and have done flash days to raise awareness for these issues which is amazing. Do you feel like the stigma around mental health is becoming less of an issue within the art industry? Did your want to help and raise awareness stem from your own battles with mental health?

I try to do all I can with Mental Health Awareness, it’s definitely a subject close to my heart because of my own struggles with it. I want to offer people a way of getting a tattoo that empowers them and in times of struggle provides an anchor. It’s definitely come on a long way even since i was a kid, every discussion is helping. I just finished a new sheet which I will be working from 12th-14th October giving the money to Frank Bruno Foundation. I will always tattoo those designs though any time, they mean a lot to me and its an honour to tattoo them for people.