Sophie supporting Paper Frank

It feels good to see Sophie supporting the newest family member "Paper Frank"... I love those "You Mad?" stickers!!!!









- Posted from my iPhone

$50 Tattoos in NYC by Sophie

New Yorkers, City of Ink's Sophie is having a $50 Tattoo Special... Send her an email and get some work from COI's first lady....

Sophie C'est la Vie
sophie@sophiecestlavie.com
Fashion Stylist | Tattoo Artist | Kung Fu Dollface
www.sophiecestlavie.com








Posted from iPhone

A Cool Saturday @ City of Ink

Yesterday was a good day at City of Ink....Saturdays always have a cool energy but you could tell the college students are back in Atlanta....even a few friends dropped by.. Which is few these days... People usally think we don't like visitors when we are working but the fact is after work we don't get to see anyone so when y'all drop by to pay a visit and just check up on us it do mean a lot to us....the "walk-in" tattoo team did their thing yesterday.... And all the other artists were busy with their appointments











Once night hit... Some of our friends dropped by on their bikes.... It's always good to see them...they had an artist with them who's looking into getting professional tattoo training....I wish him the best luck in his path in tattooing...







So of our favorite DC clients came down yesterday also... One got a Michael Jackson tattoo by Melvin Todd....she friend bought me a bag of blunts... I needed those... And Sophie did an American Tradational Eagle on the other DC appointment....both pieces turned out dope.... I was busy tattooing my friends from back home, Samad & Aaliyah....I will post those pics in a sec




Posted from my iPhone

Location:323 Walker Street Atlanta, GA 30313

Sophie's Last Chicago Tattoo

Sophie usually hits the road Witt me... She a real hard worker and a go getter like me....I love to see COI artists getting that money and creating tattoos that will turn heads....here is her last tattoo from Chicago


To book Sophie in Atlanta or New York please call 404-525-4465 1pm-10pm closed Sundays. Sophie also takes walk-ins @ City of Ink 323 Walker St. Atlanta GA, 30313


Posted from my iPhone

Location:Chicago

The Last Day at the Body Art Expo

This was the last day at the Body Art Expo.... Chicago people are REALLY cheap when it comes to quality tattoos... So I'm lucky I didn't take "walk-ins" and had my own appointments... My clientele pays me what my art is worth... And I'm very thankful to them.... I wanted to check out Chicago to see if there is a place for a City of Ink there... I love the city but I seen some really really really poorly done tattoos in the city... So I fear the first 4-5 years of business would be all cover-up work and that would make any tattoo artist depressed.. So I'm sorry Chiacgo I doubt I will be opening a shop there.... Too many scratchers and too many cheap customers... A city that beautiful really should have people covered in the best body art.... Instead I seen a lot of hood tattoos and poor quality work...I will have the NY & ATL shop so my Chi clients are always welcomed to visit my other shops...I promise you it will be worth the trip...tattoos are for life....the Body Art Expo was "ok" I still wish more black people would come out and support the black tattoo artists that were trained for them... Instead the black people just went to the booth who had the cheapest prices... Very sad... A cheap price over good quality is crazy to me... But hey to each Its own.... As long as COI supporters came out for me & Sophie... I'm thankful... I will be back many blessings!





















Posted from my iPhone

Location:Chicago

Tattooing in CHICAGO June 25-27 fri-sat

City of Ink's Miya Bailey & Sophie are tattooing in CHICAGO this weekend June 25-27. Call or text 404-644-1912 for tattoo info.

Tattoo Expo
@ Donald E. Stephans
Convention Center
5555 N. River Rd.
Rosemont, IL 60018
Fri. 2pm-11pm
Sat. 11am-11pm
Sun. 11am-8pm
404-644-1912 (Miya Bailey's cell call or text for info) http://miyabailey.com


















Posted from my iPhone

Location:Donald E. Stephans Convention Center

Corey Davis tattooing in NYC: May 11-22

City of Ink's young genius "Corey Davis" will in tattooing in Queens, NY at One Stroke Tattoo from May 11-22... He is now booking appointments in advance just call the info on his flyer...


Posted from my iPhone

Sophie Tattooing in NYC: May 14-17

City of Ink's First Lady will be with me in NYC... She is now booking tattoo appointments in advance for May 14-17... Please call 404-525-4465 to book her 1pm-10pm



Posted from my iPhone

Location:NYC

City of Ink "Celeb list"

I had to put a celeb list together for a meeting....Tuki Carter tattooed most of the celebrities... He is a living legend in tattooing

Lil Bow wow
Rick Ross
Chris Webber
Eva pigford
Lance gross
Usher
Young Jeezy
Tiny & Toya
Young Joc
nivea
Lotoya Luckett
Sean Garett
PSC (T.I.'s Crew)
CTE (Jeezys Crew)
Tyga (young money)
Gorilla Zoe
Pro skateboard Stevie Williams
R&B Singer Sammie
Josh Smith
Rapper Canibus
Jagged Edge
Floetry
Yellawolf
Little Brother (big pooh)
Stic-Man (Dead Prez)

Playboy's Top 10 A-List Tattoo shop
MTV Jams "Hood Fab"
BET's The 5ive
BET's teen Summit 94-95
Inked Magazine
Giant Magzine
Urban Ink
Urban Biker
Beyond Race magazine
The Performer
Blackmen Magazine
Tiny & Toya show
College Hill
Antenna magazine
XXL
Urb magazine








Posted from my iPhone

Location:City of Ink

Tattoo Artist: SOPHIE C'EST LA VIE

If yall never heard of Sophie, I don't know where yall been....she is the first lady of COI and the little sister of the shop with BIG talent... She is also a stylist so she stays fresh and make sure we don't look like bums at work....I have watched Sophies style grow as a tattoo artist....Tuki found her (or she found Tuki) and the rest is history...Sophie is big on "placement" I always said the placement of a tattoo will make or break you... And by the looks of her work... That fashion stylist side of her brain inspires the tattoo artist side of her brain...which comes together perfectly....Sophie takes walk-ins at City of Ink and she also can be booked for appointments by calling 404-525-4465 mon-sat 1pm-10pm





This beauiful, business driven & talented Sophie!


Posted from my iPhone

Location:City of Ink

Tattoo Artist Blogs

My homegirl Sole, asked me to put links up of all the COI tattoo artist's blogs...I usally just blog from my iPhone since I rarely get to sit in front of a computer...I took screen shots of each of the tattoo artists sites.. And put their URL down.. I don't know the HTML codes to make the links work from my iPhone so yall will have to copy & paste the URL links....please follow these blogs, each one is very different and 2010's focus is to BRAND the names of the 4 artists me & Tuki have working at City of Ink...I introduce to you, Corey Davis, Chris McAdoo, Sophie C'est La Vie, & Melvin Todd... The Dripping Stars of COI (bookmark & follow these artists)


Corey Davis's Greedmont Park http://greedmontpark.com (also check out http://IamCoreyDavis.com to see his tattoos)



Chris McAdoo's My Brother's Inker http://mybrothersinker.com



Sophie C'est La Vie's Kungfu Dollface http://kungfudollface.com




Melvin Todd's 9 Mag http://9mag.blogspot.com



Tattoo Legend "Tuki Carter" http://tukicarter.blogspot.com

To book any of these tattoo artists, call 404-525-4465 between the hours of 1pm-10pm. Samba the shop manager will handle EVERYTHING...blessings yall

Posted from my iPhone

Who are the "4" ?

The Chosen 4.....Photos by TT Coles (thanks sis, amazing job!)






For Oct, Nov, and Dec..I will only be taking LARGE tattoo appointments..a lot of my LOYAL clients are very happy about this because I can spend more time with one client at a time those months..and some of my clients are upset because they want me to do small tattoos...I have been tattooing for 16 years and I'm at a point of my career where I want to pass the torch to younger tattoo artists I feel who will do smaller tattoos better than I can...I LOVE doing big pieces, shit I'm in LOVE with doing sleeves, backpieces, side rib pieces, and legs...I have been studying a lot if Shige's work (yellowblaze.net) and the way his work flows covering so much of the human body is PURE beauty...I'm looking for new muse, human canvas so do LARGE pieces..I will even do them for FREE..I would like my LOYAL clients to TRUST me and please let "THE 4" dripping stars of COI do the smaller work for me....they do large tattoo too..don't get it twisted..all 4 are amazing talents..but I really want to move away from small "walk-in" style tattooing...I feel I will be happier...and if you believe in my dreams you would do your research and check out Melvin Todd, Corey Davis, Sophie, and Chris McAdoo...I want to REALLY introduce the world to the "4" they ARE City of Ink...they are the ARTISTS, and they are open for walk-ins 6 days a week. Each artist have their own style of tattooing...no clones...but ALL were trained so they can add on to MY work and do MY style of tattooing when needed...we are family here so I don't mind my clients letting for of the COI artists ink them....my beef only with the ones who go to other shops after I spend YEARS with Tuki Carter training these young artist...and I PROMISE you each one is making a solid name in this tattoo business...starting low as $40 for walk-ins...they guys are trendsetters....watch out world for the "CHOSEN 4"

City of Ink @ The Pool....

Today we all hooked up and met over Sophie's crib and jumped in the pool...Tone and Rasheeda were on the grills...it was a relaxing and it was good to be around COI outside of work...I hope yall enjoy!

Sidestreet Ked & Mike Flo @ City of Ink

Today was a good day at City of Ink...Ked dropped by (wish he fixed our soda machine..LOL) with a wig on....Mike Flo got a tattoo done on his HEAD (I will post that video in a sec) and everyone was busy taking walk-ins...it's a blessings business is doing well in these days and time...thanks yall: to friends, family, staff, clients, and customers for making City of Ink a place for SMILES and good times...Inpsire YOUR city!

City of Ink's Sophie C'est La Vie in URBAN INK...also features Imani & Goldi Gold

I woke up pretty early today, my son was over his grandmothers, and my wife was in bed so I decided to go to Vimby.com and look at some videos to get inspired so I could get in the mood to start some new drawings for my book. I got a message on Facebook from Chris (the owner of Pinz-N-Needlez) saying that the new Urban Ink magazine was on newsstands and that it featured his artist Imani and our artist, Sophie in this months issue. A few hours later, I got a phone call from Mel-Man (another COI Artist)telling me the samething Chris had told me. So I called up Demanye and told him to run over to Walmart and pick up a copy and use his cellphone camera, take some photos so I can read the article...he sent me the photos from his cell, but his cell SUCKS...I couldn't read anything just the first few lines of Sophie's article...yeah Demayne you suck for sending me those lame ass pictures...but thanks for TRYING (I guess if thats what you call trying..lol) he called me back a few minutes later saying Goldi Gold was also this months issue...so thats a REALLY good look for the family as a whole....Sophie, Imani, and Goldi all in the same issue...all my dreams are coming true and it's a real blessings to see my people get their SHINE...they ALL deserve it...once I get my own copy of Urban Ink I will post better pictures...you know sometimes you have to do things yourself if you want it done right..LOL I bet Demayne was thinking "This nigga crazy it's sunday I'm off work, I care less about yo' damn blog!"...LOL I love you anyway busta!...LOL

Congratz Sophie, Imani, and Goldi Goldi for this nationwide exposure...now HUSTLE your articles, and make MONEY!

PS...Urban Ink called my brother, "THE GREAT TUKI CARTER" I love that style shit!

2009 April issue of INKED Magazine (on sale now!)

http://www.inkedmag.com/inked_spots/37/city-of-ink/

By: by Adam Bernard, photos by Michael Blackwell
Date: 03-20-09

City of Ink
323 Walker Street
Atlanta, GA
404-525-4465
http://www.thecityofink.com

Established: 2000
Artists: Miya Bailey, Tuki Carter, Corey Davis, Chris McAdoo, Melvin Todd, Ant, Sophie


When City of Ink cofounders Miya Bailey and Tuki Carter moved their tattoo shop Prophet Art from Asheville, NC, to Atlanta in 2000, they wanted a new start, both for the shop and their art. According to Bailey, the plan was "to break that boundary of what black people and Hispanic people should be getting as tattoos and reflect more of the lifestyle of the people we were doing." The simple rule: no more "gangster-type stuff."

They christened the new shop City of Ink and designed the interior to feel more like an art gallery than a tattoo parlor. "You won't walk into City of Ink and think it's a tattoo shop," explains Bailey. "The layout is an art gallery, and it's built like a loft, so the tattoo studios are upstairs." According to Carter, there's a reason they set up their shop this way. "It shows people that we're not just tattoo artists, that we can actually come up with something that's not quote-unquote tattoo-oriented."

Looking to attract more of the artistic community, Bailey began tailoring his work to be "a reflection of free-form soul and creativity." They hired artists Corey Davis, Chris McAdoo, Melvin Todd, Ant, and Sophie, and stressed the importance of flow to their new crew. "Everything moves with the contour of the body," Bailey explains. "If you draw a tattoo on paper and stick it on like a stencil, it looks like a tattoo—it looks like it's floating in the air, it doesn't look like it's contoured with the body. Our artists do everything contoured to the body, and it's shaped out, and it flows, and it looks like fine art."

Because of the difficulty of working with skin of color, the City of Ink team also worked on developing their method and fine-tuning their machines. "A lot of the old artists told us to run the machine high and get the ink in," Bailey explains, "but that's how you create scarification. Our style is a relaxed tattooing. There's no traumatizing the skin and barely any blood."

With everything they do, it should come as no surprise that City of Ink has become, in Sophie's words, "a creative oasis for all genres of artists." Bailey is extremely proud of this fact. "We're in a situation right now where we are the central point of the arts scene in Atlanta," he beams. "Not just the tattoo scene, but the whole art and music scene. This is like the mecca. Everybody who is an artist or a musician, they come to City of Ink just for inspiration because it's open for everybody. You don't have to get a tattoo just to be here."

The inspiration generated at the shop has attracted plenty of prominent musicians, including everyone from R&B superstar Usher, who was in Carter's chair earlier this year, to legendary battle rapper Canibus, whose iconic "4,3,2,1" microphone on his arm was done by Carter. Skateboarders, such as Stevie Williams, who was inked by Sophie, are also known to frequent the shop.

Fame, however, isn't limited to the clientele. Carter and McAdoo are musicians in the group Holly Weerd, and Davis is a part of the group Mark 5. Many of the artists have art hanging on the walls of the gallery. In addition, Bailey has two books planned for 2009: City of Ink, which will be a photographic trip through the scene they've created, and The Art of Miya Bailey, which will cover Bailey's entire artistic career. The City of Ink crew is also readying a reality television show based on the shop.

But no matter what they're busy doing, there's always one overarching goal behind it all. It's in the City of Ink motto, "Inspire your City," and their logo, a dripping star. "It represents that we believe everybody's a star," Bailey says. "but only a few drip down on other stars and inspire them." —Adam Bernard

http://www.inkedmag.com/inked_spots/37/city-of-ink/

http://thecityofink.com

INKED Magazine page 100-101....it's our turn!

Go to Borders books or Barnes & Nobles and pick up the lastest April issue of INKED Magazine. The City of Ink is featured on page 100-101. Props to Adam for writing a dope 2 page spread about our movement in ATL...we are honored, and thankful for this moment. Mr. Soul got a call from Goldi Gold and said that Borders on Ponce has the new INKED magazine on sale right now. We are the first all black artist staff (and first Atlanta tattoo shop) to be featured in the pages of INKED magazine.

PS..Mel-Man aka Melvin Todd from The City of Ink is also featured in the new issue of URBAN INK magazine. I haven't seen his article yet, but I'm excited for the young man. I can't wait to see his plaque hanging up on the walls of C.O.I. Sophie just did your interview with Urban Ink a few days ago..so be on the look out for your feature in that magazine next month (I think)...but for now go support us and pick up the new INKED issue (page 100-101) and the lastest Urban Ink magazine featuring Melvin Todd.