Inked Magazines Model Search...

Hands down Inked magazine have the flyest most beautiful inked models in the world...I one day dream of having my own magazine with soulful beautiful sistas of color and style! Urban Ink TRY but focus too much on the ASS and not enough on the art....I know a lot of black women with full SLEEVES and backpieces...so I guess I will save those women for my own tattoo and art magazine...Inked magazine holla at me, lets do a stylist, urban tattoo magazine!!! Here is a new Vimby video from the vegas inked model casting call...enjoy yall!

VIMBY - American Inked Mag

City of Ink's Mel-Man featured in "URBAN INK" this month (page 88)

City of Ink's very own MEL-MAN aka Melvin Todd is featured in this months Urban Ink magazine. Tuki found Mel, on myspace and after seeing his tattoo talents and artwork we decided to hire him as a tattoo artist for City of Ink. He's been professionally tattooing for 5 years now. Melvin was trained in the art of tattooing down in Alabama, and has always worked in a professional tattoo shop. He's one of the coolest laidback tattoo artists I know...so congratz on your Urban Ink feature bruh.

Me, Tuki Carter, and Melvin Todd are now all featured artists in Urban Ink Magazine...Sophie's article in Urban Ink will be featured next...and we are working on Corey Davis story also....how things are moving all 6 tattoo artists from COI will ALL be featured in the pages of Urban Ink...City of Ink the "Motown" of tattooing...we promote our artists!

PS....make sure you go to your local bookstore and pick up BOTH INKED magazine and URBAN INK magazine and support the City of Ink Movement! To book Melvin Todd for a tattoo appointment please call: 404-525-4465 (1pm-10pm) I will upload the photos of Mel's article once I go pick up my copy from Borders books....blessings yall!

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.

Dreams coming True....INKED Magazine!

I'm a big dreamer, and I have learned in life that dreams do come true. I collect A LOT of different magazines and I have always had dreams of being featured in the same pages that I buy weekly. Last week I got an email from INKED magazine, asking if they could feature The City of Ink in their magazine. Of course I was excited as hell, I'm a loyal reader of Inked since day one and I have collected every issue. We did the interview last week over the phone with Adam (he interviewed me almost 4 years ago for Beyond Race Magazine). Adam always come with the best questions. Friday Jan. 30th @ 1pm we will be doing our photoshoot for Inked over at City of Ink. I hope the shop is busy so they can see our clients and supporters. I want to make sure they understand we are not just another tattoo shop in ATL, but a movement of visual artists and trendsetters paid dues for younger artists coming up in both fine art and tattooing. I still can't believe it, we will be the first tattoo shop (of black tattoo artists) to glace these pages. We are honored by this moment...seems like 16 years of tattooing non stop is finally paying off....Thank you Jason (editor), and Inked Magazine for giving us a chance.

PS...I was featured in INKED magazine before and the back issues are on sale.



INKED...INKED April 2008 Magazine (Page 104)