It's Time to Celebrate Ironclad Tattoo's 2nd Birthday

 

When I was 14 or 15 years old I thought it would be amazing to stretch my ears. To be fair, it was really in style at the time and it was something that I could do that didn't involve my parents having to sign a permission slip, sorry mom. I went to my local Hot Topic, bought some earrings that looked like long wedges and slowly stretched my ears in my parents bathroom over the next few months. It was a painful process to say the least. Over the next few years, I wore the same pair of earrings and never took them out. They were these sad little double zero gauged pieces of coconut shell that resembled leopard print, but they were the coolest thing I could find for years. I slowly began to regret my decision to stretch my ears, that is until I met a man named Mike Moore.

I met Mike a few weeks before he opened the doors of Ironclad Tattoo Co. He invited Hip in Detroit to come out and do an interview before they opened their doors to the public. After the interview, he talked to me about what kind of jewelry I liked and picked out a pair of earrings for me in my size. He unexpectedly gave me those earrings as a gift and at that moment he changed my life. For the first time in years I felt that my plugs were cool and pretty, and I felt good about my decision to stretch my ears.

Fortunately, if your interested in gauging your ears, the art of stretching has come a long way since the days of me bleeding in my parents bathroom. These days you can do it nearly painlessly with Mike's help and feel great rocking some of his beautiful jewelry.

This is just one of the many reasons that i love Ironclad. I also got my first and only tattoo there. I met with tattoo artist Mike Bagz, we clicked and I let him ink up my foot with one of  the coolest Michigan tattoos I have ever seen. I'd like to take credit for the design, but I have to admit that the lakes on my leg were all his idea. If you haven't noticed, the guys at Ironclad take a personal interest in working with their clients. They party when its time to party and are nothing, but professional when it come to business.

Ironclad has become family to hipindetroit.com. They have sponsored both of our anniversary shows and have always been supportive of the website and the Detroit music scene in general. We truly appreciate their friendship, support, and how great they are at what they do. Last year for their first birthday the theme was all gold everything, and I literally painted myself gold from head to toe to show them my support. This year it won't be as hard to join in on the fun. This Thursday, August 21st they will be celebrating their anniversary at Ronin Sushi in Royal Oak. The theme is Corporate Hoes and CEOs. In other words, dress up! They have rented out the space up stairs and 21 and over are welcome. Our friends over at InkAddict sponsored the event this year, so hopefully the InkAddict crew will all be present to party. Congratulations on two years,  we wish you many, many more!

~S