I have been asked this question several times since we opened: "Where are all of the pictures on the walls to choose from"? My answer is usually that I do custom work, and I do not need to use "flash" for my clients' tattoos.Flash on the walls and ceiling in RJ Rosini's Montana shop

Flash, for those of you who aren't familiar with the term, is the word we use for pre-drawn images on sheets - usually with the line drawings included - that a prospective client looks through and selects their tattoo from. If you can't draw, or if you are too lazy to do so, flash is a life-saver.

I worked in a street shop in Connecticut for two summers where the pace was so fast that I would have two stencils on the corner of my desk waiting for me while I finished the client in the chair. I made great money there, but if a client wanted custom work, we had to wing it in order to keep up with the work. To save time, I still had them pick out a piece that was close to what they wanted before I sat them down and drew on the modified tattoo idea. The money was great, but the pace was insane, and I really didn't enjoy a lot of my work.

Julie and I decided that when we opened Vermont Custom Tattoo there would not be any flash on the walls, nor would we have it in books or wall-racks. We didn't need it to give clients the best possible work, and both of us thought it would create the wrong look for our place. I didn't want our shop to have the same, old-school street shop feeling that the shop I worked at in Bozeman, Montana had. RJ Rosini ran several shops in the west, including the "Tattoos in the Alley" shop shown at left. The walls and ceiling were covered in flash art, and though it was a traditional look, I wasn't a big fan.

Julie and I chose a more modern look for the shop, although we didn't go for any industrial or ultra-modern look. Instead, the shop is more like an extension of our home, even borrowing the paint colors from the rooms in our house.

As for the use of flash in our work, it is just not necessary. I draw nearly every tattoo from scratch, only using a pattern when someone brings in specific artwork for themselves. Our newest tattoo artist, Becca is more than capable of doing the same for her clients. We source images from books, magazines, the web and other places; by doing this, we create unique tattoos for each person who walks through our doors.