I was approached by Matthew in the studio, he had arrived from near Blackpool to spend the weekend in the Arcade Club in Bury, I remember it was quiet late in the day, so we made an appointment the following day, he forwarded an image of a feather.
The following day, in his appointment, Matthew started talking about the reason why he came to Bury, to visit the arcade Club, and I resonated with his interests straight way, as I’m a gamer myself, not as much as I used to as when i was a kid, but sometimes, after you tried so much, worked so hard, and need a brake from reality, what a great opportunity, to grab a controller and loose yourself in another world, or dimension if you can call it, and that is possible with gaming.
When we started talking about the Tattoo, Mathew let me know that, the feather was from his bird Zazu, who unfortunately passed away recently. Matthew showed me images of Zazu, so I could match the colours of his feathers in the Tattoo in Greater Manchester. I always put a lot of effort when I do my Tattoos, but when it is something sentimental to someone, it is different, because, it means a lot to that person, a pet can be a part of someone’s family, and become a family member, and I can completely understand that, as animals have the ability to love unconditionally and that’s true love in my point of view.
Zazu was Matthews first parrot. He says, I got him because he was so small and i lived with my parents, so I could only have a small bird, but he turned out to be the biggest bird I know, in terms of character and pluckiness.
Matthew had Zazu for nearly 12 years, and he got him from Liverpool when he was a baby. He was a South American Pacific Parrotlet. He had babies of his own, and he was a great Dad.
He was loving like a little pocket sized hug, he would always sit with us, on a night and share tea and watch tv with us when we went to bed, says Matthew. He was just a truly awesome little bird.
When I was Tattooing Zazu’s feather on Matthew, he got a bit emotional, that’s when I realised how important that Tattoo was from him. That’s when you realise how important your job is, to deliver something on someone’s body for life, that’s going to remember them daily of someone who had an important roll in their journey.
I have had memories doing sentimental Tattoos on customers. I have had a lot of memories from clients Tattooing their loved ones who passed away. But Pets are just as important to people as humans are, they seem to resonate with them in a deeper level, and have this unconditional love journey, which it is how all love should be, unconditional.
