Hi, my name is Bones.

   Audrey and I started Skin & Bones Tattoo in 1981 in Sioux Falls. We have worked from Idaho to New York City over the past 20 some years. We have made some great friends and have had many great adventures. I’m very proud of our business and what we’ve accomplished in all these years. 

   We started at a time that I think of as the old school era. This was a time when artists were trying to get away from bold simple lines and basic colors to fine line and exotic color. There were not as many artists back in the day and a lot of us were friends or at least knew of each other. Portraits were somewhat of a new thing, tribal was just being explored in a lot of places, and we were trying to hold our own in the Northern Plains. There were some great artists in the Minneapolis area and Omaha. Don Nolan was always one of my favorites and Terry at Fine Line in Sioux City did some pretty cool work. Dick Warsoki in Omaha was in new territory all the time. It was a great time to be new in the tattoo business.

   We are self-taught artists and like anyone else we had to struggle for many years. Not only learning to tattoo, but also learning how to run a business and deal with people in a time when tattooing and tattoo artists were not always welcome just anywhere. 

   We fought for our right to prove ourselves, fought for admission into events and weekend runs. It took an awful lot of time and effort to gain respect from other artists in the business. Ask any old timer in the business and they can probably tell you a story or two.

   I never thought this business would evolve into what it has today. It’s exciting to see all the new people and different styles of work. It’s refreshing that we are so much more easily accepted. We used to clear a room if we took off our shirts, now we draw a crowd.

    We have seen a lot of changes over the years in designs, equipment and people. I’m looking forward to see what the future will bring.

   I was very excited to have our son join us in the shop and bringing Ryan and Hope on board has been a wonderful experience. We hope to see all of you at the shop. We would like to thank all of clients and friends thru out the years for your trust and support.