Calgary Tattoo Expo: Full Cup. Broken Window.

Road Journal

I left the Calgary Tattoo Expo with my cup full.

My passenger window? Significantly less full.

But we’ll get to that.

Thursday in Calgary: I was not ready for that much talent

I rolled into Calgary Thursday night and unloaded a bunch of stuff into the expo centre. Give Friday Jeffy a little less to deal with. Very considerate of me.

Then Ari and I headed to the Cut That XHit Out art show hosted by Deadly North.

Holy shit.

I wasn’t expecting the amount of talent in that room. Just unreal work everywhere you looked.

Honestly, I thought some of it was priced too low. Not everything, but you could see how much time had gone into these pieces, and some of the prices didn’t seem to reflect that.

Pricing your own work is hard, though. I get it.

If you want to check them out, they’re @cut_that_xhit_out and @deadlynorthsupply.

Afterwards, Ari and I grabbed dinner. I remember the art considerably better than the name of the restaurant.

The HappyHouse booth at Calgary Tattoo Expo

I had loads of space for the Calgary show, partly because I was beside a pillar.

Great for space. Less great for people actually seeing the booth.

In my opinion, that thing hid us pretty well. Not exactly what you want at a tattoo expo with plenty of other clothing booths around.

But we were busy as fuck.

People were constantly at the booth, and Friday I was handling it solo.

Womp womp.

Honestly, though? I think I did pretty well.

Talking to other vendors, some said their weekend was slow. Others said they were busy. Same show, different experiences.

I can’t speak for anyone else’s business, but it got me thinking about my own. A good spot helps. Foot traffic helps. But I don’t think the work starts when you put the booth up.

The stuff you do between shows matters too. How people find you. Why they remember you. Whether they want to come say hi again.

And apparently, whether they’re willing to look behind a fucking pillar.

Calgary Tattoo Expo crew: reinforcements have arrived

Saturday, Alyssa and my accountant Jess came to help. They were there Sunday too.

Yes. My accountant works in the tattoo industry and helped me sell shirts at a tattoo expo. Pretty cool dynamic, honestly.

Big love to @dr.alyssagrocutt and @TaxforTattoo.

They both said working the booth was fun and helped them make new connections, which I loved hearing. Alyssa and I also ended up matching, because apparently we needed uniforms.

There were so many familiar faces all weekend. People stopped by and said the nicest things.

By the time we finished, my cup was full.

That’s the part I have a hard time properly explaining after these shows. I can tell you we were busy. I can show you the booth. But it’s all those little interactions with people that leave me feeling the way I do afterwards.

“Jeffy!!!”

After the show, we headed to Cactus Club to meet up with a bunch of people, made a ridiculous foot skit, then walked over to Pinbar.

Naturally, I started wondering if I was going to know anyone there.

Because apparently I still need to do that every time.

Then, as I was crossing the street, someone yelled:

“Jeffy!!!”

Who was I kidding?

These are my people. I knew everyone there 😂

One last surprise

Woke up the next morning ready to leave.

Someone had smashed my passenger window.

Brotherrr.

Then I found a glass replacement shop about 400 metres away. Looked up from the hotel doorway and could literally see it.

Very suspicious.

I’m joking. Obviously. The timing was just a little too convenient 😂

I also found someone else’s wallet in my car. My guess is their vehicle had been broken into too. I mailed the wallet back.

Not quite the ending I had planned for the weekend.

Time to relax, then?

That’s my expos done for the year.

Finally. Time to put my feet up.

Hahahahahaha.

It’s Q4. We’re full steam ahead.

Now the focus is back on the Edmonton store and online HappyHouse orders.

And MAYBE, just maybe, Vancouver in January with Steve Peace and the team.

Nothing confirmed. Just a little something I’m thinking about.

Thank you to everyone who came by in Calgary. Whether you grabbed a shirt, helped at the booth, or stopped to talk, I appreciate you.

Full cup. Broken window.

Still a great weekend.

Stay Happy.
Jeffy