World class ink for a local cause

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/08/2017 (3155 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rich Handford’s love and passion for tattoos began at a time when his home town of Thunder Bay Ont. didn’t even have a tattoo parlour.

Today, the owner of Kapala Tattoo (71 St. Anne’s Rd.), is organizing Manitoba’s first-ever tattoo convention at Exhibition Place, Red River Exhibition Park (3977 Portage Ave.) from Aug. 18 to 20. The three-day event will feature artists from around the world who Handford has travelled to meet and learn from.

“I wanted to do a good job, so I sought out the best men and women that tattoo across the world, and I flew to them and got tattoos from them and formed relationships,” Handford said. “That entire journey has led to this event. I’ve invited all of my friends and peers that I’ve ever met in my career, here to Winnipeg, and that’s why they’re coming.”

The convention will be a trade show, featuring over 270 artists from Canada, the US, Spain, Germany, the UK, Peru, South America and New Zealand. During the event, the artists will be tattooing clients on site for booked and walk-up appointments.

Handford said a lot has changed when it comes to tattoo culture.

“I think at first and particularly early on, most of us tattooed ourselves to separate ourselves from mainstream society and stand apart. The interesting thing is by doing that, we created our own community where it brought us together.

“Now, it involves people from all walks of life. Tattoos are no longer taboo, it’s not just military and criminals anymore. It’s dental hygienists, nurses and soccer moms. And honestly, no matter what walk of life you’re from… all of us have more in common than the differences that separate us.”

Part of the money made at the convention will go to the Mood Disorders Association of Manitoba through an initiative called Marked For Life, where tattoo artists will donate their time and all proceeds to the organization for mental health programming.

“The tattoo convention is important to us… because mental illness isn’t a specific group of people,” MDAM volunteer coordinator Adam Milne said. “It can be anyone at any time in their life, and a lot of people use body art as part of their recovery method and to establish their individuality… we’re really glad that this is happening.”

Handford said that with the growing popularity of tattoos, there’s less stigma attached. He said his family supports what he does now, but it wasn’t always that way.

At Kapala, Handford has seen clients who want everything from meaningful tattoos to ones that simply look beautiful, and everything in between.

“Personally I’m attracted to beautiful imagery as an artist,” he said. “Initially the thing that most people struggle with is trying to come to terms with the first tattoo is the permanence, so that’s where people want to denote meaning and almost always it starts with family, heritage or religion.

“People look to things that have permanence to them to justify marking themselves permanently.”

And if things do change, to Handford, a tattoo is a memento or reminder of the past.
“I’m comfortable with all the decisions I’ve made in my life and I’m comfortable wearing these tattoos,” he said.

For more information or to book an appointment, visit winnipegtattooconvention.com