The chief instigator of this project is Tom Thomas (AKA Token Tom). Tom began tattooing as a hobby back in the mid 70's, long before tattooing was so popular. Since that time he has traveled all over the United States many times, tattooing as he went. At that time he called his business Black Sheep Tattoo, because back then many people getting tattoos were the black sheep in their family.
This website is dedicated to furthering the art of tattooing without getting involved in any political, hate related, gang related, or drug related artwork. It is dedicated to providing high quality designs at a price the public can afford. It is also dedicated to providing a way for great artists to show their talent - and make money from it at the same time.
Great art is a joy to behold and it is a far cry from what was available 30 years ago when Token Tom first began tattooing.
Back in the early 80's Tom wrote a book on how to tattoo - the only one of it's kind on the market at that time. It taught starving artists how to tattoo, so they could make an honest living with their talent. He sold it in Easy Rider magazine for several years, from around 1985 - 1988. His rendition is out of print now, so if you have a copy, consider yourself lucky. He originally learned to tattoo over the telephone from the man he originally bought his tattoo equipment from - since it didn't include a manual.
Tom dedicated that book to that man, who has since then bought the copyright to it - which is as it should be - since many of the techniques and advice came from him in the beginning.
He now publishes it under his own name using Token Tom's original title. He rewrote it in his own style and now sells it through his tattoo company, which is one of the largest, if not THE largest tattoo supply company in the world. Their equipment is still among the best that can be had even if the owner IS a grumpy old fart. LOL Like he has often said, you can cuss him, (which Tom has), but you can't cuss his equipment. It ain't braggin' if it's true....
Due to copyright law, we are forbidden from mentioning the title of the book here, but I suppose we can say it rhymes with 'Pappoos A - P.'
Tom also wrote and published a book called 'Runnin Wild - Biker's Bible' for several years which featured Harley runs, races, shops, bars, museums etc. for the U.S. & Canada. He got tired of writing about all those places and set out to see and experience a bunch of them. He spent several years kicking around the country, tattooing as he went. (You may even have a TokenTom original on you!)
Tom was on 'David Letterman' TWICE with his World Famous Bowling Dog, (Hammer). He was also on 'That's Incredible' and most recently he has been seen in the company of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Band. He has been tattooing most of the band for over 6 years now. He had an opportunity to tour with them for 3 weeks - going all the way from Houston to San Francisco. Most of the band has several tattoos that Tom has done for them. You can see photos of them on Tom's other website located at TokenTom.com.
Tom now operates a small tattoo studio in Pocatello, Idaho, which is only 25 miles from a small town called American Falls, where he grew up. He can 'do it all' but specializes in Native American and Wildlife tattoos. He hates tattooing cartoons, especially Tazmanian Devils!
He has kept a notebook handy for many years. After a tattoo his clients have written WHY they got the tattoo and what it felt like. So far he has collected nearly 2,000 pages and over 10,000 comments. He is currently compiling these comments into a book for your enjoyment. It will be available on this website soon, so stay in touch.
