Thursday, July 24, 2008

SPECIAL DAMASCUS BOLT-TOGETHER PAIR FOR "TATTOOING TO SAVE BABIES" CHARITY!!!

krooked ken motter's "tattooing to save babies" charity event is coming up on august 2nd. i won't be tattooing on that day (surprise, surprise!), so i've made a pair of damascus bolties to auction off for the fundraiser. check em out on ebay.
it is for a great cause and everyone is encouraged to participate. you'll not only feel better about yourself, but you will be awarded good karma points by the tattoo gods. if you can't afford to donate an entire day's earnings, you can just toss a few bucks into the pot...every dime counts. GET INVOLVED!!! pass it on.


THE LAST OF THE LAST OF THE OLD WORKHORSE STUFF
workhorse irons is officially shut down for the restructure. the last few stragglers that didn't sell over the closing weekend are up on ebay with "buy it now" listings at the usual WHI selling price of $260. this is truly the last time these will be offered for sale.


SUPER COOL NEW DAMASCUS PAIR

got some awesome new material from A.C.Metsala and made a neat little pair of bio-meched "explosion" pattern damascus machines. they are up on ebay right now...check em! he made me another billet that's even cooler that i'm gonna mess around with next week.


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
coming soon: i'll be doing a pair of Devin Thomas Mokume-Gane bolties in the next few days, i've got a run of the new genesis of true-lineage rollomatics in brass that i'll be carving up in collaboration with jimmy from lucky supply, i've also got a few other new things on deck, so check back often.

that's about all for right now. i'll be updating if anything else goes down.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

SOME WORKSHOP PICShere's my "on deck" area. i keep em right at eye level where i do all of the assembly and tuning so i can think about what i want to do with them when i am working on other stuff. right now i've got a pair of bronze W.H.I. roundbacks, a couple pairs of copper bolties, a muonionalusta meteorite pair, a damascus pair for krooked ken motter's "tattooing to save babies" charity project, and a pair of plain steel from the prototyping stage of the bolties that will be welded and carved.

this is my carving station, where all the magic happens! i've put in a lot of hours here.
a big huge 400lb anvil i got from a local guy. unfortunately, all of my sweet, sweet, sweet anvils are still back in mayrland in storage with the rest of my smithy. i'm gonna get that stuff soon, i got a lead o a good moving company that would be just right for the job.

some of the art in the shop. the two flash pieces were something that i did for the video game "rock band," that didn't pan out. the silver boards on the top are the molds from the foundry for the workhorse bottle-opener and roundback. the skateboards were for a children's charity in new zealand, they made 5 of each, i think, and auctioned them off. center piece is by fat ram, it's a cool gigery type thing that has green and red pinstriping and is meant to be viewed with 3d glasses...cool, cool. bunch of other stuff too.

super cool new watercolor that julio avila did as a benefit for a friend with breast cancer, then auctioned it off. click here to see the pics on ebay. only a couple people bid on it and i feel like i stole it! it's not just a beautiful piece of art, it was and beautiful gesture by julio. also on this wall is a bug girl by tom strom, a sketch by shawn barber of the damascus skull machine that i made for him, and a few other things.

guy aitchison (top) and phil holt (bottom) paintings.

bunch of stuff that i did. 95, 98, 02, 07

rachel rice, josh visher, ian morriscory norris, dan gilsdorf, michele wortman, jason minaurosome junk





FFFFWWWWWHEEEEWW!! THE WORKHORSE STUFF IS ALL FINALLY OUT THE DOOR!
superduper mad dash to get the last box packed up and overnighted out last night. once again, they'll have plenty to satisfy everyone who's interested, then if there's any left over on monday, i'm just going to put them up on ebay with "buy it nows" at the same price they sell for at workhorse.

FINALLY!!! I GOT TO DO SOMETHING FUN IN THE WORKSHOP AGAIN..MOKUME-GANE AND BLUE-STEEL
so, since i got through the workhorse jam, i got to finish off a pair that i've had on deck for a few weeks. they're up on ebay..check em. here's a couple of pics:

i'm super stoked on this pair. they went together great and i got to try out my new armature bar prototypes on em.

...shop pictures tonight
..so, when i was looking at the projects that i have on deck, i was thinking it'd be a cool way to let interested machine people see what's coming up in the near future. i usually have about a dozen different projects in various stages of completion so i can go back and forth if i'm not feeling inspired.
here's my "on deck" area. i keep em right at eye level where i do all of the assembly and tuning so i can think about what i want to do with them when i am working on other stuff. right now i've got a pair of bronze W.H.I. roundbacks, a couple pairs of copper bolties, a muonionalusta meteorite pair, a damascus pair for krooked ken motter's "tattooing to save babies" charity project, and a pair of plain steel from the prototyping stage of the bolties that will be welded and carved. i've got a couple drawers full of half finished projects also, but the on deck stuff has a much, much better chance of getting done.


workshop pics

this is my carving station, where all the magic happens! i've put in a lot of hours here.


a big huge 400lb anvil i got from a local guy. unfortunately, all of my sweet, sweet, sweet anvils are still back in maryland in storage with the rest of my smithy. i'm gonna get that stuff soon, i got a lead o a good moving company that would be just right for the job.


some of the art in the shop. the two flash pieces were something that i did for the video game "rock band," that didn't pan out. the silver boards on the top are the molds from the foundry for the workhorse bottle-opener and roundback. the skateboards were for a children's charity in new zealand, they made 5 of each, i think, and auctioned them off. center piece is by fat ram, it's a cool gigery type thing that has green and red pinstriping and is meant to be viewed with 3d glasses...cool, cool. bunch of other stuff too.


super cool new watercolor that julio avila did as a benefit for a friend with breast cancer, then auctioned it off. click here to see the pics on ebay. only a couple people bid on it and i feel like i stole it! it's not just a beautiful piece of art, it was and beautiful gesture by julio. also on this wall is a bug girl by tom strom, a sketch by shawn barber of the damascus skull machine that i made for him, and a few other things.


guy aitchison and phil holt paintings.


bunch of stuff that i did. 95, 98, 02, 07


rachel rice, josh visher, ian morris


cory norris, dan gilsdorf, michele wortman, jason minauro


some junk



Monday, July 14, 2008

LAST FEW DAYS OF WORKHORSE
(...for a while, anyhow!)
bottle-openers and roundbacks are in stock for the last time! order now or forever hold your peace. i sent a whole bunch of them, so you should still be able to get yer hands on one. ORDER HERE!!!

there's a pair of roundbacks up on ebay right now to announce what's goin' on.















here's how the official announcement on the website reads:

Workhorse Irons temporarily Closing July 18

Dear friends and colleagues,

For the last five years, we at Workhorse Irons have been overwhelmed with the amount of support and enthusiasm shown for what we do, by you, the discerning customer, and we cannot begin to thank you enough.

From the very beginning, our mission has been to provide the tattoo community with top quality, "function-first", tools, at a price which allows the professional tattooer to obtain a machine without sacrificing a week's pay. What we lack in "frosting", we make up for in "cake". This is the core principle which has driven us to become the best at what we do, and continues to drive us, as we create better and better equipment which remains reliable, and affordable.

As our goal is to provide uncompromising products and customer service, we've become increasingly aware of a need for some necessary steps to restructure the business in the immediate future. Simply put, if we are to effectively maintain the same level of quality and service you're used to, and continue to set the industry standard, we'll need to step back for a little while and make some changes before our work begins to suffer. We know it sounds crazy, but sometimes things can go too well, which is exactly what's happening.

In the interest of rumor control, there has been no "fall out", and no dissolving of friendships. It's quite to the contrary, as a matter of fact. Our personal and business relationships have continued to strengthen, which is exactly why we are we are not permanently closing workhorse, nor do we intend to. We only ask that you please bear with us, as we create a new and improved Workhorse Irons, and rest assured that we are here to stay.

Details

Effective July 18th we will be temporarily ceasing sales and production, as we fine-tune the operation to better suit the needs of the customer. This will include all workhorse models by all builders, all parts, and all accessories.

We will be continuing production and distribution of our Stable Color ink; you can place your orders at www.stablecolor.com.

Until July 18th we will only be taking internet orders and communicating through email, we will not be conducting any business over the phone. Inventory will be based on what we actually have left, so as things are sold out we will not be getting them back in stock.

After July 18th, please visit our friends at www.luckysupply.com and www.stablecolor.com, where you'll find top quality machines and assorted shop sundries to make your job easier.


Thanks, and we'll see you in the future!

Sincerely,

BJ "SOBA" Johnson, Seth Ciferri, and Aaron Cain

thanks to all of y'all for supporting us at workhorse over the years!!! see ya soon.
bottle-openers and roundbacks are in stock for the last time! order now or forever hold your peace

workhorse shut down

THE LAST FEW DAYS OF WORKHORSE

Friday, July 11, 2008

new stuff

VINES AND ROSES PAIR

up on ebay right now....the COOLEST damascus pattern ever. you really have to look at all of the photos in the listings to appreciate how involved this stuff is. INCREDIBLE! devin thomas is a master.

the background of this first photo is what the stock looks like when i get it, ad the second photo is a close-up. click the pics to check em out bigger...it'll blow your elfing mind off.

















THE TEMPORARY WORKHORSE SHUT DOWN IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!
1 week from now, workhorse irons will be going into our 6 month restructuring recess. i am focusing absolutely ALL of my energy for the next few days on getting all of the bottle opener and roundback frames built and out the door, so if you're in the mood for one, it's now or never. they are being discontinued to make way for the new junk that's coming out when we fire back up. ORDER ONLINE NOW. the site says that there is no stock, but i am sending box after box of all of the machines out to HQ.

REPAIRS HAVE NOT BEEN FORGOTTEN
as soon as i get through all of the workhorse stuff, i will for sure put some time aside for getting all of the repairs back out. rest assured, they will all come back to y'all better than new. thanks for your continued patience!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

...half a year later...

...busier than ever before. lots and lots of stuff has happened from the last news update until now. mainly just more of the same, but with some twists.

"SCRATCH ART"
guy aitchison and michele wortman's new book project "scratch art" is out and awesome! i did a few scratchboard pieces for it, including this one of my wife, christine. it was a super fun experience, and it was incredible to see all of the work that everyone did for it. this is a definite must have for any tattooer's collection of art books.













"christine" scratchboard, 5 x 7" 2007






i did a larger format scratchboard piece for the "skin vandals" art show in san jose. it was a version of an earlier piece, rendered with the same scratches as the other boards i did, but with the addition of subltle colors.










"blemish 2" scratchboard and watercolor, 16 x 20" 2007




"UNDERWAY IS THE ONLY WAY"
grime and horitaka's new book, underway is the only way is out now. i was honored to do an interview for it, and i found myself in incredible company. it kills me that i forgot to mention guy aitchison as one of my favorite artists...hopefully he reads this, because he most definitely is! there were also a couple of embarassing misspellings: albert paley and robert venosa, two of my favorite artists...apologies sirs, i ended up doing the interview in my normal last-minute-crunch method and did not have time to proof the text. it was great to see my tattoo stuff in print after a 10 year absence from published work on skin. awesome book!

new CUSTOM MACHINERY...the fancy stuff.
as far as fancy machines go, i have made so many killer new custom machines, i don't even have the time to start posting them now. that will prolly be my next blogging project. i started a flickr page and put up most of what i've done, machine wise, in the past 8 months, there are almost 200 pictures up! so i might just leave this link handy and not post the older stuff, just focus on the new junk. i'm also going to get my web genius, aaron nagel, to update my galleries with all the new stuff. in the meantime...check out the flickr page.

!!!!!!BIG NEWS!!!!!!
workhorse irons is taking a break. follow this link to the official statement. soba's little business got too big, too fast, and we are all experiencing growing pains from the incredible success of WHI. we'll all be back in six months, bigger and better than ever. i have four new models on deck for the relaunch, and the other players will be coming out with some kick-ass stuff also. this is the best possible move that soba could make. after the restructure, he will be able to focus more on creation rather than administration. thank you all so much for the incredible support of workhorse, and big, big, big thanks to soba for making me part of the workhorse team!

i am on full-on scramble to get all back stock of frames built up, tuned and out the door, so if you've been waiting for one of my WHI machines, now is the time. i won't be making the bottle opener or the roundback at all after the break, they are being discontinued...so don't miss out.


IRAQ SPECIAL EDITION MACHINES FOR CHARITY

up on ebay right now! 100% of the money from the sale of this pair will go to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, a 4 star charity providing assistance to the families of fallen and severely injured specialists. my best friend henry is over there and he ran into an interpreter with a fresh tattoo. he asked where the dude got it from and dude told him about some iraqi tattooer/interpreter/soldier guy doing tattoo work over there, so i'm sending him a completely new set up...the works! henry and his buddies are going to get souvenir tats by the guy, and hopefully i'll get some pictures of the tat action and post em here. make sure to check out the listings for more details. Tony Ezzell, another american soldier over in iraq, saw the listings on ebay and made this kick ass poster with the photos!!! click on the image for the full size poster.
henry->


REMEMBER, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUPPORT THIS WAR TO SUPPORT OUR TROOPS.






TATTOOING TO SAVE BABIES
Krooked Ken Motter and his wife Colleen have organized a great fund-raising event..."tattooing to save babies"...they are recruiting tattooers to donate their profits for the day on august 2nd to the march of dimes to assist premature babies and their families, educate people about prematurity, and prevent premature births whenever possible. i will be making a sick pair of machines to put up on ebay that will close on the 2nd of august while everyone is tattooing away for the cause. 100% of the money from the sale of the pair will go directly to the fund-raiser.

please get involved.

great job ken and colleen!


NEW MACHINE BOOK PROJECT
i'm ramping up for the machine book project with brett from presto art and pulse tattoo. i've been compiling everything my-machine related that i can, but i'd love to get some help from the people who actually use them. i am looking for artistic, well-framed photos of my machines in action. like a close-up of you tattooing, with machine/hands/tattoo/face in frame, with an interesting background. maybe a picture of your machines set up on your station, mid-tattoo. maybe a shot of your collection in your drawer...anything you can think of. just imagine what YOU would be stoked to see in a coffee-table book about fancy machines.

high-res preferred, and large files should not be emailed (my connection blows).
email med size files, or semi-large ones one at a time to ac@aaroncain.com
or send prints or discs to:

aaron cain
p.o. box 1300
cedar ridge, ca 95924

i will be eternally grateful!


.....................................................................................................
that's all i can handle for now. my brain is starting to hurt. i promise i will be updating much more often now that i'm on a blog specific site. the way it was before, i had to write code for everything, and i am NOT a programmer.

thanks to all of you for everything!