08/23/2026
So excited about this collection of truly historic Northwest tattoo ephemera! These tattoo flash acetates were created by artist ‘Painless Brenda’ in the 1980s. She and her husband ‘Professor Rex’ ran what was once the only tattoo shop in the Northwest. She started tattooing in the 1970s, he started in the late 1930s. Today tattoo stencils are typically applied using a thermal transfer sheet, but these acetates were once a common way to apply a design. These pieces would make great gifts for a tattoo enthusiast— they are hard to photograph since they are clear, but would look great framed on a dark background. Or for practicing tattooers, they could still be used to apply a stencil and could be a fun historic novelty to offer to tattoo clients. These are absolutely one of a kind, so grab ‘em while you can!
