Thoughts

WordPress page from tedderfamilytattooing.com: "Dave Tedder" (https://tedderfamilytattooing.com/dave-tedder/) Dave Tedder: American Traditional, Japanese Irezumi, 25+ Years. Dave Tedder has been tattooing for more than twenty-five years, building a body of work rooted in two of the craft's most demanding traditions: American Traditional and Japanese Irezumi. Both disciplines require precision, patience, and a respect for the rules that came before you. Dave has never been interested in shortcuts. His work has earned over a hundred awards at tattoo conventions across the country. Between 2004 and 2014, his tattoos were featured regularly in major tattoo publications. The recognition came from consistent execution, not self-promotion. The work did the talking. American Traditional is where Dave's foundation lives. Bold outlines, a limited and deliberate color palette, compositions tested by decades of repetition and refinement. Traditional work follows rules established because they work, not because someone decided they were fashionable. Japanese Irezumi is the other pillar. Dave approaches the Japanese tradition with the cultural respect it demands. The iconography, composition principles, the relationship between negative space and imagery, none of it is decorative. It carries meaning, and Dave treats it accordingly. His large-scale Japanese work reflects years of study and a commitment to doing it right rather than doing it fast. Dave came into The Custom Tattoo Company through Jeff Cohen. Jeff's daughter Lauren and Dave built a life together, and the shop became the center of it. When Jeff passed in 2018, Dave and Lauren took the shop forward. Not as a reinvention, but as a continuation. The standards Jeff set are still the baseline. Recognition: 100+ awards at tattoo conventions, magazine features 2004-2014, 25+ years professional tattooing, specialties in American Traditional and Japanese Irezumi.