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[Notion Sync] Project: "tedderfamilytattooing website" — Status: Ongoing. Definition: website for tedder family tattooing. Created: 2026-01-09T21:58:00.000Z. Source: Notion Projects database.

Claude.ai memory export: Personal Context Dave lives in Havelock, NC with Lauren and their young son Ronen (third-generation tattooer by lineage). Outside of tattooing: fine art painting (watercolor paper and silk with dyes), printmaking, photography (Sony a7IV and a7RIV with full GM lens kit and Godox lighting), Japanese mythology and woodblock print artists (Kuniyoshi, Yoshitoshi, Kunisada), UAP/UFO research, and strength training with goals of a 315 bench, 405 squat, and 500 deadlift. He drives a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe (with Yakima EXO swing base and gear lockers) and a 2002 Lincoln Town Car. Records audio with a Shure SM7B, edits video in DaVinci Resolve on Mac.

Claude.ai memory export: Work Context Dave Tedder is a veteran tattoo artist with 25+ years of experience, co-owning The Custom Tattoo Company in Havelock, NC with his wife Lauren — a second-generation family shop founded in 1983, located near MCAS Cherry Point. Dave specializes in American Traditional and Japanese Irezumi, has won 100+ awards, and previously worked at internationally recognized studios including All or Nothing Tattoo in Atlanta. He and Lauren share a station and coordinate schedules so one parent is always home with their son Ronen.

WordPress page from tedderfamilytattooing.com: "Lauren Tedder" (https://tedderfamilytattooing.com/lauren-tedder/) Lauren Tedder: Traditional Americana, Dotwork, Fineline. Lauren Tedder grew up in a tattoo shop. Her father, Jeff Cohen, founded The Custom Tattoo Company in Havelock, North Carolina, in 1983. While other kids grew up around offices or classrooms, Lauren grew up around machines, flash, and the steady rhythm of a working tattoo studio. That upbringing gave her something that can't be taught in an apprenticeship: an intuitive understanding of what a tattoo shop is supposed to feel like, how it runs, what the standards are. Lauren's career took her beyond Havelock before it brought her back. She worked at Bulldog Tattoo in Corsica, France, and at Thunderbolt Tattoo in Atlanta, Georgia. Both experiences sharpened her technical ability and broadened her perspective. Working in different shops, under different conditions, with different clientele develops range. Her specialties span Traditional Americana, Dotwork, and Fineline. The Traditional work connects her to the same lineage her father practiced. The Dotwork and Fineline reflect a precision and patience that define her personal approach. Lauren's work is deliberate. Every dot, every line, every decision serves the piece. When Jeff passed away in October 2018, Lauren returned to The Custom Tattoo Company. She and Dave took the shop forward together. For Lauren, the return was personal in a way that goes beyond business. This was her father's shop. Running it is an act of continuation, not just commerce. Today, Lauren co-owns The Custom Tattoo Company with Dave. She handles the business operations alongside her own tattooing practice.

WordPress page from tedderfamilytattooing.com: "Jeff Cohen" (https://tedderfamilytattooing.com/jeff-cohen/) Jeff Cohen (1947-2018), Founder of The Custom Tattoo Company. Jeffrey Cohen was born November 6, 1947, in the Bronx, New York. He grew up scrappy, resourceful. He joined the Navy. The military took him out of New York and showed him the rest of the country. Before tattooing, Jeff worked at Pike in Long Beach, California. He spent time in Chicago and New York City. Tattooing found him somewhere along the way, and once it did, the rest of the story wrote itself. In 1983, Jeff opened The Custom Tattoo Company in Havelock, North Carolina, directly across the street from the gates of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. The location was deliberate. Marines coming and going, young service members looking for their first tattoo or their tenth. The shop became a fixture, as much a part of the base culture as the barracks and the PX. Jeff ran The Custom Tattoo Company for over three decades. He wasn't chasing trends or building a brand. He was running a shop, the way shop owners did before social media turned tattooing into a spectator sport. Walk-ins were welcome. The flash was on the wall. The work got done. He raised a family in and around that shop. His daughter Lauren grew up watching him work. His son-in-law Dave Tedder would eventually join him. Jeff Cohen passed away on October 19, 2018, at age 70. What he left behind was more than a business. The Custom Tattoo Company was a place, a reputation, and a standard. The family he raised in that shop now runs it. Everything that followed, the awards, the art, the next generation, all of it traces back to a shop across from Cherry Point and the man who opened the door. Milestones: 1947 born in the Bronx. Navy service. Long Beach, Chicago, NYC. 1983 founded The Custom Tattoo Company. 2018 passed away October 19, age 70.

WordPress article from davetedder.com: "Irezumi vs. Western Tattooing: What Makes Japanese Tattoos Different" (https://davetedder.com/irezumi-vs-western-tattooing/) Japanese Irezumi and Western tattooing are fundamentally different approaches to the same medium. The difference isn't just subject matter (dragons vs. anchors). It's how the work is designed, how it relates to the body, and what holds the composition together. The Body as a Canvas: In most Western tattooing, each tattoo is an independent piece. Over time, you might fill in gaps, but the overall effect is a collection of individual images. Japanese Irezumi starts from the opposite end. The body is treated as a single surface, and the composition is designed to flow across it as one unified piece. A sleeve isn't five separate tattoos arranged on an arm. It's one composition that wraps the entire limb. Even a half sleeve is designed with the full arm in mind. Background and Negative Space: This is where the traditions diverge most clearly. Western tattooing traditionally doesn't use background. A rose sits on skin. In Japanese work, background is mandatory for large-scale compositions. It's called Mikiri, the system of background elements that fills the space between subjects and connects everything visually. Waves, wind bars, clouds, rocks, waterfalls, and smoke. These aren't decorative filler. They create depth, movement, and atmosphere. I spend as much time planning and executing background as I do on the main subjects. It's not an afterthought. It's half the work. Subject Matter: American Traditional pulls from Western folk imagery, military culture, and maritime life. Japanese Irezumi pulls from Edo-period woodblock prints, Buddhist and Shinto mythology, classical literature, and nature. I draw directly from the woodblock print masters: Kuniyoshi, Yoshitoshi, Kunisada. Technical Approach: Both styles share a commitment to bold outlines and saturated color. American Traditional uses a limited color palette: red, green, yellow, blue, black. Shapes are flat and graphic. Japanese work uses a wider color range. Color gradients are more common. Shading follows the form of the body. Both styles are built on the same principle (bold lines, strong color, longevity), but they apply that principle differently. I keep the two traditions separate. I wouldn't put American Traditional lettering inside a Japanese sleeve. Many clients have both styles on different parts of their body.