Friday the 13th - A tattoo holiday with a dark past and a fun present!
Friday the 13th has significant cultural significance in the West — it’s got bad vibes all over it. Hell, there’s even a movie franchise focusing on its spookiness.
But why is Friday the 13th an unofficial tattoo holiday?
First, let’s break down why Friday the 13th even has a dark rep (and even a recognized phobia: Triskaidekaphobia).
A Mental Floss article found that Donald Dossey, the founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina, suspects the fear of the number 13 can be traced back to a Norse myth about 12 gods who had dinner at Valhalla — only to have it interrupted by the God of Mischief himself, Loki.
Legend tells that Loki did some Loki’ing and tricked Odin’s son to shoot his own brother with a magical spear, thus branding the number 13 an unlucky number in reference to this unwanted and ultimately deadly 13th guest.
Sailors have tattooed the number 13 onto their bodies as a way to trick evil spirits into thinking, “Well I guess bad luck is already here, I better move along”.
From this maritime tradition, tattoo shops started offering flash sheet deals on Friday the 13th as a way to promote their shops and tattoo a whole hell of a lot of people.
Vice reports that the tattoo shop that can be traced back as the one who made it an event as Oliver Peck’s now closed shop in Dallas, Pair O’ Dice; Peck now owns and operates Elm Street Tattoo in Dallas, where his 24-hour Friday the 13th parties bring huge crowds of clients with dozens of tattooers working as fast as they can re-glove.
Traditionally, as Nylon reports, Friday the 13th tattoos cost $13 with a $7 tip required or requested (7 being a lucky number!), and designs are flash only; the design cannot be altered in any way.
Sizes generally are about the size of a quarter, and most shops will only tattoo the design on arms or legs.
Here at Pink Panther Tattoo, we always celebrate Friday the 13th, with over 100 designs to choose from, from 7 artists (lucky number again!), but we do NOT charge $13 a tattoo. There are a couple of reasons why:
Using a cost calculator it costs about $9 to set up a tattoo
Tattooers are generally independent contractors, meaning they pay the shop a percentage of their sales (usually anywhere from 60/40 to 80/20 split) so a $13 tattoo would actually only be a $4 tattoo, with at least $1 going to the shop, so even with tip, the artist would be lucky to make $10 for a tattoo. We’re not down with that: our artists work hard and deserve to make money doing their job, and it’s a fun day for clients to not only get a deal but to participate in the cultural zeitgeist that is Friday the 13th!
There are considerable hours involved in designing, drawing, painting, and organizing flash designs for the event.
We’ve seen too many rushed $13 tattoos that we’ve unfortunately referred over to our friends at Take It Off Tattoo Removal. We think you deserve a tattoo you’ll love for years to come, not one you’ll eventually regret.
The tattoos are discounted based on what size they are! A $100 tattoo generally would cost about $160 any other day, so it’s still a heck of a deal.
If you want to stop by this Friday the 13th, here’s some more info:
Designs will be live on our website on Saturday, May 7th for your viewing and planning!
The waitlist begins at 11 am on the 13th - tattooing begins at noon
The Pink Panther lobby is CLOSED
Check out flash on windows
Check-in with the host and give them your name, number, the tattoo you want, where you want it, & if it’s black & grey or color.
Cash ONLY (we have an ATM)
Arms & legs ONLY
NO modifications
Only the person getting tattooed will be invited into the shop
Visit our neighbors on Burnside for food & drinks while you wait!
In addition to snagging a tattoo, we will be selling limited edition shirts to commemorate this tattoo holiday, along with merch from our artists Kayla Gibson of Stray Co., and Chris Martin.
All items are screen printed at our sister business, 1410 Print Shop, and once they're gone, the screens are gone! Everyone who gets tattooed will also get a free Friday the 13th sticker (while supplies last!)