I usually prefer to post these end of the year wrap ups closer to the turn of the New Year. I don’t have a particularly good reason for why this one is coming in so late, I’ve just been putting it off. The good news is, I think there was only one January appointment included in these photos. I took them before my first appointment in February.

By the numbers, 2024 was our most productive year yet. We again tied my record of 19 appointments in the year, but broke my hourly record with 38 hours of tattooing. That puts my total hours at about 259 hours with Horizakura.

Looking back on this year, I think the main highlight must have been the NYC Convention and the success of the r/Irezumi meetup. Once again, the amount of support I received from old and new faces alike was really humbling. I am excited that I was asked to make arrantements for this year’s convention as well! I’m excited to keep it going and to keep it growing. In addition to the NYC convention, I also had the opportunity to be tattooed at a tattoo convention for the first time ever (Star of Texas). I also had the good fortune to tack on a number of tattoo shop visits during different work trips around these United States. I was able to visit Civilization Tattoo (VA), Electric Tattoo (NJ), Crown and Feather Tattoo Co (PA), Forever Valentine Tattoo (PA), Philadelphia Eddies (PA), and Alley Cat Tattoo (VA). Possible there were some others in there that I’m forgetting and if so, I apologize. I would like to offer a blanket “Thank You!” to all the shops that let me disrupt their days so I could be nosey and see their space. It’s of course great seeing all of the incredible work folks are putting out on IG or Reddit, but it’s fun for me to see where the sausage gets made.

The photos that accompany this wrap up are not as thorough as the pictures I have taken in prevous years. I’m finding myself short on time almost always between increased responsibilities at work, being a father and husband, and just trying to carve out a little down time for myself. Overall, I still think I am achieving my goal of cataloging this process broadly, so I’m not really inclined to beat myself up about it too much.

Take a look at the pictures, and as always, thanks for following along with me here. I would of course still do this even if nobody ever read these words, but it is fun to have people to chat with about what I’m doing. Thanks.