Their Loved Ones Died. Preserved Tattoos Offer a Way to Keep Them Close.
Their Loved Ones Died. Preserved Tattoos Offer a Way to Keep Them Close.
Laws in most states allow mourners to remove and preserve tattoos as memorial works of art. An Ohio company, Save My Ink Forever, is the pioneer.
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Monica Gil and her son Jonathan Gil honor Jonathan’s twin brother, Jason, who died in a boating accident, by preserving his tattoos.Credit...Dakota Santiago for The New York Times
McKenna Oxenden
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/08/arts/save-my-ink-forever-tattoo-preservation.html
By McKenna Oxenden
Oct. 8, 2022Updated 2:19 p.m. ET
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“We have his ashes, but with that you don’t see a physical part of him,” said Mr. Gil, 27. “But with the tattoo, you can. It’s nice to have a little piece of him, like you’re holding him close in one way or another and keeping him around.”
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While limited attempts to preserve tattoos stretch back for decades, few other companies globally are doing the same work as Mr. Sherwood, who started his business at the nexus of two growing trends: More Americans are getting inked, and the idea of turning loved ones’ remains into keepsakes is surging in popularity. Some mourners are having cremated remains made into jewelry or infused into glass-blown sculptures — all in the name of keeping a loved one close.
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Her daughters, Courtney and Nichole, explained to their mother that their father was on board and that they had found Save My Ink Forever. They asked her to imagine how special it would be to have the black-and-white skull tattoo that has a ribbon with their names on it framed and preserved for years to come. She reluctantly agreed.
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When Save My Ink Forever receives a request to preserve a tattoo, the company sends a package of materials to the funeral home for the tattoo to be excised. Morticians are directed through an instructional video to remove only the necessary amount of skin needed to preserve the tattoo. The process is “really hard to screw up,” Mr. Sherwood said. If something does go awry, he said, his team can usually fix it.
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= new reply since forum marked as read
:uncertain:
Ilse Koch "would also ride through the camp and select specific prisoners with tattooed skin or interesting skin markings. She had these individuals killed and their skins tanned in order to make lampshades and other household items. "
https://marcuse.faculty.history.ucsb.edu/classes/33d/projects/naziwomen/ilse.htm
https://noisebreak.com/deadly-dames-ilse-koch/
