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2c Kahika Rd, Birkdale, North Shore, Auckland |
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(Miss Death alter ego) Too many comics, ha ha!
Erika Bernardette Armstrong
This is a little introduction to the solvent abusing, tyre smoking, pain inflicting life I lead today....... Welcome
Flossy
I started out painting cars with Coastal and Classic Panel Beaters of Whangaparaoa in 1994. During my apprenticeship, I had the novel experiences of being baked at 60°C for 10 minutes, taped up in a bumper repair box, thrown into our insanely massive car parts bin and yes... thinners in the balls???
I gained a few nick names along the way. One was ‘Smurfy’. As a result of painting a truck in bright blue enamel, I came out of the booth completely blue apart from the triangle around my mouth where my face mask had been, and you guessed it, resembling a Smurf.
I also learnt the finer details of the automotive refinishing industry (flashy name for car painting) and taught myself how to airbrush and mask out flames. This is where I gained My nick name X Flossy X. The local sign writer, ‘Stripe Co’ printed me some little Floss Art stickers for car quarter light windows. Every car I had the pleasure of ‘Kustomising’ got a sticker... here’s the honest part, ‘Flossy’ originated from our shop foreman, who used to refer to his pies as maggots and his dog, Flossy fly bottom! I was shy as the proverbial, and when I was called ‘Flossy fly bottom’ I would get sooooo embarrassed. My boss and parents referred to me as Flossy, as did the local Hot Rod club. Now it’s a bit of a shock when someone calls me by my real name, it’s like they're talking to someone else!
I have to add, in my time at Coastal, I learnt how to line lock in my ‘63 Dodge dart, with a 383 BB (yes, I was 17). I owned that car for 6 years! 5 and ¾ of those years were spent putting the car back together, mmm - I'll stick to painting, Yar.
My intro to tattooing was about 8 years ago with Rob Krause of K’ Road, Auckland. I haven’t looked back since. Thank you. Since then, I have had the awesome experiences of working for various companies in S.O Cal, U.S.; Qld, Australia and N.Z. I have been inspired by the events I have experienced and the artists I have had the opportunity to work with and meet. You're all awesome, Thank you.
See you there
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| © Kustom Tattoo, 2010 | 2c Kahika Rd, Birkdale, North Shore, Auckland |
design by jigsaw |
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