This episode is sponsored by Alliance Tattoo Supply and the Brian Kelly Army Tattoo Flash.

Thank you for joining me for another episode of Books Closed.

I am Andrew Storitz and today I am joined by the great Virginia Alwood.

Thanks for coming in and being on the show.

So let's talk about you.

Your feelings, your thoughts, your experiences. Sounds vaguely threatening.

No, no, not at all.

Let's talk about tattooing because that's what the show is all about.

Cool.

When did you start tattooing?

Oh, man.

And I'll keep this part brief because this is like what everyone always asks in interviews.

Totally.

I just want to give a little bit of context for people listening that may not be familiar with your career trajectory.

And then we'll go on to more interesting things.

I moved from New York City to Boston in like 1999.

So you grew up here?

I grew up in upstate New York in Rochester and I moved down here and maybe 97 down to Brooklyn

or down to Manhattan.

And I don't really remember the exact year I started because, you know, it's like do you

count the first time you ever did a tattoo or do you count the first, do you count the first time you ever did a tattoo?

Or do you count the first time that you got paid to do a tattoo?

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