As 365 days seemed to stream by in a blur of sales, boobie pics, and fart jokes, March 13th marked 1 year strong for the our very first Мишка retail store, in our home-base of Brooklyn, NY. It has been a huge year for us, with new Мишка stores constantly popping up like dandelions, and we figured that it would only be right to pay back those who are most responsible for such an awesome year… YOU GUYS BACK HOME!

So for our 1 year anniversary celebration, we decided to team up with Three Kings Tattoo to give all of our most loyal supporters a chance to get inked up, Мишка style, at 350 Broadway for only $3.50. And once the news broke out, madness ensued…

Even on a cold and rainy Saturday morning, there were fans lined up outside the store for hours before we opened. They were all eager to be the first to feel the lovely sting of the needle. Swiftly, the list filled up with a legion of fans all enthused to get inked.

The talented team at Three Kings wasted no time in putting needle to flesh, and neither did the people in attendance in deciding which piece of Мишка flash they would be taking with them from now to eternity. I like to think of it as the perfect accessory for any Мишка outfit.

Now what would a Мишка event be without a few fly guys swinging by to say “Hi!”? A few familiar faces made their way to the store to be a part of the festivities and waited their turn to be tattooed.

Even with the huge turnout and pouring rain, the all-day event ran smoothly under the watchful eyes of Cyco Simon and his new and ever-faithful companion, Mr. T-Yoda. No kicking and screaming went down on this day, as this duo made sure that everyone manned up.

To further set the tattoo parlor ambiance (as if the neon lights weren’t enough), the guys from Three Kings brought over some of their favorite pieces from their shop to display on our gallery wall. Make your way down to 350 B’way yourself and check it out, there are some great pieces.

The guys at Three Kings knocked out the tattoos in an efficient and orderly fashion, while sharing a few smiles and giggles with their patrons.

It might be because we’re in Brooklyn, but around these parts, we live by the motto of “No pain, No Gain”.  So while this young fellow screeches in agony as the needle  pierces his flesh, the only thing that I can think to say to him is “go to your happy place dude” because it will be worth it in the end.

This is Joel, a regular over at 350 Broadway. He got the early scoop on this event weeks ago so he had plenty of time to figure out the exact location for his Death Adder tattoo. Looks like he made a good choice.

Our very own Ease DaMan stopped by the shop to show some love and support to his favorite store. However I have a feeling that he really came to show off his new “Fruck Ease DaMan” on loose-leaf paper pinky nails.

As soon as all of us got our first peak at the final flash art for the anniversary event, we all pondered to ourselves for a moment as we tried to figure out who was going to be the first to get the Bozak tattoo. Who’s Bozak? Well he is is a cute and lovey testicle character that we invented some three years back, but has never since surfaced…well actually he’s on the Freaky Stylee blog banner.

Well, with all pun intended, this lovely young lady was the only person that was ballsy enough to get the Bozak tattoo. Maybe it was her free willing spirit, maybe it was her you only live once attitude, or maybe it was the Happy Hour across the street at Trophy bar. Whatever it was, she loved Bozak as much as much as we do, and we give you a thumbs up for that!

Sometimes getting the tat that you want in the exact place that you want it takes a little flexibility. The wack part for this guy is that to get that precise tattoo, he had to do a balancing act on his broken foot (which was in a cast) for the entire time… Kudos dude, kudos.

But as you can see, his low center of gravity and sturdy calf muscles paid off in the end, supporting him long enough to get this neat leg decor.

While waiting in line, this fellow changed his mind on what to get maybe one dozen times. And with all the designs that were available, I can’t really blame the guy.

But after a little internal dialogue and a group huddle with me, I think we finally settled on a winner…the Superstitious Simon!

The classics are always the best. It goes to show that you can’t stop the Mop.

I think that this might have been the favorite tattoo of the day for a few of us over at the shop. Tattoos are like real-estate, it’s all about location-location-location!

This swashbuckling Simon tattoo erupting out of this dude’s chest makes for one awesome tattoo. Don’t be fooled, a lot of that blood isn’t actually part of the tattoo, but it makes for an awesome photo of Simon cutting his way out!

Hands down, this has to be the favorite piece on the flash card. It seemed like one in three tattoos were of the golden horned Simon and hopefully you can see why. It’s an awesome tat…simple and iconic.

If any of you were wondering why we went to such great lengths to put this event together, well you’re looking at it. That look of pure satisfaction is what gets our rocks off. The coolest part was that for a lot of the kids, this was their first tattoo ever. We’re just glad that they decided to let Мишка be a part of that experience.

Now  as much as I would love to tell you guys that this lovely young lady is actually getting a tattoo on her tooshie, I can’t, because sadly it’s just an optical illusion. Despite my personal hopes of possibly seeing a little under-boob or a half cheek (regardless of the gender) on this day, the Three Kings guys were adamant of only doing arms and legs. I guess I have to repress my pervy ambitions once again.

Even with the long lines and anxious customers, the artists on hand made sure to not rush any piece. They worked on each client to make sure that they received a tattoo worthy of the Three Kings and Мишка stamp of approval, making each one of these $3.50 tattoos truly priceless.

It goes to show that all walks of life can appreciate a thoughtful piece of art. From the just a day over 18 year old high schoolers to a well traveled gentlemen…they were all out on this day to help us celebrate our first anniversary.

For all of those customers on Saturday who came out to support a friend, we made sure you had something to do while they got their ink done…like perusing through an early drop of Spring-2 and a few Мишка exclusive New Eras. If you like what you see, stay tuned, because I promise that there is some more heat coming sooner than you can blink.

Our good buddy Nicky Digital is never one to forget dates, so with a string tied to his finger and a Bear Mop penciled onto his calendar, he made his way down to 350 Broadway to wish us happy anniversary.

Now of course Nicky wouldn’t show up to a Мишка event without bringing all of his equipment. Much like he did during our grand opening…Nicky grabbed his camera and proceeded to work his magic. Head over to his site for his own gallery of the day’s events!

Even one of our regular customers, Kevin Orellana, snapped a couple of neat pics of the day for his tumblr page. If you were at the shop and taking pics during the event, give us a shout at bloglin@mishkanyc.com and show us what you’ve got.

Well after the last tattoos were finished up and the last Spring-2 New Era was sold, everyone road the wave right across the street to the Trophy Bar to get the last bit of the happy hour in. Everyone was in good spirits and it seemed like nothing would sooth the sting of a fresh tattoo better than a cold beer and some good jams courtesy of our friends from Chronic Youth.

All in all it was an awesome anniversary for good ole 350 Broadway. But all of this is couldn’t have been possible without the backing from all of our supporters at home and abroad. So for those who were able to make it down and help us celebrate, thank you! And for those who weren’t but really, really wanted to…just you wait!

Мишка

350 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY
718-388-1725

J/M/Z to Marcy Ave
G to Broadway
L to Lorimer

- ScooP