The joy of matching tattoos

Some of my favourite tattoos in my collection are those that match with my husband and friends. With matching tattoos it doesn’t matter if we planned them for ages or got them on impulse at a convention, they’re all pure magic!

How to pick a matching tattoo

If you’re looking at getting a matching tattoo you shouldn’t be hung up that they need to match exactly, a similar design or even one that complements the other is great, too. Perhaps it could be based on an inside joke, a way to mark a time in your life or to celebrate a milestone.

1. Choose something you both love – it could be a food, a plant, perhaps a saying/catchphrase that you constantly repeat to one another, a place you adore or holds a special place in your heart – anything! Or select something completely random!
2. Decide on a style and size – black linework or full colour? Traditional or illustrative? The choice is yours...
3. Pick a part of the body you’d like to get tattooed, this doesn’t have to be the same as the other person but it’ll help an artist to draw up a design for you.
4. Choose an artist or shop and contact them – they can help with dates, costs as well as a final design that you can both get.

Some of my favourite matching tattoos

I’m just going to list a few of my favourite matching tattoos – otherwise, we’d be here all day, especially as my husband and I have three! I’m a big matching tattoo fan. I love just going to a tattoo studio with a friend – even if we get different things from different artists, the experience is just so much fun when you share it!

I met my friend Cath back in 2010 in university halls and last year we finally got matching tattoos to help us celebrate almost a decade of friendship. As I’m pretty heavily tattooed, I let Cath pick our design of two entwined lavender sprigs in a dotted circle, which represents the calming influence we have on each other. Then we found an artist together (Lydia Amor) –

“We had spoken about getting a matching tattoo for a while and I have always wanted a hand poked tattoo as I love how they look. We shared a few ideas together and the whole process of picking what we wanted to then going together to get it done felt really special. I love having a matching tattoo with Rosie as I feel like it’s something really special that we share together. It’s something unique to just us. It’s a little reminder of the very special friendship we have and brings me joy whenever I see it,” Cath says.

The Things&Ink gang also have matching hair grips tattooed on us by Abbie Williams. We got them done at the 2016 Brighton Tattoo Convention. This was totally spontaneous and a lot of fun to get! It felt so special to commemorate the tattoo convention bubble. When I look down at my wrist I’m taken back to that moment in time. Plus, where do all those hair grips go? I mean, seriously?

My husband and I have matching maple leaves that we got on our first wedding anniversary while in Bristol. Not only to mark that but also our love for Canada, we did a three-week road trip for our honeymoon and it was amazing! My husband’s maple leaf is on his chest so he can keep the country and memories close to his heart (aw!). They’re not the most beautiful or well done of my tattoos but they mean a lot, and it was a great way to mark the occasion.

I don’t think you can ever have too many tattoos or matching tattoos for that matter. A friend and I are already planning the next one! What will you get and with who?

This article is written by Rosalie Hurr, who is the editor of Things&Ink magazine.