Indelible: Body Art and The Tattoo Hotel

Despite the early hour of the interview, Peter Bogdanov was very passionate when he talked about his work as a tattoo artist and his progression from a “singles” inker to an artist who designs custom bodywork for the collector. Mostly, he talked about his realization of an “obvious notion” in the Bay Area body modification world: The Tattoo Hotel. 

Enter The Tattoo Hotel 

“[The Tattoo hotel] was created for collectors and those serious about designing their bodies," said Bogdanov.  It’s a bed and breakfast that will begin “with some incredible views” and will end with personalized tattoo design.

Originally, Bogdanov had his heart set on establishing the Tattoo Hotel in Pacifica. 

As a self-identified “city boy” he said that having urban culture around him is important and he wanted to balance that with raising a family; in other words, Pacifica was the place to be. Not to mention he was off-and-on raised here as a kid.  

“We looked for a beach house to raise the kids around water and sunshine,” he said. Pacifica, Pedro Point, specifically, was ideal. “It’s so close to the city (San Francisco). We were lucky enough to get a house with a hot tub on the deck, being able to walk the kids to school and walk on the beach quite often. It’s great.”

For now, however, the Tattoo Hotel is located in San Francisco, as is his state-of-the-art TV, music and web development studio. 

The original launch date for the Pacifica location was set for March 1, but there is still a lot of construction and permit processing to do. The view from his house overlooking the Pacifica shoreline, where the Tattoo Hotel will be located, is spectacular. 

Donna, his wife, is a staunch supporter of her husband's projects and works very hard to keep things in balance. Breakfast and dinner are a family affair and they strive as a couple to share lunch daily. The pace of their life can get pretty hectic but they connect with each other every day and support each family member's endeavors. Case in point, the Tattoo Hotel is something for which they are all, as a family, gearing up.

“Our whole marriage has been exciting,” said Donna.

Beyond the Skin

With a background as a painter and muralist, moving from canvas to skin seemed like a natural progression for Bogdanov. Bogdanov dabbles in but also masters a variety of mediums such as graphic design, web development, music and car customization. 

“I don’t see a difference between painting, tattooing, vocals, recording engineering, editing and music creation,” he said. “Art is art, whether you’re picking up a microphone, paintbrush, tattoo equipment or computer and doing web work. It’s all about the confidence to create. I trust my abilities to learn these different tools and just create." 

As a well-established designer of commercial web sites who collaborates on large projects, Bogdanov has an uncanny ability to marry his creative instinct with his clients’ needs. Walking through I-2 Studios, Bogdanov’s TV and music studio, you will find a full-service location that provides not only graphic and web services but also options for video and audio accompaniment. It keeps him very busy.

His first love, however, was drawing. That’s why he always gets back to the art of tattoo.

Marking Territory: The Tatu

Bogdanov has a very strict rule that nothing in his body of work is duplicated.

“Everything one of a kind and original,” he said. “It’s a waste of time to do anything else.”

He may use traditional mediums, like flash art, as inspiration for a tattoo piece, but only as a model to work from. 

“Even in that, I get my clients to look a little deeper [when thinking about their tattoos],” he said. “There’s a reason why you’re willing to go through pain for four or five hours. There’s a reason why you want to change what God gave you – this beautiful skin and these beautiful bodies and we come along and decide we want to change them. It’s not a small statement.  We, as tattoo artists, can get frustrated when someone wants to just come in and they want it done really quick and don’t really put much or any thought into it. When they’re 50 years old, they’re going to look at it and be disappointed. Then they’ll get mad at themselves for not taking the time to think of original artwork.”

Although tattoos have been a cultural rite of passage for centuries, they gained popularity in the 2oth century. Lyle Tuttle paved the way for tattoo culture in San Francisco and beyond and Bogdanov feels as if he’s taking up the torch and lighting the way for a whole new chapter in tattooing, one in which the artist will “tattoo your dreams” in a luxury setting.

That’s, after all, what the Tattoo Hotel is all about. 

Bogdanov will be at the Body Art Expo at Cow Palace in San Francisco this weekend. 

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