|
 |
OOH LALA!
Evermore's Piercing Beauty
By Steve Wallace and Jenny Hellcat
Photos by James King
From the July 2004 issue of Prick Magazine.
|
|
|
|
After years of modeling in California,
Chattanooga beauty LaLa returned to the
Southeast, frustrated by Hollywood agencies
reluctant to book her with so many tattoos and
piercings. But for photographer James King, she was
the perfect spokesmodel for Bitchgear.com, an antiestablishment
clothing and accessories line. Her alternative
modeling career keeps her busy, as does her
passion for hot rod cars. She is the proud owner of a
flamed-out '54 Pontiac Chieftain, which has a 350
Corvette engine under the hood. But for this ambitious
hotty, even that isn't enough. She recently set up
a modeling website and opened a body piercing and
tattoo shop this past June called Evermore Galleries
in Chattanooga.
"My old boss and his wife, Greg and
Stella Griffin who run Body Graphics in Temecula,
California, are one of my greatest influences. They appreciate
each employee for their dedication, which is
something I haven't always encountered in this industry,"
says LaLa. "They have been a great source of
advice and help while opening my shop," she adds.
LaLa believes that tattoos and piercings which
adorn the body are pieces of lasting art. "That’s
where we got the name for the shop - Evermore
Galleries," she says.
The shop itself seems to be a living,
moving work of art. When you walk into the studio,
which is co-owned by her fiancé Shane Hartlane,
you are immediately aware that this shop is not like
your usual tattoo parlor. Bright blue walls and framed artwork grace
every surface. One wall is
even dedicated to local and
traveling artists. The flash is
kept in books on tables and
on the computer connected
to the Internet, for clients to
look through. The place
offers a wide variety of body
jewelry, as well as Bitchgear
merchandise, and local music
CDs. The atmosphere is
comfortable and laid back, yet
very professional. Even
though some tattoo parlors
can be intimidating, Evermore
Galleries evokes a sense of
curiosity.
As the house body piercer,
LaLa specializes in surface
piercing, while tattoo artist
Shane offers a wide variety of
styles from new school color
to black and gray realistic
work. Jeff Caille, another resident
tattooer, has been in the
field for three years and specializes in color tattoos and cover-ups.
LaLa encourages clients to make intelligent and thoughtful tattoo decisions
the first time. Her first tattoo (which she is currently having
removed) was an awful color dragon on her lower back. Before learning
her lesson, she got her second tattoo - a large tribal on her back, which
has been touched up by several artists including her fiancé Shane.
Since then, she has stuck with mainly black and gray horror themes.
The half sleeve on her right arm is a '50s looking chick in an EC comics
inspired swamp done by
Shane Hartline of
Evermore. He also did
her rib piece and the
pumpkin on her hip. They
both are planning to the
lay out her other rib
piece, which will read
"EVIL IS BEAUTIFUL"
phrase. Shane has also
worked on the good
cat/bad cat on LaLa's feet.
The black and gray master,
Shane O'Neil from
Studio One in
Pennsylvania, is sleeving her left arm. He started the tattoo at the 2003 Richmond
Convention. Her co-worker Jeff Caille did the small skull cherries behind her ear.
Her future plans include finishing her arm and her lower back piece started by
Scooby at Tattoos By Scooby in Oregon.
|
Check out LaLa's modeling website at www.lalamodel.com.
Evermore
Galleries can be found on web at www.evermoregalleries.com.
Evermore Galleries is located at:
6910 Shallowford Road, Ste C
Chattanooga, TN 37421
Phone: (423) 899-0056
back to top
|
|
|
