The renowned 47-year-old tattoo parlor Ed Hardy’s Tattoo City will be closing at the end of 2024, as its legendary founder Don Ed Hardy is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Don Ed Hardy, better known as celerated tattooist Ed Hardy, took the Sailor Jerry genre of tattoo art, infused it with Japanese influences, and went on to become the godfather of the contemporary tattoo revival movement. His work spawned a namesake dude-bro men’s apparel brand (in which Hardy did not have any creative control) that pulled in $700 million in 2009 alone, before it was destroyed by lawsuits, and the fact that Jon Gosselin was wearing it around during his very public mid-life crisis meltdown.

But while that apparel brand rose and fell, Don Ed Hardy was always focused locally on his North Beach tattoo parlor Ed Hardy's Tattoo City. But now the Chronicle reports that Ed Hardy's Tattoo City will close at the end of 2024, as Hardy is experiencing serious health problems.

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“We are sad to announce that Tattoo City will be closing its doors at the end of 2024,” the shop posted to its Instagram account Tuesday. “With our founder Don Ed Hardy now dealing with Alzheimer’s disease and with his wonderful wife and long time partner Francesca Passalaqua taking care of all of their affairs as well as the shop’s we have decided that the time has come for this part of San Francisco tattoo history to come to an end.”

Hardy was born in 1945 in Des Moines, Iowa, but grew up in Newport Beach, and got his bachelor’s degree from the San Francisco Art Institute. (He was offered a full-ride graduate scholarship at Yale, but declined.) He would tattoo under the tutelage of Sailor Jerry Collins, then studied under the Japanese tattoo master Horihide. Hardy’s work was commonly seen on the biceps of American enlisted men and yakuza gangsters.

In 1974, Hardy established Realistic Tattoo Studio in the Mission District, which would become Ed Hardy’s Tattoo City. The shop moved to Columbus Avenue in North Beach, then to its current Lombard Street location in 1999, and has remained at that space, even as Hardy’s work gained global acclaim.

Don Ed Hardy retired from tattooing in 2009, but continued to mentor tattoo artists. His son, Doug, is also an accomplished tattoo artist at the shop.

“As saddened as we are by having to bring this news to you all, we would really like to make the last few months of Tattoo City a celebration,” the store’s Instagram post continues. “The shop will be formally closing at the end of the year, so please, make a final pilgrimage if you can, come and get tattooed, and share your stories of this wonderful, crazy, historic place."

Parenthetically, that wonderful, crazy, historic place Ed Hardy's Tattoo City is at 700 Lombard Street (at Mason Street), and is open from noon to 7 pm daily.

Related: Ed Hardy Exhibit At The De Young Puts New Skin In The Game [SFist]

Image: NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 13: Don "Ed" Hardy attends the "Ed Hardy: Tattoo The World" Reception at I-20 Gallery on September 13, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images)

The tattoo parlor Ephemeral on Valencia Street promised tattoos that are “made to fade” within a year, but worried customers are frantic that after a year and a half, their tattoos have not faded much at all.

When our sister site Hoodline covered a new “temporary” tattoo parlor on Valencia Street called Ephemeral that opened in March, they pointed out a company press release claiming to offer “the first made-to-fade tattoo ink that disappears in 9-15 months.” Hoodline also noted “The Ephemeral website may feel more like a startup’s website than that of a tattoo studio” and that “the New York-based company has raised more than $20 million in venture capital, and is in aggressive growth mode with other studios in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and another in Atlanta on the way.”

Ephemeral may have also been kind of startup-y in their use of a “growth hack,” that is, promoting the technology as far more effective than it actually is. A new exposé in  the Chronicle reports that Ephermeral tattoos are not fading after 15 months, and jilted customers are worried they might be stuck with a long-term commitment they didn’t sign up for. The Chron reports that one customer’s tattoo “is at 19 months with about 75% visibility”

“If I had known I would still have this on my leg, I wouldn't have done it in the first place,” customer Michelle Mathews told the Chronicle, noting her tattoo is still very visible  after 17 months. “The whole point was that I didn't want to have a permanent, real tattoo.”

We should note that none of the seven angry customers the Chronicle spoke with got their tattoos at the Valencia Street shop. That location has only been open eight months, so tattoos given there would not have faded yet. All of the people the Chronicle spoke with got their tattoos in New York, but with the troubling pattern that the tattoos are not fading as predicted.

The Chron notes that the Ephemeral website has removed the language “gone in a year,” and replaced it with the words “about 9 - 15 months.” That’s still not consistent with what some customers are saying they’ve experienced.

“We never want customers to be disappointed, so we think it’s really important to be proactive and educate and be transparent,” Ephemeral CEO Jeff Liu told the Chronicle.

Ephemeral says they’ve now tattooed 10,000 people. Are those people’s tattoos ever going to go away? You can keep track on a Reddit page of Ephemeral customers, many of whom are up in arms that those tattoos are still on their arms.

Related: The 14 Best Tattoo Shops In The Bay Area [SFist]

Images: (Left) Joe Kukura, Hoodline, (Right) Ephemeral

Holy tattoo shot by Travis Jensen.

Noted ink fan and 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick got himself a new tattoo on Wednesday. We like it. It looks good. He looks very good. And, though presumably unintentional, it's a wonderful shout out to the greatest Mariah Carey cover of all time.

The new chest ink was done by San Jose-basd tattoo artist Orly Locquiao.

Famous for his body art, Kaepernick was criticized by David Whitley of the Sporting News who, back in November of 2011, prudishly bemoaned, "NFL quarterback is the ultimate position of influence and responsibility. He is the CEO of a high-profile organization, and you don't want your CEO to look like he just got paroled."

Untitled photo by Troy Holden.

(By D. Hanousek)

Yesterday, a close friend pregnant with her first child posted a link on Facebook to an article about a mother who was arrested for allowing her 10-year-old to get a tattoo honoring his late brother. Said friend posed the question, "Would you let your 10-year-old son get a tattoo, for any reason? What if the tattoo is to honor the passing of his brother; is that acceptable?" I immediately felt my emotions heighten as I wrote the comment, "Er, circumcision is legal. So is piercing your infant's ears. Don't get me started..." This led me, of course, to the confession that when it comes to hot-topic children's issues, to me, ignorance is bliss.

I am a troubled sleeper mainly because I overthink when my head hits the pillow and I close my eyes. I think about worst-case scenarios involving burglars, rapists, and natural disasters. But as of late, my insomnia has taken on a more realistic tone as the words of friends and family keep swirling in my head.

Recently, not one, but two women close to me confessed that their husbands had been physically abusive to them and their children. In both cases, when I sprang to action calling domestic violence hotlines and CPS, both women reneged on their allegations, told me I was overreacting, and in one case, shunned me from her life. At night, I am so sad, trying to figure out why these women told me in the first place if they were just going to deny it in the end and deem me to be "the bad friend."

How is this related to my friend’s Facebook post? As a parent, I am sensitive to every judgment, big or small pertaining to children. My son is uncircumcised. One of the fathers mentioned above called my three-year-old son an "anteater" every time he saw him. (Abuser or not, what an asshole.) But I always kept my opinions about him circumcising his sons to myself. It just seemed like the polite thing to do.

Another father (formerly) close to my family exploded on my husband about not respecting Jewish traditions, believing that my Christian background was brainwashing my husband and my children. This isn't the case. Even though I'm an agnostic who lacks the faith required to be technically labeled a Christian, this did not keep this father from sharing his judgment. And my husband, remaining calm and polite, refrained from lashing back with arguments supporting our family's beliefs about circumcision.

Why are these parents allowed to share their opinions and judgments about my family but I am supposed to stay silent when I am informed of abuse? Should that mom have been arrested for allowing her son to get a tattoo? I don't know. Is circumcision wrong? I'll tell you what I think if you ask me in person.

Is piercing an infant's ears a selfish act performed by parents? Maybe. Is violence in the home an abominable and unacceptable disgrace? YES. Yes, it is. And while I understand the importance of an open dialogue on all of these issues, at the end of the day I would just like to close my eyes and go to sleep, ignorant of it all. But I think that's an impossible dream of mine (and most parents) as an active social networking savvy mom, news-reading citizen, and a human being with a conscience.

Abuse, judgment, and ignorance is all around us. You know this. While it would be easier to just roll over and pretend it’s not there, I have learned that, in some cases, politeness is wrong and I have to speak. Where do you draw the line? I’m still trying to figure that out. Here’s hoping for a good night’s sleep sometime in the next decade or so.

As the Lower Haight Art Walk approaches (from 6pm to 9:30pm on Friday, folks), so does the annual tattoo roulette tradition at Idle Hand Tattoo Studio. See, each year they offer "$60 Get-What-You-Get Tattoos" night. It goes something like this: They have a large gumball machines filled with tattoo designs, you fork over a comparatively scant $60, turn the dial, and outcomes your new tattoo. Whether you like it or not. But, since the artists at Ide Hand are taop-drawer, you're bound to like it.

If we may, wee strongly recommend getting your tattoo on your lower back. We just know the tramp stamp will be all the rage next year. Ironically so, of course. Especially if your tattoo reads "diarrhea" in big bold letters. Like rain on your wedding day, etcetera, etcetera, and so forth.

Anyway, the Young Offenders and the Airfix Kits will provide musical entertainment. Do stop by.

What: $60 Get-What-You-Get Tattoos
When: Friday at 7 p.m. - Saturday 1 a.m.
Where: Idle Hand Tattoo Studio, 575 Haight (at Steiner)

New San Quentin inmate Edward John Schaefer -- who was convicted of murder after a bout of drunken driving resulted in the death of a 9-year-old Novato girl -- was stabbed to death "in the chest and neck at about 10:35 a.m. Monday in the prison's reception center yard." Schaefer was killed 10 days after arriving at the notorious state prison in Marin.

Frank Anthony Souza, a 31-year-old San Jose murderer, is suspected of killing the rookie 44-year-old inmate for reasons that are not yet clear. What is clear? Is the crazy-person ink art strewn about Souza's face. His presence, as The Chronicle points out, is most distinctive: "Near his eyes are tattoos of a club, heart, diamond and spade, and his forehead is emblazoned with another tattoo that reads, 'White Power.' His neck is also covered in tattoos."

(Hat tip: SF Appeal)

Update: Souza's MySpace page.

"Born and raised" by Plug 1.