May 2026 Recap - Milwaukee Tattoo Festival Recap: A First Place Trophy, Guest Spots & New Flash

Hey friends!

What a crazy couple of weeks it's been. We've had tons of travel, birthdays, getaways, art projects, conventions, awards, and some amazing tattoos going on.

Most recently, Ellie and DJ traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to take part in the 4th annual Milwaukee Tattoo Festival. They got to see some old friends, compete in tattoo contests, and put out some amazing work. The Silent Earth booth got some extra support from our old friend and frequent guest artist Bacon, as well as Chicago's own Eamonn Carey and Jake Rivera, with a very notable nod to our friends and booth neighbors from Chicago's Noble Coyote Tattoo. Most notably, a HUGE congratulations to Ellie for walking away with a first place trophy in medium color on Friday — she rocked out an incredible "circle of life" piece featuring a falcon grabbing a rabbit.

Arianna has been holding it down at the shop, putting out amazing work. She's been dropping new flash and has a couple of really awesome pieces to choose from — check them out on her Instagram or on her Venue site. Ellie will be guesting at Milwaukee's Love Gun Tattoo on Brady Street with Banjo and his amazing crew, so if you're in the Midwest, reach out to her and get something special in a rad new space. DJ is taking a few days in Chicago and will be back to his normal schedule in Portland after the 10th.

We all have a lot coming up, so reach out and keep that good work coming. We've got some big projects on the horizon and some really interesting consultations scheduled for our clients' unique and rad ideas. We each have art available and time opening up in our respective schedules as well.

So thank you all for following along. Love you all.