Safety Pins's Blog (177)

"An interactive public art exhibit, dubbed You Can Touch My Hair, where strangers from all walks of life will have the welcomed opportunity to touch various textures of black hair"... This happened this week in New York (Union Square) and will happen again tomorrow (Saturday, June 8 - 2-4pm). Can you dig it or are you giving it a resounding "HELL NO"?

Un'ruly, the organizers of the event, say: "or years black hair…

Vintage vs. "Mainstream" Shopping

By: Kyle Starks, AFROPUNK Fashion Contributor 

It seems like buying used clothing has become very popular recenty, like it's this "new cool thing". Everyone from A-list celebrities to regular people…

With summer coming up, many of us may be looking to freshen up our wardrobes, color our hair, and start fresh with the change of the season. We've enlisted the help of Brooklyn-based stylist Kyle Starks. A native of Detroit, now living in Bushwick, Kyle is not afraid…

by Lyfe Silva

Thomarya ‘Tee’ Fergus is a 26yr old female tattoo/visual artist from Toronto. Tee got her first tattoo at age  17 of her astrological sign the size of a loonie (canadian dollar coin), on her upper back…

Mynheer Noir is a 31-year-old budding photographer based in Inwood, NY. His personal style could easily have him in front of the camera as well. I recently had the opportunity to work with him on a photo shoot and immediately noticed he was heavily tatted. We started chatting about ink and our upbringing. What I found particularly interesting is that being a man of color he was actually raised in a family with artists and musicians that encouraged his alternative choices in art…

The Huffington Post recently published a piece called "Confessions of a Hair Weave Addict" in which filmmaker Erikka Yancy shares her thoughts about her relationship to her hair and about the fact that she's used hair weaves for most of her life.

Excerpts: "Before anyone gets upset I am not saying that women who get hair weaves have fantasies of being white. This is…

Stunning images of Janelle Monae by photographer Kwaku Alston are floating around the web. They're from the photo shoot they did for the current issue of Essence Magazine. Alston says that they are inspired by "sci-fi dreams and colorful space travel". "Ultimately, I wanted to capture my original vision: Janelle Monae lands on Mars. She flies over Malibu via balloon transport (I didn’t have the funds for a 10 foot UFO), floating in a haze of pastel colors, and lands on an old…

Meet tattoo model Kevin Wallace! I met Kevin at an audition searching to feature tattoo models in a new project called AMPED 360. This guy oozes style and when he entered the room you can feel his confidence radiating off of him. Not only did the other female models take notice for obvious reason, I also watched the casting directors gush over how handsome and awesomely tatted he is. In an audition room where there was mostly Caucasian tatted hopefuls, I must say...I felt pretty…

Ariana Fuentes is a vivacious 26 years old from New York City. She earned the name "Disco" because she is known to always get the party started when she walks into any room. She is a freelance makeup artist and her signature style is the funky way she designs her eye makeup. You can often find her rocking this style and creating outrageous looks for party goers at many of the hot New York City clubs. I find it super interesting that a girl who is full of energy and on GO 24/7…

Militia was just named "Champion Trendsetter" by Manic Panic Punk Rock Beauty products, and we couldn't agree more. Fashion Week, fashion mags and street-fashion kids alike are all saying GREEN is the color for 2013. And if you gives-no-fuqs about what's "in"…

Lauren is a 26 year old nature girl, originally from Lynchurg, Virginia who spent many summers on her grandparent’s farm in Bent Creek. This is where her love for animals was cultivated. Growing up she always had dogs, cats, chickens and even a pig or two around! Later on in life, Lauren ended up turning her passion for the earth and its creatures into a career by studying Biology and Environmental Science in college. Now residing in Brooklyn, Lauren has collected 7 tattoos that…

By day Jewel works hard at her office job and then by night she gets to let her locks down by go go dancing and revealing her wonderfully inked body. Most of her ink reflects her passion for writing poetry. The words on her skin serves as daily reminders of personal inspiration. Perhaps the tattoo with the most powerful statement is also the smallest one. She has the word SPEAK written backwards on the right side of her face by her hairline. When she looks in the mirror…

Natural Hair and Fashion straight from the AP Community. Creative director Sabine Bernard of Freedom By Nature collaborated with Brooklyn's own Strange Vixens clothing line. Sabine tells us: "The Shoot was creatively directed by me in an attempt to portray a Natural hair model in a raw and edgy look. I came to Strange vixens with the idea and they…

Rogizoid Shatterz is an alternative model and performer from Panama who currently resides in Queens, NY. She is incredibly ambitious and is not afraid to express herself through her art. With her exotic look, 12 tattoos, multi-color hair and plenty of piercings, she rocks her unique look with confidence. Some may find her intimidating but she says, "People and animals gravitate towards me and I can't really wrap my head around it but i guess I'm inviting." I definitely agree…

It's funny how some people hear the word fashion and think it's a joke, but they forget that if not for fashion they would not be wearing those jeans, socks, and ripped t-shirt while reading this article. So I want to take you back to a time where fashion photographers and advertisements used their power to start conversations about race, war, sex, religion, and even the U.S death sentence.

From 1982 to 2000 photographer Oliviero Toscani worked as creative director of…

Antwan Hollis is a budding tattoo artist based out of Newark, NJ. Even though his former ink shop downsized, he remains focus on building his career on his own. At 22 years old, he's already secured loyal clientele who will follow him wherever he goes. He's a lover of all things hardcore metal and is a musician with skills on both the bass and guitar. With Antwan's Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley tattoos, its easy to see who his influences are!

To submit your tattoos for Tattoo…

It's been a happy New Year so far, but an even happier YEAR OF THE AFRO! Like all January's, many of you have taken this year as an opportunity to begin anew. Whether that be in mind, body, spirit or HAIR the new year represents a fresh start! We're on the same journey, and we're gonna start from the head down. In our history, its revolutionary to wear ones hair naturally-- wearing hair how it grows out of ones head, is an act of rebellion. So be it! If the start of the year means a…

Khy "The Altar Girl" Herbert is a 25 year old young woman who you will find all over the inter-webs with her stylish outfits, colorful hair and villainous brows. I first found out about Khy through a tumblr post and later spent hours stalking her blog Khymeira.tumblr.com. I asked Khy about her style, her one woman business and her inspirations. Check it out.…