Built by Artists. Engineered for Artists.
TatSwitch didn't begin in a boardroom or with a marketing plan. It started with a joke in a tattoo supply shop in Phoenix, Arizona, back in 2007.
I had stopped at Superior Tattoo Supply to pick up gloves and Madacide for the shop when another customer walked up to the counter and said he couldn't get his tattoo machine to work.
Someone behind the counter looked at the machine and asked him:
“Did you turn it on?”
His response was:
“There's an on switch?”
I couldn't stop laughing to myself.
An on switch...
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized:
That's actually not a bad idea.
I'd already spent years dealing with one of my biggest frustrations while tattooing—the foot switch. It never seemed to be where I wanted it. It would move, end up just out of reach, or force me into an awkward position while I was trying to concentrate on the tattoo.
I was tired of playing Twister while trying to tattoo.
For a while, I used a mono plug that allowed my machine to run continuously without relying on a foot switch. It solved one problem but created another: I no longer had complete control over when the machine stopped.
That mattered when rinsing, wiping, changing colors and mixing tones.
So I started asking myself a simple question:
How can I put a removable on/off switch directly on the tattoo machine?
From an Idea to a Working Tool
My first prototypes weren't pretty.
I went to RadioShack and local hardware stores looking for switches, brackets and anything else I thought might work. The early version used a toggle switch and oversized hardware. Everything was heat-shrunk and wrapped, and although it worked extremely well, it looked exactly like what it was—a tattoo artist building something himself because the tool he wanted didn't exist.
But it made tattooing easier.
That was enough to keep me working on it.
Over time, switches became smaller and better, materials improved, and the design evolved. Eventually I found a compact push-button switch that gave me something even better than simple ON and OFF control.
With a light partial press, I could momentarily run the machine and release it again without fully latching the switch.
I started thinking of it as a pause function.
That small amount of control became incredibly useful. I could briefly run the machine while rinsing, clear pigment when needed, or transition and mix colors with much greater control. And instead of searching for a foot switch on the floor, the control was right beside my hand.
The switch could sit close enough to the working side of the machine that I could operate it with the thumb of the same hand holding the machine.
No reaching behind me.
No searching around the floor.
No unnecessary bulk.
Just control where I wanted it.
Power at Your Fingertips.
Built From 27+ Years Behind the Machine
TatSwitch isn't the result of someone outside the tattoo industry deciding what tattoo artists need.
I've been professionally tattooing for more than 27 years. During that time, I've traveled to conventions, worked guest spots and had the opportunity to work alongside some incredible artists from around the country.
Some were so talented they almost made me want to quit.
Instead, they made me want to get better.
Over those years I've also listened—to what artists love, what frustrates them, what breaks, what gets in the way, and what they wish somebody would make differently.
That experience became the philosophy behind TatSwitch:
Built by Artists. Engineered for Artists.
I don't want to make products that are simply good enough. If a tool or accessory is supposed to help an artist do their job, it should make their work easier—not become another problem they have to deal with.
I want to build products that professionals are proud to own, rely on every day, talk about with other artists, and actually want to keep in their drawers.
More Than a Switch
Originally, I thought TatSwitch would be exactly what the name suggested: my removable tattoo-machine power switch.
Then I realized the bigger idea.
After more than two decades in this industry, there are a lot of things I've wanted to build, change or improve—and I've heard the same from countless other artists.
So TatSwitch became the beginning rather than the end.
My long-term goal is to grow TatSwitch into an independent professional tattoo-supply company built around the people who actually work in this industry.
A place where artists can find thoughtfully designed tools, supplies and accessories that make everyday work a little easier. A company that listens to working artists, values their ideas and understands that quality matters when your equipment is part of how you make your living.
TatSwitch started with one funny comment in a tattoo supply shop:
“There's an on switch?”
Nearly two decades later, the answer is finally:
Yeah. There is.
TatSwitch
Built by Artists. Engineered for Artists.
Power at Your Fingertips.