Almost every time I open the SKIN&INK mailbag there's a surprise. Some times it's cookies. Some times it's one hundred and seventy-five tattoo photos. Other times it's the packaging—like maybe a small casket or a goodie box filled with T-shirts, business cards, posters and key fobs. It goes without saying that such specialness is designed to catch my eye and, at the very least, land the photos in the Readers' Gallery.

One of my favorite people always sent big and beautiful, highly decorated envelopes postmarked Lausanne, Switzerland. It was Felix Leu, and his letters and packages were always fantastically decorated with woodblock imprints, witty sayings and prayers for universal peace. His mail was irresistible. I couldn't wait to see what was inside, especially when it included photos of the latest work by his son Filip, Filip's wife Titine and the Leu Family's Family Iron.

It's great when an artist goes the extra mile to say hello, and I especially enjoy mail from abroad. Whenever I receive a package from Eastern Europe, South America, Asia, Polynesia or some other faraway land, I can't wait to rip it open and view the contents. I love it when I get letters far from the beaten track. I love it even more when the tattoo images are outstanding enough to put in the magazine.

The process is pretty straightforward. The first thing we do is open the envelope and check out the contents. If it's photos, we sort them. If it's electronic images, we view them on a computer screen. We check each and every one for artistry, originality, technique, placement and, of course, visual quality. Electronic images, for example, that are less then 300 dpi often cannot be blown up more than one inch by two inches, and are, therefore, unusable. Photos with flash burns down the middle cannot be used. Same goes with pictures that are out of focus, confusing, too light, too dark, aren't our style or have objectionable content.

Once the best images are culled, we send them to the art director, Lisa Beattie, and she puts them through her own, personal selection process. Some of them go to the Readers' Gallery and some go to the Readers' Photos section of our www.skinandink.com website. Some are published in a month or two; others might not see the light of day for a year. Some, if they are accompanied by an especially cool letter, are earmarked for the Letters to the Editor. All the rest are boxed and sent to C.W. Eldridge at the Tattoo Archive. Nothing is thrown away, nothing is trashed.

By the way, I personally open and look at all the mail. If there's someone who merits a Spotlight or feature story, I'll contact one of our writers and they'll set up an interview. Most times our contributors will discover talent on their own, but every so often the next new shining star on the tattoo horizon is discovered in the mailbox. So, start baking those cookies, we're waiting to hear from you.

Bob Baxter
Editor in Chief

baxter@skin&ink.com
www.skinandink.com