People Can Now Have Their Tattoos Framed After They Die

Tattooed Lady

I realize that tattoos are more widespread than they used to be - in fact, three of my four kids have one or more, although I think they all got them in their late teens and haven't added to them as adults. At any rate, as the bumper sticker says, tattoos are not just for whores and sailors anymore. Or circus acts.

That said, the idea of flaying and then preserving a piece of skin from your recently deceased loved one, then framing and displaying it, seems to me to be a bit much. I do admire the marketing idea, however. Gotta love the entrepreneurial spirit.

If you would like to bequeath your tattoos to those left behind:

Save My Ink, a service offered by the National Association for the Preservation of Skin Art, enables tattooed people to designate recipients of their heirloom body art in their wills.

After the death of dues-paying members, writes Voon, the service will send along a removal kit to the funeral home, which then removes the tattoos and sends them along to NAPSA for preservation and framing.

To some, passing on your preserved skin to family members and friends might seem a bit ghoulish. But not according to NAPSA. On its website, the association says that, among other things, bequeathing tattoos shows that you “have a story and a legacy that you want to live on” and that the service allows tattooed people to “declare who you are, before others define who you are.” The site also includes a gallery of preserved tattoo art for would-be preservers.

 More at Smithsonian and NPR.