Witch day at Conspiracy inc.

So this weekend was 'Sankt Hans' here in Denmark which is a night of bonfires and Witch burning. However instead of burning the poor Witches the cool peeps over at Conspiracy Inc figured it was time to celebrate the Witch with a walk in day at the studio...and as ideas go thats pretty awesome.

I figured that I should celebrate the Witch theme day with some LEGO action... not that I need much of an excuse.

The studio is in a very pretty part of town and I managed to snap a nice pic before the rain hit again.

Random Hotrod no1

Random Hotrod no2

After a warm welcome at the studio we were invited in to see the Witches.

Oooooooo!

Once Allan got started with the first of a long line of people I had a 'snoop' around the studio. There is sooooo much cool stuff on the walls but there is simply not enough blog space to do it justice.... but I liked this guy a lot.

Now there's a familiar face.

So came my turn to choose and this was the Witch I went with. It was actually a hard choice as they were all so good but I cant resist a pretty lady in a hat. :)

In the Lair of Uncle Allan.

The man himself working on my foot.

Never had my foot done before, glad to say I didn't cry..... much.

All wrapped and ready to roll!..... well, more of a limp than a roll really.

"If you see this man escort him off the premisses"

Well there she is! I'll try and get some better pics once she heals up but i'm very happy with her.

All it all it was a great event and a lot of fun. I just want to say a big "TAK!" to  Flora Amalie & Uncle Allan for the warm welcome, a fun time and a great tattoo! Hope to see you again soon. :)

Updating you all....

Been mega super duper busy with work this end, got two projects on the go and a big presentation next week so I've been spread a little thin. However, here's a round up of what's been going on of late....

The Mrs has been craving fruit lately, so smoothies have been on the menu a lot.

Been doing some rather different shopping on the weekends, defiantly new for both of us.

We had another scan recently, crazy how much detail you can see on these scans. He/She is really starting to look like a real person.

Been doing some Designer Videos for LEGO.... here is a sneak peek from behind the scenes!

Been growing a beard, mainly because I have no time for a real shave.

The hand tattoo has also healed up rather well.

Making myself even more unemployable...

Its all over, no longer can I get a job at Pizza Hut or KFC.... for I am now one of those social outcasts who has a HAND TATTOO! This Tattoo was done by my favorite artist, Mr Judd Ripley of Copenhagen. Thanks again JR, until the next time. :)

So here I am again at 'The Sailors Grave' of Copenhagen.

It's fast becoming my home away from home!

There she be!

This tattoo is for Mrs Grove and the 13 amazing years we have had so far. 

XXXXX

 Step by step.

Sick kids, Yummy food and Tattoos...

Last week was rater exciting as our friends Sven and Lizzy were about to have baby number two and we were all on stand by! While at work I got a call from Sven saying they needed to get to the Hospital and could I come over and watch Amelie who was at home sick. I said no problem! :)

 Amelie had a touch of flu and was not her normal energetic self... but we had fun none the less, just look at how happy she is.

We must have watch 'Tangled' about 8 time before I attempted to put her down for a nap..... and I was all cried out from the movie so I could have done with a break myself.

She was not feeling that photogenic that day.... cute none the less.

No baby came that night, just like most girls she arrived late and was born the next day. So now Sven and Lizzy have two cute little girls...... god help Sven!

Fee had to pop over to Copenhagen for a few days as it was Fashion week so we decided to make a weekend of it. We had a great weekend but it was SO COLD!!! Our faces and fingers were frozen while we were walking around so I only really have pictures of the food we ate. Haha

Just look how 'Fashion' and pretty she is.  :)

On our first night we met up with Ines & Gustav for a yummy meal. For some reason there was only a picture of me and Gustav and not the girls.... I guess the camera just loves us.

Apple AND Orange juice!? What will they think of next.

Tasty, sticky and sweet chicken. 

Mmmmmmm.

Super crispy squid, these was sooooo good I could eat it all day long!

We had a rather nice selection of fish and meat at the Sticks and Sushi. Looking at it now makes me want to eat it again. 

While in Copenhagen I couldn't  resist popping in to see my two favorite tattooists Marija and Judd at 'The Sailors Grave'. Their new(ish) studio is looking great and its always nice to catch up with them.

Oh, and i'm getting tattooed on the 20th March so watch this space.

Another one from Judd...

Been a long time coming but I finally got Fee to take a few photos for me as its rather tricky to get a good shot of the back of your own arm.

The idea was to take the classic 'dagger through the rose' but combine it with a classic Japanese spin. Kind of a tattoo styles mix up. :)

I still need to go back as we need to do some shading work up in the handle and on the rope, the area got rather swollen on the day so we stopped and moved on to the fingers.

But here it is!

We had a lot of fun with the colour's on this piece. :)

I have never seen these colour combos before.

I'll promise to be a little faster in getting pictures of this piece up once it if finished. not sure when that will be, we needed it to heal up fully before we arrange a new date.... but as always i'll keep you posted. :)

"ORDO AB CHAO"

What a weekend!

We had a great but draining few days in Copenhagen and Sweden and there are lots of great pics to show and stories to tell but I'm far too drained to blog fully tonight. Not been home very long, I'm sore and tired but I wanted to show you this...

-Order-

-From-

-Chaos-

It's Latin and it translates to Order from Chaos or Order out of Chaos. Hitting 30 this year felt like a real turning point in my life. I have a great job*, an amazing wife an amazing family and I'm blessed to have great friends. It all felt very... grow up. I've always loved tattoos and felt I needed to mark this 'event' in some way.

Being a designer who's work tools are his hands I felt this phrase carried a lot of wait for me. In my work I take a big messy and chaotic pile of bricks or ideas and turn them into something with order and logic. For me building LEGO sets and designing is all about problem solving, taking something that does not work or make sense and creating something better that people can use and understand. So having this on my hands seemed to make so much sense, and if I was going to take this big a step I really wanted it to MEAN something special to me.

Judd Ripley did an awesome job of keeping the lines solid and not 'blowing' any of the line out. Fingers are VERY tricky which is why Judd was the only guy I trusted to pull this off.

As well as the hands I did have a large piece done on the back of my right arm, however it's rather swollen and bruised..... plus its hard to get a shot of the back of your own arm! So I'll leave you with this little teaser until it heals up a bit.

Hmmmmm what could it be?

*Ok kids, I am very lucky to have a career where having tattoos like this does not get me fired. I studied and worked hard to get myself into a line of work that I love and that affords me the freedom to live doing the things I love. Granted, the art & design industry is a little more 'free' than most lines of work but please think hard before doing something like this as not all employers will be as open. Thanks.

Hurry up and get here Saturday 14th!

12 day until they get a make over.

More ink on the way...

It all goes down on the 14th May.

I wont get getting that government job now...

So i'm getting pretty excited for May.... why? Because that's when I will be paying Judd Ripley a visit to get some more ink! Yes, the man who did my neck and sleeve will again be working his magic on me.

"So what are you getting done Nik?"

I'm keeping it a little under my hat for now as details are not worked out but I will be getting a couple of pieces done. One will be filling a space I have on the back of my right arm and the the other will be ON MY KNUCKLES! I guess it wasn't going to take me long to get my hands done after getting my neck inked.

I'll keep you posted as and when things develop on the tattoo front... watch this space. :)

Taken at our last session for the Kabuki sleeve.

"Whatever you do.... don't move!"

My little project....

Fee has been in Copenhagen this week doing photo shoots for Hummel, so I have been on my own. To insure I didn't sit around surfing the net all night and growing fungus I gave myself a little project.

Mrs Groves got me super cool gift for our wedding anniversary, an origanal paining (not a print!) from Judd Ripley and I finally got round to framing it. We found a nice frame at a second-hand shop (a barn to be more precise) that suited the print. The frame was old (from 1944) so it needed cleaning up and preping for the painting, that was what I was doing during my evernings at home.

There it is! This pic does not do Judd's painting justice, the colours are amazing. I'll get some nice pics tomorrow once the light is better.

Ripley '08..... sweet!

Tattoo bingo...

I fall into the Red, Blue, Green, Teal and Purple categories....only a few more to go!

How many colours are you?

Trend Hunter...

Some looks I think will work for me...

Todays little bit of randomness..

So today when I got off the bus from work I popped into the train station. I wanted to pick up a tattoo magazine as I have been thinking of getting a little inky for my 30th birthday which is fast approaching and magazines sift out all the garbage..... unlike the internet.

There were a few on offer but this is one I went for, mainly because there is an artical with a little man called Dadan who I know.

There he is...he works with the Ripleys at 'The Sailors Grave' in Copenhagen where I had my Japanese sleeve done. I've not read the interview yet as it's all in Danish and I need all my brain power for that.

So there I was flicking through the magazine..... when I saw this!

I know that arm.

I've never been in tattoo magazine before.

WOOOOOOOO!!!!