Blood Lines brings artistry and preservation to historic downtown
By Alexandria Bass
Blood Lines at 315 W . Main St . in Historic Downtown is Palestine ’ s artsy tattoo shop – and more . Walking in , there ’ s an eclectic décor of bohemian hanging plants , a life-sized Freddy Krueger doll and artwork ranging from whimsical animals to macabre skulls . Near the far-right corner where Seth Blood , Blood Lines ’ s owner and tattoo artist , draws his tattoos , hang his grandmother ’ s original drawings of an Indian chief and a series of horses , a reminder that art is in his blood .
Seth established Blood Lines as Palestine ’ s first tattoo shop back in 2014 . At the time , it was located off of Highway 79 by the bowling alley . Three years ago , Seth and his wife Amber purchased 315 W . Main to relocate their business .
“ We always wanted to open downtown ,” Seth said . “ We had a long process of working on it . We ’ ve restored this section of it .”
Seth has ties to Palestine through his wife Amber . Born in Palestine , Amber moved to Arizona when she was a kid , and the couple met there . The two later moved to Texas and lived in Killeen , around Austin , before moving to Palestine .
Inspired by Austin ’ s artsy scene and anti-commercialism culture that supports local independent businesses – the meaning behind Austin ’ s “ Keep Austin Weird ” motto – Seth and Amber saw the potential in 315 W . Main .
The couple have made Blood Lines a family effort – Seth is the carpenter , another career he ’ s had , and Amber is the interior decorator . Their friend Melisa from the Hill Country also works at Blood Lines where she ’ s been given the chance to apply her artistic skills in drawing to tattoo art under Seth ’ s guidance .
When they bought 315 W . Main , it was pretty dilapidated . Seth and Amber transformed an area with no sturdy walls or updated plumbing to a retro-style bathroom that pays homage to Marilyn Monroe . On the way to the bathroom , they have a tastefully-decorated wall of mirrors and built-in trinket shelves . They ’ ve also installed custom-made sliding barn doors , epoxy cedar counters , and partitions for tattooing stations . Seth and Amber state they eventually plan to restore the rest of their building and rent out shops to vendors of unique apparel and jewelry .
These concepts of quality and innovation translate to Seth ’ s work in tattoo art as well . Drawing since his youth and working in the tattoo business since he was 17 , Seth , now 36 , puts the quality of his work he provides his clients before quantity .
“ That ’ s what I want to show Palestine ,” he said . “ We don ’ t do a lot of huge volumes . The majority of the tattoos I do are wellthought out .”
Seth meets with clients in a consultation to discuss ideas and images and designs unique tattoos himself . For his more elaborate tattoos , he ’ s worked from eight to 10 hours at a time applying them . He also does tattoo cover-ups .
Blood Lines has a Facebook page at www . facebook . com / BloodLinesTattoosPalestine / and can be reached at 903-574- 4170 . They welcome appointments and walk-ins .
Blood Lines Tattoos art wall .
ALEXANDRIA BASS | SPECIAL TO THE PALESTINE HERALD-PRESS
PALESTINE MAGAZINE | SPRING 2022 | 43