Frequently asked

Judge on healed work, not fresh photos. Fresh linework looks sharp on everyone; solid blackwork six months healed is where you see whether the packing was even and the lines held. Ask to see it. Then ask three things: is the design drawn freehand on the body or traced from a stencil, what happens if you ask for a motif that is reserved by right, and is the studio registered with council under the NSW skin penetration rules. An artist worth booking will answer all three without hedging, and will tell you when what you have asked for isn’t theirs — or yours — to give. That is the standard this studio works to, and the portfolio is there to be judged against it.

Yes. A deposit secures your date and covers the design work done before you sit down. It comes off the final price of the tattoo. Deposits are non-refundable — if you reschedule with at least 72 hours’ notice it carries over to your new date.

It depends on the size of the piece and the current book. Small work can often be scheduled within a few weeks; large custom pieces — sleeves, back work, chest plates — usually need a consultation first and are booked further out. Send a request and you’ll get realistic dates within a day.

Custom work is quoted per piece, not off a flat rate, because a half sleeve that wraps the deltoid is a different job to one that doesn’t. After your consultation you’ll get a quote range and a realistic session count before anything is booked. If you have a budget, say so in your request — it’s better to design to it than to discover it late.

Most tribal work here is drawn freehand directly on the body, sometimes over a stencilled framework. Tribal designs are mapped to the lines of the individual — the deltoid, the calf, the curve of the ribs — so a design that looks balanced flat on paper will often sit wrong on skin. Drawing on the body is how the panels end up following you instead of fighting you.

No. Bring references by all means — they help show the weight and density you’re after — but every piece here is drawn from scratch for the person wearing it. Copying someone else’s tattoo means copying a design mapped to someone else’s body, and in tribal work it can also mean wearing marks that belong to another family’s story.

We talk before anything else: what the piece needs to say, where it sits, and what you do for work and sport that the design has to live alongside. Then placement is mapped and the design drawn on. You’ll see it on your body and agree it before the first line goes in. Bring ID, eat beforehand, and wear something that gives easy access to the area.

In most cases yes, with an important distinction. Tā moko belongs to Māori; what is offered to non-Māori wearers is kirituhi — the same visual language without the whakapapa that tā moko carries. Similarly, certain Samoan motifs are reserved by right and are never sold as decoration. What that means in practice is discussed openly at your consultation, and if a design you’ve asked for isn’t yours to wear, you’ll be told so and offered something that is. Neo-tribal exists for exactly this reason.

Yes. Enata, spearheads, ocean and shell forms, the centipede and rice terrace in batok — these are a vocabulary, not decoration. Part of the design process is choosing which of them belong in your piece and arranging them so they read correctly. You’ll leave knowing what every element on your body says.

Keep the wrap on as instructed, then wash gently with unscented soap and clean hands, twice a day. Thin layer of aftercare balm — thin, not smothered. No pools, no ocean, no baths, no direct sun for two to three weeks. Don’t pick or scratch as it flakes. Solid blackwork takes longer to settle than fine line work, so expect the full heal to run three to four weeks.