The NZ Tattoo & Art Festival 2017

The biggest tattoo event in Australasia is back for the 7th year! The New Zealand Tattoo & Art Festival will be held at the TSB Stadium in New Plymouth on the 25 & 26 November 2017, and of course the team at Sunset will be there!

The best artists in every style of tattooing are coming to New Plymouth to tattoo you! Tattoo appointments can be made by contacting the artists direct - once announced, make sure you include the following in your email, size of tattoo, placement on body, any reference pics you have & your budget, lots artists will also be doing walk up tattoos all weekend long.

The Festival

In only six short years, the festival has become Australasia’s biggest tattoo show, with over 250 artists and models attending. As usual, the standard of the artists attending is world class, with the likes of Ryan Ashley Malarkey, Tommy Helm, and Dan Smith coming over from the USA.

Entertainment highlights include Head Like A Hole live on Saturday night, 3 shows a day from FMX superstar Levi Sherwood, BMX, live performances from U.K fire dancer Cervena Fox & aerialist Venus Starr.

Buy your tickets now and make sure you get a place at the biggest tattoo festival in New Zealand!

By buying through Ticketek now, you can save money rather than paying at the gate. An adult 2-day pass is only $45, 10 bucks cheaper than paying on the day.

An adult day pass is $30, compared to 35 on the day, and kids 14 and under are free.

If you’re heading to New Plymouth for the festival, pre-book with one of our artists today! Simply email info@sunsettattoo.co.nz

Upcoming guest artists at Sunset

Here at Sunset Tattoo, we’re constantly joining forces with renowned tattoo artists from not only New Zealand, but from around the world.

Sunset artists

Tom started Sunset with his wife, well-known Kiwi tattoo artist Misery, and not only have they built up one of Auckland’s finest tattoo studios, but they’ve also gathered some of the best artists in the industry.

As well as home-grown talent, working for Sunset, we also have the exceptional Ten Tigers Tattoo working here in the studio with us. Capilli Tupou is an artist specialising in old school traditional style tattooing. As a New Zealander of Maori (Te Rarawa) and American Samoan heritage, Capilli brings his own unique Polynesian slant to the style.

Capilli’s work has been admired both within New Zealand and abroad, allowing him to work at some of the best studios around the world. Here in Auckland he has worked with Sacred Heart Tattoo and Two Hands Tattoo.

Guests at Sunset

Continuing our desire to work with the best artists around, we have some very special guests dropping into the studio over the next few months.

Ryan Ussher

Ryan Ussher from Sydney will be guest spotting at the Sunset studio on November 20th. Drawing inspiration from traditional Japanese tattooing, the ukiyo-e period and the colourful western world, Ryan’s tattooing is applied with heavy contrast, movement and clarity that aims to be noticed from across the street.

Makoto Horimatsu

We are very excited to announce Makoto Horimatsu is returning to Sunset after visiting us last year. Makoto will be guest spotting at the studio in late November, so contact us now if you would like to go on a waiting list to get a booking!

Hailing from Japan, Kokura is one of the finest tattoo artists in the industry and we are truly honoured to have him join us.

Nicklas Wong

The very talented Nicklas Wong will be guest spotting at the studio August 1st - 5th. Contact the studio for bookings!

What’s happening this July for Sunset Tattoo

Sunset join in with this year’s First Thursday!

Ten Tigers Tattoo and Sunset Tattoo are joining in with this winters’ First Thursday!

On Thursday 6th July, between 4pm -9pm, we will be taking walk-ins only! Come along to the studio and see the loads of flash designs at special prices ready to be tattooed!

History of First Thursday

On the first Thursday of two months a year, K Road will come alive with visual artists, performance artists, fashion shows, live music, installations, photographers, musicians, DJs. If you live in Auckland or just visiting for the summer, come be a part of the collaboration!

First Thursdays on K-Road had its humble beginnings in the iconic St Kevin's Arcade in December 2009. Our first event showcased nine visual artists, dance performances and DJ's.

Since then there have been 10 successful First Thursdays events along K'Road, showcasing thousands of local artists and attracting crowds in the thousands.

Theme for this month

This First Thursday we invite you to the 'Mad Hatters Tea Party', a trip down the rabbit hole with Alice and the gang into the eclectic and quirky world of K Road.

We would love to see K' Road celebrate in its own way, drawing influence from Lewis Carroll's weird and wonderful journey, Alice in Wonderland.  An evening of revelry and good times await in the country's most bohemian district, so don't be late for this very important date!

Make A Booking At Sunset

If you can’t make it for the First Thursday, and instead would like to request a booking or consultation, you can send us an email, call us, or pop into the studio.

If you have reference photos to show us please be sure to attach them to your email or print them off if you are coming into the studio.

Please note that some of our tattoo artists are booked up for weeks so it pays to book in advance if you have a specific date in mind that you want to be tattooed on. As for consultations, they usually take around 10-20 minutes and are free of charge.

Sunset now sell their own tattoo supplies!

Sunset Tattoo are excited to bring you our new sister site: Tattoo Station.

If you’re looking for great deals on high-quality tattoo products and equipment, then look no further. We only sell the very best of everything, all at an unbeatable price.

The very best in tattoo supplies

After years of buying tattoo supplies at huge mark-ups from people who don't even tattoo, we became frustrated and decided to do it ourselves. This new range of products is for tattoo artists, by tattoo artists. We know the difference between quality tattoo equipment and the cheap, nasty stuff, and we make sure you don’t get the latter.

Tattoo aftercare products

Tattoo Aftercare is an essential part of the tattooing process, and we like to make sure it’s getting done right. From basic health reasons (don’t pick at it) to aesthetic reasons (moisturise to keep the colours bright), there are do’s and don’ts to follow once you get a tattoo. Follow them and everything should be fine.

Protat Tattoo Aftercare Cream

At Sunset, we suggest Protat Aftercare Cream. Protat are the world’s first tattoo aftercare company. By using chemists from their development team and overseas they are constantly researching new ingredients, with natural products receiving special attention.

Each Protat product has been precisely formulated with highly experienced members of the tattoo and piercing profession. New developments by Protat can only benefit the industry and enhance respect for body art practitioners everywhere. Protat Premium After Care cream has been designed to be the primary product in the Protat range. It utilises the technology of the Soothing After Care Cream with the added ingredients.

So there you have it, our new venture into the tattoo supply business. Please take a look at our new site, Tattoo Station, and if you have any questions about tattoo supplies for your studio, don’t hesitate to contact us.

3 tips for getting a tattoo if you’re dark skinned

While there’s plenty of advice out there for white people getting tattoos, there’s not much for those with a higher melanin content.

People from African, Indian and Pacifica backgrounds are often forgotten about when it comes to information about getting a tattoo.

We’ve put together this short article to explain a couple of things about getting ink when you’ve got darker skin.

Make a consultation first

Good advice for anyone getting a tattoo, regardless of skin colour. Talking to your tattoo artist before going under the needle is always a good idea.

By booking a consultation, you can get a better feeling of what’s possible and understand the limitations involved.

If you have darker skin, your initial idea might not be plausible, or won’t come out as you’re expecting. Talk to your artist first, they are the ones with the experience, and can help you make the right choice.

Avoid lighter colours

Despite what bullshit you may read on the internet, there are NO special inks for dark skin. Tattoo ink isn’t made for skin types, but the quality of the ink can vary widely.

Tattoo ink is generally translucent, so the skin underneath will show through. This means, the darker your skin, then less lighter-colours will show.

Black or grey ink usually works best on darker skin, evidenced by this cool MF.

Genetics can affect scar tissue

If you're of African ancestry, your skin may be prone to keloids, which is an overgrowth of scar tissue.

Knowing whether or not you are prone to keloids can help before getting a tattoo, as your artist may need to use different techniques to limit the scar tissue, including reducing power to the tattoo gun, and not going over the same area twice.

Call us today at Sunset Tattoo, and we can help you with your first tattoo.