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Join us this weekend at the New Zealand tattoo festival
This weekend sees the return of the largest tattoo event in Australasia, and the team from Sunset will be there!
The New Zealand Tattoo & Art Festival will be held at the TSB Stadium in New Plymouth on the 25th/26th of November, with some of the best artists in the world in attendance.
Now in its seventh year, the festival sees over 250 artists and models attending, making it the biggest this side of the world.
With tattoo artists such as Ryan Ashley Malarkey, Tommy Helm, and Dan Smith coming over from the USA, the festival has garnered a reputation worldwide, and is only set to get bigger every year.
Entertainment highlights will include Head Like A Hole live on Saturday the 25th, 3 shows a day from FMX superstar Levi Sherwood, BMX, live performances from U.K fire dancer Cervena Fox & aerialist Venus Starr.
Come say hello!
It’s still not too late to buy your tickets for this weekend, and 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, and an adult day pass is $30, compared to 35 on the day. Kids 14 and under are free.
Tattoo appointments can be made by contacting the artists direct - once announced, make sure you include the following in your email, size of the tattoo, placement on body, any reference pics you have & your budget, lots artists will also be doing walk up tattoos all weekend long.
Give us a call today with any questions you have about the weekend, or how you can book in one of our outstanding artists.
We’ll see you there!!
The Sunset Tattoo Artists
From humble beginnings just a few years ago, Sunset has grown into one of Auckland’s most thriving and respected tattoo studios.
Tom McMillan opened Sunset with his wife, well known NZ artist, Misery only 3 short years ago, and now Sunset has taken on more artists on a permanent basis, along with special guests popping in from time to time.
Tom McMillan
Tom Tom opened Sunset Tattoo in 2014 working around the world as well as in some of New Zealand's best tattoo studios. He has been tattooing for over 10 years and focuses on specializing in his own unique take on western traditional and Japanese tattoo styles. Tom switches easily between large-scale full body tattoos to palm size one-shot tattoos, and is always on the look out for new, original design challenges.
Tristan Marler
Tristan is of Te Rarawa descent, from the Hokianga in the far North. He is trained in Whakairo Rakau (traditional wood carving). He has been blending his knowledge of carving and Maori art over to the art of Tattooing. Tristan specializes in Ta Moko, Blackwork, pattern work, geometric and dot-work tattoo styles.
Thomas Clark
Thomas has been a full time Ta Moko artist for the past 12 years. Thomas is a well-respected Māori artist whose formal training and applied practice allows him to cross several artistic disciplines – Tā Moko (Traditional Markings on Skin), Kirituhi (Applied Skin Design), Rauangi (Abstract Painting), Whakairo Uku (Clay Sculpture).
Mash Primrose
Mash specialises in bold western traditional tattooing with his own unique take. His tattoos are perfect for anyone looking to get a traditional tattoo with a modern stylish twist.
Capilli Tupou
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.
Magali Corpas
Magali Corpas is the newest member to the Sunset tattoo family. She specialises in contemporary blackwork and delicately lined tattoos. See more of Magali's work here: @magalicorpastattooer
Does dark skin make a difference with tattoos?
There is plenty of advice out there for getting a tattoo if you're white, there’s not much out there for those with darker skin.
People from African, Indian and Pacifica backgrounds are often forgotten about when it comes to basic information and advice, that's why we’ve put together this short article to explain a couple of things about getting ink when you’ve a higher melanin content.
Talk to your artist 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 tattoo artist first, they are the ones with the experience and know what they're doing. Let them 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.
Latest news from Sunset Tattoo
As an ever-expanding business, we’re constantly changing, so here’s what’s going on at Sunset Tattoo Studio this month!
Welcome Capilli!
Sunset Tattoo is really excited to welcome Capilli Tupou permanently to the family. Capilli has been working alongside us all year, and we are honoured to have him! He will be disbanding his Ten tigers to concentrate on work, family and his hectic international travel schedule.
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.
Contact us or Capilli to book your session in with him now.
We are also stoked to welcome Milky to the Sunset Tattoo crew! Milky is your go to man for top class traditional tattoos and has tons of classic flash designs ready to go!
If you are looking for world-class, American-traditional, electric tattoos, look no further. Milky's no-nonsense, bright and bold style has it's roots firmly in American-traditional tattooing history.
Guest artists popping in
We’re also delighted to have two very special guest tattooists joining us at the end of the month, all the way from Sydney.
Ben Hastings and Chris Martin from Hunter & Fox Tattoo will be hanging out at studio November 29th and 30th, so contact us for bookings!
New Zealand Tattoo Festival
The last weekend of November sees Australasia’s biggest tattoo festival kick off in New Plymouth, and of course Sunset will be there!
Now in its seventh year, the festival sees over 250 artists and models attending, making it the biggest event in the New Zealand calendar.
Tattoo appointments can be made by pre-booking with one of our artists today! Simply email info@sunsettattoo.co.nz or call us to find out more.
The 100 year old Filipino tattoo legend
Hailing from a remote mountain tribe in the hills, legendary tattoo master Whang-Od was transported (with help from the Philippine Air Force) from her tribal village of Buscalan to Manila for the FAME trade show.
Whang-Od is believed to be the country's oldest traditional tattoo artist, with the centenarian performing her ancient craft of hand-tapped Filipino tattoos at the weekend event.
According to an article in the New York Times, she has been responsible for single-handedly keeping an ancient tradition alive.
Using just a few simple tools (thorns from a pomelo tree, bamboo sticks and coal), she has spent the past 80 fucking years inking not only headhunting warriors and women of her tribe but a new wave of "tattoo tourists" – people who travel to her remote village to be tattoo by her.
Controversy over Whang-Od’s involvement
Many people felt that Whang-Od’s invitation to the event was solely for publicity purposes, and nothing to do with respect.
Thousands of people became angry at a photo of the elderly woman falling asleep at the festival, calling it exploitive and degrading.
"Whang Od is 100, a national treasure. And you made her go to Manila to tattoo 200 people for profit? This is sick and inhumane," said one person on the official site.
The organisers fired back, stating that the institution wanted to support her uniquely traditional art.
"She symbolises the pure talent of Filipinos," organising director Clayton Tugonon said in a statement to the BBC, adding that her invitation was "sought through proper channels", which included village elders and indigenous committees.
Filipino tattoos
The Spanish conquistadors who landed in 1521 dubbed the Philippines the “Islands of the Painted Ones” after the heavily tattooed locals.
The tradition goes back thousands of years, using the familiar “tapping” style; hammering ink into the skin using basic tools and charcoal.
The simple designs are evocative of nature around the country- outlines of centipedes, trees and snakes or basic geometric patterns such as diamonds and squares.
