Classic tattoos: The Anchor Tattoo

Anchor tattoos go back to even before the original tattooing era of the late 1800s, and their popularity has never waned, still being hugely popular today.

Sailors

Anchor tattoos were made popular by sailors and fishermen, and were often paired with mermaids, fish, sharks, nets, or boats. Basically anything to do with the sea.

The anchor was chosen over other parts of the ship because of what it represents; safety. You only drop anchor once you make it to port. Many sailors will get an anchor tattoo after crossing the Atlantic for the first time as a traditional “right of passage”.

For some, the anchor tattoo can be used to commemorate the end of a sailor’s career as he sets his anchor down for the last time.

Symbolism of the anchor tattoo

As a tattoo, the anchor goes back a couple of hundred years, but as a symbol, it goes back thousands.

In the early days of Christianity, many believers were persecuted by the Romans, and so the anchor was used as a symbol of faith, instead of the more noticeable cross.

The religious use of the anchor is called “Crux Dissimulata” and was used to decorate Christian buildings to mark them as safe houses for fellow Christians seeking refuge. Anchor symbols can still be seen to be decorating some ancient buildings and Christian catacombs to this day.

Today, the anchor represents strength and stability, with many people having “family” inscribed along with it, or the name of a special someone.

Come see us for an Anchor tattoo

If you want a classic traditional anchor tattoo, then come see the amazing artists at Sunset Studio. We’ve got plenty of ideas for you to have a look at with our flash cards, or you can simply have a chat about what you want and we’ll take it from there.

We’re one of the most respected and hygienic tattoo studios in Auckland, with a friendly and professional customer service.

Give us a shout today and lets drop anchor on your tattoo!

Eternal Ink's latest colour range

Sunset Tattoo are the proud official New Zealand suppliers of the world-famous Eternal Ink.

Made from organic pigments, de-ionized water and hamamelis water, Eternal Ink is free of animal by-products and even suitable for vegans.

Arriving in a sealed, medical grade bottle, ensuring hygiene, the ink pigments are regularly tested and comply with all New Zealand health and safety regulations.

Eternal Ink is not tested on animals, so there’s no guilty conscious tagging along with every purchase. Check out our sister site Tattoo Station for all your Eternal Ink supplies.

Eternal Ink colour sets

Liz Cook

The amazing Liz Cook created this palette of colours. The set features a vibrant collection of rich violets and some eye-catching greens.

Seasonal Spectrum

Chucks Seasonal Spectrum Series features an assortment of colours found throughout the seasons. You'll love the colourful range of warm and cool hues. 

Motor City

Detroit put a nation on wheels and rolled us through a lifetime of memories. The Motor City Ink Set is a flashback to Detroit speed. Here are 12 hues inspired by vintage sheet metal fantasies, high gloss paint and all the reckless joys of a fine ride.

Halo

Designed by tattoo artist Halo, the Eternal Ink Halo Fifth Dimension ink set collects 12 opaque hues of intense light Use the hues straight from the bottle as complementary or as high-value tints to quickly provide additional pop and impact to your art!

Portrait Skin Tones

The Eternal Ink portrait series has been designed to give depth and contrast to portrait work. With warm and cool tones, this set blends a perfect assortment of colours for portrait and pin-up work.

Mike Chambers

Myke Chambers' art is instantly recognizable with rich, saturated hues and strong symbolic images inked in his unmistakable style. Presented here are 12 of Chambers' favorite hues mixed perfectly to Eternal inks high standards.

Backpacking New Zealand? Take a tattoo home as a memento!

Traveling is one of life’s great privileges and experiences. It’s something that not just sticks with you, but changes who you are and your entire outlook on life.

There’s no better country in the world to backpack than New Zealand. Our country’s friendly people, fascinating culture and stunning natural landscapes all make it the perfect destination for any traveller.

If you’re here exploring our beautiful country, you’ll want a memento of your time here, and what other way is more perfect than a ta moko tattoo?

Bring a piece of Aotearoa home with you with your own, original Maori tattoo, and have a piece of our land stay with you forever.

Come to Sunset for a Maori tattoo

If you’re interested in getting a Maori tattoo before you leave the country, then you should come see Tristan at Sunset Tattoo.

From Hokianga in the Northland, Tristan is of Te Rarawa descent, and graduated in 2014 from the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts institute.

With his diploma in traditional wood carving (Whakairo Rakau), Tristan came to Tom and asked about bringing his knowledge of carving and Maori art over to tattooing.

He is now tattooing full time with Sunset, and specializes in Ta Moko, Blackwork, pattern work, geometric and dot-work tattoo styles.

The trusted and respected studio

Tom McMillan opened Sunset with his wife, well known New Zealand artist, Misery, and despite only being a few years old, Sunset Tattoo is one of the most respected tattoo studios in Auckland.

We pride ourselves on our dedication to our strict health and hygiene practices, using only the best materials and equipment. In fact, our desire to only use the best led us to create our own tattoo supply company, Tattoo Station.  

If you’re passing through New Zealand and would like the perfect reminder of your time here, call in and see us for the ultimate souvenir, a beautiful, unique Maori tattoo.

Here’s to an amazing year and bring on 2018!

Sunset studio would like to thank all our clients, staff and supporters for making 2017 our biggest year yet!

A great year for Sunset Tattoo

The year got off to a great start with the launch of our sister site, Tattoo Station, which has been a tremendous success. Our aim with Tattoo Station is to bring the very best tattoo supplies to New Zealand but at a reasonable price, and we’ve destroyed even our highest expectations.

In February we headed to Tauranga for the New Zealand International Tattoo Expo which was a great success (if a little wet!). over 150 tattoo artists from around the world came to the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre and everyone had a wonderful weekend.

November saw us once again heading to Australasia’s biggest tattoo festival, the NZ Tattoo & Art Festival 2017, now in it’s 7th year. With over 250 artists from all over the world attending, it was a weekend we’ll never forget!

Guest artists

Sunset also had plenty of guest artists pop in this year, with Capilli Tupou from Ten Tigers joining us, and then later in the year making that move permanent.

In April we were fortunate enough to have our Spanish friend Miguel come visit, otherwise known as M13Tattoo. April was the perfect time to show off his script skills as we also had the second annual Great Auckland Flash Party, with plenty of walk-in’s coming in off the street for a surprise tattoo.

November was a big month for guest artists, with Ryan Usher joined us from Sydney, Makoto Horimatsu from Japan, and the very talented Nicklas Wong from Denmark.

Tattoo supplies

In March we became official distributers of the world famous Eternal Ink. Made from organic pigments, deionized water and hamamelis water, this bright coloured ink has been a well-known brand of the highest quality for nearly 40 years.

Later in the year we added the best tattoo machines in New Zealand, Senders Widows, to our list of high-quality tattoo equipment, along with Nikko Hurtado’s Anchored stencil solution.

Along with our range of Botan tattoo needles, we’ve really changed the game here in New Zealand when it comes to tattoo supplies.

So thanks again to everyone who helped make our 2017 incredible. Roll on 2018 and even more success!

Give yourself an early Christmas present with a tattoo!

Merry Christmas!

People get tattoos for different reasons at all times of the year, but Christmas seems to be the perfect time to get your first ink.

Maybe you've been given a few bucks for the holidays, or perhaps you want to bring in the new year with a big change, but whatever your reasons for wanting a new tattoo, it always pays to do your research beforehand.

There are a few things you need to be aware of before getting your first tattoo. Things like...

Stay off the booze!

Having a wee drink before you get your first tattoo may seem like a good idea, just to give you that little bit of Dutch courage, but don’t be tempted.

Alcohol is an anti-coagulant, which means it thins the blood. This thinning makes you bleed more during the tattooing, making it more difficult for the ink to settle properly. This can skew your new design, and make the recovery process take longer.

Alcohol of course also impairs your judgment, so getting drunk before going into a tattoo parlour is never a good idea for obvious reasons.

Look after your new tattoo

Getting a tattoo isn’t like getting an injection; it’s not over once you leave the room. The next few days are extremely important for the healing process.

You may have seen people with cling wrap around a new tattoo, but this isn’t a good idea. Your skin needs oxygen to breathe and heal itself, and wrapping it in plastic turns it into a bacterial playground, which can lead to infection.

Clean and moisturise the tattoo the week after getting it, and you should be fine. Ask your Sunset tattooist about our range of aftercare creams.

Don't rush the decision

Many people have foreign words or symbols tattooed on their bodies, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Chinese, Japanese or Arabic characters can look amazing, but make sure you know what they translate as. No matter how good they look, if you’re new ink means “Right turn only” then you’re going to look like a bit of a dick in any language.

Come see us at Sunset Tattoo and we’ll make your first tattoo something special that you’ll never regret.