New year, new tattoo! Come see us for your next ink

With every passing year we get a wee bit older and a wee bit wiser (hopefully), but for those of us who collect tattoos, it’s another year we can tell a story and add to our collection of ink.

If you’re in New Zealand, then there’s no where better to get a tattoo than right here at Sunset.

Based in the heart of Auckland City, Sunset has a reputation of excellence, honesty and skill, with a long line of satisfied customers behind us.

Our amazing artists specialise in traditional, blackwork, Maori tribalism, and Japanese tattooing. Our focus is on providing customers with the best possible service in a warm, private, sterile environment.

The safest tattoo studio in Auckland

Sunset tattoo studio is a clean, sterile, private and fun environment, which adheres to the strictest health standards.

We always keep our tattoo accessories in the most sterile condition. Before we start working on your tattoo, our tattoo artist will disinfect and shave the area where you want your tattoo.

We do this with disposable razors that we only use once. We will also show you the sealed tattoo needle and open the pouch in front of you.

After we’re finished with your tattoo, we’ll throw the needle out. Each needle is only used once, and you can see this for yourself, putting your mind at rest.

It is likely that your skin will bleed a little when getting a tattoo. That’s why all our tattoo artists are wearing gloves throughout the entire tattooing process. It’s safer for you and for them. You could walk into a hospital and not notice the difference. That’s how clean and hygienic our tattoo studio is!

For a safe, and friendly tattoo experience, visit our Auckland tattoo studio today, or contact us via phone: +64 (9) 376-3423 or drop us an email on: info@sunsettattoo.co.nz

Merry Christmas from Sunset and have a great 2019!

Sunset studio would like to wish a very Merry Christmas to all our clients, staff and supporters and a big thank you for making our 2018 a year to remember.

Another great year for Sunset Tattoo

2018 saw our sister site, Tattoo Station, grow in strength. We are now one of New Zealand’s premier tattoo supply companies, as well as one of the most respected tattoo studios in Auckland. Our aim with Tattoo Station is to bring the very best tattoo supplies to New Zealand but at a reasonable price, and we’ve exceeded even our highest expectations.

April this year saw the Great Auckland Flash Party held once again. This two-day special event sees some of the best tattoo artists in the country offer reduced rates for their work, and is fast becoming a new tradition here in the Auckland tattoo scene.

New faces, new services

In May we started offering the piercing expertise of Nic Fletcher, one of the best in the business. Nic has years of experience with piercings, and started taking walk-ins on a Saturday here at Sunset Studio.

November saw us once again heading to Australasia’s biggest tattoo festival, the NZ Tattoo & Art Festival 2018, now in its 8h year. With over 300 artists from all over the world attending, it was a weekend we’ll never forget!

The perfect Christmas pressie!

If you’re wondering what to get someone for Christmas, we’ve got good news. 2018 saw Sunset open their merch shop, so you’re spoilt for choice for things to buy someone! Actually, forget someone else, treat yo’self!

We’ve got some really sweet prints for you to frame, or unique shirts and hoodies to wear and let everyone know you’re cooler than they are. If you’re not sure what to get someone else, then grab a Sunset Gift Certificate, redeemable on the merchandise or on a tattoo

So thanks again to everyone who helped make our 2018 so amazing. Roll on 2019 and even more success!

Sailor Jerry; father of the traditional tattoo

Ever wondered why traditional, or “Old School” tattoos all look the same? Where did this style come from? And why is it still so popular today?

Well, it may surprise you to learn that this wildly popular style of tattooing came from one man; Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins.

Did he invent tattoos?

No, of course he didn’t. Tattoos go back thousands of years, but Sailor Jerry made them cool.

See, before the start of the 20th Century, tattoos in the West were almost exclusively found on sailors. When the shit hit the fan and the Second World War broke out, thousands of young men signed up to go fight in the Pacific against the Japanese. The base for operations in the Pacific was Pearl Harbour in Hawaii, and guess who happened to live there?

Sailor Jerry saw hundreds of young men come into his tattoo studio looking for some ink, no longer caring about society’s view on tattoos. There was a good chance they’d never make it home again, so why worry?

How he started

Norman Keith Collins grew up in California, and started tattooing people from a young age as he hopped the freight trains and crossed the country long before Kerouac ever did.

At age 19 he enlisted in the Navy, and travelled to the South Pacific, where he was exposed to the art and imagery of Southeast Asian and Polynesian cultures. This would influence his style dramatically, along with traditional sailors tattoos, and give him the distinctive look he would become famous for.

After his service he settled in Hawaii, where he tattooed people for the rest of his life.

Sailor Jerry’s legacy

His influence on the art of modern tattooing is undeniable (check out a documentary called Hori Smoku).

Sailor Jerry was the first Westerner to correspond with and learn directly from the great Japanese tattoo masters, combining their techniques with his own gusty American sensibility to come up with a new style of tattooing.

This new style combined vivid colours, bold iconography and sheer artistic ambition to create a new kind of tattooing, sometimes beautiful, sometimes bawdy, sometimes both.

Beyond this, he was also innovative on a more technical level, pioneering modern tattoo machine configurations, sterilization techniques and purple ink. One of his students was Don Ed Hardy, who went on to become a legend in the industry in his own right.

Sugar skulls and the Mexican Day of the Dead

Over the last 5- 10 years, the Mexican Sugar Skull has become incredibly popular in Western Culture, especially in tattoos.

But what exactly is it? Where does the image come from, and why are the Mexicans so morbid?

The Day of the Dead

La Dia de los Muertos is celebrated from midnight on the 31st of October through to the 2nd November. Much like Western Halloween celebrations, there tradition includes lots of festivities and costumes.

November 1st is traditionally referred to as Dia de los Angelitos (Day of the Little Angels) in Mexico and is the day to honour infants and children who have died.

November 2nd is the actual Dia de los Muertos when families honour adults whom they have lost. It is believed that on these days, the souls of the deceased return to earth to be with their families and loved ones.

Sugar Skulls

The Calaveras, or skulls, are a tradition which goes back to Aztec, Mayan, and Toltec cultures. They are created either for children or as offerings to be placed on the graves of the deceased.

Traditionally made from sugar, hence sugar skulls, the calaveras are decorated with flowers, feathers, patterns, and names, making them symbols of life rather than the morbid symbols of death we associate skulls with in Western Countries.

The decorations of the skulls has evolved into face-painting for people during the festival, and this in turn has become a huge part of Mexican iconography.

Now you can find everything from tea-towels to bedsheets with a Day of the Dead motif, but tattoos are especially popular.

Calavera Tattoos

The rise of the skull tattoo in recent times has been pretty rapid and global. The tattoos themselves come in all shapes and sizes, and range from the colourful candied skulls to the rather goth cadaverous all-black.

The skull is almost always a woman, a tradition that stems from the original rituals that centred on a Mexican goddess and Spanish saints.

Mexican Skull tattoos range from the Traditional style to photo-realistic versions, but if you’re thinking of getting one, beware that some self-righteous middle-aged, middle-class white people might get offended and start screaming cultural appropriation.

Choose a sugar skull to celebrate Mexican culture or to commorate a loved one. The distinctive images serve as reminders of the fragile boundaries between life and death and the human impulse to ritualize and revel in both loves and losses.

Death and loss is something we all have to experience.

Thinking of getting a sleeve tattoo? Read this first

Sleeve tattoos are more popular than ever, so there’s a good chance that if you’re serious about ink, you’re considering one.

A sleeve tattoo isn’t something you should do on the spur of the moment. It’s a big job, and as such you need to plan it out beforehand.

Think about an overall theme for the sleeve, if you’re getting colour or black and grey, and how much you want to spend on it - both money and time.

Types of sleeve tattoo

There are four main types of sleeve tattoo:

1. Quarter: Covers the area from the top of the shoulder midway to the elbow.

2. Half: This extends from the top of the shoulder to the elbow.

3. Full Sleeve: This reaches from the top shoulder to the wrist.

4. Hikae: This is a Japanese-style sleeve tattoo that covers the chest area and extends either to the elbow or the wrist.

As mentioned before, planning is the key when it comes to sleeve tattoos. Jot down some ideas about what you want and talk it over with your artist. If you’re a little bit artistic yourself, try a few sketches and bring them in to show roughly what it is you’re looking for. Any good tattoo artist will be happy to work with you on this and develop your ideas.

How long does a sleeve tattoo take?

The time for any tattoo is dependent on the size and detail of the design. A full sleeve should take a minimum of 12 hours on average, broken up into several sessions.

A sleeve tattoo shouldn’t be rushed. Many people have a vague theme/design as a base, and then add milestones in their life to it over the years. Others see something the Rock has and want to copy it immediately. The choice is always yours, but a tattoo is for life, and a sleeve tattoo is a BIG tattoo for life, so think carefully about it.