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.

Meet 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. 

Jacob Cross 

Jacob is fast becoming one of New Zealand's best known Traditional tattooers. His no-nonsense, bright, bold, traditional style has its roots firmly in American and European tattoo history. 

If you would like an awesome tattoo by one of our friendly and talented artists, please don't hesitate to contact us today.

3 reasons not to copy someone else’s tattoo

For anyone wanting their first tattoo, it’s very tempting to see one you like and simply copy it, but this isn’t necessarily the best thing to do.

There are a number of reasons why you shouldn’t copy someone else’s design, and we’ve put together the top three for you in this short article.

It’s personal to someone else

Maybe the best reason not to copy someone else’s tattoo design is simply this; it’s not yours.

We don’t mean you didn’t create it, so you can’t use it (more on that later), we mean it’s nothing to do with you, and everything to do with someone else.

If someone has that design on their skin, it’s probably going to mean something to them on a personal level. It may have been specially designed to remind them of a person or a memory, so you taking it not only degrades that memory, but doesn’t fit with you and your life.

Find a design that suits you, that’s personal to you, and this way it’s yours.

It’s an insult to the tattooist

It’s one thing to sit down with an artist and design a tattoo, or even bring one in you’ve designed yourself. It’s quite another to bring a design in another artist has created and demand that.

It’s insulting to the tattoo artist. It’s like bringing a packed lunch into a restaurant and wondering why the chef is pissed at you.

Any tattoo artist worth their salt can create a design for you, so asking them to copy someone else’s is a big faux pas.

It’s intellectual property theft

This is more a moral issue, although sometimes it can be a legal one.

Stealing someone else’s design is no different than stealing their novel. It’s their creativity in a physical, material form, and it should be respected.

Copying their work is not only morally wrong, but disrespectful to the original artist. And it may also get you into legal trouble.

Stay clear of all these problems by simply designing your own tattoo or using your artists previous designs.

If you would like an original tattoo, then come see us here at Sunset.