Exert take from Australian Tattoo Magazine, Issue 24 2009

First and foremost, you aren’t a tattooist yourself, which is unusual in this business. What gave you the idea to open and run a studio?

I’ve always had a passion for tattoos and the tattoo industry even though I don’t actually do it myself. Having my own shop gives me the freedom to run a business the way I want in an industry I particularly enjoy being a part of. I’ve worked in a few shops around the Gold Coast and decided there was a good market for a studio in this area.

Is this your first studio?

While I have worked in other tattoo shops, this is the first one I have actually managed myself. I’ve taken the experience from these previous studios and applied it to running my own business. I am planning to expand the business and open more studios in the future.

Considering that most tattoo studios are based in the outer suburbs, how do you find running this business in a relatively upper-class area?

The main difference between suburban studios and this one is that a higher proportion of those who come into the studio actually end up making a booking, as opposed to people browsing just have a look.

This is also quite a new studio only having been open for 5 months but it’s growing quite quickly nonetheless. The street itself is quite busy which gives us plenty of foot traffic moving past. This has resulted in a surprisingly large number of walk-in customers who may or may not have been actually looking for a studio in the first place. So it seems to be working pretty well for us. Our artists like the area as well and it’s just a different place to work in than out in the suburbs. You can actually see the bay from our front door, so when summer rolls around the beach is right there, which is pretty good.

How many artists do you have working here and what is their history?

We have two main artists, Daniel Sharp and Stefano Forte. Daniel has been in the tattoo industry for a while, having already worked in previous studios for nearly five years. He brought with him a large number of customers which was a great help. He regularly enters his work in conventions and has won many trophies for his work. Daniel does a lot of big work such as full back pieces and full sleves of all styles from oriental to old school, and is now starting to get a lot of request for realism and portrait work,
for more recent pics of his work visite
http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages#!/dsharptattoos

. He is also a well established artist which gives him his own style of work.

, who through their excellent work are starting to build a client base of their own.

You have 2 big plasma TV’s in the front of the studio?

The idea came from not having flash all over the walls. We came up with the idea to have them hooked up to the computers and the screens just scroll through our designs and our work. It also helps with showing people our work as they can help themselves to the computer and have a look through the flash art.

Your artists make an effort to attend as many conventions as they can. Is this to help the business, or is it just through a passion for tattooing?

Attending these conventions are always for passion but it also allows the guys to bring home new ideas as well as getting their names and the studio name out there. It allows people who wouldn’t otherwise come by to see what our work is like. We plan on attending every major tattoo convention in Australia, and making entries where possible. Our next major one will be in mid January at the Surf Ink Convention on the Gold Coast. We’re set to have a stall there for the studio.

Is there a particular style the studio specialises in or is this left up to the artists themselves?

We try not to pigeonhole the overall studio too much as this limits business but our artists do have a particular style they prefer. Daniel specialises in funky old-school style work and is starting to branch out into realism and oriental stylings. Stefano uses his background as an artist to bring a unique paint-like quality to his work.

The style of the studio itself is very American, being down near the beach with the cafes and having the interior divided into separate cubicles. Was this an intentional part of the design?

Being in an upper-class area we wanted to have something different, It gives us a bit of a unique feel, which works well in this sort of area.

The shop is currently undergoing renovations to extend the studio quite a bit. Is this an expansion of the business or just an aesthetic improvement?

We have held ideas of an art gallery out the back but we’re now leaning towards using it as a sort of break room for artists where they can chill out if they have some spare time. I think if you give the artists a better environment to work in they’ll be happier and perform better.

You guys also have merch for sale?

Yeah, we have a range of T-Shirts, Hoodies and Crew neck jumpers for sale.

If you would like to make an appointment with any of the artists at Victims Of Ink please phone us. For full custom work come into the studio for a one on one consultation.

A deposit of $50 is required for all bookings.