EPISODE 1 — SACRED TATTOO
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Let's just start off by introducing yourself and where we are and what you do and what Sacred is
My name's Dan. I have this shop with my business partner, Dean. It’s called Sacred Tattoo. We've been around since 1998. We started on Symond Street and then on Karangahape road for about ten years, and we've been in Kingsland for eleven or twelve years in this building. It’s our second home.
What was the shift like from K road? How did that happen? Why?
We were looking for a change. We kind of outgrew K road, I think a little bit. We all got older, we’ve got families now, and we were looking to buy something as well, so we own this building here. We didn't choose Kingsland per se, the building kind of chose us. So we're just lucky that we did end up here because we really like it. It's less hectic. There's heaps going on, but if you don't want to get involved, you can just be in your space. It’s got a better balance.
What’s something that people might not notice at first glance you've got here about the, the sacred signs.
Well, we only just got ‘tattoo’ in the window, so for a long time, we were just Sacred. We’ve always kind of been like that, and I'd get locals asking me all the time. They’d catch me outside and go, ‘Can I ask you what you actually do?’ ... But there's so many cars driving past every day, so we should actually advertise what we are. But for a long time, we've been a bit incognito.
Why was that?
Oh, it's kind of like we were letting people who were meant to find us, find us kind-of-thing. Because we were the first young guys to open our own shop in Auckland really. And then we got a lot of heat from the old guys, all the biker crew and stuff. So we had to be really low-key. And it was like the people who were meant to find us, find us. Because work's got a bit harder and there's a lot more people involved. You've got ten thousand cars driving past every day. It's not bad to have a tattoo sign in the window. So that's changed recently. But for a long time it was very, very much just, you know, people.
What’s the part of the process that you care about most and why?
The process is the whole thing. It’s a collaboration every time. You have to love people. You have to be interested in people. Almost above and beyond what you're doing with them in a way, because you're spending so much time with them. And it's reasonably intimate as well. So you can't really split up.
I really like the craft, and I really like making someone's vision. That little process is really rewarding. Having someone's idea and getting them to the end of the tattoo and having them stoked. And then it's also just spending time with someone interesting, which is really cool. People that are really focused on one thing in particular are kind of missing out. It's quite a unique kind of creative process that I don't take for granted thirty years in. When I hear tattooers a lot going, oh, you know, it's like being a therapist. It's like, nah, it's not. It's just like a really, really authentic conversation with someone who's artificially your friend.
When things are flowing around here, you've got beds full — what's the feeling like?
We have seven artists here, we've split them up through the building. I've worked in shops that have got seven people in the same room and it's just not just the noise, but the amount of movement that's around is a lot. And I've worked in studios that are just private rooms, every person, and it's really disconnected. So we've got a room at the front with two people in it and it suits them. And this room's got three to four people in it. So it still feels like a tattoo shop. Sometimes you get the clients talking between each other and everyone's throwing jokes around, and it's awesome. You can just feel the energy lift, everyone's being
creative and fun.
What’s a common misconception people have about your work or yout industry?
Tattooing is always polarizing. I remember when I got my first tattoo, my grandparents were like, what the hell are you doing? And I was like, it's actually your name... We were talking about the industry and how it's changed. It's just so wide open now. Tattooing had some mystery in it, and I don't think it has the mystery that it used to have. It’s completely accessible to everyone. Noone's going to judge you for having tattoos — they're going to look at the tattoo first before they make any assumptions. This industry is wide open now, it doesn’t belong to anyone or any types. People approach it how ever they like. Tattooers and clients both. One person's misconception is probably another’s reality. The only one I can think of is that we are all booked up for months…..not true. We have time for you always.
Kingsland is this beautiful, vibrant place, city fringe. How does the neighbourhood influence what you do?
It’s more as a hub, bringing people in, more so than the interaction between the businesses or people who work here. It’s the kind of neighbourhood that feels alive without being overwhelming — a steady buzz of life, but never chaotic. (Unless eden park is kicking off). You can either unwind or get amongst it but you always feel connected to what’s going on
around you. Which is important for me anyway, isolation kills creativity.
Check out Dan's and the Sacred team's work at sacredtattooshop.com or @dansacred on Instagram