Tattoo parlour to make indelible impact
Bondi spilled onto the street last month for the launch of Bondi Ink – a concept-fusion of design art, technology and fashionable furniture.
The man behind Bondi Ink, Matthew Passaro, is a marketing man on a mission to reinvent and redesign the tattoo parlour to keep up with growing trends in tattooing.
“Lots of different people are getting tattoos done. But the places you go to get a tattoo are still pretty much exactly the same as 15 years ago. That’s where the idea was born and it developed from there,” Passaro said.
His plan? To change perceptions of tattoo parlours and tattoo design, by embracing technology in the design process and connecting to the internet in-store to offer clients lots of choice.
“It has to be available in the store. If it’s not, then you’re denying your customers. Instead of choosing designs from the wall of a parlour, you’re choosing images from the worldwide web,” Passaro said.
But it’s also about changing the environment where tattoos are created. Victoria Hampshire, who with her partner designed Ego at Potts Point, describes Bondi Ink’s interior as “Modern Lux”.
She researched to create a functional space for the artists in a luxurious and sophisticated setting, combining highly-polished chrome and mirrors with contrasted residential furnishings.
Passaro, whose background includes five years in marketing and ownership of two cafés, said he’s learned a lot about what’s expected versus what’s possible.
“You’ve got to be different to stand out. For something so artistic and personal, people really want to be inspired; not just by their tattoos but by where they get their tattoos,” he said.
He spent a lot of time seeking talented artists, singling out people who do portraiture and Asian-influenced and bright-coloured work. He said it was important to have artists who offer a variety of genres.
“I think people are going for the cookie-cutter approach a little less. A few years ago everyone had the barbed wire. I don’t think that’s happening as much anymore,”
Bondi Ink tattooist Megs has been tattooing for five years and says it is her passion.
“The main reason I tattoo is not to do an absolute picture for someone; it’s to recreate their body for them. It’ll change the whole person,” she said.
Passaro, who doesn’t yet have any tattoos but hopes to make his first a childhood drawing on his arm, said he hopes the new store will break down the stereotypes of tattoo design.
“It’s fashion and it’s art,” he said.
– BY SUSAN WOOD
