Hey, been a while since I’ve done a newsletter, been so very busy doing stuff for Authentink Studio I’ve had no time to write about it. Alas, lots to report now!
I’ve worked pretty much non-stop for the past year building the shop and creating this amazing creative environment for the other artists to work in, spent my life savings building my dream shop and doing my own tattooing full time as well.. its been a big year!
Now time for a little rest and relaxation…
I will be visiting the 10th Annual London Tattoo convention in the UK late September this year just as a spectator for a change and as a ‘reporter/photographer’ for Inked AU/NZ Magazine. So I won’t be tattooing there in the halls of Tobacco Dock this year but I’ll be hanging out and taking pictures and catching up with friends old and new, and buying stuff! If you see me come say hi!
Really looking forward to it.. not the 24 hour flight each way so much.. but that’s the price you pay for living in the paradise that Australia is!
And 2 weeks later I will flying over to Japan to do pretty much the same thing at the King Of Tattoo convention in Tokyo, really excited about that as I have never been to this convention and it should be pretty amazing… and I will get to hang out with Horikitsune and Horiyoshi III again which is always special J
I’ll only be in Japan for 5 days but I plan on getting a lot done and seeing as much as I can this trip as my last visit there was a lot more ‘party’ oriented, this trip is all about tattoo and I intend on making the most of it… if you’re going to be there let me know!
As far as shop stuff goes we have a lot going on here in Sydney too, this week we have Seth Arcane starting at the shop full-time on August 13th.
Its been a long time coming and we are very excited to have him working with us at the shop as his work is fantastic and he’s an awesome guy! His tattooing is mainly ethnographic black work, so in the tribal styles of Polynesia, Samoa, Tahiti and New Zealand, he also specializes in geometric dotwork and mandalas that have to be see to be believed! Check out his work here.
Here’s something of interest you might want to read through, this is an excerpt from an article I wrote last year in Inked Magazine, and once again I am looking for a candidate. Have a read:
‘What I see a lot of now is a fad and a trend and a bunch of silliness and the people are drawn to that, the fame, the fortune, the face tattoos, the TV shows, the tattooed pin up girls, and of course, the drama. I want to inject some realness back in the scene, let people know, let you know that there is an entire ‘other’ world of serious tattooing and serious tattoo artists out there that are making great tattoos in their own little worlds that aren’t seeking fame and fortune but are just happy creating fantastic art for themselves and their clients. This is what I am passionate about. It sadden me when I see all these ordinary tattoo artists around the world taking on apprentices when they themselves don’t have much to teach and their apprentices have apprentices and obviously that’s a train wreck, its pretty ridiculous really and it’s dumbing down the entire tattoo community as a whole, not unlike the plot in the fantastic movie Idiocracy. The bad tattooers are ‘out breeding’ the good ones, exponentially, and soon the whole thing will be one giant retarded reality show of shiny trendy face tattoos for kids. I have no interest in contributing to the mess, but I am meeting it head on by taking on another serious apprentice this year as a vacancy has presented itself at the shop.
This will be a real traditional apprenticeship with a 5 year commitment to becoming a great tattoo artist. Not for the faint of heart. I may not be the most agreeable person in the world but I have something to teach and pass on to help the cause of good tattooing.
You must have some artistic skill and notion, be hard working, dependable, under 20, punctual, fluent in English, both writing and speaking, be a permanent Australian resident, be able to commit to 5 years and most importantly, know how to listen and take direction. I am looking for the best and the brightest.
To put your name in for consideration you must send me a handwritten letter telling me a bit about yourself and your history, a recent clear photo of yourself, and if you like, include some drawings you have done. DO NOT send me tattoo photos, any envelopes with tattoo photos will be thrown in the trash unread. This is not a job application for a tattoo artist, it is an expression of interest for the position of tattoo apprentice.
You can send your envelope to
Kian Forreal
Authentink Studio
#306 4-14 Buckingham St
Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Please do not email me about this. Write me a letter.
Thank you and good luck ‘
Feel free to pass that on to anyone whom you think might qualify.
We’ve got a selection of new shirts available at the shop for sale..
and for those that don’t know we also have a selection of children’s shop onesies and t-shirts! While we do some mail order we prefer if come around to the studio to purchase. If you want to mail order from out of town please drop us an email on shop@authentink.com or email us through the Contact form on the shop website!
you can view our selection of t-shirts and childrens apparel here.
We also have some new iphone cases available in the store.. and the standard one we had at the tattoo convention still available. In shop and mail order for those too! Check em out here!
We do a lot of social media for the shop using facebook and instagram, you can follow the shop on instagram @authenink_studio and each artist from their profile page on the artists section, most of us post new tattoo work daily and other interesting things!
With our shop facebook page we are always keen to have clients write little reviews for us and leave a rating for other potential clients to see and read. With so many new shops out there doing substandard work it really does people wanting a new tattoo a public service if they can read a real review from a studio they are considering visiting. Please review our facebook page here!
OR much better yet… if you have a Google/Gmail/Youtube account we really need more honest reviews of the shop on the Google page that pops up on the map when you search us.. I know I am sounding a bit needy here, haha.. but we’ve based our shop off of ‘great service, great artists and a great vibe’! How are people going to know unless you tell them for us?! J
Google Review page for Authentink Studio is here…
And just for your information the artist formerly known as Lucky Lauren is now rebranded as Lauren Fox! It was time for a change for her and to move on to the next phase of her career… so far so good as her work has certainly moved to the next level! Check out her profile here!
And lastly.. for those of you on my waitlist… thank you so much for your patience! At the moment I am consulting with clients that have been waiting around 14 months or so…. So again, thanks for waiting and I will be in touch with you as soon as your time is up to create an awesome one-of-a-kind Japanese tattoo for you!!
Thanks for reading all that… I wish you well and I sincerely appreciate being part of the journey of building my shop Authentink Studio!
Kind regards!
Kian
PS: Here’s a link to my updated portfolio!