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Faq

F.A.Q

Most frequent questions and answers. If you have a question that is not asked and answered on this page, please contact us through email or our contact page form.

The way that I’ve set the studio out is a little more like an art gallery. We have separate rooms so the artist and client have privacy. Our chairs are really comfortable so that is huge point of difference for us.

I wanted to create a place where people enjoy coming. A place where people can be who they want to be. A place where we’re all working towards a common goal.

The best way to handle the pain of getting tattooed is to focus on your breathing. If you slow your breathing down a little and just focus on the breathing it can help to clear your mind and reduce the pain.  

Another way to deal with the pain is through the art of diversion. When you divert when your attention elsewhere, you’re not so focused on every stroke or every path of the tattoo. Listening to music or watching a movie are great ways to divert your attention. 

One method that works really well is conversation. Talking about your tattoo and sharing with the artist what it means to you or telling them a story about it can be a great way to break the ice and focus your mind. This can often lead to more conversation which can lead to time passing quickly.  

There is an old cliché saying in the tattoo world, ‘short is the pain, long is the pride’. Its good to remember that the short time of this tattoo experience and the pain that comes with it, is going to be worth it. Throughout your lifetime you will always have something to remind you of how powerful you are, that you’re able to withstand and have something great at the end. That’s a good metaphor and symbolic for a lot of things in life. 

It sounds really simple, but making sure that you have a good night’s sleep the night before is important. Being well rested has an impact on how you handle the pain of a tattoo. Taking care of yourself in the few days leading up to your tattoo is also vital, including plenty of water to hydrate the skin and not overdoing alcohol or other toxins. 

On the day of the tattoo, it’s really good to enjoy a hearty breakfast and a big lunch. You can spoil yourself and have some sugar as this can help you get through it, especially if you are sitting for a long session. Sitting for a long day means you’re going to get very tight and become fatigued, so plenty of water and some sugar can help with that.

The machines we use now have cartridges, so everything is single use. Once the tattoo is finished, that cartridge is put into a sharps container and discarded.

If we want to use a coil machine or anything like that, then we use a steriliser because we need to sterilise the tube which the tube doesn’t enter the skin, it’s just holding paint, and they’re usually stainless steel tubes.

There are a lot of reasons people get tattooed. I think there’s a deep connection to our past. Tattooing is an ancient art form. In those ancient times, tattoos were not only to mark the tribe you’re in, or to tell your story, some of them would also be to show whether you’re a warrior and were essentially a rite of passage, as well as depicting family motifs.

Tattoos are a roadmap of your life. And even though there are times in history where tattoos become taboo and banned, it just goes underground and always seems to come back, never really going away. With each revival it comes back stronger with more refinements and shared innovation, growing in artistic expression. I think that’s because tattoos represent something fundamental to human beings and the human experience. Life will leave a mark on you, and I guess this is a way to have some control over that by having a token or totem to help you, enhance you and give you some protection in this life, as well as the adornment aspect of wearing art on your body.

You know, the fact that it’s a painful process means there is a lot of growth that comes out of that, just the very fact of having to deal with the pain means you find the inner strength to persevere through the pain. And at the end you have something for the rest of your life, so there’s a serious commitment to it as well. In a time where we live in a very material, throwaway kind of society, a tattoo represents ultimate commitment for the rest of your life.

I’ve been tattooing since 1999, over 23 years of tattooing. In that time, I’ve worked in many studios around Sydney and the Central Coast, as well as tattoo conventions in Melbourne and Sydney Netherlands and Germany. I also enjoyed some great times working in some guest spots in Europe.

The time has come for me to start my own space. A place where people can come and get great, high-quality work. Somewhere I can really focus on comfort. The facilities we have for our clients is great. We have comfy chairs, private rooms and plenty of space so you won’t feel cramped. The whole setup is suits the way that I like to work to achieve maximum comfort for myself to do the best work I can, and maximum comfort for the client.

In New South Wales, you must hold a tattoo license to tattoo. We have to go through a series of checks including police checks to get this license issued with a tattoo licence. You also need an operator’s licence to operate a studio. Brett holds both of these licenses.

In NSW, you need to be 18 years or over, or have your parent’s consent, to get a tattoo. At Pearla Tattoo, we only have a licence to tattoo people over the age of 18.

The cost of a tattoo has many variables. It mainly depends on the size of the work. The hourly rate is roughly around $200 to $250 depending on the work and artist.

For example, a small black and grey tattoo, which is roughly palm size, would be two hours max. So, you’re probably looking around at $400 to $500. The price for a tattoo generally starts at about $250 and goes up to $1000 and over.

Obviously, when you’re getting big pieces, you will be sitting many times. We will book your sessions in advance and keep going until we get to the end. That can vary as well, but you could be looking at $5000 for a sleeve depending on the design.

So, with custom pieces we need to consult with the client. You’ll usually come in and bring some ideas, references, photos and stuff. We’ll discuss design from that point. I’ll usually do a few suggestions of what I think will work or what could look cool.

Typically, I’ll be sitting with you with the iPad as well. We can have a little look through some resource references to get a few more ideas. We can do some loose sketches to get bit of an idea of the direction we’re going. We then want to get clear idea on what style you’d like to work with and which part of the body we are working on. Size and shape That flows and complements the body

We often steer people away from cramming too many things into a small space. Giving your tattoo art the space it deserves is always best.

We’ll focus on these elements and try and keep it as bold as possible for maximum longevity. The skin deteriorates over time so our experience will help you end up with a tattoo that not only lasts, but still looks amazing in decades to come.

So, it’s a little like making a copy of a video, and then you make another copy. And then there’s a copy of the copy of the copy. And that’s basically what our skin is doing over the course of our lifetime.

If you’re getting your tattoos in your 20s and 30s, there’s still a lot of elasticity in the skin, and it’s still quite taut.

When you’re getting towards the later 40s, 50s and 60+, it can depend on whether you’ve had a lot of sun damage, or if you’ve been working out in the sun a lot, then that skin can become dry, thin and tough to work on because you’ve lost a lot of elasticity.

As you get older, the skin can start to sag, but if you’re doing these pieces in areas where there’s always a strong, solid muscle behind it, such as a piece on the side of your thigh, or even your forearm, then its usually fine.

This is why clean, precise, strong images will last, and they age well. That’s what we aim for. We want your tattoos to still be awesome, even years down the track.

After a few days the tattoo may still be slightly red. After this time, it may form a light scab. This is all part of the healing process. Generally, a tattoo will be fully healed in two weeks. By the third week your skin should be rejuvenated and looking good. If you have any questions about your tattoo, you can always call us.

After your tattoo is finished, you will need to get some aftercare cream. There are lots of different brands to choose from. We will have options available for you to purchase and recommend.

You can also put second skin on which is a new thing now it’s like a band-aid. A contact piece of skin that goes over the tattoo area after it’s done. You need to change that after a day because you get a lot of weeping the first few days of the tattoo, because it is an open wound that needs to be cleaned. It’s very important to clean the tattoo in the first few days, because that’s when most of the plasma and all the weeping happens on the tattoo. And that can sometimes stick to the shirt. This is where the tattoo scab gets very thick and heavy if you haven’t cleaned your tattoo after it’s been done the first few days, so that’s really essential. You can reapply the second skin over the tattoo. I’ve had results where the tattoo is healed within, you know, five to six days after that. So that’s another method where you don’t have to use cream.

There are two types of natural pawpaw, there’s a Lucas one which is mainly full of Vaseline. That’s not really that good, I wouldn’t recommend that. But there is another one that’s more natural, as claimed and that isn’t too bad. But sometimes people’s skin react to that. So I usually use a cream  that I supply, and I’ve always found that there’s been good results.

Well definitely great artistry. That’s a big part, you want to have really solid artists working in the studio. Obviously, you want to see a studio have the highest standard of hygiene possible.

You want an artistic, inspiring, comfortable place with a cool vibe that people enjoy visiting. It’s always nice to have interesting things to look at, that does create an atmosphere. Ultimately though, it’s really about the people that create the vibe in a place.

If the artists are excited about what they’re doing, keen to keep leaning, and growing as artists, then it’s really rewarding. When there’s a good crew, people come in and feel comfortable and confident in their artist.

There are many inks on the market but I mainly use Eternal Ink. Eternal Ink has set strict standards in product consistency, quality ingredients and outstanding performance. It’s trusted by tattoo artists around the world.

Eternal Ink is non-toxic and made of organic pigments, free of animal by products and is not tested on animals.