Free ink offer draws tattoo virgins
saw how many people were out there we thought we’d better get a head start, so we started at 8.30am.
‘‘We’ve had a decent amount of first-timers through the door already, which is what we wanted to see. It’s been a nudge for some who were thinking about it but hadn’t picked up the courage.’’
Rebecca Pattison was queued about 60 people back from the door and wasn’t sure if she’d get through, but said it was worth the wait anyway. She had decided to leave choosing her design until she reached the counter.
‘‘My husband’s getting a shoulder tattoo here in a couple of weeks, so I wanted to jump in too. Because it’s little, I thought it’d be a good way to see how sore it was.’’
Kieran Nuku joined the queue at 7am, but said another group had been there since midnight.
‘‘It’s cold. It rained a couple of times. Getting it on the spot is a bit of fun.
‘‘It’s the lucky dip that makes it a little bit more entertaining as well.
‘‘I’ve changed my mind [on the design] like seven times, but I’m getting a little gravestone that says ‘that was weird’, on my arm.’’
Student Nicole Devereux got a flower tattoo on her foot and said it was ‘‘a treat’’ as she wouldn’t have been able to afford it otherwise. ‘‘And I can colour it later’’. Having it done felt like ‘‘a thousand needles’’, she said, but the pain and cold wait were ‘‘definitely worth it’’.
Holland said his grandfather founded Forever Art in 1995 and he and his cousin were third generation tattoo artists. The studio is the longest operating in Palmerston North.