Takaka tattoo studio quickly makes mark
Growing demand has propelled a tattoo studio in Takaka from a small backstreet workshop on to the main street.
Somniferous Ink Tattoo opened its doors on Commercial St in early January. It has two tattooists, Marion Beaupere and owner Reuben Wood, plus a new apprentice, Jill Hitchman.
Wood used to work out of a backstreet workshop under the name Sketchy Tattoo. He said it outgrew the space after one summer.
The new name fitted with the studio’s expansion into a more visible, professional space that could cater to growing demand, he said.
Wood said he loved his work, having come to the job late in life after a career in digital media.
He said the industry had become smarter, cleaner and more efficient with design work, which was now done on iPads using high-tech illustration software.
Tattooing could be allconsuming work, he said, with a normal working week being around 80 hours.
‘‘That’s what most people don’t realise, that behind every tattoo there’s quite a few hours of drawing.’’
The 35-year-old from Canterbury trained in illustration and digital media, working for many years as a digital modeller for Weta Digital. It was while working in the Wellington film industry that Wood ‘‘fell in love with tattooing’’ while getting his own.
He later completed an apprenticeship after work doing tattoos on the side.
‘‘Being in a studio with a bunch of crazy artists winding each other up all day – it was amazing,’’ he said.
‘‘I went from a life of working by myself with minimal interaction with others, and into a space working with people and being much more creative, and I just loved it.’’
Beaupere, a 28-year-old selftaught tattooist from France, has a background in fine arts. She joined Sketchy Tattoo last summer, and said she had learned a lot about working in a professional environment.
Hitchman, who trained as an architect, aims to be an in-house tattooist in one year.
She said she got to use Wood’s machine for the first time on Saturday. ‘‘It was hard, but so much fun. I’m just here, watching and observing, soaking up the environment, dealing with the customers.’’
A record field returned to Motueka for round six of the National Drag Racing Championships.
There was a total of 98 entries at the Motueka Aerodrome on Saturday from a range of different classes, from juniors to vintage gassers.
Nelson Drag Racing Association president Preston Brunell said it was one of the biggest turnouts in recent years.
‘‘It’s really pleasing to see. We’ve got cars from Christchurch and further south, some from all the way up to Auckland as well.’’
Along with the hot weather, the crowd enjoyed some sizzling action on the track. Whanganui driver Grant Rivers set a personal best and New Zealand record of 4.41 seconds for the 1/8th mile in his supercharged dragster.
Brunell said one of the reasons for the strong field in 2020 was the boards of the International Hot Rod Association NZ and the New Zealand Drag Racing Association agreeing to host a joint racing season.
‘‘It’s the first time that’s happened for several years, so people are supporting it and trying to make it work so you’ve got more people to race with.’’
He said that while hot weather could sometimes make conditions difficult for racing, the humidity and wind at the track on Saturday had made for an excellent day.
‘‘It’s a bit overcast and there’s been a bit of breeze, so that means there’s really good air. Good air has a good percentage of water in it, and grains of water in the air means there’s lots of good oxygen [for the engines].’’
The next NDRA meet will be in Motueka on February 29, when the club will host the Supercharged Outlaws bracket.