A decade of inking Cantabrians
When Brad Cone opened his first tattoo parlour a decade ago, he was scraping by living and breathing his art and knew nothing about business.
Cone, now 39, took out a loan to cover the deposit for a small shop in a sincedemolished section of Christchurch’s city centre in 2008. He slowly learned the corporate jargon and opened six seats to house some of the city’s leading ink artists.
‘‘We were just some central city scumbags, really, that decided to try it out … I was young and came from a bit of a naughty past … We were just street rats,’’ Cone said.
These days, he’s the director of three O¯ tautahi Tattoo shops in Christchurch, Auckland and Queenstown, with the latter responsible for inking a raft of celebrities including Justin Bieber.
Cone started getting tattooed while he was working for the Christchurch City Council’s restorative justice unit.
He landed a chair in a studio to learn the ropes and honed his custom designs before opening his own store on Hereford St, specialising in South Pacific style, script, ta¯ moko, and kirituhi, a Ma¯ ori-style tattoo made either by a non-Ma¯ ori tattooer or for a non-Ma¯ ori wearer. The shop quickly became a top name in the New Zealand ink trade.
Ta¯ moko artist Shaun Halbert-Pere came on board early on, drawing on the wearer’s genealogy, tribal affiliations and status to design one-of-a-kind pieces, usually worn as an expression of cultural pride and integrity.
‘‘When I first saw ta¯ moko I was just possessed by it – it changed something in me. I couldn’t stay away from it. I wasn’t brought up around my Ma¯ ori heritage. I kind of had to find it for myself.’’
After three years of grind, the February 2011 earthquake toppled Cone’s business.
‘‘Straight after, I was making [my business partner] mop the floor up for the next customer. I was just in shock.’’
Cone took off in search of his children, making it to the Christ Church Cathedral in time to watch it crumble. ‘‘I stood on the top of [the cathedral rubble] to try and get a better view. We’d lost everything.’’
He drank for 10 days, then opened a makeshift tattoo parlour in his garage before moving to Auckland with a handful of staff.
‘‘The insurance money was coming through but they said: ‘Look, there’s not much we can do. We really need to talk but you’re in Christchurch and we’re in Auckland.’ And I said: ‘Nah, I’ll be at the bottom of your stairs – I’m coming.’ ’’
The Auckland branch of O¯ tautahi Tattoo on Karangahape Rd opened five days later, soon followed by a shop in Queenstown with co-owner Jeremy Hill.
Three years ago, Cone moved back to Christchurch to be with his partner, a laser tattoo removalist, and opened a new
O¯ tautahi Tattoo shop on Riccarton Rd before relocating to Riverside Market last year.
Across his three stores, Cone employs 33 artists, with a focus on custom work, freestyling and freehanding.
‘‘Christchurch people tend to be a bit, like, ‘You shouldn’t have left’ … [But] there’s always change in business.’’
He said business was the best it had ever been, thriving on the passion-based model.
‘‘We don’t compete with the other shops – we compete with ourselves. If you start looking at what other people are doing you’ll be running around chasing your tail. You should live it, breathe it; it should be your true and utter passion. Christchurch city is my jam. I am Christchurch city – everyone knows me. It’s a true fresh start.’’