Where can I get the tattoo I want?

Gone are the days when tattoos were the indelible – okay, the only – memories left from a wild night on the town. Rather, the getting of ink now requires chin-stroking deliberation. Pavements are pounded from parlour to parlour – paramount importance is an artist who “gets my concept, y’know?" So allow Time Out to match the artist to the concept.

Where can I get a...

...Portrait tattoo?
Wait no longer – the unconventional kids at Third Eye in North Fitzroy welcome walk-ins! Like that time Vanilla Ice signed my ex’s leg and he urgently needed it permanent. Luckily Vanilla (Mr Ice?) wasn’t inclined to sketch his face – but actually, realistic portraits are a specialty here too.

...Oriental tattoo?
She’s done a decade of inking in Moonee Ponds, but local girl Clare of Soul Inn House is a lady of the world. Starting out in Hawaii, she’s carved her way around the globe, even studying indigenous tattoo to develop her beautifully delicate Oriental style.

See also: Ten-Ten Tattoo, 887 Burke Rd, Camberwell. Dynamic Tattoo, 71 Swan St, Richmond.

...Pin-up tattoo?
If you want a beautiful lady to carry around with you for the rest of time, surely you’d want a beautiful lady to put her there? NZ lass Rose Hardy’s bright back catalogue is a catwalk of perfect peepers, fluttering eyelashes and banging behinds. She’s one of eight artists at the 20-year-old Chapel Street inkstitution.

...Tribal tattoo?
If your tribe is of the tribal kind, Kiwi Shane at Chapel Tattoo in Prahran could well be the chief. At the very least, he’s a master of all things Ta Moko (Maori), Kirituhi (Maori-inspired), Polynesian and Japanese tattooing. He inks free-hand, so no two of the intricate sleeve and full body designs are the same.

...Flash tattoo?
There’s not much that screams “knuckle tattoos” more than “true hate”. Ten-year veteran AJ of True Hate Tattoo takes traditional flash concepts and adds some fancy. His bright designs and old-school lettering are winning Collingwood’s hipster heart.

See also: The Sweet Life Tattoo Shop, 459 High St, Northcote.

...Sailor tattoo?
It was close to a century back that Californian Sailor Jerry docked in Hawaii and started pioneering the simple, ship-friendly designs that adorn sailors the world over. The tradition, steeped in swallows, skulls and bare-breasted ladies, now continues in another port – Newport, that is. Put some Devil's Ink on your bicep.

...Old-school tattoo?
This Gertrude Street shop-front may well have been the first cool store on the ultra-hip strip. Now with six artists, and waiting times from a month and up to two years, demand hasn’t slowed for Tattoo Magic's comprehensive consultations, and inspired art across the genres.

See also: Fox Body Art, 44 Smith St, Collingwood.

...New-school tattoo?
Nadina is the new kid on a clean-skin block – in the traditional heartland of trolley-wielding grannies; Ormond. Her fine art background delivers beautiful lines, pretty symmetry, and Nouveau stylings – and she’s opened her own stylish pad, Cherry Bomb, to escape the heavy metal, tough talk of traditional ink joints.

...Mexican tattoo?
If you like your ink with a side of road-tripping, point the car towards the coast, Seaford to be precise. Jen and Jed are 14 years in the game, and a Day of the Dead trip through Mexico left Jen inspired, and with a cool back-catalogue of the popular sugar skulls – they’re a handy fit with her bright, bold Hellbound style.

...Abstract tattoo?
Artist Ran Maclurkin proudly claims he started tattooing on 6/6/06 – and his unconventional work (pictured) definitely leans towards the demonic. Ran’s dark designs conjure a Tim Burton feel, and his new Sunbury space, Ruin Art Collective, is also a gallery.