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You could easily overlook the large doorway at the side of Magees Bar on Merchants Quay, but take a walk down the passage and you'll end up at one of the most impressive and progressive tattoo studio's in Newry.
Bamba Ink Tattoo Studio was established by Bamba from Latvia, four years ago. He is living here 17 years and has a love of tattoos since childhood. The business that started off in Newry with just himself has now expanded to six tattoo artists, each with their own unique styles.
The premises are massive and each of the artists have their own personally styled space to work in. There's even a chill-out area complete with pool table.
It can take anything from one to five or more sessions to complete a piece depending on the type of tattoo, the detail, where it's located or what size it is.
Customers can call in and check which particular artist suits their needs. As Bamba explains "We have Raff doing old school traditional tattoos, myself doing realistic stuff and pushing myself in colour realism. Grainne is doing almost everything, from small work to big work, Matthieu also does a little bit of everything and Nicole and Gabby are currently training."
Raff adds: "We all have different vibes and different styles for different clientele. We don't steal each other's customers and because there's so many people in here, there's a 99% chance if you come here, no matter what kind of tattoo you like, there's going to be an artist here able to do it."
"I specialise in traditional, so people come to me when they want to get a traditional tattoo, because they know I'm really good at it. Bamba is really good in black and grey, so everybody's who looking for black and grey, that kind of style tattoo, realism, portraits, they will go and see him."
Each tattooist displays their work on their wall and some have booklets showcasing their style, so for prospective customers calling in it's easy to see which particular artist would work best for them. "We get our regular customers who work with one particular person and if somebody's coming in from the street looking a specific style, we can recommend this person, or that person to make sure they get the best result." says Bamba. All of the artists are constantly evolving their styles. "The learning process takes forever, you never stop learning" he adds.
Raff's fascination for the craft evolved during the Covid 19 pandemic. Initially practicing on fake skin, he eventually moved to tattooing himself and friends.
For years he frequented tattoo studios "hearing the buzz of the machine and vibe of the place"
"I was always so curious about it and I never thought this is going to be the way for me to go. But the more I spent time in places like that, the more questions I asked. I started looking what the guys were doing, what they're using, how they are applying them, asking them stuff. And then I started trying to get that knowledge for myself." says Raff.
He started professionally around 2023, and while he is trying to be more versatile he loves the traditional style, appreciating their bold long-lasting nature. "It's just that old school vibe of tattoos, all the stuff that was done years and years ago. It's just aesthetically pleasing for me.
"There's an old saying, 'bold will hold' - that way of tradition with bold lines and not too many details in it, it'll make it last way longer."
Grainne is also on the team, and black and gray and realism is where she shines. When she was younger she spent six weeks in a tattoo studio in Canada via the Wider Horizons programme. After coming home she found it difficult to get in anywhere "probably because I was a girl".
Thankfully that has all changed now and there's studios out there operating with just women. More women are getting tattoos now and sometimes having a female tattooist can make them feel more comfortable.
Hearing about Bamba Ink Grainne went there to have a tattoo done herself and ended up being taken on.
She has a degree in Art and believes you need to be creative to work in the business. "I've always been a creative person. You need to have a creative bone in your body to do it. It doesn't matter if it's ceramics or music. You need to be some way creative to be able to tattoo" Grainne says.
Nicole is currently learning the trade at Bamba. She took her portfolio in one day and that was it. "I never left". She has a degree in English and has completed level two and three in Art at the tech. From starting with fake skin she's now tattooing people.
Style wise Nicole's still experimenting. "At the minute I just explore a bit of everything but if I had to say one style that I would love to go into it's illustrative work, graphically designed pieces working in black and grey, anime designs. I love floral designs. I'm working with animals as well"
For anyone wanting to see examples of tattoos produced at Bamba, just call in and chat to one of the artists.
Check out Bamba Ink Tattoo Studio at facebook.com
