Voodoo Ink

Got my second tat at Voodoo. Located in the heart of St Kilda, this studio offers about 4 different artists, and with a couple of apprentices, rates are competitive. Mikey Sharks is a chief and talented tattooist.

I stumbled into Voodoo Ink way back in 2005 when I first moved to Melbourne. I’d parked myself in St Kilda (as many newcomers do) and was looking to get a walk-​in tattoo done to kill a Saturday afternoon. The guy I spoke to was super enthused by the ideas I had (old-​school OG swallows on my shoulders) and at that time, they were very open to walk ins.
Little did I know, the tattooist in question would go on to work in one of Melbourne’s première tattoo shops (Tattoo Magic) and Voodoo kind of allowed him to develop his chops.
That seems to be the role of Voodoo Ink. They don’t really hold on to talent but they allow newcomers an environment to hone their skills. This means that at any given time, the quality of artists in the shop can vary, so if you’re particular about ‘perfect’ tattoos (I’m not), Voodoo won’t float your boat. The batch they have now look pretty good (check the website) but that may be a different story in the future.
The shop’s not as much of a dump as it used to be also, and they’ve got plenty of flash art for those who wanna pick off the wall. This is no purist style shop, but it serves a function and there are surprisingly few studios in St Kilda.