Pop-up tattoo events are becoming increasingly common. Some couples hire tattoo artists to ink guests at their weddings. Certain bands have been known to hire tattoo artists to attend their concerts or events to give fans some custom ink.
Even hospitality brands are getting in on the trend, offering innovative pop-up events where patrons can choose to get a tattoo before tucking into some food or grabbing a drink.
In other words, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in offering a pop-up tattoo event wherever you’re based. Here are just a few examples to help you work out when and where you could host your own soiree.
Back in 2021, band The Offspring included tattoo pop-ups as part of their Let the Bad Times Roll UK tour. Fans were advised to arrive early to grab a slot with one of the tattoo artists who would be onsite at each tour event.
Then there is biker brand Deus Ex Machina, which hosts pop-up tattoo events at its venues around the world. One of its most famous is Taco & Tattoo Tuesday at Deus Noosa in Australia. The venue had queues of people lining up to get new ink from their chosen tattoo partner.
These are just a couple of examples of how this could work – but there are a range of situations when being a mobile tattoo artist could help you find some new clients and get your work in front of new faces.
What do you need to run a pop-up tattoo event?
There are a few supplies you’ll need to successfully run this kind of event, let’s take a look at some of the most important.
- Ink
It goes without saying that you’ll need to have enough ink with you to draw your tattoos. At a pop-up event, it’s best to go with simple designs in a single colour. This means you can get through more people without having the stress of being creative on the spot.
For pop-up events, simple line designs work well. Often black is the ink of choice, but you can decide what’s most appropriate based on the crowd you’re expecting.
- Hygiene supplies
If you’re running a pop-up event it can be easy to get excited about the designs you’ll be offering and the process of tattooing, but don’t forget you won’t be at your studio. That means you need to have a good supply of Black Cobra gloves, as well as clinical waste bags, antibacterial wipes and potentially even chair covers or lap cloths to ensure proper hygiene.
You’ll also need a supply of tattoo needles so that you can safely tattoo multiple people within a short space of time.
- Tattoo aftercare products
The people who get inked at a pop-up tattoo event need to take care of their new tats, so make sure you have everything you need to protect the design and enable them to care for it properly in the days and weeks that follow.
As well as protective tattoo covers, consider also having a tattoo healing spray to hand that you can hand out to your clients. You might even want to pre-make small aftercare packs to give out to people as they walk away with their new ink.