Nikole Lowe’s Tattoo Parlour One of London’s Best

One of London’s best tattoo parlours, according to GQ magazine, is Good Times in Shoreditch, owned by New Zealander Nikole Lowe, who has previously made appearances on reality show London Ink.

“Good Times offers a fresh, contemporary approach to the traditional tattoo parlour. A light, bright, airy loft space in the heart of Shoreditch, Good Times is a world away from old school studios,” GQ journalist Ailis Brennan writes.

“[Lowe] says she wanted to ensure a welcoming atmosphere for her customers, especially for first timers. ‘I wanted to make it more of a homely studio. What I wanted was for people to walk in, whether it was their first tattoo or if they’d been doing it for ages, to feel comfortable. Tattooing is quite scary, I think. The very first time I walked into a tattoo studio, I walked straight out because I was too nervous.’

“Lowe specialises in stunning Oriental and Indian inspired designs: ‘What draws me to it is the iconography, all the stories behind the tattoos and how it suits the body – like tribal Maori tattoos [a speciality of Lowe’s colleague Matt Black], they always work with the shape of the muscle, to compliment you, and I think Japanese art does that too.’

“Many of her artists offer some really unique work, including Hannah Keuls who creates ‘sketched’ designs with the draft lines left in, and Noon who sports his own style of geometrically constructed figurative illustration, whilst Piotrek Taton is a master of Realism.”

Lowe has also tattooed Adam Ant and Daniel Johns of Silverchair.

Original article by Ailis Brennan, GQ, March 21, 2016.