The Iron & Ink history – how it all started…
Iron & Ink is more than just a traditional tattoo studio.
We are a unity, a family of dedicated, passionate and creative spirits with a love for the dynamic of art, development, community, perfectionism – and customer service. Our main task is to ensure that you get the best possible experience before, during and after your visit with us.
Our story starts more than a decade ago, on a side street in Vejle, where Hawaro, our then 21-year-old director, opened the first studio with a single artist. Hawaro had just dropped out of his education to chase the vision of creating a brand, a strong team, an entity and a business that could stand out from the numerous other tattoo studios with significant values, processes and standards.
Without any vocational education or experience – and without the opportunity to know how to do things – a journey began, which a main focus on how things should not be. Similar to all the others. A journey that has cost many setbacks, lots of defeats and countless disappointments. However, the ambition has always been to find and create what worked for Iron & Ink.
As we lean back today with the last ten years in mind, the many obstacles that we have had to deal with have helped us write the recipe for our success. Iron & Ink today consists of three locations in Denmark and one in the US. Four unique studios that house more than 75 members of our tattoo-family, all striving to provide perfection in their respective roles.
The journey from one to four studies – from one employee to over 70 – can be described as stages where we have gradually added several elements to our recipe. A set-up where a management team is fully dedicated to leading and steering towards what always creates the most value for our artists and clients. A management committed to their responsibilities and team development. A team of artists who always focus on their art, their technical development and our common optimization.
It has been a Tour de Force where we have been first-movers in the industry. We have built a brand, a company and a team, based on the right ingredients to create something unique. Something far from traditional in an industry where “traditional” has been one of the key words for survival.
Lots of activity in Copenhagen
We had great expectations, when we decided to move from Vejle to Copenhagen and in 2013 we opened our first location in the capital with 3 artists. With great ambitions, a significant effort and a dedicated team, a lot happened quickly – and it changed our entire course and speed.
In 2014 we moved for the first time, in 2017 we moved again – and in 2018 we opened our second department in Copenhagen due to increased activity. In mid-2019, we decided to merge the stores to enhance our common expression and to add fuel to our unique dynamics between the artists, and to complete the experience of being the great tattoo family that we have become over the past seven years in Copenhagen.
Today we have 28 employees in Copenhagen, where we have built a studio of almost 700m2. The framework is created with the desire to provide exquisite customer experiences and the best conditions for the artists.
By popular demand in Aarhus
In February 2019 we finally opened the doors to our studio in the heart of Aarhus. After a few years with lots of reflections and a myriad of queries, we were able to tick off this dream on our Bucket List. With five artists and approx. 600 strategically designed square meters, we were able to live up to both our standards and be prepared for possible growth. Could we win the love and trust of the Aarhus natives with our quality and service?
We could. At the start of 2020 we employ 13 artists and expect to increase this number during the year.
Dreaming of
Los Angeles
The journey, the dream and the talk of a Los Angeles studio were planted in our hearts back in 2015, when we first visited the city during a tattoo convention.
As the years went by, we became more mature and our team grew so strong that we felt ready to focus fully on an international expansion. In mid-2019, we then began the pursuit of our American dream, and late last fall we opened the doors to nearly 300 square meters in the heart of Melrose, where newly renovated premises created the setting for our American dream. With the same Scandinavian expression that has always characterized us in our interior, and with the same high service and standards that our customers expect when visiting us.
