Tattoo Artist Conrad Misquith - 'Inking' his Way to Success
Prakash Samaga
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (PS)
Mangalore, Aug 28: You think it, he inks it. For those who have a craze for permanent tattoos or custom-made leather articles, Conrad Misquith is the person to approach.
Be it dragons or just initials, tribal design or a star on an arm, Misquith is an expert in drafting it, perhaps the only tattoo artist in the city, with his studio located at Rego Compound in Padil here. He says they are only two such artists across the state, the other being his brother Cedric in Koramangala, Bangalore.
Apart from being tattoo artist, Misquith is also a leather crafter who carves various items from leather except footwear and clothing. "Wallets, wrist bands, mobile pouches, gun holsters for cops or other accessories, each and every item can be completely personalised as per the individual’s demands," he says.
The leather he procures is terracotta vegetable tan made out of goat and sheep hide from Chennai, while equipment like disposable needles, swell knife, non-toxic inks are from the United States. The charge is based on square inch, for one square inch he charges Rs 400, thus for a tattoo of 30 sq inch which almost covers the arm, it may cost Rs 12,000. "But removing one square inch of tattoo without scars it will cost Rs 1.8 lacs," he says with a wry smile. The ink he uses for tattoo is 'skin candy intenze' which does not fade.
Elaborating on his entry into the field of art, Misquith says he is basically from Mysore and its been about 25 years since he first set foot in Mangalore. He was not aware of his skills till his brother discovered the artist in him, and supported him all the way, for which he considers his brother as his ‘guru’. Unlike wood art wherein an artist chips off pieces, a leather crafter needs to press on the leather with several tools with different designs to get the final work of art. He has customers now placing orders by contacting him through Facebook. He says he never advertised, people come to him through word of mouth. He has made wallets for singer Anoop Jalota and to a lawyer of pop legend Michael Jackson, he claims.
People from the Gulf countries place orders for items like wallets and take it with them on their way back from vacation. Conrad takes eight hours to make one wallet. But what is amazing is he assures about 15 years guarantee on the wallets he makes.
Apart from being a leather crafter and tattoo artist, Conrad Misquith is also a drummer, but only of classic rock music genre. He also performs as DJ and has a band in Mysore. He has two more tattoo studios, each in Mysore and Bangalore. He can be contacted at 9844001454.