Saturday, June 21st, 2008

Ebisu Studio Open

First Day in Ebisu

Yes, the new studio is officially open. Well, it’s the 21st just because the clock went past midnight a couple of hours ago but, technically, I’ll have to wait for the morning to actually open it and receive my first clients at the new place ;)

[new studio • view 3]

I’ve spent most of the last two days finishing up all preparations and, once I figured everything was in place, I took a couple of pictures too; but I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to show them to you, so that’s what this post is about :).

The one above is taken from the entrance; that is what you see when you come in. In the foreground, the “reception desk” —I mean, my Mac :) — and in the background, the workspace —bed and everything. Behind that there’s another desk I set up for drawing.

The one below shows a view of the studio from the “waiting area”; a better view of the bed and the drawing table.

[new studio • view 2]

Everything has been moved around and arranged a little different from what I had planned first, especially the bed, in order to allow me to find the best, most comfortable position during work. I’ll probably rearrange them a little more along the way, once I figure what’s needed, but I’m going to have to spend a few days actually working, so I can get a feel. In any case, the whole thing will most likely stay like it is now, except for those few centimeters I’ll probably need if there’s not enough elbow-room.

Last one is a view from behind the drawing desk, showing the bed in the foreground and —in the background, to the right— the “waiting area”. The black door around the corner is the entrance (the one with the mirror is the toilet).

[new studio • view 1]

So what do you think? Pretty cool, isn’t it?

You’ll have to actually visit once —these photos don’t really do it justice— but I tell you: during those cool breeze days of the autumn, this is going to be one relaxing ambiance!

I’m sure you’ll like it ;)

Off to get some sleep now, tomorrow is the big day.

Posted on Saturday, June 21st, 2008 by Dali Rău, under Updates [RSS]

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25 Responses to “Ebisu Studio Open”

  1. Foarte, foarte, foarte misto. A iesit beton. Imi place stilul, curat, comod, relaxant. Buna treaba. Felicitari si spor la treaba.

    Comment by Ion on Saturday, June 21st, 2008 #.

  2. Hello Dali!

    Very beautiful your new studio with all the furniture black ;)
    I’m sure your guests will enjoy the tattoo session there.
    Congratulations and good luck!

    Comment by Janette on Saturday, June 21st, 2008 #.

  3. @ Ion

    Da, şi mie îmi place cum a ieşit!

    Elegant şi uşor de păstrat curăţenia. Vara nu prea pot să ţin geamul deschis, că e umezeală mare şi nu ţine aerul condiţionat pasul, dar la toamnă o sa fie nemaipomenit.
    Nu prea-mi merge bine WiFi-ul, cred că mă bruiază careva prin apropiere… Sau o fi timpul să-mi cumpăr un modem nou :)

    Mă bucur că-ţi place!
    Baftă mare!

    @ Janette

    Hi there!
    Yup, it looks pretty cool, isn’t it?

    »» I’m sure your guests will enjoy the tattoo session there.
    Oh, I hope so!
    I guess I’ll have to wait and see… but I’m sure everyone will like it, it’s a lot more elegant and spacious than the one in Nakameguro.

    Thanks a lot for the comment ;)

    Comment by Dali Rau on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 #.

  4. Looking awesome Dali. The black floor and accent lighting gives it a really top-notch, professional look. Hell, it looks better than my house – can I move in? :P

    Comment by steve on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 #.

  5. Hey, it looks better than my house too :)

    Today being the 4th day, I’ve already got a few people visiting and everyone seems to like it too.
    Which makes me really happy, because it wouldn’t matter how much I like it if my clients wouldn’t be comfortable as well.

    So I guess it’s been a success so far.
    Now, all I have to do is get my ass in gears in catch up with everything that’s been put off because of the move ;)

    Including this very blog, which needs an urgent redesign…

    Thanks for the comment!
    I’m glad you like the place!

    Comment by Dali Rau on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 #.

  6. ‘Relaxing ambiance’ there ya go! ;)

    Comment by Rick & Sydney on Sunday, July 6th, 2008 #.

  7. Hiya, RxMeister!

    I guess it all depends on whether you like black or not… And, of course, it depends a lot on how much fear of needle there is; if there’s too much of it, then there’s not much the ambiance can do to help :)

    Can’t wait for the stupid rainy season to end, so I can keep the windows open all day long and turn the air-conditioning down..!

    Comment by Dali Rău on Sunday, July 6th, 2008 #.

  8. OK, thanks for that. Hey I can’t find the bar in any of the pics. Where’s the bar? Show me to the bar! ;)

    Comment by Rick & Sydney on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 #.

  9. Oops, damn’, where’s the bar?!? I forgot the bar!!!

    Does the fridge count as a bar? O:-)

    Comment by Dali Rău on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 #.

  10. Shop looks great.
    Now, if you could only open another branch in the UK – and clone yourself – I’d be there in a flash!

    Comment by Nik on Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 #.

  11. Hi, Nik!
    Thanks for the comment!

    Well, I’d love to be able to open branches all over the place and I’d definitely love to be able to clone myself… mwahahah >:)

    No plans to travel anywhere yet and, in any case, it would probably be very difficult to carry all the equipment with me… Nowadays, the Customs —both Japanese and in whatever other country— are a pain in the ass, a swarm of cockroaches with ad lib laws and “regulations”, going through people’s luggage and making up reason to confiscate and/or tax whatever they like.
    But this is not an idea on which I’ve given up; hopefully, there will come a time when I’ll be able to travel and work.

    But maybe you’ll be able to visit Tokyo before that, which would be great ;)

    Comment by Dali Rău on Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 #.

  12. You could have special training classes for applicants and then let them open ateliers in your name around the globe using your sketches. ;)

    Comment by Rick & Sydney on Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 #.

  13. Taking an apprentice has proved to be a very difficult thing to do…

    I’ve had seven, out of which only two have stuck with tattooing. A third one was really good, she stayed with me for three years and then —all of a sudden— disappeared.
    Ever since, I haven’t been able to find another one worthy.

    It would be easy to take a few, teach them the basics and have them work in a few shops so I can make more money. But I’m not looking to extend the business in that direction. All I’d want would be to pass the techniques —and the secrets— to one, mostly two, who can take over the Graphic Tribe when I’ll be too old and grumpy to be able to get anything done properly :D

    So far, no luck.
    I do get lots of requests for apprenticeship, but after a quick filtering, potentials vanish. Some are looking to get into this just for the “status” of being a tattooist, others just for the money. I might be too strict with the conditions I put, but I want to make sure I find someone serious and with passion for the art itself, not just a copy machine like those so-called “tattooists” who end up doing flash work ad nauseam.

    Or maybe I need to get my feet on the ground for a while :)

    Comment by Dali Rău on Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 #.

  14. No you got your feet on the ground. It’s the others who float. It’s that hard in any field finding the ‘right’ people. No exception there for you, dude. Cheers.

    Comment by Rick & Sydney on Friday, August 1st, 2008 #.

  15. Well, Darth Sidious had to wait a couple of decennia for the right apprentice :)
    Like his last —Count Dooku— my most recent has been decapitated by her inability to show up in time for an appointment set up months ago… So I guess you’re right, some are floating.

    No rush though, I’m not getting that old that quickly :)

    Comment by Dali Rău on Friday, August 1st, 2008 #.

  16. Well I took Dali up on his offer to ‘pop around’ for a visit… although I did have to travel across the Pacific Ocean to do so… All I can say is it was worth the visit. Dali runs a pretty slick operation, plenty of cokes and beers available from the fridge (even the ‘zero’ coke comes in a black can – in keeping with the theme!!). Great studio, great artist and a top guy. All the best Dali – look forward to catching up next time to discuss politics, religion and ah yeah… getting another tattoo.

    Comment by Josh on Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 #.

  17. Hey, Josh! Thanks a lot for the comment, big guy!

    I’m glad you had a good time here, it was great meeting you. I’m looking forward to doing some more work for you and yes, definitely, discussing more about these leeches that run the world :D

    Hey, have you seen the website recently? Check out the top page, you should notice a tiny addition right away ;)

    Comment by Dali Rău on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 #.

  18. Haha, yeah I saw that – looks great – totally happy with the work…already thinking about the next one!

    Comment by Josh on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 #.

  19. How cool is that – Josh hopping the Pacific to pop in for a visit? That is very cool!

    Comment by Rick & Sydney on Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 #.

  20. Ah well its not exactly true… I was in Tokyo on business, but ‘discovered’ Dali’s website when investigating the possibilities online of getting a tattoo in Japan. I’m glad I did get around to visiting the studio though, because it was well worth it. I guess you get used to seeing some rather appalling tattoo ‘parlours’ around the place, so it was a nice surprise to see such a well organised studio… I think first impressions count for a lot, especially in this kind of business. Plus I thought it was kind of cool to find a Romanian tattoo artist in the middle of Tokyo (and I mean he is well and truly in the middle of it all!!) – makes for an interesting story. Hope you don’t mind Dali ;-)

    Comment by Josh on Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 #.

  21. The world is getting smaller and smaller… and I’m so glad it is!

    Romanian guy doing a Celtic tattoo for an American guy, in Tokyo :)
    You should’ve seen me speaking Japanese with a French guy who didn’t speak English —and my Français is breathtakingly crappy— in Tokyo :D

    Comment by Dali Rău on Thursday, October 16th, 2008 #.

  22. Dali, it’s been a while!
    How are you mate? Do you remember me? I’m the lucky Australian that you let have a last minute spot. It’s been nearly two months since I got back to Australia and life resumed straight away. It’s 2AM in the morning here and I now only have time to drop you a line. Hope all is good mate. The tattoo on my back is healing fine, got to wait a few weeks until it’s 2 months so I can get back into the Australian sun again. You should take a trip down here mate.
    Your tattoo for me was so good that my parents who hate tattoos loved it. My father said that you did it perfectly and it even looks better then the family shine’s hanjin. Next time I come back to Japan I’ll be definately visiting you again. I went looking for anothe place in Sydney because the tattoo itch has come over me like you said, but I just couldn’t find any other place as clean and as nice as yours. Hope to see you soon my friend. Take care of yourself.

    Herman.

    Comment by Herman on Monday, October 27th, 2008 #.

  23. Hi, Herman!
    Of course I remember you ;)

    I’m glad you’re happy with the tattoo! Hehe, it’s good to hear your dad likes it too :)

    I think you can already go into the sun, the skin should be back to normal by now; no problem with a little tanning.
    I’d love to visit one day! Especially now, when Japan is getting pretty cold and gray and murky… The perspective of the incoming winter doesn’t look too appealing… but I guess I’ll live, it’s not like I have any other choice :D

    Yes, whenever you decide to visit again, let me know in advance and we’ll find time to do some more work. It’s going to be my pleasure!

    Thanks a lot for the comment!
    I too hope I’ll see you again soon.

    Comment by Dali Rău on Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 #.

  24. Thanks for the tip Dali! I’ll be in the sun tomorrow for a surf.

    I’ll be back for sure and I’ll give you a few months notice before I come. I’ll most likely be coming with a few other friends that want tattoos also. It’ll be a pleasure to get work done by you again.

    It’s a shame to hear that Japan is getting cold and gray weather. Hope it gets better for you over there.

    Hope to see you again soon Dali! Take care.

    Herman.

    Comment by Herman on Thursday, October 30th, 2008 #.

  25. Ah the advantages of living down under. As we approach the cold and wet and dark of the winter – they go to the beach! Is that fair? ;)

    Cheers.

    Comment by Rick & Sydney on Monday, November 3rd, 2008 #.

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