Three years ago in July, Three Kings Tattoo out of NYC and Brooklyn launched a studio in Deptford, South East London under the leadership of New York artist Amanda Rodriguez, and the rest as they say is history. Not quite. This is still a young studio with a lot of ambition but the art coming out of this crew is starting to make waves among the tattoo loving community, across not just, South London but, way beyond the SE8 postcode. Three Kings London is also the only UK stockist for cult hype apparel brand Old Bones Society and also offers a range of cosmetic treatments alongside their prized tattoo work.
On Saturday July 15th 2023 Three Kings London celebrate their third birthday with a day and evening fit for any king or queen, especially if you are prone to a tattoo or have always wanted one but never quite gone through with an experience unlike any other. Three Kings London are having a very rare, but now infamous Flash Day, which tends to cause a roadblock on Deptford High Street, as some of the best in tattoo art is on offer for the knockdown rate of £60 a piece by one of their expert tattooists. Check out the full Flash Sheets on offer here. A treat for anyone who gets down early enough to join the queue and get some fresh ink done in time for summer ’23. If you are one of the first 50 customers on Saturday July 15th, you will also receive a goody bag filled with discount vouchers from Three Kings and some of their favourite local independent neighbours like Hop Burns & Black, Salt Deptford, Badger Badger, Taca Tacos, Borough 22, Lai Cha, TILA and That Browgirl plus some other cool surprises, including guest entry for you and your pals to celebrate with the Three Kings crew to the sounds of Rinse FM loved DJ Joe Milli at renowned Pat Butcher inspired cocktail parlour Little Nan’s in their VIP section Grandad’s Shed for a night to always treasure.
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Three Kings Tattoo’s owner Amanda, to learn more about her vision and inspiration behind the amazing brand.
Tell us about Three Kings Tattoo, and the inspiration behind the name?
Three Kings Tattoo originally started in Brooklyn NY. The inspiration for the name was really simple, there were 3 tattoo artists who started the shop and Brooklyn is also known as Kings county in NY, so Three Kings. Sadly, I had nothing to do with the name, but it was important to me coming here to open this shop to keep things the same.
When did you realize you had a gift for artistry, specifically tattooing?
I’ve been an artist since I was a kid, I think I get that drawing talent from my dad. I focused on art in high school and then went to an art school for uni. Tattooing was never really on the radar for me as when I was young it was still illegal in NY and not very prominent. After it became legal in either 1997 or 1998 then more artists started getting involved and that’s when it started to interest me because I then saw that side of it starting to develop.
Can you remember your first tattoo, can you tell us about that and how you have evolved over the years?
Yes, while I was looking for an apprenticeship I was practicing by tattooing oranges and pig skin and a friend said, “you’re gonna tattoo me now”. So I did and it was terrifying and also came out awful because I had no idea what I was doing. Over the years my evolving really came down to hard work and determination to be a good artist. I worked hard to develop my style and my techniques and colour pallets. To work out which equipment and needles I prefer. It doesn’t come easy, I have been tattooing for 15 years now. With that experience you learn what works and what doesn’t work and what looks good on the body and what doesn’t.
What services do Three Kings Tattoos currently offer? How do we book a service?
So, we offer custom tattooing by 6 different resident artists, and we also have a cosmetic person who does eyebrow microblading and lash lifts. We also sell some of our own t-shirts that we’ve designed but also currently are the only ones in the UK who carry Matt Adamson’s clothing line Old Bones Society. To book a service it depends on what you want. If you want something really small and simple you can just come as a walk-in any day of the week from 11-7pm. If you want something bigger than the palm of your hand you probably need to book it in. To do that you need to decide which artist you want and have a consultation with them either through email or in person. Once they have quoted you and you’re happy to proceed then we book it from there.
Tell us about the experience, what can people expect when entering your doors?
We’re all about being welcoming and giving people a good atmosphere and great experience. So, you can expect a welcoming vibe but we’re also just really fun and funny to be around. We all get along so well we’re always making jokes and just having good laugh. You can expect to feel comfortable and not intimidated and you can expect a great tattoo!
What is next for you and your brand as a whole, is there anything we should be watching out for?
For me as an artist I am focusing on building and solidifying my clientele here in the UK. I also started up DJing a Britpop/indie night again with one of my good friends so building that to a regular thing would be great. For the business my focus is just trying to build our reputation here and get people through the doors now allowing all the artists to be busy and do the awesome work they do. Quite simple at the moment but earlier this year and late last year was a really hard period for all of us.
What is your definition of a Pretty Woman Who hustles?
I’d say it’s doing what you want to do despite and against all odds. As a female you really have to work harder in general in this world, so I think most women who have succeeded in their career in any aspect have had to hustle.
Connect with Three Kings on Social Media at https://www.instagram.com/threekingslondon
