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www.thevillagenews.co.za
17 March 2021
LOVE A LITTLE LOCAL
More to it than meets the eye Writer Elaine Davie Photographer Taylum Meyer
W
hat? A tattoo studio in Kleinmond? Are you kidding? Yes. And no. Not hiding down some back alley either, but in full public view in Harbour Road, in between the restaurants and coffee shops. And guess what, after the first shock, most residents have embraced the newcomers and even furtively beaten a pathway to their door for a piercing, permanent make-up, perhaps even daringly, a tattoo… or just to check the place out for themselves. What they will have seen is a neat, attractively-decorated, professional-looking venue run by friendly husband-and-wife team Quintin Erasmus and chef, Ilizse du Toit. Like many others in the beauty and restaurant business, they are economic casualties of Covid-19. Quintin, who has been a qualified tattooist for the past 12 years had to close his studio in the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town as a result of lockdown. At more or less the same time, the restaurant which Ilizse was managing, also shut its doors for good. But what brought them to Kleinmond? After all, it’s not exactly the centre of surf- or counter-culture, which one might stereotypically associate with tattoos. “Actually,” says Ilizse, “that is a complete misconception. Tattooing is growing in popularity around the world amongst all ages and cultures, not just for beautification, but to hide skin blemishes, or scars. I’ve even got a small tattoo on my inner wrist identifying me as an organ donor.” But back to Kleinmond. When their livelihoods were falling apart in Cape
Town, Ilizse”s mother, who lives in Keinmond invited them and their two little boys, aged eight and ten, to come and live with her until they were able to get back on their feet. It wasn’t long before they had all fallen in love with the town.
ABOVE: Quintin touching up an old tattoo for a client.
“The two boys loved their new school and with granny and the beach close by, it would have been hard to drag them away again,” laughs Ilizse. “Quintin and I also felt it was a place where we could lead a healthy, less rushed life and could grow spiritually.”
LEFT: Husband-and-wife team Quintin Erasmus and Ilizse du Toit in front of their tattoo studio in Harbour Road, Kleinmond.
So they decided to establish a tattoo studio, without unrealistic expectations of how it might turn out, but simply because Quintin has a passion for the art, dating back to his childhood in Pretoria. “I had been drawing since I was little,” he explains, “and one day when I saw a programme on TV about tattooing, I knew straightaway that was what I wanted to do with my life.” To get started, he cannibalized his brother’s remote-controlled car to make his first tattoo machine and began to experiment on his friends and members of the family, until he left school and could attend the Tattoo Academy in Waverley, Pretoria. “Since then, I’ve just carried on learning, going into the history of the art (it goes back a long way – most indigenous communities around the world have practised tattooing) and developing new skills. A lot of people don’t realise that there are different techniques available, depending on the type and location of the tattoo. Along with new techniques, have come more effective tools and inks as well, and I like to move with the times and improve the quality of work I produce,” he says. So in October 2020, they took the
which indicates that they follow all the necessary requirements regarding the disposal of medical waste.
plunge, opened their new shop, Tattoo Elite, and waited to see what would happen. While there was a certain amount of initial suspicion amongst locals, on the whole they didn’t encounter major opposition. “One day a police woman arrived at our front door,” laughs Quintin, “and we thought, ‘Oh, what now?’ She explained that someone had come to the Police Station to ask if they could shut us down, so she had come to check out what we were up to. Not only was she unable to find a reason to shut us down, but she came back later to have a tattoo done.” Quintin and Ilisz are very grateful that in the short time they have been in Kleinmond, they have been able to establish a solid following of locals from all population and age groups (their oldest client was a lady of 78); there is also no limitation on pigment
or skin type. “Once they have had one tattoo,” says Quintin, “many of them are hooked and they come back for more. We have a huge portfolio of designs, some more traditional and ‘old school’ and others more trendy. Clients can also bring images of their own for me to copy, but of course, what I enjoy most is to have the freedom of expression to create my own designs.” During the December holidays they were extremely busy, with Quintin focusing on tattoos while Ilisza, abandoning her cooking utensils for now, handled all the piercings. Both are adamant that they consider medical protocols absolutely essential in their work and apart from taking every precaution in terms of the sterilisation of their instruments, they also have a medical waste certificate,
A tattoo can be completed in as short a time as an hour or two, or it might take up to two days. While pain levels are always a concern for potential clients, Quinton explains that tattooing is done into the skin, not through it, which means there is no bleeding. Discomfort, rather than pain is what most people seem to experience and the healing and settling process takes between three and six weeks. If a client has scars or any chronic medical condition, like porphyria or a skin disease, a letter from their doctor is required. Quotes for clients are determined by the size and complexity of the procedure. Believe it or not, these days in the Western Cape you can even apply for a loan from a financial institution for a tattoo, so if it has always been your ambition to have a dragon crawling up your spine, cost is no excuse. Further information about Quintin and Ilisza’s tattoo studio is available on the Tattoo Elite Facebook page. They can be contacted on tattooelitestudio@gmail.com or 071 223 9485.
