Arjun Rane opened Ironhand Tattoo Co. in 2012 with one chair, one machine and a lease he could barely afford. Twelve years on there are two studios and six resident artists. We sat him down between sessions.
How did Ironhand start?
"I had been tattooing for about ten years by then, mostly in other people's shops. I wanted a place where nobody was rushed, where an artist could say no to a bad idea without the owner shouting about rent. The first room was above a bakery on Chapel Road. Everything smelled of bread and green soap."
Where does the name come from?
"My first mentor used to say you need an iron hand and a soft eye. A steady hand to put the line in once, and enough judgement to know where it should go. I liked that the name was about the craft and not about me."
You still draw everything by hand.
"On paper first, always. I use a tablet to resize and to try placements on a photo of the client, because that saves everyone time. But a line drawn with a pencil has a wobble and a weight that I cannot fake. Lettering especially. A font is somebody else's handwriting."
What has changed in Mumbai tattooing since 2012?
"Clients know much more. They arrive with a style in mind and they have followed artists for years. They also ask about hygiene, which nobody did before. That is a very good thing. I would like every client to ask to see needles opened in front of them."
What do you turn down?
"Copies of another artist's custom work. Names of partners, unless you have been married a while, and even then I will ask twice. Tiny script that will be a smudge in five years. And anything on someone who has clearly been drinking. None of that is about being difficult. It is about not wanting to see you back here for a cover-up."
What do you look for when you hire an artist?
"Drawings, before tattoos. Then how they speak to a nervous client. You can teach someone to pack black. You cannot easily teach them to be kind at hour five of a rib piece."
And the next twelve years?
"Fewer, larger pieces for me. More guest artists at Lower Parel. And an apprenticeship, done properly, for someone from this city who cannot afford to work for free. That one matters to me."