Goods And Services: Blanc Space Tattoo Studio
Photos by Jackson Jones. Illustration by Em Reid.
The South Coast of NSW is home to many brilliant things - none any less than Em Reid of Blanc Space Tattoo Studio.
Em has got to be up there with one of Australia’s best fine-line tattooists despite basing herself out of a fairly remote but undeniably beautiful part of the East Coast. Having set up her studio originally in Ulladulla, Em’s popularity grew and so did her need for more space with six other artists coming on board alongside Tito and making the move up the road to Milton. Now home to eight brilliant tattooists and conveniently right next door to Bar Yuki, Blanc Space is immediately one of the most warm and refreshing tattoo joints - a ode to Em, her talent and vision of making everyone feel welcome to get tattooed. She’s equally a boss bitch as she is one of the nicest people on the planet, and having personally wanted a tattoo from her since forever, it was a pleasure to spend the day getting to know Em and the Blanc Space team.
GOODS AND SERVICES?
Tattoos, piercings, beers in the fridge, vibes
LOCAL LUNCH PICK?
IGA chicken express
HOW LONG YOU BEEN HERE?
Long enough to claim local status (laughs). I started out as an apprentice in Ulladulla at a shop called Sinking Ship. As the name forebode that studio ended up shutting down and I took over and rebranded as Blanc Space. I kept the studio in Ulladulla for five years and two years ago I stepped it up a notch and moved the studio to Milton. Since moving to Milton the studio really started to pop off, we gained six super talented artists and ended up needing to open a second studio.
HOW MANY TATTOOISTS OPERATE OUT OF BLANC SPACE?
Eight tattooists, one apprentice, one piecer and two desk bitches
DO YOU PREFER TALKING WHEN YOU DO TATTOO?
I think I just naturally do that. I’m a bit of a chatter
MOST ANNOYING CUSTOMER QUESTION?
Do you do real art?
HAS ANYONE EVER SPILLED TOO MUCH INFORMATION?
So many people do that when they are nervous. Even from when they walk in straight away. I had one guy that was getting the number 13 on his neck. When I asked him the significance of the number he confessed it was his body hit count and the 13th person was his dad. I love the rogue stories, they are half the fun of the job
HOLY FUCK. NEXT ONE WAS SPOSE TO BE CRAZIEST STORY YOU’VE HEARD WHEN YOU’VE TATTOOED SOMEONE BUT I THINK THAT’S IT?
I think another crazy thing is how many women feel like they can’t get a tattoo because oftheir partner. They email us going ‘my partner would kill me if I got a tattoo so I only can get something really small but I still really want one.’ The amount of cancellations we’ve had because a woman’s partner said they weren’t allowed to get one come the day is really sad but it happens a lot.
FURTHEREST SOMEONE HAS TRAVELLED FOR A TATTOO?
We have had people from QLD and WA which is wild to think about. I think a couple of people from overseas. I always feel the pressure to put on a performance if you can even do that as a tattooist (laughs) when people say they’ve travelled a long way.
LOOK AND FEEL OF THE STORE IN THREE WORDS?
Light, fresh and friendly
PETS OR MASCOTS?
We used to have a dog at the front of the shop but then another tattoo shop called the council on us and said there was all this dog shit on the floor while we were tattooing, which is obviously not true but then we had a target on us so we decided to leave Erv the groodle at home. That sucked
ANYONE NOT ALLOWED IN THE STORE?
Nah. Everyone is welcome here
BEST LOCAL WATERING HOLE?
MOST FAMOUS PERSON YOU’VE TATTOOED?
The owner of Hayden’s Pies
OLDEST PERSON YOU’VE TATTOOED?
Maybe someone in their 80s’? I love to see it but imagine drawing with something sharp on tissue paper. That’s what it’s like. They always love the purple stencil though (laughs) and ask if they can do the tattoo in that colour instead
HAVE YOU EVER DENIED SOMEONE A TATTOO BECAUSE IT WAS SO SHIT?
Never, we love the shit tattoos the most. One guy came in last week and wanted to get ‘go suck cocks’ and everyone was like ‘shot gun!’
WHAT’S THE NUMBER ONE DON’T OF TATTOOING?
Calling a tattoo machine a gun
WHO’S ON THE TUNES?
Mostly Han (shop manager) is trying to take over the speakers and play her wedding playlist, the Blue Crush soundtrack or 24/7 Placebo. She also changes the music about 30 seconds into the song, resulting in someone else taking over
THE WORST PLACE TO TATTOO ON THE BODY?
Arm pits are pretty terrible
WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO IN MILTON?
Get on the piss and eat great food
WHAT ELSE SHOULD WE KNOW?
Flash May 2024 - it’s our biggest annual event where both residential and guest artists do flash tats on walk-ins only for the entire month of May.
Visit Blanc Space Tattoo To Book Your Next Tattoo
Open Mon-Sat 10am-5pm
Unit 5/23 Wason St, Milton NSW 2538