{"id":44402,"date":"2018-12-12T11:24:45","date_gmt":"2018-12-12T11:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=44402"},"modified":"2018-12-12T11:24:45","modified_gmt":"2018-12-12T11:24:45","slug":"cardiff-character-shaun-von-sleaze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/cardiff-character-shaun-von-sleaze","title":{"rendered":"Cardiff Character: Shaun von Sleaze"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Cardiff based tattoo artist from Keep The Faith, discusses the impact of Brexit on the tattoo industry<\/h2>\n
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Shaun upstairs at his workstation in Keep The Faith<\/p><\/div>\n

This passionate, friendly tattoo artist from Llanelli is bringing colour to the arcades.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shaun von Sleaze has been a tattoo artist for 11 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now at age 29 he is the director of tattoo shop <\/span>Keep The Faith<\/span><\/a> which also doubles as a barbers in Royal Arcade.<\/span><\/p>\n

Growing up in what he describes as a dying town, Shaun moved his work to Cardiff for the broader minded spectrum of people.<\/span><\/p>\n

After a long day, Shaun, wearing a beanie and a massive smile, with tattoos peeking out his collar and sleeves.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Starting young<\/b><\/p>\n

He got his first tattoo at 13 on holiday and now has around 22, some covering huge areas of skin.<\/span><\/p>\n

His career started at 18 when he undertook an apprenticeship while attending Swansea University. <\/span><\/p>\n

Shaun appeared shocked when he said his career spanned 11 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

But he got to where he is today through sheer hard graft.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It\u2019s such a cliche thing to say, but it is just hard work, I\u2019ve done seven days a week for the past eight years\u201d he explained.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The worst part of the job<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tattooing is not an easy job to do.<\/p>\n

“You can hit an artistic block, which sucks, I have to draw, I want to draw, but I can’t, that has a knock on effect on confidence and eventually it leads to a spiral.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“You can hit an artistic block, which sucks”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Shaun doing a face tattoo for a regular client (see video below)<\/p><\/div>\n

Working seven days a week, for Shaun, no day is the same, and it\u2019s because the days are constantly changing that he doesn\u2019t get bored.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Tattoo stigma<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shaun shared his thoughts on tattoo stigma in modern Wales. Evidently it\u2019s going to change, just quite slowly, people are wary of anything \u2018different\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of people out there with tattoos who aren\u2019t nice, but most of us are just people – with tattoos, I don\u2019t get it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of people out there with tattoos who aren\u2019t nice, but most of us are just people – with tattoos\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Whats new in the tattoo industry?<\/b><\/p>\n

People of all ages are now getting inked.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shaun recently tattooed a woman of 87 who wanted her first tattoo after the passing of her husband who disapproved of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tattoos in the workplace are becoming more accepted too. Shaun recently gave a hand tattoo to a woman who works high up in the government.<\/span><\/p>\n

Breaking the mould<\/b><\/p>\n

Shaun describes how Keep The Faith is fighting masculine stereotypes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want anyone walking in here to think it’s a boys club, that\u2019s why it\u2019s all painted white,” he says. <\/span><\/p>\n

Shaun said that none of the artists at Keep The Faith have a ‘macho man’ mindset.<\/span><\/p>\n

They make sure to play a mixture of music to be more inclusive for customers. Shaun laughed because Taylor Swift was playing in the background. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What does the future hold?<\/b><\/p>\n

When asked if Brexit will affect his business, Shaun said getting guest artists over and attending tattoo conventions abroad are going to become hell.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hoping to attend upcoming events in Sweden and Germany, Shaun says that getting visas for these in the future will possibly take extra time and money.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shaun noted an ink he uses, Electric Ink from Spain, will become more difficult to buy because he usually imports this.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prices will go up because products will have to be bought from UK distributors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shaun talked about the difficulties the shop will face as they are sponsored by a Dutch product and want to continue being so.<\/span><\/p>\n