Featherston ink

Bringing the art of the tattoo at its finest to the Wairarapa, Mario Gregor sets up his studio, Inked by Mario in Featherston. By Erin Kavanagh-Hall. Photos by Sarah Watkins. 

Mario Gregor did his first ever tattoo at home in his kitchen. On his right arm, the ink fading over time to a dark green, the design merges the maps of New Zealand and Slovakia, his country of birth.

“It was a joining together of two cultures. I thought it was cool that Slovakia is a similar shape to the South Island,” he says.

Mario’s craft has come a long way since then. A professional tattooist since 2012, he has expanded his skills into hyper-realism: faces with almost every pore on display, birds with individual feathers outlined, light glistening on Tolkienesque armour, and pet portraits with hair you can practically reach out and touch.

In the decade since he picked up a tattoo kit, he has founded his own body art studios, gained sponsorship from major ink companies from Las Vegas, and has been invited to present at tattoo conventions worldwide – from New York to Taipei.

At home, he is best known for his renderings of native wildlife: iridescent blue tui, plump kokako, and piwakawaka with proudly flared tails, to name a few.

“The New Zealand birds my favourite. I’m not much of a skull person – although I usually do about one a year.”

 Mario and Kiwi partner Ceara settled in Featherston in 2018 having moved from Wellington, where he owned and managed The Gallery Custom Tattoo. In July, Mario opened his new tattoo shop, Konstantin Studio, on Fitzherbert Street. Right next door is Perpetua Studio, where Ceara sells her own range of eco-friendly fashion pieces. 

Like his first tattoo, the store names reflect Mario’s Slovak heritage: Konstantin and Perpetua were his maternal grandparents, he an engineer and she a weaver of handmade linens. Both names translate as “constant” and “everlasting” – appropriate, considering the immutability of tattoo ink. 

“I’ve always loved the fact that tattoos are irreversible – whether I’m tattooing myself or others, there’s a thrill which comes with putting permanent ink under the skin. It’s almost like you’re tainting someone – but in a good way, with something personal and beautiful. It can be stressful, as you know you’re causing pain – though some of my clients can sit for seven hours, without a single facial expression. The women are pretty tough – the guys are more vocal!”

Mario was born in the former Czechoslovakia under communist rule – where individuality and creativity were dangerous forces. “Tattoos were considered a sign of excess, of Western Imperialism. My Dad had a little tattoo on his arm, which he always kept hidden. I never would have considered tattooing as a career. Though I made my own punk fashion as a teenager.”

By the time he left school, the Soviet Union had collapsed – but he followed in his grandfather Konstantin’s footsteps and studied engineering.

Mario first visited the Bay of Plenty 2005 – and was back for good soon afterwards, settling in Tauranga where he worked as an engineer. In 2010, he did his first tattoos – and was hooked.

 “I printed off all these PDFs from old tattoo books from the 70s and 80s. I grabbed all the material I could find. Every day on my smoko break, I’d hide out in my van and draw.”

 He got his first job as a tattooist at Wellington’s Sinatra Tattoo Studio, specialising in watercolour tattooing, which brought in “a huge clientele”. In 2015, Mario opened The Gallery Custom Tattoo, where he perfected his signature hyper-real style through “constantly learning”.

 Overseas trips to tattoo conventions and seminars, particularly Asia sparked further inspiration. “Their tattooists have an intimate knowledge of the skin and muscle structure. Their artistry and understanding is amazing. Some of their line work looks like it’s growing out of the body.”

 COVID-19 has momentarily put a stop to overseas gigs.  Meanwhile Mario and Ceara are focusing on life in Featherston. 

 “We love it here – in Slovakia, I grew up in a small village of about 1000 people, so I feel right at home. We love having the space, being able to have a garden and grow veggies, and all the friendly people. It feels like we’ve always been here.” 

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