What we do
Personal Unique Nordic Tattoos
We design practically all of our work directly on our clients.
“When I meet a client to start up a project it is often the first time we meet face to face. I will have a general idea, possibly some inspiration and concept sketches based on our email correspondence. Sometimes everything works as planned, and we get started with the drawing right away, and other times, we realise that the plan needs to change. Maybe the clients body dictates a re-think or we realise that we need to go in a different direction motif-wise.
I draw on the client with different colours of markers until I see the tattoo. This also means that even if I usually have a pretty good idea of where we’re going, neither me nor the client knows exactly where we’ll end, and what it will look like when the tattoo is finished. Often as I draw, stuff happens and sudden inspirations gets a say. It is very much a living process.”
“I am intensely grateful for the trust of our clients, that allows us to work in this way. Thank you so very much.”
– Uffe
We tattoo both with machine and by hand, sometimes a piece is made with a combination of the two methods.
“I love to work by hand it is a very different experience than working with machine, very calm and quiet and almost meditative. However, there is a speed and expression I can obtain with the machine that I can’t when I work by hand.”
– Uffe
Most of our work are large pieces that take many days to finish, and as the majority of our clients are from abroad it often happens that we work with the same person several days in a row.
Often three days. – Or in one exceptionel case NINE days in a row as shown in our film, (but this is extreme and not something we would normally recommend).
– We get to know each other. How often do you spend 24 hours in a row with anyone, sitting concentrated together, even your best friend?
Sometimes we’ve touched upon most fears, doubts, interests and secrets by the time we part.
Every sincere meeting is an opportunity for exchange and learning. It is really quite a special experience, one that we are very grateful to share with our clients.
Concerning Rune Work
Uffe has worked with the runes since 1998, and takes the magical aspect very seriously.
“The rune-magician Egill Skallagrimson once had to save a girl from dying because someone had carved incompetent runes for her. He then issued a warning:
Skalat maðr rúnar rísta,
nema ráa vel kunni,
flat verðr mörgum manni,
es of myrkvan staf villisk;
Shall not carve runes
Who don’t know them well
Woe for many awakens
From faring in dark stafs.
The runes are a physical condensation of the very word with which the creator god produces reality. So using these symbols is no trifle thing, let alone carving them in somebody’s skin to be there the rest of their lives. That is also the reason that I need the guidance and protection of my own fylgja in my work.
I use both bindrunes and singlestaf runes.
I used bindrunes on an amazing Native American client I had the honour of tattooing. He had spent twenty years working on re-establishing a wild population of buffalo in the US. Before him his father spent twenty years working on the same goal. When we met this was finally happening. The Bindrune I made for him was a blessing and protection on him the Buffalo-man and at the same time protecting the buffalo, and melting him together with the herd.”
– Uffe
“I associate the single staff runes or Galdrastafr very much with the threads of the Nornes (the fates) which defines a person’s destiny. This is obviously a very powerful way of relating to the runes, and I am very conscientious when working with them, I do feel that it can have an impact on peoples lives.
A client came to me and we made a very powerful Galdrastafr of forgiveness, but also of clarity and of love. My client needed this help as he was struggling with the burden of many lives he had taken, as a soldier. He wrote me a long and very exited letter some time later that he had been approached by Freya in dreams and felt her wave of forgiveness and love and she had pointed him towards his path in which he would help heal others.
Almost all of my rune work is created specifically for the client. I don’t mind using some of the existing Bind-runes and galdrstafr. For example both the vegvisir and the Aegishjalmur has become very popular in the last few years, (I think mostly thanks to Björk), but they are beautiful and meaningful. A few times I have said no to binding runes that people have brought, but usually we can change them a bit so they work better.”
– Uffe
