Union Tattoo

Situated in the Upper Cuba district on the corner of Willis & Abel Smith Street is Union Tattoo, a custom tattoo and piercing parlour opened by Craigy Lee and his wife India. After spending years at a previous Tattoo studio on Cuba Street, the pair wanted to open a parlour to showcase their own style and ideas.

Housed in a stand-alone historic building, the space was previously a junk shop, a wedding dress store and a chemist, which the parlour subtly pays homage to. White walls, timber floor, barbers chairs and a selection of mismatched knick knacks, various lighting and a couple pieces of taxidermy (in the form of a goat and stag head, which originally came from Mighty Mighty) seem to all work together cohesively. Plus there’s always the electric filter brewing quality Coffee Supreme for caffeine kicks.

The crew cover a broad variety of tattoo styles, including fine line and delicate works, and like to liaise closely with clients through the design process to the on skin application. They also have guest artists residencies. There’s a strong customer base from their Cuba Street days and tailoring to walk ins, the space is very approachable, something that is not always common with tattoo parlours.