Tattoo talk - Miguel Cartes

Miguel was the first tattoo artist Electric Linda partnered with when we opened Masterpiece in March 2023. He had actually decided to put tattooing on hold and pursue other paths, but luckily we managed to bring one of Norway's most versatile and skilled tattoo artists onto our team. Miguel has had a long journey in the tattoo game in Oslo, and although there were parts we simply had to omit from the interview, you'll get a juicy insight into the journey of a young tattooing talent up to today here. Crack open a beer or brew a coffee and join us on a visit to our dear Miguel Cartes.

Do you remember what prompted you to step into the world of tattooing and start your journey to becoming, in my eyes, one of Norway's most versatile tattoo artists?
Yes, when I started tattooing, the Norwegian tattoo scene wasn't the same as it is today. It was either controlled by gangs or the motorcycle community, and there were far fewer people with tattoos compared to now. It was mainly stereotypes who had tattoos. So for me, it was a completely different world than what everyone around me wanted me to do. Finish school, and follow the usual path. You know, all that.

All that stuff, huh... Alright, so where did it all begin?
What got me to take the first step was a guy named Shaggy. We were a small gang of 16-17-year-olds who rented a studio/practice room at Hausmania. We each paid maybe 500 kroner a month, and there we did all sorts of things. Not just music, if you catch my drift, but it started with music before the guy who originally rented the studio returned from Ecuador.

He had somehow become a bit of a legend while he was away, and he was called "Shaggy". My buddies talked a lot about him and told me about all the stuff he was doing, including tattooing. I've always enjoyed drawing, ever since I was little, so tattooing immediately caught my interest.

So when "Shaggy" came back, he brought all his tattooing equipment to the studio. But when I saw how he set up the equipment and how he worked, I immediately realized that he couldn't draw FOR SHIT. He quickly saw that I could draw, so he asked if I wanted to earn some extra cash by drawing tattoos for him and taking on clients. That's how it started.

I took on the clients, listened to what they wanted, and then drew what they wanted. I sketched skulls and roses for my clients on transparent paper so they could see how things looked together. When they decided, I made a stencil of the drawing and set everything up for him while he tattooed.

That must have been kind of strange, right?
When I looked at him, I thought, "That's MY drawing, this is MY design." I saw how he pulled in cash and how satisfied the customers were. And then I realized that if he, who couldn't draw, could still tattoo so well, then I could do it too! So that was it, let's do it! I was 16 at the time.

So I went home to Argentina for a bit and got my first tattoo. And while he was tattooing me, I asked him about everything. When I came back, I was completely obsessed. All I could think about was starting to tattoo.

Okay, so how did it start then?
I met a buddy who told me they were tattooing at home, and I had no idea that was possible, you know? Don't you need a license or something? I didn't know where to buy equipment or anything, and certainly not that you could just buy it on eBay and go for it.

I told my girlfriend and her mom, so her mom lent me the money to buy the kit from eBay, which cost exactly 905 kroner. So I ordered the first kit from eBay and China, and they delivered everything. Gloves, Vaseline, four machines – everything came with that kit.

Haha! That's hardcore. Who was your first customer?
I just started on myself, and damn, it hurt. I had no idea which needles to use for what, you know? So there were blowouts and the whole package. I probably used round shaders where you're supposed to have thin lines, and vice versa...

Okay, can I see the ones you've made yourself?
I've made them all myself!

ALL OF THEM??
Haha, yeah, except for 1. And all when I was 16. It kind of became my Instagram, you know? We barely had cameras on our phones back then, so when people asked me what I had done, I just showed them this. That's how we got customers. It became my portfolio.

Haha! That's pretty wild. But I know you worked at Jean TV for a while, one of Oslo's most legendary skate shops. Tell me about how you made the leap from home tattooing to Jean TV, and how Jean TV decided to start a tattoo studio. I mean, I worked there for several years, but it was on the ground floor.
Shaggy got involved with a tattoo studio above the old Flava on Karl Johan and wanted me to join him there and continue as his designer, but that wasn't quite my thing, so I declined. Instead, I started working at Jean TV, which was across the street from Flava, and of course, Shaggy would come there all the time to buy clothes. Then he started pushing to open a tattoo shop inside Jean TV, and after a while, it happened. Shaggy opened his tattoo shop inside Jean TV, and as soon as he got settled there, it kind of became my first apprenticeship, and it seemed legitimate, so I said yes. It was inside the shop where I already worked, so for the first time, it felt like I could start doing what I wanted in a proper place.

So you finally got started with tattooing?
Not quite, I knew what my thing was and why Shaggy was so eager to get me over there, and it was still because he couldn't draw, right? I was like his designer. So I just continued with the drawing until I got tired of all the shady business. I never saw anyone paying with a card, let's put it that way, people paid with cash, and it was generally shady, and in the end, Shaggy got shot in the finger inside the shop, and then it was like; I love tattooing, but not THAT MUCH, you know? Not enough to get shot in the finger. All the cool people around me said the same thing: Tattooing is a cool hobby, but not a real job. You can't make a living off it, so I went another way.

Which way did you go?
I studied, trained as a formwork carpenter, and started an apprenticeship, but I couldn't stop tattooing, so I kept tattooing friends when I got home. And eventually, my friends started bringing in clients.

That sounds tough! Apprentice and tattoo artist at the same time?
That's what it became. It became way too tough. And not very well paid, so I quit as a carpenter and started at Meny Holmlia instead. It was decently paid and much chillier. It made it easier to fully commit as a tattoo artist, so I used half my salary to buy a proper tattoo machine from Ink Masters in Sweden and went for it.

Still at home in the living room?
Yes, but the first guy I tattooed with the new machine was a good friend of both me and Shaggy. And when Shaggy saw the tattoo I had made, he called me right away and invited me down to a new shop he had opened right by Rockefeller, called Del Barrio. Del Barrio looked legit, Shaggy had three young guys there who spoke Norwegian and were like me, and it was a place I could pay taxes, so to speak. So after a while, I quit my job and started working at Del Barrio.

But this couldn't have been very long before you started working as an apprentice for Linda, if I understand the timeline correctly?
No, there was a conflict between the owners at Del Barrio, so everyone ended up quitting, except for me and a guy named Polo, Polo was heading to Bergen and Leading Light, so then I was kind of left alone again.

Ok. Alone again in an abandoned studio with no steady income. That's tough. What did you do?
Polo had seen that Electric Linda's studio, Attitude, was looking for apprentices. So he helped me with the application and pushed me to apply, and the next day they called, and the same day I had a job. And it was because they had seen one of the tattoos I had done on one of the guys who was an apprentice there, Frank. My first realistic lion. They were impressed with that work, so I got the job on the spot, and I was stoked!

I understand! It's really cool that you and Linda have followed each other all the way to our new studio too. A proper success story if you ask me!
I had tattoo magazines with Electric Linda, and I knew about Attitude. I really looked up to her. I passed by several times and thought it was a shop I would never work at. They had trophies, you know. It seemed unattainable to me, and suddenly I was working there. So when I walked in there for the first time, I felt like the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Here comes a kid from the hood into a really cool studio, so when I was introduced to the whole gang, I was really star-struck. Then it was just a matter of setting up a sole proprietorship and going for it!

So it was just right into the shop and starting with tattooing?
No, they had a guest artist who would be there for two weeks, so they asked if I wanted to hang out from day one or come back in two weeks, but of course, I stayed in the shop to get to know people. So I hung out, drew, got coffee, I was a bitch bro. I came in at 9 in the morning and cleaned both floors with Frank. I worked my way up and did the job.

Do you remember when you transcended from the quality you had when you first started at a studio with high standards to where you are now? A particular tattoo you were nervous to do, but turned out better than feared, for example?
I have a tattoo I did of a guy pointing at his own chest and a lot of light coming from his finger. I was nervous to do that, and at that point, I hadn't even done anything close to it, but it went well, and then I realized I was ready to take the next step. It was probably the first tattoo Linda really praised me for, so it felt extra good!

Cool! Thanks for the chat, Miguel. You've had quite a journey, and we're very happy that journey led you here to us

Do you want to book a consultation with Miguel? CLICK HERE