Tattoo artists collaboration: 47Ronin x Eric Artistica
This time, 47Ronin has a very interesting collaboration with a Singaporean tattoo artist: Eric Artistica! I am always keen to have interesting collaborations with fellow artists who create beautiful art with their hands.
Eric standing in the 5-foot-way outside his studio at Dunlop Street.
Through an introduction by one of our watch partners @jevorisofficial, I get to know Eric, who started his tattoo artist career in 2006, and is running his own tattoo studio since 2015 at a shophouse along Dunlop Street, an interesting area near Little India.
To be honest, I have ZERO tattoo on myself, but I have always been very fascinated by tattoo, the designs, the graphics, the colours, and the whole culture by itself. Being Japanese influenced, I was also amused by the Japanese style tattoo of the Yakuza culture.
I have always been very fond of Japanese illustrations like the dragon, the Koi fish, the tiger, etc, and painting them on the human skin like an artist's canvas brings it to another level altogether.
You may have heard that foreign tourists visiting Japan with tattoo are rejected from entering Onsen hot spring, but on the other hand, I have also heard that there are special bathhouse or Onsen that serves the Yakuza with tattoo as well.
When I visited Eric's tattoo studio for the first time, I could immediately feel the vibe of the tattoo culture. Located on the second floor of a shophouse, on top of a Japanese izakaya, it is a little space where people come to visit and leave with a satisfying handcrafted art piece somewhere on their bodies.
Although I was a little shy to fix my eyes on how the ink makes their way into the skin, I was delighted by the many decorative toys, figurings, illustrations in frames, little gadgets, small aquariums, etc that have decorated the whole space with character and style.
Coming back to business, Eric has a Seiko SPC185P1 15th anniversary limited edition, and we decided to custom design and craft a watch strap for this watch.
Something about the watch:
15th Anniversary Limited Edition Seiko with only 3900 pieces produced
Water resistance 100m
Diameter : 44mm.
Case : Black PVD Stainless Steel Case with Black PVD Bracelet
Bezel : Stainless steel with Tachymeter
Dial : Black / Red dial with Luminous hands & index.
Chronograph Function: 60 minutes chronograph stopwatch function, and 24hour Indicator
Buckle : Three-fold clasp with push button release
Date : Big Date window at 12 o'clock position.
Glass : Sapphire crystal glass
When considering the watch strap design, I have decided to use a piece of cinnamon brown calf leather, in order to break away from its original black coloured theme.
Eric is sharing a piece of illustration given by another Italian tattoo artist at one of the conventions last year.
This piece of leather is rather soft which provides much comfort to the user. It would be especially so when Eric needs flexibility and comfort at this wrists as he works on his tattoo art for his customers.
To match the red elements on the watch dial, I used a 0.55mm nylon red thread for the stitching, with double loops wrapping the edge of the strap near the lug area to give it extra strength, and a sprinkle of handcrafted-ness.
The piece of Kimono fabric inlay chosen is weaved with Wagara (和柄）Japanese traditional pattern, called Seigaiha （青海波）which means Wave crest. This design is made of rows of ocean waves forming a fan-shaped pattern. It symbolises the desire for continued peaceful living, like the tranquil waves.
In order to compliment the golden element of the Kimono fabric, the strap is matched with a golden stainless steel pre-v buckle, 22mm.
Usually, the design and crafting process of a 47Ronin watch strap would have ended here, but for this time, That is not all!
Finally, a skull illustration designed by Eric is then added to the tip of the strap by laser engraving, to complete this piece of collaborative work.
About the watch strap:
Materials & design:
- Soft Cinnamon brown calf leather
- 0.55mm nylon red stitching (hand-stitched)
- Kimono fabric with Seigaiha Wave crest Japanese pattern
- Golden stainless steel pre-v buckle
- Skull illustration laser engraved
- Quick release spring bar
Measurements:
- Length: 125/75mm
- Lug: 22mm
- Buckle: 22mm
About Eric Artistica:
Started tattooing since year 2006, Eric Artistica specialises in Blackngrey and Blackwork tattoos. He also enjoys customising unique designs for his clients.
IG: @eric_artistica
74A Dunlop St, Singapore 209402
For enquiry and appointment contact
eric.artistica@gmail.com
+65 82222604
Order this watch strap at:
47Ronin#231 Cinnamon brown calf leather (22mm, Red stitching)
* Contact us for customised lug width, length, and thickness (Whatsapp +65 86567631, hi@47ronin.co)
47Ronin 浪人 Watch Straps are designed & handcrafted piece by piece with exotic materials from various part of Japan, such as leather, Kimono fabric, Japanese print, and interesting materials.
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