• Sign up to our NEWSLETTER
  • FEAST 1st Sunday of the month, 10am–4pm
Facebook-f Twitter Instagram Youtube
Search
Close
FEAST Logo header
  • What’s On!
  • Explore the Market
    • 100+ stalls over 4 sites
    • Artisans’ Market
    • Fresh ‘n’ Green
    • Food Fair
    • Village Green
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
    • Apply for a Stall
    • Apply for a Food Stall
    • Apply for a Community Stall
    • Apply for a Green Stall
    • Apply to Perform
    • Flyering at Feast
  • About
    • About
    • Partners
    • FAQs
    • Commercial Rentals
    • The Feast Story
    • Feast in the press
  • Shop Local
  • Insider’s Guide
  • Contact
Menu
  • What’s On!
  • Explore the Market
    • 100+ stalls over 4 sites
    • Artisans’ Market
    • Fresh ‘n’ Green
    • Food Fair
    • Village Green
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
    • Apply for a Stall
    • Apply for a Food Stall
    • Apply for a Community Stall
    • Apply for a Green Stall
    • Apply to Perform
    • Flyering at Feast
  • About
    • About
    • Partners
    • FAQs
    • Commercial Rentals
    • The Feast Story
    • Feast in the press
  • Shop Local
  • Insider’s Guide
  • Contact

Insider’s Guide to… Studio Trap

Presenting… Studio Trap, West Norwood’s very own tattoo parlour, just off Norwood Road on Chatsworth Way. The shop frontage is eye-catching with a tall billboard of Marilyn Monroe, tattooed.

img_3107

If your idea of a tattoo parlour is a seedy, dark room, think again. Owner Donnie has worked hard to create a bright, inviting space, including newly laid wooden floors and whitewashed walls. Standing on the pavement, you can see through to a light, uncluttered reception area. It is more like entering a hairdressers, albeit with a high concentration of tattooed people inside. The main visual clues to the service being offered here… a line of brightly coloured inks and reclining chairs. So this is the place where people come to get inked. Or pierced.

img_3075

Donnie sat opposite our intrepid FEAST reporter and grinned. Our first question had to be “How did you get into this line of work?” He recounted how from an early age he was into drawing, has an artistic background, and has exhibited. In his thirties, he got his first tattoo from a home-based tattooist in Streatham. He recalls, “I came away thinking I could do this”. So he started practising at home, on himself, on friends – until he was ready to open a business. His self tattoos are like line drawings – simple but striking. Initially, Studio Trap was based on Knights Hill in the basement of Fashion Clicks. It moved to the current street-level premises on Chatsworth Way a couple of years ago. Now Donnie has a team of freelance tattoo artists, each with their own area of expertise. He points at Marek, “He likes realism and working in black and grey”. Donnie explains that the needles have varying thicknesses, such as fine ones for detail, and then there are the batches of 14 plus needles that are used for shading. He muses, “You always remember your tattoo artist.”

img_3080

Customers include regulars, but mainly are recommendations. People even travel from outside London, having seen Studio Trap work via social media. This is where Donnie’s digital marketing seems to have paid off. The website has a small gallery of tattoos, but on Instagram Studio Trap boasts over 16,000 followers. In fact, business must be good, because Donnie has recently opened a second shop, Tatu Society in Tower Bridge Road, and is training apprentices.

img_3087

And what do people come for… well anything really, ranging from star trek logos to detailed pieces like the head of a native American chief. And the longest amount of time Donnie has taken on a tattoo – 20 hours on a full sleeve (‘whole arm’ to the uninitiated). Not in one sitting! The most surprising request – a 72-year-old who wanted a Kama Sutra tattoo on her calf.

img_3104

Tempted? They sell gift vouchers…

img_3074

Studiotrap
2 Chatsworth Way
SE27 9DL
http://www.studiotrap.com

Mon to Fri 11 to 8pm
Sat & Sun 12 to 6pm

Share
PrevPreviousHoliday Feast, Sunday 7 August!
NextInsider’s Guide to… Maddison’sNext
A free searchable local directory of West Norwood and Tulse Hill based businesses
FIND OUT MORE!
  • LOOKING FOR A LOCAL JOB?
    HAVE A LOCAL JOB TO ADVERTISE?
FIND OUT MORE!
RSS Latest Local Jobs
  • Tulse Hill barbers
  • Tax Time
  • JL E-scooter repair
  • Centre 70
  • Reaching Solutions Psychotherapy, Counselling & Training (RSPCT)
  • Super Pizza
  • Robert Atherton Design
  • Arriva London – Norwood Bus Garage
  • Something Sweet Cakes
  • Westwood Health

First Sunday of the month, Apr–Dec

2022 © All rights reserved West Norwood Feast
Designed and built by Park Studio

  • Apply for a Stall
  • Apply for a Food Stall
  • Volunteer
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

Follow Us

Facebook Twitter Instagram