NAKOA News

Many people recognize motifs of contemporary Polynesian tattoos that are frequently used.  The bird (manu), for example, or the shark’s teeth (niho mano).  But in addition to the general interpretations of a motif, an artist can give it specific meanings when they compose a design. Here’s what Hawaiian tattoo artist Megan...

Since the stunning revival of Polynesian tattooing, many clients of tattoo artists, and even some artists themselves, call the style “tribal”.  However, that is quite wrong.   Pacific Islanders did not live as tribes, and their tattoos had nothing to do with a tribal spirit.  Indeed, the word tribal can come...

It all started with Derek. We met him on a drive up Haleakalā and on one of the stops he took his shirt off. Derek is in amazing shape, but what made him look downright regal were the Polynesian tattoos on his chest, lower back, shoulder and arms that had...

  You already know how we became obsessed by the idea to create leather gear with the fierce beauty and real meaning of “tribal tattoos”. (Read about it in A Labor of Love) But turning this idea into reality was harder than we ever imagined. Challenge 1:  The fake and...