We are creating an NFT Tattoo marketplace to address three core problems:
- Tattoo artists do not have a free market for their designs
- Collectors are unable to secure designs from artists they follow
- Tattoo art is often copied and stolen
A quick explanation on how Rare Ink marketplace addresses these issues and will usher in a renaissance for tattoo artists, not only to receive fair value for their art but also as to be validated as artists.
On a recent Sunday afternoon I met with two tattoo artists to share ideas between tattoo sessions I had been attending in Barcelona. The artists were interested in breaking into the space and joining their digital artists peers in the NFT revolution. While explaining the current landscape of NFT marketplaces and their limitation it dawned upon us that tattoo design was being overlooked as the perfect use case for NFTs.
Much like digital art pre-blockchain, tattoo artists are only able to post designs on Instagram in return for likes and potential bookings. The value of the tattoo design and its artistic merit are currently not taken into account despite the community of tattoo collectors growing into a huge global audience. When clients send requests tattoo artists, they reserve time on a first come, first served basis and agree on a fixed fee usually based on the labor time of putting the tattoo onto the body, not the artistic merit of the design itself. Rare Ink allows artists to create a digital token (NFT) that represents their work, which is listed on a marketplace for collectors compete in an auction. We believe this change in pricing structure will unlock value for artists which the current market is not efficient enough to capture.
Tattoo collectors on the other side of the coin are frustrated with the inability to collect designs from artists they follow. To secure a tattoo design posted on Instagram requires sending a DM into an inbox flooded with requests and rarely will achieve the desired result. Rare Ink enables a marketplace for tattoo designs that allows for collectors to directly bid on designs they like and should they win, reserve the exclusive right of transfer of the works to their skin.
Tattoo artists are also reluctant to share their most original designs on social media as their is a large risk of being plagiarized. For this reason tattoo artists often keep their designs in flash books to preview collectors in person and their best works remain hidden from the world. Rare Ink creates a trail of provenance for tattoo designs, once a tattoo design is listed on the marketplace its the equivalent of a copyright. The record of the design and its creator is stored forever on the Ethereum blockchain for reference. Whilst this simple registry is not able to eliminate people from stealing tattoos, it creates a clear path of provenance which allows creators and collectors to verify the legitimacy of a design with ease.
In the next blog posts I will go further into how the marketplace works and the long term vision for Rare Ink.
Instagram: @rareink.co
Twitter: @rareink1
