Nanda designed the Kitsune shirt for The Tattoo Closet. How did she come up with the idea? “I love drawing female portraits, that’s my favorite thing to do. On top of that, I find Japanese culture very inspiring. So I thought it would be fun to create something with that in mind.” She simply started working on this design. First, she looked for reference photos. “And this is the result!”

“I tried to create something that I would genuinely like to wear myself. It’s surreal and amazing that people trust me enough to get tattooed by me. Now, collaborating with BlackBear Ink to create something people can wear in a different way is such a cool change of pace.”

Nanda’s Style

Nanda loves details, but also darker designs. “I describe my style as a mix of fineline and blackwork. I love details, but I also like things to be a bit dark. That’s why I enjoy drawing female subjects, but always with a dark twist!” She also draws inspiration from other artists, especially from the Renaissance era and traditional Japanese art.

Nanda is one of our resident tattoo artists in Eindhoven and now one of the designers of our t-shirts. Before pursuing this, she completed her studies in visual communication with a focus on illustration in Maastricht—the place where she learned to tell stories through illustrations.

“Telling stories through illustrations wasn’t something I had thought about before. For me, aesthetics have always been the top priority. But as a tattoo artist, you often get requests from clients who want to incorporate a feeling or memory into the design. My knowledge of visual communication really comes in handy now!”

From Illustrating to Tattooing

Nanda has always been interested in illustrating and was pretty certain that she wanted to pursue it in some way. “I also knew that ‘something’ was going to be tattooing. To the great dismay of my dear mother, I’ve always had a fondness for alternative music and fashion. The famous emo phase didn’t pass me by either.” Tattoos were also very popular in that scene. “I’ve always found that super cool.”

She took the first real steps toward becoming a full-fledged tattoo artist at a shop in Venlo! However, she paused for a while to focus on her studies. The perfect moment to start an apprenticeship came when Nanda had to do an internship during her final year. She did this at a tattoo shop in Heerle.

You can pre-order Nanda’s shirt via the webshop. Want to see more of her work? Check out her Instagram @nandakleinstra or book a tattoo appointment through the booking form.