CREEPY dolls. Steampunk paraphernalia. Gramophones. And morbid sculptures.
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Is it any wonder locals have been doing a double take as they pass the new Tattoo Curiosities shop in Wangi Wangi?
Owner and tattoo artist Gillian Kemp laughs and insists her new venture is actually family friendly (there is an activity area where children can play while mum and dad shop).
And more and more locals are popping in to take a look around, and to say hello, rather than pass by.
"The locals have been amazing," Ms Kemp said.
"I can't express how supportive people have been of me and my new business. I think I know everybody in the town by name already."
Starting a business always involves a leap of faith. And for Ms Kemp and her family, the run up for their leap started in outback Australia.
But they're rapt to have landed in Wangi Wangi.
Gillian, husband Michael, and son Oscar, 6, sold their Central Coast home in 2018 and spent a year travelling around the country.
They took in places including Darwin, Broome, Kununurra, Karratha, Perth, Adelaide and Mildura. And all of the tiny outback communities in between.
In other news:
"I was tattooing on the road, around Australia," Ms Kemp said.
"I tattooed in reputable studios and learned an incredible lot. Tattooists can work pretty much anywhere. You can do guest spots.
"Once you're a fully qualified tattooist you are an independent artist and you can travel the world [working]," she said.
Ms Kemp had already been tattooing for 11 years when she embarked on her trip, but she said the lessons learned during that year on the road were supercharged.
She admits that some of the people and situations that she encountered in the outback were both confronting "and hilarious".
Now, she figures she's pretty much seen and heard it all. And she loved most of it.
So much so, that she and husband Michael collected bits of it to bring home.
"We collect antiques and weird things, and we collected a lot of the curiosities that you see here in the shop while we were on the road," she said.
The couple picked up items from abandoned storage containers and garage sales.
She defined curiosities as "anything with skeletons, the morbid and obscure, and eclectic collectibles through history".
The thing she overhears people saying the most in the shop is: "I can't believe this is in Wangi".
Ms Kemp said she was delighted to have found Wangi Wangi and its "adorable school" and kind community, and felt it was the ideal spot for her shop.
"Twelve years ago, it would have been impossible in Australia for a single female without a company or support to own her own studio," she said.
All the while she was guest spotting in tattoo shops in towns around Australia, Ms Kemp was dreaming of one day opening her own place. Making mental notes of what she would do, and what she wouldn't do, if she ever opened her own studio.
"I've learned that customer service is huge. A lot of shops have lost that because they've become absorbed with their own talent and art," she said.
By customer service, she means displaying "kindness, patience, understanding and empathy to customers", and being "family friendly and community focussed".
Having worked in so many communities around Australia, it's no surprise to learn that Ms Kemp is a versatile tattoo artist.
"I enjoy doing all styles," she said.
"Everything from realism and neo-traditionalism to grey wash (skulls and roses).
"And I specialise in cover-ups."
That's not removing a tattoo, but tweaking or adding to it, to change or improve it.
"It's a bit like playing Mr Squiggle. You get shown a load of rubbish and you get to turn it into something," she smiled.
Sometimes, customers will have an original or very personal artwork in mind. And other times, they request a common image.
"The infinity symbol is what I get asked to do the most," she said.
"It's just incredibly popular. I would have done more than 200 infinity symbols for people."
There are times, however, when Ms Kemp has to call on all of her diplomacy skills to convince a customer to abandon their tattoo idea and downsize.
"Sometimes people will ask for a whole paragraph from a book," she said.
"I try to get them to symbolise what that message is, or maybe reduce it to one line and an image. And they do."
Tattoo Curiosities will have its grand opening at 10am on Saturday, March 7.
Member for Lake Macquarie, Greg Piper, will cut the ribbon, and there will be free face painting for kids (Ms Kemp previously worked as a children's entertainer twisting balloons and painting faces), and specials for the grown ups.
The shop is at 2/232 Watkins Road, Wangi Wangi, opposite the library.