Meet Nikole Lowe: Large-Scale Japanese Work and Over 30 Years Tattooing
If you've spent any time researching tattoo studios in London, the name Nikole Lowe has probably crossed your path. As the founder of Good Times Tattoo and one of the most recognisable artists to come out of the UK tattoo scene, Nikole has spent more than three decades building a reputation for bold, large-scale Japanese work and a painter's eye for detail. Here's a closer look at the artist behind the studio.
From New Zealand to the London Tattoo Scene
Nikole's journey into tattooing started a world away from East London. She picked up her first machine in 1991 at a small studio in Auckland, New Zealand, at a time when the craft looked very different to the industry we know today. What began as an apprenticeship grew into a deep, lifelong study of Japanese and Chinese painting traditions, styles that still anchor her work to this day.
Her move to London and rising profile as a tattoo artist eventually led to an appearance on London Ink, the Discovery Real Time series that introduced UK audiences to the artists shaping the city's tattoo culture. The show gave Nikole a platform, but it was her command of large-scale Japanese tattooing, body suits, back pieces, and sleeves built around dragons, koi, peonies, and tigers that turned that visibility into lasting authority in the industry.
A Style Rooted in Painting, Not Just Tattooing
What sets Nikole's work apart is the painter's sensibility she brings to every piece. Her Japanese tattoos draw on traditional iconography and composition, while her interest in Chinese watercolour painting and Tibetan and Indian art has shaped a style that feels illustrative as much as it does inked. Large-scale work in particular plays to her strengths: bodysuits and back pieces give her room to build the kind of flowing, narrative compositions she's best known for, where each element (the clouds, the water, the florals) is placed to follow and complement the shape of the body underneath.
Founding Good Times Tattoo
In 2009, Nikole opened Good Times Tattoo, first in Shoreditch and now based in Hackney Central. The studio was built around a simple idea: tattoo culture didn't need to feel intimidating to be taken seriously. Nikole wanted a bright, welcoming space, particularly for people getting tattooed for the first time, without losing any of the technical standards that serious collectors expect. That balance has shaped Good Times ever since, growing into a studio that brings together artists across Japanese, ornamental, realism, and traditional styles under one roof.
Three Decades In, Still Tattooing
More than 30 years after she started, Nikole continues to tattoo at Good Times, working primarily on large-scale Japanese, floral, and Chinese watercolour-inspired pieces. Over the years, her client list has included names like Adam Ant, Tom Hardy and Daniel Johns of Silverchair, but it's her consistency, decades of refining the same painterly approach, that has made her one of London's most established tattoo artists.
If you're considering a large-scale Japanese piece and searching for "Nikole Lowe tattoo London," her availability and current style portfolio are listed on the Good Times Tattoo website. Booking ahead is recommended, as her larger projects are typically scheduled across multiple sessions.
