Tattooish

Designer Nadja Arnaaraq Kreutzmann

The Tattooish collection consist of three symbols that are often seen in the Inuit markings:

Qulleq - Lamp

The soap stone lamp is an essential tool throughout the Arctic. It represents survival and the good life in terms of heat, light, and the ability to cook food. It is an important symbol for survival in the Arctic.

Tuukkat - Tip of the harpoon

The vital tool for hunting in the Arctic. Women would have the Y-shape marking the support to the men’s hunts symbolizing her co-responsibility and the importance of standing together in Inuit community and survival.

Ivaluit - Sinew

The amulet or charm of sowing. An essential part of Inuit life for sowing traditional tents, kayaks and umiaqs (women’s boats). If they were not sown tightly it could mean life or death. Ivalu is a girl’s name in today’s Greenland.

“Tattooish is my contribution to strengthen the ties between Greenland and Denmark while at the same time celebrating Inuit identity and culture. And I wanted it to be a “democratic” jewellery for everybody to wear”

respecting the culture

Tattooish

The inuit tattoo jewelry collection is inspired by the old traditional inuit tattoos in Alaska, Canada and Greenland.

Tattooish

”The Tattooish collection of PanikPanik is made for all people with a connection or a love to the Arctic. The Tattooish collection is a reflection and a celebration of Inuit markings (tattoos) while at the same time being a universal aesthetic collection”.

These are the words of Nadja Arnaaraq Kreutzmann, the apprentice in Nicolai Appel Goldsmith and designer behind PanikPanik’s first collection Tattooish.

Nadja is a ‘product’ of the historical ties between Greenland and Denmark – a child of a Greenlandic father and a Danish mother. She is proud of being Greenlandic as well as Danish at one and the same time. She views jewelry as a bridge between Greenland and Denmark. 

In the Arctic there has recently been a revival of Inuit markings (tattoos). The markings are primarily made for people of Inuit heritage. There are also people with a strong connection to the Arctic, however not originating from the Arctic, who want to showcase their pride. Tattoish was made all people.

"I made the Tattooish collection thinking of my mother. She is a Dane but has strong ties to Greenland and our Greenlandic family. She cannot get an Inuit marking (and probably does not want to) but still wants to portray her love for Greenland". The Tattooish collection – and all collections in PanikPanik – aims at providing this opportunity.

The inspiration behind the Tattooish collection

Inuit Tattoo Traditions by Maya Sialuk Jacobsen

Read more about Inuit Tattoo Traditions