With only minimal damage from the Kona low storms, 13 Moons Tattoo in Pā’ia is officially open for business.
The shop is the brainchild of a Maui-raised artist who grew up in the spotlight. Many may know Angel Rose from her appearances on three seasons of the hit reality competition show "Ink Master" — she shared the top prize in the 13th season.
After the pandemic, she decided to move back home and build a pipeline for young talent, one she wishes had been available to her.
HPR spoke with Rose about her hopes for the new shop and her own winding path to tattooing.
Interview Highlights
On her origins as a tattoo artist
ANGEL ROSE: I wanted to direct films, which is kind of a pipe dream. You know, I knew that I could get it done. It was just a matter of like, in the meantime, I'm going to need some kind of financial stability. And I thought, maybe I can do tattoos on the side. So I, you know, submitted my portfolio to this artist, and they immediately were like, ‘We want you, get in here,’ basically. And I got there, and they were like, oh, tattooing is not a side gig. My mentor literally said to me, ‘I will not apprentice anyone who doesn't want to be the best tattoo artist in the world.’ And that sort of put it all into perspective for me, and also just awakened a fire in me. I was like, Well, this is the coolest thing ever.
On her return to Maui
ROSE: I realized as I was like, you know, getting 6, 8, 10 years in, I was like, I'm so homesick. I don't feel like I belong anywhere else that I've lived. … I felt like Maui is the one community that raised me, that turned me into who I am. And now more than ever, I felt so connected to it. And so, like, my purpose was renewed. I need to get back home. I need to return with the elixir, and I need to do amazing things there. Because just, you know, I can, you know, all of my giving back and everything is all good, but it felt like, yeah, Maui is the place that that raised me, and that's where I want to be.
On starting a tattoo business in her hometown
ROSE: I wanted to have a shop here where I could, you know, bring my connections in the tattoo world from the mainland, you know, home, to help enrich the community here. … I would love for Hawaiʻi to be recognized as a staple in the tattoo community. I mean, I think to some extent it is. You know, there's obviously our ancestral culture here. Obviously tattoos are a huge deal. Hawaiʻi has some of the oldest tattoo shops in the U.S., because of the sailors. But I, more than anything, want modern tattooing to be accessible here for the incredible artists that are coming out of my hometown, you know. I don't want them to have to fly to the mainland to have the same experiences that I've had, you know, in the same community that I've had. I don't want them to have to move away for 10 years to get a part of that. I want our homegrown artists to have resources and connections within our own community.
13 Moons Tattoo in Pāʻia is now open for bookings and walk-ins. More information can be found at their website 13moonstattoo.com.
This story aired on The Conversation on March 17, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
