Focus on Mo Coppoletta

Mo Coppoletta was born in Verona and moved to London at age 27 to open a tattoo parlour called The Family Business, in 2003. Tattoos and bartenders are an inseparable pair, and Mo has taken to designing labels and bottles for spirits, in addition to working for luxury brands like Rolls Royce and Montblanc.

First, why is it called the Family Business?

I thought it was cooler than calling it Mo’s tattoos, the shop was in the old Little Italy neighbourhood of London (Clerkenwell) and I wanted to add a little bit of spice, a name that sounded somewhat like a Scorsese movie, something that would stick in your mind. “The Family” are our team that are really like my relatives.

I heard you got your first tattoo because you were in a band and all the members had one.

I was 17 at the time, and it was a cool thing to do. I did it purely for that reason.

How did that first tattoo turn into a passion to be a tattoo artist?

It grew slowly and steadily, I started really getting into the art of the tattoo, I travelled the world and visited my favourite studios, I bought magazines from the States and books and studied a lot. I became a big fan of tattooing, and I kept bothering my friends until they finally insisted that I give tattooing a try myself. So little by little without knowing if much, I started drawing, studying and practicing.

You say you were not artistic as a kid and didn’t draw. Your designs are so detailed and technical, is your craft all self-taught or did you have a mentor?

No, I’m all self taught, because I knew if I wanted to create something different I would have to hone my drawing skills. I spent hours and hours drawing and developing my personal voice. It was a very long slow and gradual process.

What was your first breakout moment from doing tattoos to doing design?

A series of fabric designs for the Liberty department stores in London and a watch for Romain Jerome in Switzerland.

**You collaborated with Italicus to do a triptych of posters for their second anniversary. How did that collaboration come about?**

Giuseppe Gallo of Italicus contacted me and wanted to do something for the iconic Italian brand that embodies the real Italian spirit and everything connected to Italy, of Rosolio, of memories and traditions and romanticism. I wanted to create something that recalled the only advertising tools they had after WWII: graphic posters and billboards. I created three posters representing a visual journey through three areas of Italy: Venice, Florence and Calabria, where the bergamots are harvested. Now, although we don’t use posters in that way anymore, our team made them in a digital form so they can be advertised online and through social media.
Photo credit: Anna Michell

Your project for 58Gin included the design of the bottle as well as the label. Who approached you for this project?

The former owner of 58 Gin approached me 12 years ago to design their logo, which was applied onto a standard bottle. That brought a lot of luck to them because the company grew a lot, and then 10 years after he contacted me again to revamp the logo, and this time they wanted a new bottle. I said perfect, because I think the more “territory” you have to develop your idea, the more creative the project looks.

Tell me about the design process for 58 Gin.

Well first, I designed the bottle and then the label to go with that, and it took a long time because designing bottles are not as simple as that. You have to learn a lot about bottle design and production. Basically, I took my original idea and revamped it. I also had to talk to a lot of my connections in the bar world because the ergonomics was very important. It had to be a bottle that was easy to stock, held comfortably and be beautiful and we opted for an oval shape base so you can get a good grip or you can grab it from the neck. I also wanted something that would ooze classicism but in a modern way. It’s easy to become redundantly retro and dwell in the past. I want to reference the past but for the product to look modern and fresh. It wasn’t easy and it took a lot of steps to achieve the result, but we are pleased with the end result.

Some of your collaborations include high-end watches, leather tattooing for Montblanc and Rolls Royce, a kickass menu for Harry’s bar of London and fashion, like scarves and pocket squares for Turnbull & Asser. Is your work usually a collaboration with the client or do they give you free reign?

Well every collaboration has a completely different story. Normally they don’t come to me like you would go to a design agency but they come to me to get help in interpreting their DNA. I was lucky enough to land a series of projects that are completely different from one another with complexly different applications had to use my aesthetics in a completely different way, in different sizes, in 2D, in 3D . I suppose brands like the fact that I don’t just slap similar designs on everything; I try to decide “What is the purpose of the object” and “Who is the user of the product”. It runs the gamut from the menus I designed for Harry’s bar in London, kind of like a second home to me. They are hosting a retrospective exhibition of 35 of my works there, or scarves or upholstery, timepieces…

Everyone knows that mixologists love tattoos. Do you have a theory why?

They are like a kind of armour, just like in the middle ages, as a kind of shield. At the same time, it is a badge and shows your personality. Bartenders are showing their hands and arms and tattoos show a side of their personality while they are working in front of you. Then of course, rock stars had tattoos, and bartenders are rockstars too.

**You also do tattoo removal. What are the most common removals you are asked to do?**

The majority have been tattoos that people have done quickly at the spur of the moment and often we lighten them so we can tattoo colourful, beautiful and well thought out designs over them. We have a much wider choice of colours and designs now.
Photo credit: Anna Michell

You say you are greatly influenced by the Futurists style and the old Campari posters. Is there something from your past or your Italian heritage that sparked this interest?

I admire Depero who did a lot of posters for Campari in the 1930’s and I am a big fan of art of the 30s, 40s and 50s with the powerful, iconic images, and the fact that they were done by hand and by lithographers. All my work has a nod to the past but as I said, I don’t want to be blatantly retro, rather I try to interpret the romanticism of the past era in a modern way. Certainly, my Italian heritage helped a lot in forming these concepts.

Do you see more collaborations with drinks brands in the future? If so, can you share any news?

I am doing a collaboration as we speak; I am doing a branding of an Italian gin and another project with a friend of mine who bottles premium drinks and creates a lifestyle community around them with different products. They are well known and we the plan is to create some bar related bar objects to use at home.