WHEN the earthquake hit Christchurch on February 22 it shook tattooist Andrew Swarbrick to the core but didn't break his spirit.

The artist who is in town for this weekend's PTAA National Tattoo Convention told of the natural disaster that took the lives of some of his close friends and levelled his work place.

“I was at a tattoo show in Hamilton when I heard about the quake,” Mr Swarbrick said.

“I found out the studio had fallen over. It was awful trying to get in contact with people – you expected the worst, but hoped for the best.”

In the days after the tragic event, Mr Swarbrick assisted in getting food and aid goods into some of the area's poorest suburbs.

He said only around five of the more than 25 tattoo shops in Christchurch remained in their original place of business.

But business and life in the city is slowly on the mend.

“People struggle for a long time after an event like this. Even after the media coverage drops off the radar people are still living it,” he said.

“It's not like we're crying about it. We're knuckling down and getting back to it. We'll come back as a better, stronger, more viable city.”

“Coming to shows like this is really good because you get to escape the day-to-day of the recovery at home,” he said. “It's good because you get to see the people who have been sending emails, support and material supplies – like ink and equipment.”

The three day PTAA Tattoo Convention will take place at Twin Towns Services Club starting today.