Opening Hours
Mon - Fri 11am - 6pmSaturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday - Closed
As a tattoo artist I get really pissed off with people who come in when we open (at 11am), give me that ‘You’re lucky, I start work at 4 in the morning’ look, and say ‘must be nice to start work this late! Half day is it?…’ Wankers! What they and all you others who think we just live a rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle (thanks LA Ink!), don’t realise is all the work we do before we open and after we shut.
A normal day starts with taking the kids to school for 8.15 (early enough and rock ‘n’ roll enough for you?), coming home and getting breakfast. Then aim to get to the shop by 9am-(ish). On goes the computer to answer all the emails, along with a double shot cappuccino. This is always hard work – ‘how much is a tattoo?’ being the benchmark! This can take up to an hour, sorting designs, quotes, appointments etc etc, binning the Viagra ads (got plenty at the moment ta). Then it’s checking the diary for the day ahead, making sure the designs are ready for each customer, calling customers who’s designs I’ve got drawn up, and checking that we have a few moments sometime during the day to eat lunch (quite rare most days). Then it’s inspecting the work stations for supplies, cleanliness etc, and another double shot cappuccino.
Once the doors are open at 11am, it’s heads down, non-stop tattooing all day, interspersed with giving quotes for tattoos, taking designs, answering the phone, answering customers questions ‘how much is a tattoo?’ - told you it’s the benchmark, ‘where’s the toilet?’ (a close second) and so on. At 6pm we stop (apart from Ben, who’s usually running late). Then it’s cleaning… everywhere. Vacuuming, mopping, bin emptying, etc etc, then cashing up, which usually involves chasing the guys who’ve inevitably forgotten something they’ve done, ‘cos it doesn’t add up.
If I’m lucky I can be home for 7pm, in time to have dinner with Mrs Sinner and the kids, maybe give them a bath (not Mrs Sinner, she can usually manage herself) read them a story or two and put them to bed (see it’s SO rock ‘n’ roll!).
Then it’s back to the computer, checking the days emails, editing and uploading photos for the website and writing this blog. Hopefully this won’t take long – then it’s out with the pencils and onto drawing up tattoo designs for customers – and believe me we have loads and loads of them to do. So if you’ve left us a design to draw up, my apologies… we’ll get it done as soon as we can! Normally I can’t draw past about midnight – my eyes start to hurt bad and I begin to dribble and nod off onto my art pad! Hopefully by then I’ve got a couple of drawings done for future tattoos.
At last it’s off to bed… then the alarm goes off… and it’s back to groundhog day again…
So, there you have it. Not rock ‘n’ roll. Not 9 till 5. Not fucking easy OK!
But after all is said and done, it’s brilliant and I wouldn’t swap it for anything.
Keep inking all you lovely Sinners!
WHY ARE THERE SO MANY WANNABEE’S?
Seems like every man, woman and his dog wants to be a tattoo artist at the moment.
Every fucking day I get emails and phone calls from these wannabees. Hell, they even turn up in person, telling me about how ‘they bought a ‘gun’ off ebay and done tattoooos on me mates’
One, don’t call it a fucking gun tosser! – guns kill people, tattoo machines however, don’t.
Two, don’t come in here asking for a job telling me this shit, I’m not fucking interested ok.
In the trade we call these scum scratchers – and believe me they’re fucking multiplying! We reckon for every honest, hard working, registered, and insured tattoo studio in your town, there’s around twenty to thirty scratchers causing untold harm and misery from their bedrooms, kitchens and sheds.
This is not an exageration – we see the result of these cunts every day – fixing and covering up some of the most crap tattoos you’ve ever seen. More worrying are the potential health problems these arseholes cause every day – from small infections, hepatitis to possible HIV – they are a timebomb waiting to go off.
And when something bad happens, guess who the authorities will close down? Yes US, the registered studios.
Think about it… as a registered studio we have to pay an authorised waste company to dispose of our clinical waste correctly, needles, bloody tissue etc. – the scratcher doesn’t, he just lobs it in the bin.
We have to make sure everything is single use or sterilized to hospital standard – the scratcher doesn’t. If he can’t be arsed to change needles or colours then you know what could happen…
We have to be inspected by the Environmental Health Officer and show application of best practice. The scratcher doesn’t.
We take every precaution against tattooing minors, the scratcher doesn’t. (My next door neighbours nephew had to go and have a full Hep and HIV check after getting tattooed in a squat on his neck for a tenner at the age of 14!)
We pay rent, rates, council tax etc, etc, etc. The scratcher doesn’t.
Usually they can’t draw for shit let alone tattoo – if you want to do something for your town, find out who they are and report them to your local Environmental Health Officer
So to all you ‘wannabees’ - have a think. Do you REALLY want to tattoo for a living? Are you prepared to sacrifice the time and effort required to make it in this business? Can you sleep at night knowing you’ve done the best work you can? My advice to you is always the same – if you really want to succeed you will. But don’t expect any help.
And for the record we always report scratchers to the EHO’s. That way at least we may help to rid the world of another crap wannabee.
For more information on scratchers and how to stamp them out call the Tattoo and Piercing Industry Union (TPI) on 07518629386. The TPI is the industry authority and recognised by Environmental Health Officers nationwide.
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April 11th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Yeah yeah yeah you also forgot flushing the loo cause of the skanks that cant, dressing up in womens clothes and far too much other stuff to mention!! Oh and one more thing Chic……. you rock youre an amazing tattooist and i recommend anyone to go to you for there ink, Thank youfor all my awesome ones xxxxx
April 12th, 2010 at 9:51 am
why Emma, you’re tooooo kind! cheers xx
April 14th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
loving the blog chic the missus was going through the site as she has succumbed to persuasion and having my name in bold letters on her forehead (only joking).
will be visiting you guys nexct week hopefully with my wife the newbie and we need to talk about finishing off my skulls and sleeves and maybe start something new caught the bug again and all the biros have run out after me drawing all over myself.
April 15th, 2010 at 9:41 am
Ha-ha! Can’t beat a bit of doodling on yourself with a biro every now and then eh! Look forward to seeing you soon
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