BUSINESS
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avid Howarth, a professional tattooist for eight years runs the Lucky 13 tattoo parlour in Onchan with tattooist Lee Clark also working there. David’s profession is in ‘black and grey’ and portrait work and this is reflected in some of the tattoos on his own arms and legs. “Tattoos invariably last longer than a relationship,” is David’s philosophy who adds that he always advises against having a tattoo with the name of girl friend or boy friend as part of it and won’t do tattoos on the face.
nurses and lawyers and the split between male and female is 50/50. Based on what they are looking for and the answers we get to questions from clients we draw up designs for them.
“We recently had a lady in her 70s who came in and wanted a poppies design in remembrance of her late husband and it was something I was delighted to do.” One of Lucky 13’s latest clients is engineer Andrew Goulding, 24, who is currently realising his ambition of having a full ‘sleeve’ on one of his arms. “Something I’ve always wanted and I won’t stop there,” he says.
Lucky 13’s hourly rate is £70. “We’re not the cheapest, but we are the best,” says an unequivocal David. “Yes, there are more people of all ages and backgrounds coming into the parlour, that includes doctors, BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS
Lucky 13 apprentice Damian Morris, 21, has had an interest in tattoos since the age of 10 when living in New Zealand and, despite parental disapproval, had his first tattoo as soon as he was 16, the legal age for a tattoo in New Zealand while it is 18 in the UK and Isle of Man. “Now my Dad back in New Zealand is looking to have one,” says Damian who has a range of tattoos on not just his body but also hands and neck. Darren Hardacre, 41, can boast around £16,000 worth of tattoos.. “Some people
might say it’s an addiction, I say it’s a collection,” says Darren, who is a highways inspector for the Government. “I don’t get them done for other people to look at, I get them done for me and draw my own designs. Yes, there can still be a bit of a stigma in some areas but tattoos are becoming more popular and socially acceptable and you now see people who are retired having them done.”
It was rumoured that Queen Victoria, who had something of a raunchy reputation in her younger years, had a full back piece and In the late 19th century tattoos were favoured by many of the crowned heads of Europe, including Edward V11, and in the 1930s by London’s fashionable glitterati. The perception during much of the 20th century, however, was that they were the hallmark of sailors, prostitutes and the like. Today, not only are they a fashion accessory but an increasingly popular form of 21st century body art for the more discerning of the masses.
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