Tim Bailey's Skin Shack mobile tattoo studio

Mobile tattoo studio is inked into Sprinter van

I wonder what happened to The Barbus, a mobile barber service we featured on these pages back in 2008?

The standard of the fit and finish inside the firm’s VW Crafter looked pretty good, but I’m not sure it’s as impressive as the mobile tattoo studio of Hinckley-based tattoo artist Tim Bailey.

Tim Bailey's Skin Shack mobile tattoo studio

As a former truck and van driver, Tim knows his vans and did not hesitate to choose a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter as his base vehicle — albeit a 250,000 miler purchased second-hand from a local haulier. He’s not concerned about the van’s age and mileage and says that “it’s proved every bit as reliable as I knew it would and still drives more smoothly than many of the cars I’ve owned”. Praise indeed for a 13-year old van!

In order to set up his mobile tattoo business, The Skin Shack, Tim spent around 70 hours converting the back of the Sprinter into a fully-equipped tattoo studio that would be fully compliant with health and safety standards and could be registered with the local environmental health department.

The results is a fully-lined load area with hygienic and easily cleaned plastic panelling, fitted cupboards and work tops, and a sink with hot and cold running water, as well as lighting and electrical services.

Inside the Skin Shack mobile tattoo studio

As word gets around and more people see his artwork, Tim’s mobile ‘inking shop’ is now really taking off.

“I’m trying to stay within a 20-mile radius of base but it’s proving difficult as I’m constantly getting new enquiries from further afield,” he said.

“Prospective customers can be a bit nervous about being tattooed in the back of a van but once they see inside they’re invariably reassured. I like to think of the finish as being on a par with an A&E ambulance.”

Tim’s favourite works are black and white gothic-style designs, although he is happy to fulfil any customer request, either creating a new image from scratch or replicating an existing one. A full back piece takes 30-35 hours of inking split into sessions of six or seven hours, but most commissions are on a much smaller scale.

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