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 at The Skin Shack 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.
Tim added: “I’ve wanted to be a tattoo artist ever since I went into a studio with my dad while we were on holiday and watched what went on. I’ve rented chairs here and there but always harboured the ambition, one day, of operating my own studio; my only regret now is that I didn’t launch the mobile service years ago.
“As for my Sprinter, it’s proved been every bit as reliable as I knew it would, and still drives more smoothly than many of the cars I’ve owned. I couldn’t have made a better choice of vehicle.”
Tim Bailey at work in his Sprinter ‘Skin Shack’ studio
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