Tattoos in Falkirk: Popular tattoo artist expecting 'best year' as tattoo parlours re-open in Scotland

By Graham Falk
Published 26th Apr 2021, 18:33 BST
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Despite a year of lockdown, the popularity of tattoos are set to soar as popular Falkirk studio Blue Lass gets ready to open its doors on Tuesday.

The owner of a Falkirk tattoo parlour says she is expecting it to be her “best year” as she gets set to re-open her popular Vicar Street studio, Blue Lass, for the first time in 2021.

Alongside pubs, shops and restaurants, tattoo parlours in Scotland have been forced to close since midnight on the 25th of December owing to the second Covid-19 lockdown but many are due to open up today after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed the easing of restrictions earlier in the month.

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For owner of Blue Lass, Zara Dickson, the excitement is palpable as tattoo artists across the country get set to dust down their machines and welcome ink heads back to the chair.

Blue Lass will be reopening this Tuesday - and tattoo fans can't wait.Blue Lass will be reopening this Tuesday - and tattoo fans can't wait.
Blue Lass will be reopening this Tuesday - and tattoo fans can't wait.

"We’re all buzzing to start tattooing again.

"We have a work group chat and one of our artists, Colin, has been counting down the days like it’s Christmas – four sleeps to go, five sleeps to go” she excitedly laughs.

Bookings pouring in

Zara, 36, has been involved in the industry since starting as “a Saturday girl” 17-years ago, opening her much-loved studio in 2018 and, despite the difficulties for her and the entire industry over the past year, said she is already seeing evidence that the world of tattooing won’t just recover from the pandemic, but that it will boom as Scottish tattoo studios get set to reopen their doors for the first time in 2021.

"I’ve never been one of those people who book months and months in advance, but this is furthest I’ve ever been booked ahead in my career and it’s just getting busier – I’ve had to shut my diary at the moment.

"People are more desperate to get tattoos since the pandemic.

She adds, “All the studios in Falkirk are busy because of that. We’re all getting booked up.”

Despite an infectious positivity shining through, she admits the pandemic has been hard to navigate as a tattoo artist, especially during the first lockdown.

"I knew we needed to make some changes then, so we made sure the only people that came in were people with appointments and that you had to turn up alone. I needed to get a jump on this and you could feel it getting worse.