Apache Tattoo & Art Studio

Hi Folks, Mark here....

Not something I really want to be posting but I would rather be completely honest about this....

Today I have tested positive for Covid on a lateral flow home testing kit after beginning to feel unwell last night....

I will be booking a full PCR test for later today to confirm this result for certain....

For now, the studio will be closed until further notice, and will only reopen once I am feeling well enough, and have given a negative test result....

I understand that the results of Covid tests can even show up positive by just having a common cold or flu, but I am not prepared to take that chance and put my clients at risk for the sake of a few ££....

I am not that greedy, selfish or inconsiderate....

This week's clients have been informed, and I will be in touch with next week's clients in due course, should they need to be rescheduled as well....

I can only apologise again for any inconvenience caused....

I will keep you all updated over the next week or so, and will post when the studio is open again....

Apologies again....

Some of my favourite pieces I've enjoyed working on since reopening....

Looking forward to some more cool ideas....

Fully stocked with Ink-Sential Professional Tattoo Care now for reopening tomorrow.... Huge Thanks to Debbie from Queen Bee Naturals for dropping it down.

Hi folks, Mark here....

As most of you already know, Craig Riddles has now moved on and is in the process of opening his own studio....

Please head over to his page, EL8 INK and check it out for information on how to book with him....

As for me at Apache, I'll be opened from Wednesday 28th April onwards, and I'm looking forward to getting back to business....

I'm getting a few requests through on the 'book now' button on the page, don't worry, I know the messages are there, I'm just currently still working on getting the backlog of clients cleared from the previous lockdowns so please do not be offended if your new request is rejected or postponed, I'll ask you to book another appointment when I've got the backlog sorted and we can take it from there....

I'm hoping to be able to use the 'book now' feature to do most of my scheduling in the future, but I'll see how it works out over this next few weeks, so please be patient as I figure it out 🙈

It's great to finally get back to doing what I love.... I hope to see a lot of you soon....

Hi folks, Mark here....

Just a wee update on things as we are beginning to get lots of messages asking when we're opening again....

At the time of writing this post, we still haven't seen or heard any official government advice as to when tattoo studios can open up again here in Northern Ireland....

As far as I'm aware, there is to be an official announcement at some point today regarding hairdressers/barbers/beauty salons etc....

Whether we, as tattooists, will be considered in that category, remains to be seen....

Rest assured that, once we know.... You'll know....

So please keep an eye on this page for a possible update later....

Once we're given the date, we will begin to go through the process of booking everyone in again.... But please note, we MUST prioritise those who have already missed their appointment due to the lockdown/Covid-19 restrictions, it's only fair to give those people their date before booking in any 'new' appointments.... So please understand this....

I also ask that you PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be patient with us when this time comes.... It will be a painstaking process to go through all the 'back and forth' messages and get everyone back in the books in time for opening again, so your patience will be truly appreciated....

I apologise for the lack of response on both the studio page and my personal page recently regarding tattoos, but there's genuinely no point in trying to book in appointments and giving people dates if we don't yet have an official confirmation as to when we can open again....

Anyway, thank you for reading and understanding.... Your support is whole-heartedly appreciated, and I look forward to poking some of you with needles again soon!!!!

😊😊😊😊

Hi folks, Mark here....

I assume by now, every man, woman, child, and wandering dog is fully aware of the situation we are currently in regarding Covid-19/lockdown etc....

4 weeks since the lockdown began and we are beginning to get messages asking when we will be open again, so I just thought I'd give you an update on here....

That is....

We don't actually know when we will be able to open up again....

We have seen so many different news articles and stories about lockdown restrictions possibly loosening, as well as articles stating the restrictions will be in place until the end of the year.... They all seem to contradict each other....

If these are anything to go by, we are still no further forward than we were 4 weeks ago unfortunately....

As tattooists, we have been deemed by the government as a 'non-essential' business, therefore we were instructed to close immediately, and must remain closed until otherwise instructed to, no exceptions....
Effectively, making us all jobless overnight....

We are aware of some tattooists elsewhere in the UK trying to propose more strict protocols for operation of business in the tattoo studio, in order to open up again as soon as possible....

With tattoo studios being one of the most hygienic industries , we are well aware of sanitation and cross-contamination processes, so here's hoping we can get up and running soon, but we will await any government approval for this before making any decisions ourselves....

On a personal note, I have never been so eager to get back in to the studio and tattooing again, and I know Craig is exactly the same, but for now, we must abide by the government restrictions....

Rest assured, once we are officially given the green light, we will announce it on our shop page as well as our personal pages....

In the meantime, take care and stay safe folks....

Thank you....

***ANNOUNCEMENT***

Hi folks, Mark here....

It is with a heavy heart that I write this to you today....

After lengthy discussions between myself and Craig over the last few days, we have decided that, as of today, Monday 23rd March, we will be closing the studio for the foreseeable future....

Any clients booked in over the coming weeks will be contacted individually to be notified.
Any deposits, payments and vouchers will be carried over until such time we are able to re-open and schedule those clients in again....

We will monitor the situation regularly, and take heed to government advice or regulations as regards opening again, so that we can do so at a time that is deemed safe for everyone.

Please accept my profound apologies for any inconvenience caused, and understand that this has not been an easy decision to make....

We have tried to hold off for as long as we could, simply because the fewer clients we have to reschedule, the less disruption to our business....
However, that convenience, has been greatly outweighed by necessity.... We need to keep everyone safe.... And the only way we can do that is to close our studio.... At least for a few weeks anyway....

Again, apologies for any inconvenience....

Regards....

Mark & Craig

Stay safe