COVID-19 UPDATE

On the Road is currently Off the Road
March 19th 2020 – Unkown

Status: Locked and Loaded

We will be back soon: The studio is designed to survive.

Latest News:

It has been a very difficult month but the Tattoo Race Truck will weather the storm. 

The Isle Of Man TT 2020 has been cancelled along with the Southern 100 Road Race and I have no idea what is happening with the Manx GP 2020. I was very much looking forward to my first year of road racing on the Island and we had some great plans in place for 2020.

The plan was to work in collaboration with the Black Dub and The Creg Ny Baa and offer some exceptional TT themed tattoos at some awesome locations around the track whilst the TT was in action. On top of this I was working on a very big deal that would have expanded our operation and could have been life changing for me, it could still happen, but it has been put on hold until we are all out of the woods with the dreaded Covid19.

I need to thank my loyal customers on the Isle of Man and those that have booked to be tattooed at the TT in 2020, I really do feel blessed to have such understanding and wonderful clients.

I also need to apologise to my UK clients, I was hoping to be back across either late March or early April, obviously that will not be happening now.

When this is over the Tattoo Race Truck will come back bigger and stronger, all deposits and gift vouchers will be honoured. I never pressure anyone to book in or pay a deposit, that is made very clear on the web site.

After tattooing for 17 years I have come to realise that deposits can be a bone of contention so the decision was made some years ago that deposits once paid were non-refundable under any circumstances.

The revenue from deposits and gift voucher sales goes straight into the cash flow of the company. I don’t believe anyone could have seen this situation arising so I am grateful to all of my clients for their understanding and patience, I like many others have been completely caught out by Covid 19.

The business like any other has overheads and without assistance from the government it is going to be a squeeze to say the least to keep going, but with good communication with my banks and creditors and a good track record I do not foresee any problem in surviving this apart from a bit of weight loss…. which, to be fair I could do with.

Unlike a conventional Tattoo Studio the Tattoo Race Truck does not have to worry about rent or rates, electric or water bills or any of the other overheads associated with running a shop front. It is now quite literally parked and costing nothing to run.

Like everybody else I have to survive at home and keep on top of my personal and business commitments, like everybody else I am worried, but it is achievable even if we have to suffer the six month prediction.

I have been to see our neighbours who I thought may need our assistance but they all seem to be a hardy and independent lot. So much so that not having seen us for a few days, they enquired if we were OK and if there was anything they could do to assist us!

 

Positives:

So with all that negative stuff out of the way there are still some positives!

Having got over the initial shock of COVID19 I am now getting on with some work, so hopefully you will see some improvements and some more activity on the website. I also managed to get a new company open which happened just before lockdown. X-Paint will specialise in custom paint and airbrush work, custom decals and T shirts. It has just started trading and I can work from home with this one. I already have a couple of interesting projects lined up so watch this space for further developments.

Over the coming weeks I will be building the website for X-Paint and adding banners to this site. If we are still locked down when that is completed then thanks to the relaxation of the Isle Of Man Work Permit scheme I shall be able to take on some website work for others as well. So if you are looking for a customised wordpress site then get in touch, both this website and the new one are created completely in house and I can also offer hosting and dedicated email servers.

It has been my ambition for quite some time to franchise On The Road Tattoo. It will be quite a job to do so but given that I now have a fair bit of time on my hands I will be getting the ball rolling. I am quite lucky in that the original Tattoo Race Truck is licensed for the whole of the Isle of Man. But back across in the UK each council has its own unique licensing laws. At the last count there are over 400 councils so in order to cover the UK a single truck would need 400 licenses. I already have three.

Using the original Tattoo Race Truck as the blueprint we will be building more on the Isle of Man. Hopefully this will create a few jobs on the island when all this is over. There is quite a bit that needs doing and conversations are in progress with many suppliers. If I could find some investment that would be most welcome too. Or if you are reading this and believe it is a project that you could add value to then please do get in touch. The plan is to keep as much of the production as possible within the Islands economy.

I believe that during this COVID19 crisis many tattoo studios will close. Many more will want to change how they do business and there will be many artists who will be looking to start their own studios. A version of the Tattoo Race Truck could well be an affordable start up for many artists after this difficult time ends. Get in Touch if you are interested, On The Road Tattoo is now selling Tattoo Studios.

And there are over 400 areas in the UK alone that need covering. That is before we even look at Ireland and Europe.

Merchandise:

  • We have some exceptional merchandise for On The Road Tattoo. I know it’s exceptional because I have been road testing it for the last few months. If you would like to support us through this difficult time then buying a T shirt, Hoodie or Truckers Cap would be a great help. Over the coming weeks I will also be designing some ltd edition stickers to add to the shop so keep visiting back to see what is on offer.

    The shop should be online in the next few days.

    Sign up to the mailing list while you are here and you will be kept up to date with website updates and the progress of the shop, you will also be the first to know when the merchandise is available to buy. It is in very limited numbers so it will be first come first served.

Competition Time:

  • Visit the Facebook Page if you have bored kids at home. Currently there is a competition running for some cool prizes, a T Shirt, Truckers cap and fifty custom stickers of the winning design to the winner in each category. There will also be a special prize for my favourite tattoo which I will be tattooing on myself and posting a video online of my pain and suffering. The entry with the most likes wins so even if you are not going to enter then check it out and support the kids with a like! The post is pinned to the top of the page and we already have some great entries!

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Tattooing:

  • Talking of tattoos: My better half is also off work at present. She has been dropping more than the occasional hint that I have not tattooed her since 2017. As she tends to sit like a rock and has some nice big bits of clean skin I shall be keeping my hand in with a nice big bit of work, not sure what yet but it wont be small. Currently helping me with the admin/website stuff but when we get all of that completed we plan to have some fun with the tattoo machines.

    Stay safe, remember good cross contamination practice and keep your distance. I wish you all good health and I very much hope to see you soon!

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The only tattoo studio that covers the whole of the Isle of Man.

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(+0044) 7597 408930

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info@ontheroadtattoo.com