Local tattoo shops take on pandemic

Corrected 9/30/2020 at 10:51 p.m., Tuff Luck is doing piercings Tuesdays through Saturdays but is only providing nostril piercings on Sunday

Guidelines and restrictions have been placed on businesses statewide and tattoo parlors are no exception, but local shops in Carbondale are taking different approaches to these rules.

Bomber Crew, Artistic Minds and Tuff Luck Tattoo, each of which is located in Carbondale, are all operating differently but are still open and running safely.

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“We’re staying busy and everybody’s booked,”  Dakota Dodds, an employee at Tuff Luck Tattoos said.

Dodds said the limited number of people allowed in the shop has caused Tuff Luck to lose revenue.

Owner of Artistic Minds John Beyler said business for his shop hasn’t been too badly impacted, as they haven’t had a shortage of clients. 

According to Bomber Crew Tattoo shop owner Roger Ziegler, since reopening the shop has had steady business, but is still taking precautions. 

To protect against the spread of COVID-19, Artistic Minds and Tuff Luck require customers to wear face masks, wash their hands upon entering and bring no extra guests with them. 

All three businesses have implemented new procedures for cleaning safety. 

Tattoo shops are normally required by the Illinois Department of Public Health to clean instruments and work stations, but since the pandemic, cleaning for these establishments has intensified.

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Bomber Crew Tattoo has implemented more hand sanitizer for customers and is enforcing a mask rule.

“The shop is wiped down regularly every day, every station is cleaned after every client but we’re really just implementing the mask a lot more,” Ziegler said.

Artistic Minds has hand sanitizer at every desk and has free masks in case a client forgets to bring one. They also take customers’ temperatures as an extra effort.

“We also use cavicide wipes or sprays to clean everything that kills up to HIV each day,” Beyler said.

Besides adding extra safety precaution to shop protocol, the owners of these businesses have also provided financial help to their employees. 

Along with personal face shields, Artist Minds also helped its employees by offering them extra money if they were struggling due to the pandemic.

“If anybody’s down with money we help them like that just any kind of person,” Beyler said.

Tuff Lucks’ owner Dustin Mendenhall also helps in the same manner. 

“My boss is definitely a really good guy that offered help if I needed it personally,” Dodds said.

Ziegler said he encourages his employees to be healthier during this time and eat better, so their bodies can be more prepared if they do get COVID-19. 

“I think it’s very important for us to feel safe doing our job and for our clients to feel safe and secure when they come in,” Dodds said.

Staff reporter Madison Taylor  can be reached at [email protected]  or on Twitter at @taylorm08 

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