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KUCHING, March 25 ― The bad economy and the absence of overseas tourists cause home-based tattoo artist Nickie Brian, 32, to get a second job.
Nickie has been in the business since 2014, and this pandemic is the most challenging time for him.
He had not opened his business in full since the start of the movement control order (MCO) on March 18 last year, and could only reopen once when the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) announced that tattoo businesses could reopen on Sept 21 last year.
“The closing of my studio due to MCO has been really tough due to zero income and I have to find another job. I got a second job due to Covid-19 for back-up money to pay bills and car loan,” he said when contacted yesterday.
He also needed to get extra money as his wife was pregnant at the start of the pandemic, with the first addition to their family.
“I actually only reopened for business in December to help take care of my firstborn baby.”
He explained that he took a 9-5 job, so he only does tattoos after office hours, and full day on weekends.
Due to the standard operating procedure (SOP) set by the SDMC, he only takes on maximum two customers a day, but if the design is big he only takes one customer for the day.
Aside from that, due to the SOP he has to incur extra expenses as it requires sanitising the studio, resulting in him having to increase his pricing.
“Even before the pandemic started, I did sanitise all my equipment, but the SOP requires the studio to be sanitised as well so that is costly. Sanitising the equipment prevents skin infection.”
As extra precaution, he has to remind his customers not to come for their appointment if they are unwell like having cough or flu, and they must come alone.
He added that the demand for tattoo service is still there, and he will gladly accept customers as long as they follow the SOP.
The SOP requires customers to register their particulars by scanning the MySejahtera app, take temperature check and sanitise their hands, and they must wear face mask at all times.
For tattoo artists, they have to wear face mask, disposable apron and sanitise everything they use including the studio after the tattoo session is completed.
For Jeremy Lo, 38, of Monkey Tattoo Studio, his studio was badly affected as his customers were mostly tourists.
“Most of my customers used to be tourists flying in from around the world. So this makes a lot of difference. Previously the studio was open from 10am to 10pm, now it’s all by appointment only, and we have only one customer a day compared to three to five a day previously.
“Each session can go for one to four hours, depending on the tattoo size. Now even for a 30-minute tattoo a client has to make a booking a day early. I think this is better, safer.”
Another problem faced is the price of medical items like surgical gloves, antiseptic creams, alcohol rubs, disinfectant, which has gone up.
Aside from that, he cannot send his artwork for sale to clients overseas like he used to do as Poslaju does not send parcels overseas and other courier services are too expensive.
“I’m still thinking about diversifying but not sure what since travelling is not allowed.
“We gotta adapt. I don’t think anything is going to be the same like before. That’s for sure. I’m just doing my best to be safe, do what we can, and follow the SOPs and hopefully things get better soon.”
He added that despite being allowed to reopen, he gets fewer customers as people are very cautious now, and the interest has gone down a lot since.
“Hopefully overseas travel restrictions will be lifted soon as my business has more interest from people outside.”
Nicholas Jenta, 32, of Inkzation Tattoo Studio (Kota Samarahan) says tattoos are still the in-thing and popular though the pandemic is still around as he still gets many customers.
“Some may be afraid to get it during the pandemic, but mostly they will look at reviews online on my work, studio condition and others before booking an appointment with me.”
Though he had to close his business for a long time, he is thankful and grateful to be back in business.
“I was very relieved when I heard about the SDMC announcement to reopen back in September. It is true that during MCO, it was very tough as the losses we faced were too much compared to before. I really hope that the tattoo industry will return to normal with strict adherence to the SOP.
“It was tough at first with all the SOPs, and some customers were also afraid, but I have always put hygiene as top priority and the SOP requires the place to be sanitised daily. Customers can only come alone without anyone accompanying them as per the SOP.”
He said when he reopened, he only accepted close friends and family members who must follow the set SOPs strictly.
After gaining confidence and getting used to the new practices, he slowly accepted appointments from strangers.
“Prior to the pandemic, some customers would bring friends for support or simply to pass the time while waiting for the tattoo to be done,” he said.
In the case of Kelly Albert, 36, manager of Blackout Tattoo Kuching, his shop has been receiving fewer customers, from more than eight customers to four or six only per day.
“We still retain our normal operating hours, from 11am to 7pm, and we accept appointments only. No walk-ins allowed.
“Our costs have increased too, like gloves, we used to buy them at RM15 per box, now its RM39. We also need to buy hand sanitisers for customers when they come for their session.”
However, he said he is not increasing the prices as he fears it might affect his business. ― Borneo Post