When Mike Farquhar opened South Street Electric Tattoo in Elgin town centre five years ago, he was instantly overwhelmed by the demand.
The graphic design graduate had been tattooing for five years at a different studio before deciding to take the plunge and go it alone.
Within months his biggest headache was how to meet the demand with sessions fully booked for an incredible 14 months.
Today he is eager to expand the reach of his small studio, which he runs with partner Abbie Cummings.
One of the ways he’s doing this is with trips to Europe to take his place among some of the biggest tattoo artists on the continent.
- The Press and Journal visited South Street Electric Tattoo to learn how it has adapted to cope with the huge demand.
- Why a town centre location is so critical to his business.
- How the couple are hitting the road and heading to Europe to expand.
‘Jumping in at deep end with own Elgin business’
Mike Farquhar, 36, grew up in Forres and got his first tattoo, a Spiderman logo, when he was 19 due to his love of comics.
Mike said: “It’s the only time my father’s ever sworn at me.”
Despite that rocky start, it was a passion that grew and by his mid-20s he was tattooing his own designs.
After honing his craft at another studio, he decided to “bite the bullet” and go all-in with his own business, South Street Electric Tattoo in Elgin town centre.
Mike said: “After tattooing for five years it just felt like it was time. This place just became available, I just wanted to jump in at the deep end.
“The timing was right. The unit was right. It used to be a podiatrist so it was already laid out the way we’d want it with two private rooms.
“It was just one of those moments where you knew ‘This is it’.
“When you’ve got your own studio you can have it however you want, make it look however you want, create your own atmosphere.”
How South Street Electric Tattoo has adapted to cope with demand
South Street Electric Tattoo opened in Elgin town centre in 2019 and quickly became overwhelmed with demand.
Aside from the Covid lockdown, the small business has had its sessions fully booked months in advance.
At one point the firm didn’t have any sessions available for 14 months with customers ranging from 18-year-olds to people in their 90s.
The waiting list forced the couple to examine how they were running the small business to ensure it remained sustainable in the long-term.
Abbie, who manages the bookings, said: “It was pretty intense. Mike was working weekends and not taking time off just to keep up with it all.
“Now we open up our book every three or four months and manage it that way.
“It’s maybe a bit less convenient for our customers, but they’re very understanding, and it has taken a lot of pressure off us running the business.”
Why town centre location is key for South Street Electric Tattoo
South Street Electric Tattoo is, unsurprisingly, on Elgin’s South Street in the heart of the town centre.
The location is one of the prime footfall locations not on the High Street and is on a busy road for traffic.
Despite having a busy order book, Mike and Abbie explained that passing trade was still an important element of the business.
Mike said: “With a tattoo shop there’s always that opportunity for walk-ins.
“Just recently we had a couple in from Hawaii who were in town visiting who saw us and stopped by.
“I think that’s what the town centre has that you wouldn’t get if you were anywhere else.”
Abbie added: “Even though we’ve been here five and a half years you still get people that come in and say ‘Oh, we didn’t know you were here.’
“If we were in an industrial unit somewhere on the outskirts of Elgin then we wouldn’t get that.
“Elgin is the main town in the area. We’re both from Forres. Growing up we would often have to go to Elgin for whatever reason, so the town centre has a reach beyond just Elgin too.
“I think people like local artists too. If they see a place they don’t know, or are maybe unsure about, then they can check out their work on Instagram and then come back in. We’ve had people do that.”
Taking tattoos on the road to expand Elgin business
Mike – and the ‘other’ Mike, his colleague Mike McLeod – have built up a formidable reputation over the past five years.
However, the tattoo artist isn’t prepared to rely on simply local trade.
The businessman is now taking his designs on the road to conventions across the UK and further afield to grow his reputation.
He said: “The best thing about tattooing is that you can literally go anywhere. You can take your stuff and go anywhere.
“We’re getting going on the convention circuit, which is where tattooers from all over get together in a big hall and people can walk up, look at your work and get one.
“It’s kind of like networking. Tattooing is quite a small community which means you can get speaking to people.
“It’s a chance to see what’s popular at the moment and just see what other people are doing, whether they’re doing something different or what’s making them busy. But it’s also about learning too.
“It’s tough from Elgin, the nearest one to us is in Edinburgh, which is in March. There’s so many on the go in England though. We’re wanting to work the one in Amsterdam too.”
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