Tattooist Ben gives an insight into life living at the sharp end

In the latest edition of Marketing Derby’s Innovate Magazine we meet award-winning tattoo artist Ben Memmory, who is really making his mark in the industry.

We visit Ben at his hugely successful business – Inka Studios, in Curzon Street – where he has an 18-month waiting list, such is the demand for his services and that of his talented team.

But Innovate discovers not only are all those working at the studio great artists, they’re also at the forefront of efforts to drive up standards in the sector – including those covering safety and hygiene.

Ben shares how he got into tattooing at an early age, spending many years to perfect his craft before joining Inka in 2013, which was already an established business.

Ben tells Innovate: “The former owner, Lee, was an amazing mentor and taught me so much.”

He credits Lee not just with improving his artistic work, but also with introducing him to the science that underpins tattooing.

“He taught me about dermatology, anatomy, physiology… giving me the foundations to build on to do things correctly going forward,” says Ben.

This commitment to doing things right, to acting professionally, is a topic Ben returns to time and again during his chat with Innovate.

This approach has reaped dividends with Ben’s talent being recognised with a number of awards, including first place for “large colour” at the prestigious Tattoo Planet convention in Manchester.

Ben describes Derby as a place where tattooing has grown rapidly.

He told Innovate: “When I started tattooing at Inka, there were 12 studios. Now there are 52.”

He says the city has more studios per head of population than anywhere else in the UK outside of London and Manchester, with a strong talent pool and established studios developing fine artists who have gone on to forge their own reputations.

Ben also credits Derby’s environmental health team for helping drive standards locally.

He told Innovate: “Derby has some amazing environmental health officers.

“It is, actually, one of the best places in the country to get a tattoo, one of the most stringent, and, therefore, one of the safest.

“What I want now is to improve that across the nation, across the world. There is absolutely no reason why that shouldn’t be uplifted everywhere.”

To read the feature in full click here.