Darlington tattooists launch new studio on 'lucky' Friday 13

Gemma and Tara Horrors were the first all-female tattoo team in Darlington when they opened their Victoria Road studio in 2012.

And business at House of Horrors is booming, leading the couple to open a second studio opposite to mark their 10th anniversary.

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Gemma, 31, who specialises in black and grey tattoos, said: “We’ve been established for 10 years now and every year we seem to get busier and busier. Covid put a halt to that but when we reopened it just rocketed up again and its been busier than ever.”

She added: “In the last five or six years demand has increased 10 fold. It’s very popular at the minute. It’s not confined to certain age groups or types of people  - it’s people from all walks of life.”

The new luxury private studio will cater for people who have made appointments, providing more privacy for people, particularly during long appointments, while their other venue will still provide a walk-in service.

It launched yesterday, on Friday 13 – a day often considered to be lucky within the  community - with deals being offered on cut-price tattoos.

Gemma added: “It’s a lucky day so there’s a bit of a tradition which goes back as long as I can remember.”

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The couple have also got plans to bring a number of international tattoo artists who will be coming to Darlington to work from their new studio.  

And the business has also taken on two apprentices to deal with the increasing demand.

The couple, who are now married, moved to Darlington from Driffield, in Yorkshire, after Gemma qualified.

She said: “It was by chance really. We wanted to own our own studio and we were looking for a property anywhere in England really.

“We found one in Darlington and that was it. We made it work.”

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She added: “We’ve always prided ourselves on being a female fronted business. It has been so a male dominated but females are really coming through now. Not just myself and Tara bit across Darlington as a whole there is a really good bunch of female artists.

“It’s good to see in a town like Darlington because it’s not the biggest but the standard is really high. 10 years ago you would have struggled to find another female tattooist.”

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