Tattoo Shop Spreads its Wings
By Oscar Burton Xi
Much like their customers, tattoo shops come in all shapes, sizes, styles and temperaments. The stereotyped grungy basement tattoo shop – adorned with skull prints and unidentifiable items that resemble torture devices – is no longer the norm. On London Road, at Spread Eagle Tattoo, Ben and Betty Davies have pushed far beyond this hackneyed image. It’s a space that perfectly reflects their own gentle warmth while also bringing a bit of tiki-retro-rockabilly style to the heart of St Leonards.
We caught up with them last week, fresh from holding a highly successful fundraiser in aid of the crisis in Ukraine, to discuss the shop, the community and get a feeling for how Spread Eagle Tattoo came to be.
Ben and Betty met in Hastings 16 years ago. Betty was slinging cocktails at The Street (now the Bat and Bee) while pursuing a career in makeup artistry. Ben had been tattooing for a year and was working at the tattoo shop next door. He used to prop up the bar after work, and the two quickly clicked. In no time, Betty found herself managing the shop where Ben worked. It’s easy to see why – spend just five minutes with her and you’d be hard pressed to miss her natural effervescence, positivity and affinity for people. Ben, more stoic in nature, nonetheless matches her enthusiasm
CREDIT: Spread Eagle Tattoo
“So we worked together at that shop for a few years, we got married, and after a while…” Betty begins, turning to Ben who finishes the sentence “It was time to spread our wings.. and we did.
Spread Eagle Tattoo opened its doors seven years ago. They always knew that their shop would be located in St Leonards, close to where we lived. Betty remarks “We’d had enough time in the town centre. Our heart was here… Even though it’s different and with a lot of new people moving down, it still does tend to pull in a certain kind of person – people that are creative, more bohemian.” She continues “We’re so small, that’s how we wanted it. No drama. It’s for us. We want to make a living but we don’t need to take over the world. We just want to have a nice life and do good tattoos and have happy customers. We don’t need anything complicated.”
Ben does tattoos, and Betty manages the shop – but ‘Shop Mother’ is perhaps the most apt title. She also takes part on most of Ben’s consultations, simply stating “I just love seeing beautiful things on people”. Ben clearly values this aspect of their relationship highly “I think that’s something that a lot of studios don’t do. Betty really goes above and beyond and I truly think it’s amazing.”
Also, a fixture at the shop is Andy. After having an exhibition of drawn artwork at the shop five years ago, Andy asked Ben if he would be interested in having him on as an apprentice. Ben, historically resistant, eventually relented “We never wanted anyone more permanent but his personality was just right. In shops with lots of artists –the more people there are, the more egos are in the room. We wanted someone with no ego and that’s what we got in Andy.”
The atmosphere of the shop is key, as the Davies’ see it. They are very aware that the form of art that they practice is forever – not just the imagery tattooed on one’s body, but the experience of being tattooed. Ben says “We want people to have a good time and associate that tattoo with the good time they had. Ultimately, you’re wearing the experience forever.”
CREDIT: Spread Eagle Tattoo
He continues “We’ve met people with really nice work but they associate it with a really horrible experience. Tattoo shops can be quite intimidating places and we don’t want any of that.” Betty chimes in with “We always wanted a real safe space – we get all kinds of people, and we want everyone to feel accepted.
Their recent fundraiser started small, and then it snowballed. Betty suggested that they give a few tattoo sessions alongside some merchandise to raffle off. Just one day after announcing, they began receiving pledges from friends and contemporaries in the tattoo scene, donating prints and other merch, By the next day, they had offerings from Bath based Skin and Bone Jewellery, clothing from Conquerors Motorcycle Apparel, a gift box from Lovecraft Soapery… and on and on and on. A haircut from Goodman’s, a party package from The Crypt, a platter from Bat and Bee, a full drag experience courtesy of Paris Grande… and on and on and on. Even a cream tea for two from Gyves House B&B in Bexhill. They went from 3 to 33 prizes in just two weeks, with most of the donors being local independent business. “It was just this organic, immediate and overwhelming response” Betty tells me. “Our town is so good… [it showed that] people here really do like to help.”
And help they did, with the raffle eventually raising £3420 for UNICEF’s Ukraine response. While some of the raffle ticket buyers came from across the globe, they found that most we bought by locals. They were surprised by how much word had spread. Betty gives me an example “I was walking [down Pevensey road] the other week and these two older ladies who I had never seen before were like ‘We’re going to donate to your fundraiser, we’re so proud of you!’ I’d never even seen them [before] and one of them won a beanie!”
Indeed, the shop itself is a point of fascination for some, perhaps because of how simply alive the place feels. Betty giggles as she tells me “We get a lot of the local old dears who love the windows who at first seemed quite intimidated by the shop. But now they stop by for a chat like ‘Ooh I don’t want a tattoo but I’d love to talk about that plant’ and I’m like, ‘Don’t worry, we’re not going to tattoo you!’ They think they’ll come inside and we’ll be there with needles at the ready..”
Spread Eagle is filled with plants and bathed in natural light from both sides, the walls adorned not just with tattoo flash (the industry term for tattoo designs rendered on paper), but vintage movie posters and art of all descriptions. “The things that inspire the work, that inspire us and hopefully inspire the customers” affirms Ben. Betty’s influence is particularly strong here, as she gushes about her love for the tiki scene style “The tiki scene is like exotica music, bamboo, tropical things, it makes you feel like you’re on holiday. When you’re getting tattooed we want you to feel as relaxed as you can – and this is what makes us feel relaxed and happy so we wanted to give that to people”
Betty affectionately refers to the shop as their “real front room” and indeed, the Davies’ see it as just that, an extension of their home. As we begin to wrap up, the petulant cawing of seagulls fills the space. At the open back window, two gulls make their presence known, their faces marked with expectation. “Oh, these are my friends” Betty titters. “This is Stephanie and her baby, they come every year for sugar free Alpen and a bowl of water”. It’s nice to see that even the birds are made to feel welcome here.
• To find out more about Spread Eagle Tattoo, visit their website www.spreadeagletattoo.com or follow them on Instagram @spreadeagletattoo
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