A recent move has provided a change of scenery for artists at Pinz Tattoo, and for people passing by the studio鈥檚 new downtown Salmon Arm location.
Seated at his station in the open-concept work space at 91 Hudson Ave., Pinz owner Rob Jobe comments on the new street view that allows passersby to have a look at what鈥檚 going on within. With a laugh, Jobe said sometimes people driving by will slow down and do a bit of rubbernecking as artists work.
Jobe explained there are portable petitions that can be placed around workstations when privacy is called for.
Five people work out of the shop and each is a private contractor.
鈥淚 own the business and I provide a space to work but everybody runs their own business,鈥� said Jobe. 鈥淭here鈥檚 more than 60 years of experience in the shop鈥� We kind of all specialize in our own thing, work on our own schedules鈥�.
鈥淚t鈥� a modern way of working and it works really well for us.鈥�
For 14 years, Jobe operated Pinz a couple blocks away from a second-floor space at 321 Hudson. A lease dispute prompted the recent move, while COVID-19 influenced the layout of the new studio.
鈥淭his buildout is 100 per cent with COVID-19 in mind,鈥� said Jobe, explaining new cabinets and larger tattoo boxes mean less trips to the stockroom, and everything can be put away so nothing is exposed.
鈥淓ven the hadwashing station, B.C. health regulations state you only need one hand washing station in close proximity to where you do procedures, and we put in two in hopes the clients would use one and we use the other.鈥�
In addition to the layout, Jobe and fellow artists have also stepped up their health and safety game in response to the pandemic. When clients walk in the door their temperature is taken. If their temperature is high clients are asked to rebook. Next, clients use the hand-sanitizing station. Clients and artists wear face masks during tattooing, partitioned touchless handwashing stations are available and there is even a phone sterilizer available. The artists have about 200 square feet each to work in and though there are five who work at Pinz, only three or four will be in at one time.
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鈥淚t comes down to mitigating risk, that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e looking to do 鈥� lower the amount of risk, lower the amount of exposure,鈥� said Jobe.
鈥淚t really hasn鈥檛 changed our business model much because we already take such stringent cleaning standards and stringent disinfecting standards for every client, and everything we use is single-use disposable.鈥�
Preparing for a client booked for noon, Jobe鈥檚 already contagious enthusiasm grows as he begins to display different tattooing tools and related products from , a brand started by Pinz artist Lucas Ford in 2008. Now a partner in Good Guy, Jobe demonstrates a Good Guy tattoo pen grip, stencil supplies and other products designed and sold world over by the locally run e-commerce company.
鈥淚nnovation is happening right here in this small town and people don鈥檛 have a clue 鈥� it鈥檚 kind of funny,鈥� said Jobe. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to grow ourselves and do it here in Salmon Arm, so we can enjoy the lifestyle of where we live鈥� With technology and travel, we鈥檙e able to do anything that anybody who lives in a city can do. And also tattoo every day.鈥�
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