Southampton Kookie Tattoo suffers during cost of living crisis

Kookie Tattoo has been on Southampton High Street for just over a year having opened last May.

Owner, Archiebald Cook is well known for his work and has inked former Saints stars Danny Ings, Mario Lemina and Jose Fonte.

Archiebald Cook, owner of Kookie Tattoo, Southampton

However, amid the cost of living crisis and customers watching their pennies, the 30-year-old says profit margins are down a huge amount.

Furthermore, appointment cancellations, which he says were rare before the crisis, have "skyrocketed by 70 per cent".

His business has “changed dramatically” this year, with a spike in tattoo prices impacted by rising energy bills.

He said: “The electricity costs mount up. You’ve obviously got water and inks that have [also] risen in price”.

Despite rising energy bills, he still wants to keep customers comfy and “at a good temperature”, however, “when you have a larger shop, it’s just a larger bill”.

“People think 100 per cent of the profit goes in the artist’s pocket, but there’s lots of hidden costs,” he added.

Archiebald has found the increase in bills is affecting his decision-making.

He said: “You are cautious because you are bearing them in mind. They affect everything really.”

Kookie Tattoo, Southampton

The artist, originally from Wiltshire, said premium products are “way more expensive” due to Covid and the aftermath of Brexit.

And, that stencil paper and ink sets became nearly impossible to get hold of with “some of them actually discontinued”.

He is hopeful his "pride and joy" can continue to grow in the next few months, but his customers could see an increased financial burden due to their bills.

He added: “We could have grown more if the cost of living wasn’t as big. It’s almost a shame to see what we could’ve been.”