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Black Spade Tattoo welcomes back clients after COVID-19 impacts tattoo industry

Posted at 5:36 PM, Jul 07, 2020
and last updated 2020-07-07 23:17:36-04

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Black Spade Tattoo and Permanent Makeup is welcoming clients back after keeping their doors closed for more than a month.

The owner of Black Spade Tattoo and Permanent Makeup, King Ruck, has been running the Las Vegas business since 2009. He says this year is hard on tattoo artists.

Unemployment and loans were tough to come by for tattoo artists, like many other independent contractors.

“It was tough. We literally work by the tattoo. We don’t have a paycheck or anything,” King Ruck said.

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Currently, business isn’t exactly back to normal either. Up to 45 percent of Black Spade’s clientele come in from out of town and many aren’t willing to fly in right now.

Ruck says they’re checking temperatures at the door, requiring face masks, and capping occupancy at ten people. Otherwise, they didn’t need to make a lot of changes because sterilization and disinfection are the standards.

“Before you even pick up a machine, you have to understand sanitizing, cross-contamination, and being safe for yourself and your customers,” Ruck said.

Pre-pandemic, tattoo artists were already using single-use barrier plastic and medical-grade antibacterial.

“We’re literally putting a needle in someone, so we have to be cautious of every virus, not just coronavirus. This is what we do every single day,” Ruck said.

While tattoo artists are doing all they can to make coronavirus a thing of the past, Ruck says some of his clients want a permanent reminder with several requests for a coronavirus-related tattoo.

To contact Black Spade Tattoo and Permanent Makeup, email blackspadetattoo@gmail.com.