Ashes Tattoo in Derby
A small amount of a loved one’s cremated remains, prepared and blended into tattoo ink, becomes a permanent part of the design itself: this is an ashes tattoo, and it is what Bubblegum Ink ® in Sandbach, Cheshire has made for grieving families from Derby and across the country for around 30 years. There is no second version of it, no doing it again later, and so the single decision that outweighs every other is whose hands you trust to create it.
The solace it offers is unlike anything that sits in the house. You do not go to it; it goes with you. Not an object on a shelf to be returned to, but something held within your own skin, quietly present through the dull days and the unbearable ones alike, for as long as you live.
Under an Hour, Up the A50
For all that an ashes tattoo feels like a significant undertaking, the trip from Derby is a short one. The A50 runs almost straight from the city across to the edge of Cheshire, putting the studio under an hour away by car, roughly 48 miles. There is no question of an overnight or a long expedition; you drive over, the work is done, and you are home by evening. For those who prefer the train, it is a change at Crewe, only a few miles from the studio, in around an hour and a half.
The Work That Happens First
Far more of an ashes tattoo than people realise happens before the tattooing itself begins, in the preparation of the ashes, and this is precisely where a specialist and a general studio diverge. Cremated remains are coarse, unsterile and uneven straight from the urn, and any studio that mixes them into ink in that state is gambling with how your skin will heal. That gamble is removed here before a single line is drawn.
A small portion of your loved one’s ashes is brought to the right particle size, cleaned, sterilised to a clinical standard and cleared of contaminants, then prepared into the ink used on the day. It is slow, exact work, treated with the weight it deserves, and it is exactly why a tattoo made this way heals as well as any other. The reasoning behind it is set out on the are ashes tattoos safe page, with the ink described on the adding ashes into tattoo ink page.
| Bubblegum Ink ® | A general tattoo studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Experience with ashes | Around 30 years, ashes work the main focus | Occasional, as a sideline |
| Ashes preparation | Matched, cleaned, sterilised, contaminants removed | Often used raw |
| Your loved one’s ashes in view | Yes, the whole time | Varies |
| Travelling from Derby | A specialist under an hour away | Whoever happens to be nearest |
Why People Pass Their Local Studio
With Derby’s own tattooists close at hand, it is fair to ask why families drive out to a studio in another county. It comes down to the one fact that governs everything: you have a single portion of your loved one’s ashes and a single chance to honour it properly. There is no putting it right if it is done badly. Set against that, most people would far rather entrust it to someone who has spent decades on this one thing than to whoever happens to be nearest. Under an hour is no distance at all when it buys getting it right the only time it can be done.
Kept in Sight, Start to Finish
The worry that sits heaviest for most people deserves answering head on: your loved one’s ashes are never out of your sight. Nothing is carried off, nothing is handled behind a door, nothing is taken on trust. The small portion is prepared where you can see it and worked into the tattoo where you can see it, from first to last. This openness is not something offered if you ask; it is simply how the work is done, for everyone.
And if you find you cannot handle the ashes yourself when the moment comes, you will not have to. Bring them as they are and that careful step is taken for you, gently and with respect, while you watch or look away as you need. There is no single right way through grief, and the day adjusts to yours.
Better Known Than You Might Expect
For a private studio at the end of a quiet road, its name has carried a long way. The work has featured on the BBC and in press at home and overseas, and the memorial tattoo for Treo, one of the most decorated military dogs of recent times, became one of the most widely seen pieces of its kind in the world; you can read that on the tattooing ashes into clients page. Paul Cutler, who runs the studio, is an award winning artist many times over, yet most who come through the door were sent by someone they know who left here well looked after.
A Design That Belongs to Them Alone
No two of these tattoos are alike, because the people they hold never were. Yours might be a portrait, a signature lifted from an old card, a date none but your family would know, a flower, a line of a song, or a small private mark that means something only between the two of you. However it takes shape, it is given the same unhurried care as every memorial made here before. The memorial tattoo design ideas and handwriting ashes tattoo pages are a quiet place to begin, and the mum ashes tattoo, dad ashes tattoo and grandparent memorial tattoo pages show what others have chosen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where exactly is the studio, and how do I find it?
It is in Sandbach, Cheshire, a private appointment only studio rather than a walk in shop, so the address and directions are given when you book. From Derby it is around 48 miles, under an hour by car up the A50, or a train via Crewe, which sits just a few miles away.
Can a tattoo really be made safely from ashes?
Yes, when they are properly prepared first, which is the whole basis of the work here. The ashes are matched to the right particle size, sterilised to clinical standards and cleared of contaminants before use. The problems occasionally reported elsewhere come from raw, untreated ashes being used by those without the experience to handle them.
Is there a minimum amount of ashes I need to have?
Only a very small amount is needed, around a tablespoon, so even if you have just a little set aside, it is almost certainly enough. You bring the container and only a small portion is taken, with the rest returning home with you.
Could I have my pet’s ashes used as well?
Yes. Many people choose to remember a person and a pet together, or a pet on its own, and ashes from either can be prepared in the same careful way. It is worth mentioning when you enquire so the design can be considered as a whole.
Do you do the design with me, or should I bring my own?
Either works. Some people arrive with a clear idea or a sketch, others come with only a feeling and work it out together at the studio. There is time set aside to talk it through properly before anything begins, so it ends up right.
Reaching Out From Derby
There is no need to have everything decided before you make contact. A short message saying who you would like to remember and roughly what you have in mind is plenty to start with, and the design, the day and the short trip over can all be shaped from there, at whatever pace feels comfortable.
Call 01270 385001, email info@bubblegumink.com, or use the contact page or the contact form at the foot of this page. Bubblegum Ink ® is a private, appointment only studio in Sandbach, Cheshire, with around 30 years behind it. When you feel ready, a little of the person you have lost can be made into something you keep with you always.
This page was written by Paul Cutler, who founded Bubblegum Ink ® and is among the UK’s most experienced ashes tattoo artists, with roughly 30 years spent on this work and multiple wins at the Rat’s Hole show in Daytona. His memorial pieces have been featured by the BBC and by press internationally. More about Paul and the studio.