Ashes Tattoo in Reading
An ashes tattoo holds a small portion of a loved one’s cremated remains within the ink, so that what you carry afterwards is not only their image but something of them. At Bubblegum Ink ®, a specialist studio in Sandbach, Cheshire, it has been the heart of the work for around 20 years, set within a tattooing career stretching back roughly 30. It is done once and never again, and that single fact is why the hands you choose to make it count for more than anything else.
The comfort it offers is quiet and continuous. There is no visiting it, as you would a grave, and no taking it down to look at, as you would a photograph. It is simply part of you now, present on the dull days and the ones that catch you unawares, for the rest of your life.
The Journey From Reading
Reading sits in the Thames Valley, a good way south of the studio, though the route up is a clean one. By road it is around 152 miles, close to three hours by way of the M40 and M6. By train you would change at Birmingham before reaching Crewe, a little over three hours in all, with the studio a short distance past Crewe. It is a day to set aside rather than a quick errand, and most people find the journey settles into the occasion rather than detracting from it.
The Preparation That Keeps It Safe
Most of the skill in an ashes tattoo is spent well before the design is drawn, in readying the ashes, and that is precisely where a specialist and a general studio part company. Taken as they are from the urn, cremated remains are coarse, unsterile and uneven, and a studio that simply mixes them into ink is leaving your healing to chance. Here, none of that chance is taken.
A small amount 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 for the day. It is careful, unhurried work, given the seriousness it is owed, and it is why a tattoo made this way heals as cleanly as any other. The reasoning is set out on the are ashes tattoos safe page, and the making of the ink on the adding ashes into tattoo ink page.
| Bubblegum Ink ® | A general tattoo studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Years specialising in ashes | Around 20 years, the studio’s 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 Reading | A specialist worth the journey | Whoever happens to be nearest |
Why the Distance Is Worth It
Reading is hardly short of tattoo studios, so it is fair to ask why people travel the length of the country to a small studio in Cheshire. The reason holds steady: there is one portion of your loved one’s ashes and one chance to honour it properly, with no second attempt if it is done badly. Measured against that, nearness counts for very little. Most people would far rather place something irreplaceable with someone who has made this their specialism for two decades than with whoever happens to be closest.
Always in Your Sight
The worry that weighs heaviest for most people is simply answered: your loved one’s ashes never pass out of your sight. Nothing is taken to another room, nothing happens behind a closed door, nothing is left for you to take on trust. The small portion is prepared in front of you and worked into the tattoo in front of you, the whole way through. That openness is not a courtesy extended on request; it is how every appointment is run, without exception.
And should handling the ashes yourself prove too much on the day, that is understood completely. Bring them as they are and the delicate part is carried out for you, gently and with respect, while you watch or look away as you need. There is no right way to grieve, and the day gives way to however it finds you.
A Studio Whose Name Has Travelled
It would be reasonable to assume a private studio down a quiet Cheshire road stays a local secret, yet the truth is otherwise. The work has been shown on the BBC and covered in press at home and abroad, and the memorial tattoo for Treo, among the most decorated military dogs of recent years, became one of the most widely seen pieces of its kind in the world; the account is on the tattooing ashes into clients page. Paul Cutler, who runs the studio, is an award winning tattoo artist, though most people who come to him are sent by someone they know who was well looked after.
Shaped to Be Theirs Alone
Because no two people are alike, no two of these tattoos are either. Yours might be a portrait, their handwriting taken from an old letter, a date that belongs to your family, a flower they loved, a line from a song, or a small private symbol whose meaning lives only between you. Whatever it becomes, it is given the same patient attention as every memorial made here before. To gather ideas, the memorial tattoo design ideas and handwriting ashes tattoo pages are a gentle place to begin, and the mum ashes tattoo, dad ashes tattoo and grandparent memorial tattoo pages show what others have chosen.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the trip from Reading take?
By road it is around 152 miles, close to three hours via the M40 and M6. By train it is a little over three hours with a change at Birmingham before Crewe, which is a short distance from the studio. It is best thought of as a day set aside rather than a quick visit.
Could I stay over and make a longer trip of it?
Many people travelling this distance do choose to. Sandbach is a pleasant Cheshire market town with places to stay nearby, and an overnight can take any pressure off the day itself, leaving the appointment calm and the journey home unhurried. It is entirely up to you.
How do I know the ashes used are truly my loved one’s?
Because they never leave your sight. You bring them, you watch the small portion being prepared, and you watch it go into the tattoo, all in the same room. Nothing is taken away or handled out of view at any stage.
Is there a limit on the design, given it contains ashes?
No. The ashes are blended into the ink, so they place no limit on what the tattoo can be; the design is as free as any other. Whether it is small and simple or large and detailed, the ashes are carried within it just the same.
What if I am nervous about the whole thing?
That is entirely natural, and you would be far from the first. Plenty of people arrive uncertain or anxious, often having never been tattooed before, and the appointment is paced gently with time to talk, ask and settle before anything begins. Nothing happens until you are ready for it to.
Reaching Out From Reading
The easiest way to begin is often just to ask. A short message or call describing who you would like to remember, and roughly what you are imagining, is plenty to start a conversation, and from there the design, the day and the trip up can be worked through gradually. None of it commits you to anything.
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. For anyone in Reading ready to carry a little of someone they loved, that is where it starts, whenever the time feels right.
Written by Paul Cutler, founder of Bubblegum Ink ®. He has worked as a tattoo artist for around 30 years and has specialised in cremation ashes tattoos for roughly the last 20, which places him among the most experienced in this field in Britain. A multiple award-winning artist, his memorial work has been featured by the BBC and by national and international press. Read more about Paul.