Only Love Tattoos opens in Guildhall Street, Bury St Edmunds, with guest tattoo artists lined up over the course of 2024

A new tattoo shop has opened in a Suffolk town centre with a number of guest artists lined up over the course of the year ready to bring their own style.

Only Love Tattoos, in Guildhall Street, Bury St Edmunds, has already enjoyed a popular opening and been well received in the area since it launched on Valentine’s Day.

Co-owners Alex Whiley, 35, and Ellie Diamond, 25, said they have been delighted with the response in the community and are excited to start their new journey in the town.

Ellie said: “Honestly we’re so chuffed with how it’s all come together and we’ve already had fantastic reviews so far.

“Being able to hang out with my friends, draw pictures and talk to people in a great environment - can it get much better than that?”

Alex said: “We’d love for this to become a staple of the town here and still be here in 10 years time.

“It’s very important to us now to keep producing work in a safe and warm environment for our customers and also artists.”

The artistic duo, who both live in Stowmarket, have a wealth of experience between them with Alex now in his eleventh year of tattooing while Ellie is in her seventh.

In the shop, they are also joined by Amber Rainbow, 24, and Rickey Wells, 22, who all help to bring their different styles to the tattoo table.

So far 16 tattoo artists from around the UK, including Curwen May and Holly Dixon, are booked in ready to also bring their own distinct styles over the course of the year.

Ellie said: “Bringing different people in keeps it interesting for the customers who live around here and we’ve got lots of friends in the industry.

“With me, I love art and I’m constantly painting or making something at home but I really love the social side of tattooing too.

“I’ve been doing this for over 10 years now and every day is different,” Alex said.

According to Ellie, a lot of customers in Only Love Tattoos are ‘nerdy’ and so Lord of the Rings and Warhammer tattoos are often very popular as well as ones related to Japanese pop culture.

After Alex and Ellie began showing an interest in the shop on Guildhall Street last summer, which was formerly an art studio, things began moving quite quickly.

Now, the pair said they are happy they’ve landed a great place in the town.

“It’s a beautiful space on this gorgeous street and we are so happy with it,” Ellie said.

“For us to work together in a good space, in the middle of Bury, and be so close to places in town is like a dream.”