'Born and bred' Higham Ferrers woman opening new tattoo shop in High Street this week
The Ferrers Needle will open its doors for the first time on Saturday, April 25, bringing a new unique service to the town.
The community’s response has been ‘really positive’ according to owner Natalie De Quincey-Wykes, having found a home in Higham Ferrers’ High Street, a town that she also calls home.
Natalie said: “I’m born and bred Higham and I always said that when I have a tattoo shop, it has to be here. Higham didn’t have one and I knew I could make it work, though it would be difficult.
“Higham still has its traditional values, the community is different, but I want a shop where everybody is welcome.
“I knew it would be different for Higham, but it’s hopefully an exciting journey for the community as well.
“The aim is to fit with Higham, not for Higham to fit with the shop.”
Natalie had previously studied photography at university, but decided to take a different turn after ‘never really being happy’ in different fields so turned her hand to tattooing, a craft she’s been refining for around four years.
Natalie added: “One day my dad said to me ‘why don’t you just do what you always said you were going to do?’
"It just got bigger and better and I found the career path I was meant to take, it just took some time to get there."
Signage has been carefully chosen to fit in with the rest of the town’s offerings, hoping to bring a ‘calm, private but inviting environment’, different from the typical expectations of other tattoo shops.
The opening of The Ferrers Needle was chosen in part to coincide with Higham Ferrers’ St George’s Day celebrations and Farmer’s Market, with the shop being open for people to visit on Saturday, April 25 with cakes, tea and coffee, a raffle and kids area to allow visitors to see the shop first-hand.
The shop will be open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10am until 2.30pm, Wednesdays from midday until 8am, and Saturdays from 10am until 6pm.