Toby makes his mark and scoops top award
A Cambuslang tattoo artist has made his mark on the competition after landing a top award.
Toby Erskine, who runs Toby’s Tattoos on Mitchell Avenue in Westburn, won the Best Tattoo Artist honour at the recent Lanarkshire Business Awards.
Toby, who moved into his new premises last year, has been working as a tattooist for the past seven years and said he was delighted at the awards success.
He told the Reformer: “I was just happy to be nominated, if I’m being honest – I hadn’t thought about actually winning it.
“I heard the names of the other tattooists that were nominated and I know how good some of them are, so I was thinking to myself ‘nah, I won’t win’.
“It was a real shock to win it and something I’m really delighted about. It’s a public vote and the clients I’ve got have really supported me.
“I’m really grateful for that – as soon as I went back to work it’s been constant again.
“I’ve had lots of congratulations and people sharing the post about winning it, so everyone seems happy for me. I’m just so grateful for all the clients that put their trust in me. I’ve never won anything before so I’m delighted.”
It came as a welcome reward after having to shut up shop for months during the coronavirus pandemic.
However Toby’s own business has gone from strength to strength as restrictions eased up. His diary is already fully booked all the way until next June, and he has just celebrated the one year anniversary of moving into his own building on Mitchell Avenue.
He added: “That’s been a year now from moving from Classy Chicks and it’s been a really nice step forward for me. Just having my own place has been a boost.
“It was tough with the lockdowns because I’m used to being so busy and then it all just stopped, and I was climbing the walls for a bit. I turned to canvas painting, actually, so it was a totally different change in lifestyle for that time.
“Since I’ve come back though the demand has been non-stop, which is brilliant.”