New Star Wars-themed tattoo studio, with droid sounds as you walk in, opens its doors in Scarborough

R2 Tattoos, on Northway, has been done out to recreate the atmosphere of the popular sci-fi movies.

Owner Dan Stone has spent the last six weeks refurbishing the premises and decorating it with a fake stonework desk, a Star Wars coffee table and all kinds of memorabilia.

“My previous studio was just a tattoo studio, I created something that had multiple artists in and this time around I wanted to do something different, I wanted something that was a bit more than just a tattoo studio,” said Dan, who’s recently moved up from Kent.

“There’s still a little bit of decoration to do but the ultimate aim is to create something that even if you’re not into tattoos you leave talking about.”

Over the years, the 45-year-old has tattooed at three major Star Wars conventions in Florida, London and Chicago and has been licensed by Lucasfilm.

But the majority of his designs aren’t Star Wars-related. A lot of them focus on realism such as portraits and animals.

“There isn’t one particular thing I really like doing. If I can engage with the customer to create for them a unique piece, that’s where the best tattoos come from, regardless of style.”

Dan’s decision to move to Scarborough, where his dad lives, came after a particularly difficult time after which he realised “everything needed to change”.

“Where I was previously, the studio that I’d created, the people within the studio, it’d all become quite toxic and it had become very much a place I was completely unhappy with. It was having a very detrimental effect on my mental health.

“In the 11 days I was up here looking for a place to live I introduced myself to other local businesses, and through the rebuild of the studio I’ve had more encouragement and more support from the other local businesses, the other tattoo artists, local people in general than I ever did in the 17 years in my old studio.”

His past struggles are the reason why for the first four weeks of business, until Saturday March 7, Dan will be donating 10 per cent of his takings to charity. Half of it will go to Mind, the other half to the MND Association, the illness his step-uncle passed away from.

“It’s been a journey, it was a hard road getting to this point but I’m loving it up here. There is certainly a lot of truth in the saying of Northerners being friendlier than Southerners just because of the sheer amount of support I got from family, extended family and people I barely know.”