Ed Sheeran's tattoo artist is setting up a new school for aspiring inkers.
Ed Sheeran
The 'Thinking Out Loud' hitmaker has received a number of pieces of body art from Kevin Paul, and can be reassured about the health and safety aspects of his designs as the artist feels they are so important, he is planning to educate other tattooists as they currently don't need to have qualifications to set up a studio.
Kevin - who has also inked Harry Styles - said: "You can buy tattoo kits on eBay. And because you don't need to be qualified, anybody can just set up a studio. There is no formal training.
"I have taken this to parliament but the government are still ignorant to it. Environmental health services in the UK, they want to do something about it but the Government need to set up laws.
"Where is the incentive for professional artists? I'm giving my time to the public and setting up a tattoo school to as an intensive training course to help people learn about being an artist and the health and safety elements so it's safer for them and for customers.
"I'd rather people know everything about the health and hygiene and I want to help people get the knowledge they need, how to set a shop up, how to promote it and then I'd like to take this back to government.
"A true tattooist loves the art, they're passionate and they're drawing day and night.
"The government are making it easy for anybody looking to make some money."
Kevin believes, partly thanks to public figures like his famous clients, tattoos have become more popular and more accepted over the last decade.
He told the Burton Mail: "Over the last 10 years, tattooing has gone much more mainstream, it's socially acceptable, everyone is tattooed, pop stars, sports people, they're tattooed. I think there is a lot of pier-pressure for people to be tattooed, people feel 'I've always wanted one but never had one'.
"I see a lot of trends, black and grey, pocket watches, angels and clouds. Most street shops and dodgy street shops will just do anything, because it's about the money. I really do discuss people's reasons with them. I get about seven or eight people a day asking for a tattoo of a pocket watch, they all get the same response."
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