When Logan was photographed last spring, Ohio was in week three of the Stay at Home order.
Logan is an incredibly talented tattoo artist and owner/operator of Bespoke Tattoo Gallery, located in Cuyahoga Falls.
The timing of the Stay at Home order was rather unlucky, as Logan was in final stages of changing locations, rebranding, and adding new artists. The process to manage all of that isn’t simple during “normal” times, throw in a pandemic and Logan was up against it.
From September of 2019 through June 2020 rent was being paid at his current operating location as well as his new location while he worked through the steps of setting up a new tattoo studio. Logan was working with contractors, the health department and the city in order to obtain occupancy permits, building permits, a health department inspection, and much more. He was just finalizing the complicated logistics of the swift transition between locations when the Stay at Home order went into effect.
Additionally, he had 8 tattoo conventions lined up that were all canceled - and while he had to refund every single deposit he had received from clients planning to attend, only two of the eight conventions refunded his entrance fees.
Logan was home 24-7 and had no idea when he would be able to reopen his studio. He was going through some personal battles in addition to worrying about his business’ state. Having gone through a long term break up, plus having delays on selling the home because of the shut down, moving with little to no help, and being cooped up in his house, Logan decided to get his health back in order. “I started off doing home-based exercising and jogging in the middle of the night around Summit Mall parking lot,” Logan said. I was self conscious and not ready to be working out around anyone, plus gyms weren’t open anyway. I mapped out the distance—5x around the Summit Mall parking lot is just over a mile. That’s where I started.”
“As soon as gyms reopened, I started going responsibly—6 days a week for the rest of the year. I developed healthier eating habits. I hit my goals and remained consistent. I’m down about 85lbs, overall been down 117lbs in total. It did a hell of a lot more for my mental health than I ever imagined.”
Bespoke Tattoo Galleria reopened June 1st and all 6 artists have been consistently busy. Though business has been great, Logan is dealing with price surges of critical supplies they need to function, like gloves. “A case of gloves used to be about eighty dollars, now they’re over double in price,” said Logan. “And that’s if you can even find a supplier who lets you buy a case. Most had a 2 box limit last year (and some still have a limit). I was literally ordering 2 boxes of gloves every day—paying the same for the boxes as I was for the shipping.”
Although Logan is still facing challenges from the pandemic, he perseveres. Bespoke Tattoo Galleria remains steadily booked. Logan continues his regular workout routines and healthy habits he instilled last year. Now fully vaccinated, Logan is looking forward to socializing with his friends again.
