Tattoo Freeze 2026 – 500 Samples, Mild Confusion, and No Business Cards (Sorry)

At the end of January we headed over to Tattoo Freeze at Telford International Centre. I used to go years ago when it was much smaller, so it felt a bit nostalgic being back. We only went on the Sunday, did a two‑hour drive each way from Lancashire, and stayed for about three hours thanks to family commitments. Efficient, if nothing else.

We didn’t have a stand — we just went in as paying attendees with a load of samples and walked the floor chatting to people. In that short time we handed out roughly 500, which isn’t bad going.

First job was actually finding the tattoo bit. I walked in and was met with rows of VW camper vans and spent a good few minutes wondering if I’d managed to turn up at the wrong event. Turns out it was running alongside a camper show. Once I found the artists, it all made a lot more sense. Busy, good atmosphere, and a steady flow of people.

The best part was seeing reactions. People loved the scents straight away, and what genuinely surprised me was how many artists already knew about the product. Quite a few had used it, heard good things, or were keen to try it, which is a big boost considering how new the brand is.

The limited Valentine’s balm got most of the attention, and the main question we kept getting was whether it could be used as a process butter — which it can. That started a lot of good conversations.

I ended up chatting to a few distributors and suppliers too, and the feedback was almost awkwardly positive at times. I’ve been in the industry over 20 years and had other brands before this one, so there was a lot of interest in what I’m building now.

Also, quick apology to anyone who asked for a business card — I completely forgot to bring them. Rookie mistake. You’d think I’d know better by now.

Even though we were only there a few hours, it was well worth the trip. Got the product into a lot of hands, had some proper conversations, and got that familiar convention feeling again — being around tattoo people just feels like home.

Next time we’ll stay longer… and I’ll bring the business cards.