A Nottinghamshire couple have opened a business in their town centre where everyone is welcome. Rebel Base officially opened its doors on Victoria Street, Newark on Wednesday, 22 February, and operates as a tattoo shop, coffee lounge, nail bar and art shop.
Owners Mickey Buff, 30, and Stuart Bell, 41, aim to make the business a "welcoming safe space for absolutely anyone." Explaining what made them want to open the business, Mickey explained: "We had a tattoo shop in Tuxford, and we live in Newark so we moved it to Newark because it made sense.
"I've always worked in cafes and stuff like that and nails, and we only got married in August, so we have kind of merged our professions. We just really wanted it to be someone that people can come, whether they are having a tattoo or not, and just hang out as that's the vibe we've gone for, it feels more like a living room in the front.
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"It's just meant to be somewhere where people can hangout and chill." When asked how business has been going so far, she replied: "Yeah it's really good, he's really busy and we're getting lots of walk ins now as we are in a busier town, we get a lot of people coming in and booking tattoos which we never got in Tuxford."
In addition to tattoo side, the business also sells some of Stuart's artwork as he does art commissions and graphic designs as well. Mickey added: "Obviously he churns out loads of art and we have got so much that the walls in the place are absolutely full of his art, and pretty much everything is for sale and there's so much to look at."
She continued: "Mental health is close to our hearts so we also plan to host 'art therapy' workshops on a donation only basis. We've both been through a lifetime of bullying and teasing for being 'weird' 'nerds' 'goths' etc, so we just want everyone no matter how they dress or look to have a safe space to pop in, although we do welcome 'normal' people as well."
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