Tattoo parlour takes over landmark Norwich building amid expansion

A landmark building in Norwich has been taken over as a tattoo parlour after its previous tenants shut up shop.

The former Cane Furniture Centre in Dereham Road will now be home to Sith Tattoo, which has moved around the corner from Heigham Street.

The Norwich-founded studio is run by Annie Bull, who took over this year having worked for the business since its inception in 2005.

She said: "We were all a bit on top of each other at our old place, and I had always walked past this building and thought how wonderful it would be to have a tattoo parlour there."

The building became available earlier this year after the Pidgen family, who had run Cane Furniture for 17 years, closed their business.

The furniture store had been forced to close due to rising costs - largely driven by a fall in demand with customers no longer wanting to pay delivery charges.

"We were a bit nervous because there is such fierce competition in Norwich," Ms Bull said. "But everyone has been so supportive and happy for us, it's a great community."

Ms Bull said that the parlour would now be looking to get guest artists into the studio to join their five regular artists.

"We have seen a surge in demand," she said. "I think because it's become a lot more socially acceptable to have tattoos.

"We tattoo everyone from 18-year-olds who come in on their 18th birthday to get their first tattoo, to people in their 70s who have decided they want a tattoo."

Ms Bull said the team were "like family", with a mixture of experienced artists as well as an apprentice.

"It's such a beautiful building. I don't believe in fate or any of that but when this became available as we were looking to move that is what it felt like," she said.

The building also has some quirks: "We're certain it's haunted," Ms Bull said.

"Doors like to open by themselves and things keep moving to completely random places when no one's touched them. It seems like a friendly ghost though," she joked.