Keng is a master of traditional Thai tattooing

“I was 16 and it was a seahorse on my back,” she laughs. “I smarty answered mum back that I would marry a tattoo artist.”

Incredibly, a decade later, she did exactly that.

In 2004, not long after the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami that wreaked havoc across South-East Asia, Lauren, a diving instructor, had travelled to the island of Koh Phi Phi off Thailand's Andaman Coast as a volunteer to help with clean-up efforts.

There, she met Keng Timsuwan, who had been working on the island as a tattooist.

“It was a weird time, putting a destroyed community back together,” she says. “It was deeply sad as so much had been destroyed and so many loved ones lost, but it was somehow magical as everyone worked together as a family to rebuild the island. Many of my closest and dearest friendships were made during this time.”

Keng, who was keen to learn English, and Lauren, hit it off and lived together for a year on Koh Phi Phi before marrying in a traditional Buddhist ceremony in Keng's home town of Nakhon Sawan.

An expert in his art, Keng uses a traditional Thai bamboo technique, sometimes known as hand-poked tattooing. The ancient form of body art uses a needle on the end of a length of bamboo which is gently tapped into the skin.

“It is quite rare and is primarily learned in the temples by the high monks to tattoo the sacred Buddhist Sak Yants,” explains Lauren.

This is the Thai name for the tattooing of sacred geometrical designs on the skin that are thought to offer protection. Sak means ‘to tap’ or, ‘to tattoo’, and Yant is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Yantra’ meaning a contraption used for worship and meditation.

“They are Thai spells to bring good luck or strength amongst other things,” she adds.

Keng had always been artistic. As a child he was often to be found drawing and sketching. From a young age, his family wanted him to focus on his studies  and become a doctor. He was sent to his local temple to learn discipline but the monks noticed his natural artistic talent. Such was his skill that, aged ten, they asked him to paint local temples with ornate Thai designs.

The monks went on to teach him the traditional art of bamboo tattooing as well as how to decipher the ancient Thai texts.

Keng eventually went to university and trained as a doctor. When his father died, he was then able to follow his own path according to Thai custom and he opened his first tattoo studio.  

Bamboo tattooing is less painful and less likely to draw blood than the modern machine tattoo method.

“With the bamboo method the skin is pierced in a similar manner to a body piercing but with a needle almost as fine as a human hair,” explains Lauren. “Similar to a piercing, the skin closes almost immediately upon the needle being removed. This means they don’t bleed and heal almost immediately so there is no aftercare.

“They hold their color in a manner superior to a machine and stay super-bright with little or no fading and the lines are sharp and crisp. As we only need to go over an area once with no touch ups, they are less painful and as quick as a machine. “

After living in Thailand Lauren, who grew up in Guiseley and attended Guiseley High School, moved with Keng back to West Yorkshire.

“We felt it was important for Keng to experience my culture as I had been fortunate enough to experience his,” she says. 

Together they opened The Bamboo Rooms in Shipley in 2007, with Lauren managing the business.

With a steady stream of customers, the venture was a success and Keng was in demand.

He has won numerous awards for his work and has been featured in Tattoo Master magazine as well as The Guinness Book of World Records, as part of a record for the most people tattooing at once.

After starting a family, Keng and Lauren relocated to Thailand. “We wanted to school our children in Thailand so they would become bilingual,” she says. “Unfortunately when we were in the UK they were unable to fully learn Thai.”

Many customers from the UK flew to Thailand to add to the tattoos Keng had already given them, combining the trip with a holiday.

“A lot of them have gone on to become dear friends,” says Lauren.

Covid had a dramatic impact on Lauren and Keng’s business, along with that of many other traders in Thailand. “The country has had very few Covid cases, so it is almost normal, with all the shops, restaurants and bars open, but the borders are closed, which has led to a big drop in trade and many businesses have been forced to close and many people have lost jobs,” says Lauren.

“There has been very little financial help and in our case we have had no help at all. We lost our entire customer base overnight as they were unable to travel to us and as you can imagine it was extremely stressful.”

The couple made the tough decision that Keng should return to the UK, and re-establish himself there, where he has an existing customer base.

Now, with a new studio in Otley’s Bondgate, he is already busy with people looking in particular for Sak Yahts and traditional Maori designs along with bespoke custom designs.

Lauren manages the project remotely. “It has been quite difficult, but as we have opened previously in the UK, at least this time we knew what we had to do to get the studio ready.”

She has remained in Thailand with Willoughby, 12 and nine-year-old Willow.

“We are excited to move back and open our second studio in Otley and we think in the long term this could be good as having the studio and a home there will mean we will travel back more often and also be able to bring the children back for more visits,” says Lauren.

“While it is difficult not being able to be together as a family it is a relief to finally be able to work again. I think my mum is enjoying having Keng back as she knows it won’t be long before I can bring the children. I haven’t seen her for 18 months and the children and I miss the family so much.” 

Willoughby is already a keen tattooist, and is learning from his dad. “He is very similar to Keng and has always expressed an interest in tattooing,” says Lauren. “He used to get Keng to pretend to tattoo him when he was as young as three.”

Over the years Lauren has added to her controversial seahorse tattoo. “I have a Second World War sleeve dedicated to the female workers of the war and another sleeve with my children’s portraits being protected by a Sak Yant and also by a Buddha design.

“On my back I have a Japanese geisha on one side and a peacock on the other side. Keng has a lot of traditional Thai art work.”

Lauren’s mum is also now a fan of the art. “My mum now has a full-back piece with a Japanese geisha”, laughs Lauren.

*Visit bambootattoo.co.uk; The Bamboo Rooms, 6 Bondgate, Otley LS21 3AB Leeds