Carved Ink Studio opens near Five Points
Ben Leadlove didn’t set out to become a tattoo artist, but the universe kept giving him signs.
“I guess I wasn’t really paying attention,” said Leadlove at the July 1 grand opening of his new shop, Carved Ink Studio.
Leadlove went to school for classical sculpture with visions of creating large-scale pieces for cities and parks. He also had an interest in comic book illustration and graphic design. While doing freelance illustration work, he often designed tattoos for friends.
“Then it dawned on me that I should be doing it,” he said.
He did an apprenticeship at Irish Buddha Tattoo Shop in Seaford. More recently, he worked at a tattoo shop in Rehoboth before guest spotting at other shops in the area during the last four months while renovating his own space in Five Points Plaza.
“It’s been a long road,” he said. “Two years ago, I really felt like I hit my mark.”
At Carved Ink Studio, Leadlove has created a space where he can tattoo, showcase his art and have a studio to work on sculptures, paintings and other pieces. The shop will be appointment only, with no time allotted for walk-ins.
“It’s clean, organized and our own,” he said. “I have really amazing clients that come from all over.”
He’s the lone tattoo artist in the studio, but works with his girlfriend Tabitha Cortijo, who handles a lot of the scheduling, logistics, social media and other tasks. Cortijo is also a middle school English and special education teacher in the Lake Forest School District and a personal trainer at Salt Fitness in Rehoboth.
“It feels pretty incredible we were able to do this,” Leadlove said. “A couple of years ago, I set a plan for myself that by the time I was 35 I would have everything I wanted – my own business, my own studio and the girl of my dreams – and I have done that. It’s all come together. It’s just been a lot of sacrifice and a lot of hard work.”
Leadlove was born in South Jersey, but grew up mostly in California before finishing high school at Cape Henlopen. He settled back in Delaware about eight years ago. Like Leadlove, Cortijo has also been all over. She was born in Mississippi and lived in Pennsylvania before moving to Delaware about 20 years ago.
Leadlove attended the University of the Arts in Philadelphia for undergraduate studies. He continued his education at The Academy of Fine Arts, focusing on classical sculpture and anatomy.
He said he’s looking forward to utilizing his new space to get back into sculpture and large-scale painting.
Carved Ink Studio is located at 17601 Coastal Highway, Lewes. For more information, go to benleadlove.com or call 302-703-6291, or follow the studio on social media @carvedinkstudio.
