Sandie Tweedie, 35, and Noemi Sorrentino, 31, met in a tattoo studio in 2012. They live together in Edinburgh with their two sons
For many people, getting a tattoo is a nerve-racking and painful experience. But when Sandie Tweedie visited an Edinburgh studio in 2012, he found an exciting distraction from the buzz of the needle. “I was told that the usual guy who did my tattoos was in a coma after having an accident,” he remembers. Instead they asked if he would like Noemi Sorrentino, a talented recruit from Italy, to be his artist. “The studio was crowded but we found a quiet space to discuss the design. As soon as our eyes met, I sensed a connection,” he says. He was booked in to have his tattoo two weeks later.
Noemi had been living in the UK for only a year and says her English was “not good”. Sandie tried to strike up a conversation to take his mind off the pain. “I was really concentrating on doing a good job so I was ignoring him,” she laughs. For Sandie the situation was awkward: “I fancied her but she was jabbing a needle into my ribs. It felt like such a cliche being one of those clients who chats up their tattoo artist.” Four hours later the tattoo was complete and he went to get some cash to pay. When he returned, Noemi and the receptionist were smiling. “I had told the receptionist I thought he was cute,” she says. “I liked him and felt 15 again.” However, she didn’t think it would go further. Noemi was a single mum to a baby at the time and was concentrating on her career.
