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Vigo County tattoo‑shop owner tells commissioners inconsistent enforcement of health‑department rules blocked apprenticeships
Summary
House of a Thousand Needles owner Mike Hambright told commissioners that Vigo County Health Department interpretations of the tattooing ordinance have prevented his apprentices' hours from counting and asked the board to recognize his prior licensure or grant a variance while the ordinance is clarified.
Mike Hambright, owner of House of a Thousand Needles, told the Vigo County Board of Commissioners that inconsistent interpretations of the county tattooing ordinance and health‑department enforcement have prevented his shops apprentices from completing licensure requirements.
Hambright said he moved his shop from Vermillion County to Vigo County in April and invested in plumbing and other requirements. He told commissioners the health department recognized his prior licensure to open the shop, but staff later informed him that a separate, unwritten requirement was being applied: that a regular licensed artist must hold a Vigo County license for one year before sponsoring an apprentice.
"It says, nowhere in the ordinance... does it state that a regular licensed artist must personally hold a license in Vigo County for 1 year before supervising an apprentice. That interpretation has been added verbally, but is not written in law," Hambright said. He also said a trainee, Jeremy, completed 500 supervised hours but the health department told them those hours did not count because they were not strictly "tattooing hours," which Hambright said is not specified in the ordinance text he was given.
Hambright said the enforcement has left his shop dependent on an artist with an existing Vigo County license who has been "unreliable," and that an assistant, Ariana, left an in‑home health care job based on the expectation that apprenticeship hours would count. He asked commissioners to recognize his 3.5 years of licensure in Vermillion County for the purpose of sponsoring an apprentice or to grant a temporary variance while the ordinance is clarified.
Hambright cited the Indiana Constitution Article I, Section 12; the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; and Indiana Code sections 36‑1‑5‑4 and 36‑1‑5‑5 in arguing that an unpublished or inconsistently enforced requirement cannot be imposed. The transcript records commissioners saying they do not have unilateral authority to grant the variance and that the matter will be discussed with the health department staff (Amanda and Tammy were referenced) and taken under advisement.
No formal action was taken at the meeting; commissioners asked staff to follow up with the health department and contact Hambright by email or phone. The transcript does not show a formal timeline or commitment to a staff report back to the board.
