Anna Edwards

anna.edwards@essnmedia.co.uk

LOLA Atobatele will certainly not have been alone in wanting a tattoo but not wanting to go through the pain of getting one.

But she is alone in coming up with a unique solution to the dilemma.

The innovative businesswoman produces flesh-coloured tights with tattoo designs on them – so women like her need never face the dreaded needle.

Lola, 33, from Uckfield Road, West Croydon, said: "I'd always wanted a tattoo but the idea of going home to my mother and facing the needle was too terrifying.

"I saw all the different styles of tights on the high street and thought I could make a pair that look like they have tattoos on."

She started selling the tights, and wooden jewellery which she also makes, on Deptford Market earlier this month.

And when she quickly sold out of her first batch of stock, Lola realised she had found a full-time career.

It came as something of a relief as, despite being a trained web designer, she had found work hard to find and had been unemployed for nearly three years.

She said: "They say when you have nothing to do and are desperate that is when the ideas come."

Lola makes her tattoo tights from a workshop in her home using a process whereby the design is printed and ironed on.

"There was a lot of trial and error," she said. "But I found people seemed to really like them, so I carried on.

"I do it all by myself so I can only do so much – but it's worth it."

Lola originally secured a spot on the market thanks to a national initiative run by Enterprise UK giving fledgling entrepreneurs a low-risk opportunity to test or grow their business in a real-life setting.

With that test, which lasted ten days, proving such a success she is now staying at the market for the foreseeable future.

She said: "I was surprised at the reception and demand, I was selling out of a lot of my products.

"So now I have a regular pitch there and it feels so good to be off Jobseeker's Allowance and doing something I really like."