SOMERSET, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — The reopening of a Somerset tattoo shop has been delayed after a robbery wiped out equipment and supplies the owner had salvaged from a devastating tornado.
Nate Corder, the owner of Quality Custom Tattoos, was preparing to reopen his shop on Parkers Mill Way near the Somerset Mall when he discovered everything stored in a storage unit had been stolen — just after he signed a new lease.
"Right after signing the lease, I went to our storage unit to start loading stuff out and found out everything was gone," Corder told LEX News.
The stolen items included artwork, frames, tattoo equipment, rare books, and supplies — much of it recovered from the destruction left by an EF-4 tornado that demolished the shop on May 16, 2025.
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"The roof collapsed and then it rained, so everything from... the waist down was destroyed in the entire shop," said Corder.
Fortunately for Corder, not all of his belongings were lost in the tornado.
"A lot of the stuff from the waist up was salvageable if it wasn't water damaged," Corder said.
Corder, who has been tattooing for decades, said the craft is more than a job.
"It's more than a passion," Corder said. "You can't have a long career in tattooing and not love it."
Following the tornado, Corder received donations from supporters across the country, including people in Texas, Indiana, Virginia, and Kentucky.
"Tattooers from all over the country have helped us," Corder said.
In a post on Instagram, Corder acknowledged how difficult it was to ask for more help after already leaning on the community once.
"I don't know how we can ask for help after we've already asked for help," Corder said on his social media post.
Despite the setbacks, Corder said he remains focused on what matters most.
"The interaction between you and the art is what we're here for... All the other stuff, like tornadoes and robberies, is just noise," he said.
Corder, originally from Chicago, moved to Somerset in 1999. He plans to reopen the shop in June as police continue to investigate the storage unit theft.
