Tattoo in Philly

July 23, 2009 8:52 AM

Where can I get a good tattoo in the greater Philadelphia area? I would like to get a Celtic arm band and have been told it would be a 4-6 month wait at my local tattoo parlor; this doesn't seem reasonable wait to me but I'm a tattoo newb so any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.
posted by anonymous to clothing, beauty, & fashion (5 comments total)

Not to be one of those "hey, you can just search this, duhhhh" type people, but I'm a big fan of Yelp for recommendations for local stuff (I'm in NYC, lots of Yelpers here). Looks like there's a lot in Philly too: Go here and poke around in the reviews. Keep in mind that some people will never be happy...if there's ten 4-5 star reviews and one 1-star review, you're fine.

I have a couple tattoos (very small, very simple...each one took <30 minutes), and there's always been some sort of waiting period/appointment. I have a friend who has been working on a sleeve for almost a year, she just had it finished. Depending on how complicated you want your tattoo to be, you may have to wait a bit, but I agree - 4-6 months is a bit much for an armband, unless you're having it done by a really popular/famous tattoo artist. Even then, unless they're drawing it for you and you're dropping huge bucks, it's still a long time.

It's probably worth it to make a list of 4-5 places that look good, visit each one and talk to the people, see where you get a good feeling and are comfortable, then make an appointment. This is one of the luxuries of living in a city - having multiple options! Don't settle for the place that'll take you the soonest.
posted by AlisonM at 9:20 AM on July 23

My fiancée and I both got some good work done at Body Graphics, which is on 4th Street down by South Street. She also got some excellent work at No Ka Oi, which is on the same block. I'd recommend taking a look around the area, they have some shops which are newbie friendly and artists who can do some quality work. I got my piece done as a walk-in, I can't imagine waiting months for what is basically a flash piece.
posted by graymouser at 9:29 AM on July 23

It's not at all unusual for good artists to have a backlog of appointments. And, depending on how big a tattoo you're envisioning, and how long you plan to sit, it might require multiple sessions. If you're going to have someone create original artwork (and I think you should be), it'll take some time for the artist to draw it, then make any revisions and whatnot.

I'm pretty heavily tattooed, and my main piece of advice is be patient, don't rush it, take your time, that kind of thing.
posted by box at 9:29 AM on July 23

There's a place in Willow Grove, which is a magazine-read away from Philly on the train.

Sink the Ink I believe it is called. There's a guy who works (worked?) there named Mike.
He worked at a branch here in Doylestown when I saw him, but I walked in the place with an idea, he whipped up a drawing I loved, and an hour later it was done.

I tried to go back to him for more recently, to find out he has moved to the Willow Grove store.
But I highly recommend this place, as they are well priced and MOST of the artists aren't just lazy drunks with cool jobs.
posted by Palerale at 10:38 AM on July 23

i have a lot of celtic work done. i go to brian patton at the body grafix on south street between 6th and 7th. he has done good work for me, both on a smaller piece and the beginnings of a sleeve.

if you have an artist that you lurve, and who does celtic stuff well, you should stick with them even if it is 4 months. but, if you're shopping around, brian's a good guy.

but, tattoo artists are a very personal thing, and everyone will tell you something different.

if you're itching to get it done, walk into the shop on a saturday afternoon soon after 12. they should fit you in almost immediately, or at least that day.

(if you look like a blank slate, some of the guys will be dicks. but they're not really dicks, they just do that to separate the chaff from the wheat i think.)
posted by misanthropicsarah at 6:46 PM on July 23