How do I find a good tattoo shop?
June 23, 2015 8:26 PM Subscribe
I'm sure looking at a portfolio is one way, but beyond that, what are some good things to look into? Word of mouth? Online reviews? I haven't gotten one since I was eighteen, which is many a moon ago. I'm in Milwaukee, if that is relevant. Thanks!
At least in SF if your tattoo artist is any good they're going to have a wait of over a month (sometimes 2-3)
Other than that yeah Yelp and portfolio review.
posted by bitdamaged at 9:46 PM on June 23, 2015
Other than that yeah Yelp and portfolio review.
posted by bitdamaged at 9:46 PM on June 23, 2015
You can take a look at some of the tattoo discussions on /r/Milwaukee for a starting point of names.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 8:32 AM on June 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 8:32 AM on June 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
A consultation will definitely help you determine how professional the artists are. Check how well they define their studio policies and aftercare instructions. If the studio owner or individual artists are doing any sort of blogging, or pretty consistent site updates (or hell even posting facebook updates relevant to the industry) that to me is always a good sign. As bitdamaged mentioned if they are booked several weeks to a month+ out, that also points to a positive.
(And when you settle on a great artist and get your tattoo, don't forget to tip!)
posted by erratic meatsack at 10:49 AM on June 24, 2015
(And when you settle on a great artist and get your tattoo, don't forget to tip!)
posted by erratic meatsack at 10:49 AM on June 24, 2015
The shop doesn't matter nearly as much as the artists (besides sanitary/cleanliness stuff of course). Hopefully the shops you're looking at in your town have websites showing each artists' work (alternatively, you can pop in and ask to see books of the artists there). If you have a design in mind, try to match it to an artist. If you have more of a style or vague concept, see if there's flash (painted work) that is close or exactly what you want- artists are generally really into tattooing their flash work, and generally not into doing stuff out of their wheelhouse.
And yeah, if the artist is booked a month or more out, that IS a good sign.
posted by tremspeed at 11:44 AM on June 24, 2015
And yeah, if the artist is booked a month or more out, that IS a good sign.
posted by tremspeed at 11:44 AM on June 24, 2015
I'm in the process of getting a very large inner arm tattoo from an artist I adore, and I found her by basically ignoring shops and focusing on artists who did the type of tattoo I wanted. Every artist has their own style and skills - what matters is finding someone whose style meshes with your tattoo goals.
It took me about a year to find the artist who's doing my arm. I started by pulling together a ton of reference images to nail down the style I wanted. Then I used Instagram and Reddit to identify artists who worked in that style. I then had a bunch of consultations before I settled on the person I wanted to work with. My tattoo is GORGEOUS, because I went with a very skilled artist who I get along well with.
One last thing - are there any tattoo conventions coming up near you? Conventions are a really great way to see a lot of artists at work and get a feel for what you want and what you don't want.
Good luck!
posted by nerdfish at 2:58 AM on June 25, 2015
It took me about a year to find the artist who's doing my arm. I started by pulling together a ton of reference images to nail down the style I wanted. Then I used Instagram and Reddit to identify artists who worked in that style. I then had a bunch of consultations before I settled on the person I wanted to work with. My tattoo is GORGEOUS, because I went with a very skilled artist who I get along well with.
One last thing - are there any tattoo conventions coming up near you? Conventions are a really great way to see a lot of artists at work and get a feel for what you want and what you don't want.
Good luck!
posted by nerdfish at 2:58 AM on June 25, 2015
Response by poster: It is necessarily a bad thing if you're able to get a quick appointment? The shop I went to has great reviews and is very professional looking, but there wasn't much of a wait to get in. Thoughts?
posted by Fister Roboto at 7:28 AM on June 25, 2015
posted by Fister Roboto at 7:28 AM on June 25, 2015
The Shop was quick to get into or the Artist was?
The easy to get into thing is just a heuristic its not absolute but you want to choose by artist not by the shop. Every shop is going to have a few junior artists that are easy to see and who can potentially be very good but they're new and dont have a book of work that makes it easy to judge how good they are. I went to Luke at Seventh Son in SF, it took me 3 months. If I just called on a random day I probably could have gotten in to see one of their more junior artists who was good but not as established. Also since I wanted something Japanese traditional it didn't make sense to see someone who did New Wave/American Traditional tattoos.
Note some really good tattooists still do some walk ins to cover for cancelations etc.
posted by bitdamaged at 8:08 AM on June 25, 2015
The easy to get into thing is just a heuristic its not absolute but you want to choose by artist not by the shop. Every shop is going to have a few junior artists that are easy to see and who can potentially be very good but they're new and dont have a book of work that makes it easy to judge how good they are. I went to Luke at Seventh Son in SF, it took me 3 months. If I just called on a random day I probably could have gotten in to see one of their more junior artists who was good but not as established. Also since I wanted something Japanese traditional it didn't make sense to see someone who did New Wave/American Traditional tattoos.
Note some really good tattooists still do some walk ins to cover for cancelations etc.
posted by bitdamaged at 8:08 AM on June 25, 2015
Response by poster: The shop I looked (Solid State) at only has two artists, both of whom get good reviews on Yelp. Are summers typically slow times for shops? Maybe there just isn't the same kind of demand in MKE as in San Fran?
posted by Fister Roboto at 8:36 AM on June 25, 2015
posted by Fister Roboto at 8:36 AM on June 25, 2015
The work looks pretty good (note I like Josh's a little bit better). If you're comfortable with them I'd go for it.
posted by bitdamaged at 9:20 AM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by bitdamaged at 9:20 AM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
« Older Should I pay my boyfriend rent if I'm crashing... | What facial moisturizer will seriously drench my... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
Make sure their artwork is quality - check to see if they have photos of healed work. Healed work can reveal if their lines are shaky, blown out, too deep, or if color isn't saturated, or there's excess scarring.
Ask around from people who have good work locally.
Take a trip into the shop and make sure it looks clean, and they adhering to health and safety standards (gloves, sanitizing spray, non-porous surfaces [pleather], fresh needles, etc) and that things just look and smell clean overall.
Talk to the shop manager or an artist there about their work and how they would approach your piece. If you don't like the place, then you don't have to book something.
posted by Crystalinne at 8:39 PM on June 23, 2015