Thanks for taking a minute to learn about how we work.
WE KNOW THIS IS A LOT TO READ. And we appreciate you taking some of your own time to research our process. To expedite the process for everyone, if you do not follow the instructions for booking, you will be directed back to this policy page. We hate to hammer this point home repeatedly on our website; however, we constantly receive an overwhelming number of inquiries from folks who don’t read the page, which slows things down for everyone else.
If your question is NOT answered here, please feel free to contact us.
No, sorry, we are strictly a tattoo shop.
Tattoo sessions and consultations are by appointment. All our artists require a consultation to get to know you and your tattoo idea before we book a future appointment. This allows an artist to put more into your design. Each artist has different availability and can discuss that with you in the consultation. Since our artists are typically booked out in advance, walk-ins are only available circumstantially. Please feel free to fill out the contact us page or message the Facebook page ahead of time.
Well, first off, thank you for choosing us!! If you want a larger, more involved, or stylized tattoo and have not yet chosen the artist you’d like to work with, we recommend doing a lot of research on the style, size, and placement you’re looking for in a finished tattoo, and work backward from there to the right artist for the job. If you find an artist on our site with work in their portfolio that matches the style of work you want, you might be a good match! Choosing a tattoo artist is a very personal decision based on the final product you’re picturing.
Your next step is to contact the artist you’d like to work with and ask whether they would like to take on your tattoo project; if they do, they will arrange a consultation and collect the required deposit before scheduling your tattoo appointment. We are fortunate to receive more requests for tattoo work than we can accommodate at any given time, so if your design does not fit within the artist’s preferred tattooing styles or they simply can’t take on any new work at the moment, they might decline and, if they are able, make a recommendation for another artist who would do a great job at it. If this is the case, please be respectful that we have to turn away some work to do a great job at the ones we do accept. We would rather not compromise quality or time spent with clients to take on a higher volume of work. We want you to end up with an artist who has the time, interest, and ability to give your tattoo the attention it deserves and do an amazing job.
Our artists schedule their own consultations and appointments personally, so contact them directly through email, Instagram, or stop on down. Please be as thorough as possible in your inquiry with a description of: the tattoo you want, size (approximate dimensions in inches), placement on the body, and reference photos that help describe your ideas to the artist to avoid any unnecessary emailing back and forth before we can even understand the work you want done.
Our artists get a very large volume of inquiries, which they respond to for free in their off hours, when they could be tattooing, drawing tattoos, promoting, or playing with their dogs, among many other things. Our artists respond to all their inquiries as quickly as possible, but this doesn’t always mean same day. We do our best. We do, however, try our best to reply to everyone. You’re welcome to resend an inquiry if you do not hear back within a week, but this is not emergency dental work, and we value our artists’ well-being by encouraging them to work on inquiries at their own pace. Thank you for your patience as we respond.
While we do have a phone, we use it mainly for clients to call with last-minute cancellations or delays, or for urgent matters like aftercare questions. We do not give price quotes or schedule anything over the phone.
Asking “How much does a tattoo cost?” is similar to asking “How much does a bag of groceries cost?”… it varies hugely based on what’s in it, how big the bag is, and whom you’re buying it from. Pricing tattoos involves as many factors as designing them, so we cannot give you a price until you’ve designed and sized the tattoo with us in person. Your idea of “small” or “simple” may not match ours, so we don’t want to give anyone inaccurate information. After a consultation with your artist, they can give you a ballpark range for a single-session tattoo or an hourly rate for a larger, multi-session tattoo. Our minimum price for ANY tattoo (even smaller than a quarter with no color) is $100, and it goes up from there. We cannot give you a price range for a tattoo over the phone or email.
It is super helpful to send any reference pictures of tattoos, artwork, or photos that you like the look of to help explain your ideas to your artist, but remember we are all custom artists and will use your references as inspiration only and not directly copy someone else’s tattoo that you bring in. Luckily for you, this ensures you get a super unique tattoo designed just for you. We do have a large library of reference material for you to check out, but we do not have many pre-drawn (“flash”) designs, with the exception of some drawn by our artists. Since our artists all work in a set drawing style, we realize we cannot effectively tattoo 100% of styles. If you want a tattoo in a style that we don’t feel like we can execute effectively, we will happily give you a recommendation for another artist, if we can, even if they don’t work with us. We firmly believe that commissioning a tattoo is just that: commissioning a piece of custom artwork from an artist that you connect with. We prefer to tattoo a smaller number of customers who “get” our work, to give as personalized an experience as we can. We hope you understand.
During your consultation, your artist will discuss size, layout, and placement with you. If you like the direction they are going, they will take a deposit to start work on your design, and it will be applied to the price of the last session. This deposit is to ensure that you’re serious about getting the tattoo you’ve discussed with your artist, and if you decide not to get the tattoo for any reason, do not show up to your appointment, or are over 30 minutes late, the deposit is kept as payment for the artist’s time. We recommend you look over and understand our deposit and billing policy at the bottom of the page.
We accept Cash (preferred), major credit cards, Venmo, Cash App, Apple Pay, and Android Pay for tattoo payments. Deposits can be made in all the listed above.
Cash is king 😉
Be well rested, and eat a good meal two to three hours before your appointment. If you are hypoglycemic or diabetic, please inform your artist ahead of time. Wear comfortable clothing you don’t mind getting dirty, and that gives access to the area we need to tattoo. Feel free to bring music or other entertainment (your phone, magazines, a tablet with a movie for very long sessions, anything you can enjoy without moving). It is always nice to be on time, if not a few minutes early, but please no more than 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment. State Law prohibits anyone under 18 from entering the tattoo shop, so please plan accordingly. No children allowed! We also recommend bringing a small snack and a sugary drink, especially if this is your first tattoo. We do provide a variety of complimentary drinks for you as well. Being tired, hungover, or having low blood sugar can increase the discomfort level, which brings us to our next point:
No!
Alcohol and aspirin thin your blood, making you bleed more than normal. This not only makes the job harder and your tattoo take longer, but excessive bleeding can also cause improper healing, leaving your tattoo faded and unattractive. As far as drugs go, we are not pharmacists, and there is no way to tell how every drug will affect you being tattooed. Most importantly, we want you to be in a clear state of mind and have the lowest possible chance of feeling ill during the tattoo. This is an exception, of course, for prescribed medications. If you are not sure whether it is safe to get a tattoo while taking your medication, check with your doctor. So please come in feeling like yourself; we won’t tattoo you otherwise. And yes (because everyone asks), after the tattoo you can drink again after the first few hours (after bleeding has stopped), or take Tylenol or ibuprofen to help with swelling or pain.
After your consultation, we take a deposit to secure your appointment spots and start working on your design. We have a copy available here for your reference of our policies on changes and cancellations to your design or appointment. Thank you for your cooperation; short-notice changes to our schedule cause us to lose tattooing and drawing time, and other clients are waiting for availability as well. We truly appreciate your understanding.
A tattoo deposit is paid after a consultation with an artist to begin work on a tattoo design and hold a tattoo appointment. The amount of the deposit is equal to the artist’s hourly rate. (Hourly rates vary by artist and currently range 120-150/hour)
All tattoo deposits are non-refundable.
For multi-session tattoos, the deposit will be applied toward the last hour of the final session. By paying a deposit, you acknowledge that you have communicated your tattoo design idea to the artist to your satisfaction and have reviewed the artist’s prior work and determined that the artist can implement your idea to your satisfaction. Please understand that creating a tattoo design based on a client’s concept is subjective, and that variations may exist between your concept and the finished design. If the finished design is not to your liking, minor changes will be made at the artist’s discretion. However, substantial changes to the design or the request of an entirely new drawing or draft will require a new deposit, and the original deposit will be forfeited as payment for the artist’s drawing time.
No Drawings or drafts are emailed or otherwise previewed to clients before their scheduled appointment time.
A deposit will also be forfeited in full in the case of:
Clients will be billed at the completion of each sitting with the artist.
Congrats! You made it! We thank you so much for taking the time to read and review our policies and procedures. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns that were not covered here! Hope to see you soon!
