I was visiting family in Truro and wanted to get a tattoo, looked through all the work and really liked the work Taryn did. So I contacted the studio and set a date. When I got here and it was close to my tattoo appointment I got a message from Taryn informing me she was sick, this disappointed me a little, but we were still able to arrange a day before I left. Really happy with the tattoo and the experience in the shop. Read Less

Clare really made the whole piercing experience relaxed and very informative. Her knowledge and enthusiasm about piercing and everything that goes with that, made this the best piercing experience I have ever had! I will be back! Also, the staff that I dealt with were really wonderful. All around, a great shop with a great vibe! Read Less

I've gotten two tattoos from Helena and my mother has one from Keegan and they are all absolutely stunning! Everyone in the shop is super friendly and I feel that it is an overall welcoming environment. I'd definitely recommend HFX to anyone! Read Less

I got two tattoos done by Helena when I traveled to halifax from London, Ontario. She was extremely accommodating and gave me two absolutely amazing tattoos. The entire shop was great and made me feel extremely comfortable, spent all day laughing away which was a nice distraction. I would gladly travel back to halifax just to get tattooed by Helena. Thanks so much! Read Less

Absolutely not a artist at this location who I would ever allow to tattoo me even if they offered to pay me to practice on my skin. Of course tattoos are forever. I refuse to suffer humiliation by wearing poorly designed and even worse applied tattoos this is an experience I must avoid in this lifetime. Others are obviously so immature or insecure that the local peer-group pressure to belong has overwhelmed their better judgement, I looked at the portfolio and could see that no one in the building could apply a tattoo with any skill that I could honestly call quality art. Sorry for you people working at this business tattooing unsuspecting consumers. I am a collector of real art and in my opinion the work being done at this location in childish and appears to be desperate attempts to pay the rent and nothing more. I also did not appreciate the arrogance that I experienced when I was there. Read Less

I was pierced by Claire for the first time today. I've been pierced by other local piercers many times, and have never had such a comfortable and educational experience. Clare is a fountain of knowledge, and despite my having had several piercings before: Clare gently guided me through each step and made sure I understood everything that was happening before she did it. Endless thanks! Read Less

I took a chance and came into this shop looking to get a walk-in appointment. Of course, everyone was extremely busy and it was understandable, however, I was only in town for a few days and I so badly wanted to get it done at this shop. Helena stepped up and offered to do it quickly since it was a small tattoo. Everyone here was absolutely amazing and professional. It was an easy-going and comfortable environment which made it the perfect scenario for my first tattoo. Read Less

Amazing place that is full of tallented artists. All the artist at this location have years of experience under their belts and are some of the best at what they do. Very clean, professional, friendly and chatty atmosphere. I would recommend this place to everyone getting tattoos or piercing, especially for the first time. Read Less

I had my first two tattoos done 17 years ago and have been ashamed of them since! It has taken me this long to trust someone to tattoo me again. Two years ago I started to follow Helena Darling's work and became in love with her colourful, feminine designs. Last month my grandmother passed away, who was the light of my life. Helena did an absolutely beautiful job on a memorial piece for me! I was very nervous and "green" to the tattoo world, but she made me feel nothing but comfortable and confident in my decision. The personality of the artist is just as important to me as the final outcome, and hers is glowing! Read Less

Helena did my fantastic tiny tank, which I love. I've had ink done around the world, by some of the best artists there are - a sleeve by Sunny Buick in Paris, chest piece by Xoil, and a leg piece by Shiryudou in Tokyo, and here in Nova Scotia I have most of a sleeve by Josh Dobbs (also excellent), and I can say without question that Helena is absolutely among the best anywhere. Read Less

I spent two hours + here yesterday, February 11th 2017. I had an appointment with Helena Darling. I contacted her through email and worked out the date and time, as I was travelling from out of town. When it came down to design, she was great for planning out the tattoo. I gave her a few ideas to run with, and when she sent me the design, it was perfect. ... She was great during the actual tattoo. Helena makes you feel comfortable (...everyone did in the shop), and was super entertaining and chatty throughout the whole session. (I'm super chatty as well, so it was excellent.) Claire squeezed in a jewelry change for me at the end of my visit. She was informative in helping me pick a new earring to replace the one my dog ate, and super quick with the actual procedure. I would highly recommend HFX Tattoo to anyone contemplating getting new ink, whether it be your first tattoo, or your umpteenth. Thanks again guys. :) See More Read Less

Amazing vibes all around...had Claire pierce me and she's wonderful. Made me feel super comfortable through the whole process. Then I returned to have ink done by the lovely and absolutely hilarious Helena Darling. I would 100% recommend anyone get piercings or ink by the fine artists in this shop. 💯👌🏼 Read Less

So. July 27th 2016 I called this shop.. I asked if a particular tattooist would be around the next day at around 4 pm, that's a Friday.. so I can pop by for a consult. Who ever answered the phone said sure! she will be here if you come by then. So off I go speed walking in 31 degrees from work, the south end to the north because I don't like being late when I say I'll be some where at such a time. I respect the time/schedule of dentists.. hair stylists.. and here tattooist etc.I showed when I said I would show for my consult with her, only to learn that she had left early for the day. And that's fine, I just spoke to the first tattooist that spoke to me.I gave him an idea of what I want to have done.. I went home and e mailed him some photos. 3 weeks later I find out that he was supposed to take a $40 deposit before starting to sketch my tattoo, he apparently forgot to do this. so a week goes by, 2 weeks go by.. I comes to me then that maybe I should ask him if he requires a deposit. Because a friend who is a tattooist told me that he does not start anything with out that $40 deposit. ok so great.. this tattooist did not ask me for my deposit and here I am 2 weeks later still waiting on a sketch to be e mailed my way. So I bring down the $40 deposit.. this is 3 weeks after meeting him. And this time things seem to be progressing. He takes a tracking of the tatt that I want covered over and we do that and I leave.. about 8 more days pass.. I'm kind of thinking "hmmmm, this is taking a long time this whole tattoo process, just.. even getting to that first visit in the seat" So I call the shop and some one says he will send me the sketch "ah finally" by the ed of the day.So he does!. And well... I guess it was supposed to be a cats body but my boyfriend nor I could make out that the cat was actually doing, and it's body had a pretty odd shape. Basically it wasn't a good tattoo. I nicely let him know that I don't like it.  But almost 20 minutes later I sent him a photo of a tattoo, he quickly drew that up and sent the result back quickly.. an hour later.We booked an appointment for 2 days later. but the day before my appointment I canceled as I figured I'd like to wait until I come back from my 2 week stay near the ocean. makes sense. He seemed fine with rescheduling my appointment for the end of Aug. no problems and was understanding.But then! yesterday e mailed me letting me know that he is not doing my tattoo, he is not comfortable and is not feeling it. and just kept my deposit. If you ask me.. I hurt his ego by saying I didn;t like the first sketch. and that is the reason why he changed his mind.I'm not sure this is the right thing for him to do. Being that he forgot to ask for my deposit i the first place, which held up my time to come in. Read Less

Hilarious. And insanely talented. Helena darling is my artist, she's crazy amazing. But the whole crew at this shop is awesome. They keep you very entertained, and you can tell there's an amazing dynamic in there. If your looking for an artist who can bang out killer colour and be totally honest with you about placement and style Helena is your girl. She also really loves Starbucks hot chocolates if you want to score some brownie points!! I highly recommend this shop! Read Less

My friend and I arranged an appointment 3 days before coming to town to get our tattoos. We put down a deposit and emailed the artist with pics and details of our tattoos. We spoke to the artist on the phone and received a great response. When we showed up for our appointment we were crushed to find out the artist we had booked with didnt show for work that day. We never received a phone or email cancellation. Cant say anything about the talent at this shop because I never ended up rescheduling ... the service was awful though. Will never recommend this place. Read Less