Full disclosure: I did not get a tattoo here. So, I can't really speak for the artist's abilities, I'm sure he's a good artist, I was definitely thrown off by the fact that this isn't an actual tattoo... Read More
Full disclosure: I did not get a tattoo here. So, I can't really speak for the artist's abilities, I'm sure he's a good artist, I was definitely thrown off by the fact that this isn't an actual tattoo shop, just someone's house. Basically, my husband and I were in town on our honeymoon and thought it would be cool to get matching tattoos that we'd been talking about getting for a while - a super small outline of a sleeping cat. I called the shop because it was located close to our airbnb, and from the website it looked legit. The guy on the phone asked us to come in around 7pm. So, we arrived and it was just an apartment. He had said it was a private studio, but it was definitely just an apartment, super messy and stinking of pot. Which like, I have nothing against smoking pot, but I kinda don't feel great about getting a tattoo from someone who is pretty clearly high (as he definitely was.) The place was also just super dirty and gross looking. I honestly didn't even want to stick around long enough to see if his tools were clean - I couldn't imagine that they could be, honestly. I was kind of panicking, as was my husband, while the guy was on his computer looking at the image I'd sent him. My husband pretended to get a phone call and we made some stupid excuse and quickly left. I feel bad for just leaving, but there was also no way in hell that I was getting a tattoo in this gross apartment from this guy. I realized he has no yelp reviews, and although I really, really hate writing negative reviews, I know that had I known what the deal was, I definitely wouldn't have even tried going there at all, so hopefully this will save someone a super uncomfortable experience.Edit: And the owner sent me a private message and cursed me out for leaving an honest review. Sorry about it, buddy. My "marginal styled husband" and I got amazing tattoos at Tattoo Shack, and like I said to you in my message, if you want people to not be disgusted by your place, maybe have it be cleaner and not smell like pot. I will address your points here:1. We didn't realize it was a private studio until we called you, as your website makes no indication of that, regardless, private or not, your place should still be clean if you're going to be tattooing there.2. No, we didn't see the place where you would actually do the tattoo, but the dirtiness of the place and the smell were 2 huge red flags.3. We also didn't realize that it was after your normal hours and you were making an exception for us, because again, you didn't say that and it wasn't on your website. I appreciate you staying open for us, but regardless, your place should be clean, right? Also, if what we saw was a place that you don't let clients see, why did we see it? You led us in there, it's not like we were sneaking around looking for something to complain about. 4. The pictures that you posted do in fact show a clean apartment/studio. I fully believe that you have the capacity to clean your space, but that doesn't mean it always looks like that, and it didn't when we came in. 5. You keep saying that maybe we didn't like your style - the reason we were interested in the first place is because we like your style, the tattoos on your website look great! But, I wouldn't let even the best artist put a needle in my skin if the environment is that disgusting. You may be a great person and an amazing tattoo artist, but if your studio is so disgusting, people won't get to find that out. Maybe you should spend more time making your space presentable and less time messaging reviewers on yelp and cursing at them and making remarks about their appearance (lol sorry if you didn't like our hair, which was actually purple, not blue, not that it matters) . I honestly wish you the best of luck with your business; maybe you'll learn more as you continue in your career. Read Less