There is so many questions about getting a tattoo. How do I decide what to get? What tattoo styles last? How do I choose an artist? Where do I put my new tattoo on my body?

To start with, and I cannot emphasis this enough that we are ALWAYS AVAILABLE to answer any questions from you. This is all about you and your tattoo, and we will ALWAYS put you first at every step of your tattoo. Period.

We are committed to giving you the best tattoo possible, and we welcome your input, questions, comments on any part of the process at any time. We don’t want to just tattoo people and then they disappear. We love staying connected to our clients and making sure they are consistently happy with our work, for decades to come.

Deciding on a tattoo is a very personal thing for each person. This may involve much introspection and thought. We never recommend that you get a tattoo on a whim, as you may be sorry for your choice later on. That being said, there is really no wrong reason to get a tattoo.

Yes, of course, peer pressure, images that you may outgrow or immediately regret come to mind to negate that last statement. But in terms of the image itself, the composition, and the process to pick what is done, is as diverse as the individual’s experiences and life’s journeys.

Some people want to mark a powerful chapter of life or to commemorate a date of something that was a milestone in their life. Some people come in to get a bonding and family tattoo, or a loss of a loved one tattoo. No matter who or what you want to commemorate or use as a theme, remember that a tattoo is always a healing and incredible memory to keep in skin.

Be thoughtful, talk to family, talk to friends, talk to us about your ideas. We encourage you to visit other studios and ask questions, as well. We are not threatened by other tattoo studios. Our only goal is that you achieve the best and most powerful of images that will become like your birth mark. You should have a piece that will be with you for the rest of your life and bring that same joy and comfort that it did on its inception.

There are so many styles of tattoo out there, such as:

• biomechanical/bio-organic work
• portraiture or the rendering of images from photos done exactly into the skin
• Japanese work
• color to what they call black and gray work, which uses the tone of the skin as a color and is more monochromatic
• Celtic
• tribal
• photorealism
• hyperrealism
• pointillism
• dot work
• no outline work

We can do it all, and frankly we do it all well. But don’t just trust these words. Look at the work in the portfolios, study everything, and not only what you are looking to get personally. Look at the tattoos from various shops and really look at the line work integrity and the color. Start to use the internet to see what is out there. But remember, some styles these days are really not for long term beauty. Tattoos age, and we all will age with our tattoos. With aging comes softening of the darker colors and outline, a softening of the vivid colors.

A true tattooist is like a fine wine maker. He or she knows how to lay down work to give the tattoo the room to age and continue to keep its integrity for decades to come. If you type in realistic tattoos in a search engine, remember that most of these tattoos will not age well. They are incredible for the digital photo that will never age, and they look good on a website, and the artists that do these pieces are incredible.

But a tattoo ages, and with the explosion of tattoo television and so many young people getting into the art, the boundaries of the medium are being pushed to the limits and being explored. We can easily make suggestions on what we think will and will not work in skin. And we firmly believe that you need to be educated on these matters.

Picking an artist is easy. Just be sure you like the artist, you feel a connection with the artist. Make sure you get a feeling that he or she is really “gung ho” about your idea, and find an artist who is as excited as you are about the work. This makes a HUGE difference.

Imagine getting a tattoo from someone wasn’t into it. That lack of enthusiasm may show up in their work, and that could prove really catastrophic on many levels for you. It’s one of the reasons we have a section on tattoo cover ups for you to read. We cater to quite a few people who have tattoos that are no longer desired, which is why we offer cover up tattoos.