What do you expect to see

This is for all, artists and clients alike... When you go into a tattoo studio what do you expect to see? Be honest! Thanks!

Honestly Taz since just going thru this, What I am looking for is Customers, this at least lets me know that they have some reputation,they must be clean, and because I am old Fart I like to see age in the shop as well, I am not against the youngun's but I like experience. Although I did a flash design, I had already picked and had it with me for the session, so I am not really concerned with flash, but the other thing that I want to see is there work. Of course being a (PC time) Motorcyclist Enthusist (Biker for the Non-PC) for many years I like to see them at the shop... Stereotype I know but what can I say. Lastly I want to see thier proceedures Things like what to do after the work is done, A fixed price, As I am a working stiff that has to count pennies sometimes, and of course I want to see the State cert. Blacktri

Well, Taz, I'll tell you about my favorite tattoo studio, where my artist currently works, and the one he used to work at. Grade A is where my artist used to work, and, while it was nice, I definitely had some issues with it. It was an older shop, and you could definitely tell. For one, the wall color was like a smoked out white room.. it obviously wasn't, but that was the color of the walls, and while the shop was VERY sanitary, the color of the walls was hard to get over. The floor was very old, and some of the peel and stick tiles were starting to crack. Like I said, it is very sanitary, but it's hard to get that impression from walking in. There was a separate cubical with a door for each artist, which kind of felt like I was walking into a doctor's office. There was no real art on the walls, just flash. The atmosphere was kind of.. oldish.. Now the new studio, Device, is really nice. The front and back are separated by a 3/4 wall, doesn't go all the way to the top.. The front has couches, books of flash, instead of flash hanging on the wall, and lots of artwork in the front. In the back, there are separate areas for each artist, but they aren't separated by walls and doors. The color of the walls is like, a warm grey color, and a lot of the shelving and stuff is stainless steel. It's sort of industrial looking, but I also get a very sanitary feel, while still being warm and inviting. The front area is also carpeted. It's by far my favorite shop I've ever been in, and I've been into every shop in town. You might wanna go around to various shops, and see what they've got goin' on as far as decorating and set up goes.

I guess I forgot to make my point, lol.. What I expect is someplace that's warm and inviting, while still looking sterile, with good music playing, lol..

What do I expect? or what do I "prefer"? I expect to see flash displayed -- bonus points for nicely framed and arranged pieces -- shows care for the shop. I expect to see artists' portfolios in a prominent place without having to ask for them (its the first thing I look for). I'm not a fan of having to "leave them at the counter" and stand up to look at them. I like being able to sit down and peruse them. I expect the shop will be clean and have some of their policies clearly posted (i.e. age). Even better if they clearly state that they use autoclave sterilization, etc. I expect not to get any attitude or be treated like "I don't belong". Usually when I go into somewhere for the first time I'm just looking, and I think I ask reasonable questions without attitude, so I don't have patience for snarky answers. A big preference of mine is a "seating area" or somewhere to peruse books... or just some area that you can initially "walk in" and know where to go.... I've walked into shops where the counter is at the very back, with a bunch of "tattoo stalls" with half-walls all along the right side of the shop -- and a long, thin "hallway" to the left with nowhere to sit or wait. ... it's very awkward and not welcoming .

I do need to add the seating arrrangements are very important, I mean folding waiting chairs to me do not cut it. Blacktri

Destined...I have been in hundreds if not thousands of shops I just wanted to know what people really look for ya know...good post though!!

Yeah.. I got off on a bit of a tangent there, sorry.. but honestly, warm and inviting, yet still sterile, and a bit private.. I like to see lots of non-tattoo work on the walls, paintings and such, especially if they're done by the artists in the shop. I like to walk into a shop where the artists aren't strictly tattoo artists.. I've found that some of the artists in this town have no appreciation for artwork other than tattoos.. and it pisses me off, a lot.

I like to see customers in chairs. There's nothin better than to be able to see how good they are while they're working. Anyone can show you their best work from their portfolio, but I want to see them do run of the mill crap flash with as much interest in the details as their favorite custom work. Warm environment and geed music are the other must haves.

The hubster and I were just discussing this the other day. There's a new shop around the corner from us, and we were peeking in the windows driving by. It looked SPOTLESS, however, it lacked that "atmosphere". Of course, I expect cleanliness. I should be able to eat off your toilet seats. However, another thing just as important to me is ATMOSPHERE. Like a fine dining restaurant has atmosphere, so should a shop. I want music, artwork, and some edge to the place. Sterility is great, but we need the look and overall "feel". I don't want to feel like I'm walking into a dentist's office or hospital room. It should be well-lit, have some great tunes playing at a decent volume. I want to see artwork on the walls, original or flash, whatever. A nice plant in the corner would be nice. And of course, the edge. Leather, chrome, a motorcycle sculpture, whatever. It should feel healthy but a little bit "badass" at the same time. This is a lifetime commitment, and I want to fondly remember the excitement of getting it.

I would have to agree with what everyone is saying; sterile, warm, inviting, artwork hanging. I also like to see more artwork than flash on the walls. But the thing that gets a lot of people into the door isn't what is on the inside so much as what the outside is like. There is a place in town that I got my first tattoo 12 years ago. It's been there for about 30 years and it's just a little place. From the outside it looks like a dive, however they did just recently paint and it looks better. Anyways I want to go back there and get my next tattoo because they left an impression with me. They were extremely friendly and professional and the place was clean. However because my husband has never seen anything but the outside he thinks I'm nuts. I keep trying to explain to him that you can't judge a book by it's cover. I've also had a tattoo done by a place my husband suggested. It is a bigger place but I didn't feel like it was a clean and the tattoo artist weren't as friendly. They were more into shit talking with each other while they tattoo their customers. I just felt very uncomfortable in the chair and couldn't wait to be done so I could just get out of there.

first I like to see a shop as a warm and friendly place (in the lobby) lets face it, this is a business where we must be social with our customers, poeple today dont want to walk into a shop and be confronted by some arrogant asshole, who thinks that because he can lay some ink, his shit somehow smells like lilly-water. this type of attitude is just bad business. next is the cleanliness, AN ABSOLUTE MUST. Ive seen shops that have some ratty ass motorcycle dripping fluids on the floor in the main greeting area, as well as dogs, reptiles, and birds. Birds and reptiles in shops have always shocked me a bit....doesnt everyone know that these type of animals carry disease?? it is far too easy to get an infection due to contamination from dander in the air...... BOTTOM LINE: A shop should be clinical in nature. NOTHING CAN BE TOO CLEAN. Tattooing is an invasive procedure, very closely related to surgury, and should be approached as such, the actual work area MUST be very sanitary, because of today's blood pathogens, our shops should be equally or more sanitary than your physicians, or dentists clinics. I also believe that our sterilization area should be in its own "room" as well as our needle making area. I recently visited a large well known shop, and found that needles were being made on the same counter that the tattoo equipment was set up at, to me this just seems crazy, if a person were to get a small amount of flux into a fresh tattoo, the results would be catastrophic untill I have seen this amount of professionalism, I could care less about the art, talent, or portfolios in the shop. Mortis

On the inside just about everything's been covered... but the outside... I don't want it to look like a dive... while it's not required the outside of the entryway is kept clean I "like" to see it.. also maybe a mural on the outside wall... and no flashy gimmicks like stobe lights... they just get annoying and make me want to leave.