You’re planning on getting a tattoo soon. Whether it’s your fifth or first you want to know which studio is best for you. The latter is indeed the most important consideration, as it’s not so much about best tattoo studio, but the one most suited to your needs. To narrow down your options we encourage you to consider the following, more qualified, questions.
More Important Questions to Ask When Deciding on Which Tattoo Shop is Best for Your Next Tattoo
Is the Studio Environment Comforting and Welcoming?
Vancouver considers itself to be a very welcoming and inclusive place to live. While it most certainly is in various respects, the same is not necessarily true for tattoo shops in the city. Far too many are stuck in “tradition”. It can feel like you’re walking into a garage, saloon, or greasy spoon, more than a studio that takes the time and care to create an inviting environment. Sure, they may follow municipal and provincial codes for health and sanitation, but today’s demands on tattoo studios exceed this base level criteria.
When looking through the window of an establishment, consider this blunt question – is this where you want a stranger to penetrate your skin with a needle? Look at it this way – if you care about how a hair salon, barber shop, cosmetic, or medical clinic presents itself when it comes to decor, design, cleanliness, and overall aesthetic, you should most certainly ask the same of a tattoo studio. The space should be comforting and welcoming to all. It can be hard to define exactly what that means, but this guide will give you a good idea.
Do Resident Tattooists Have the Necessary Skills for Your Desired Design?
Even if you don’t know exactly what you want (more on this below), you know that you don’t want to be stuck with a tattoo artist that is limited in their ability to deliver the work you desire. Watching all of those Tattoo Nightmares and Bad Ink shows on TV certainly doesn’t help abate the concern. So what should you look for?
A tattoo shop should have a diverse talent pool that offers clients access to distinctive styles of tattoos. Do you want something done in blackwork or neo-traditional influence? Maybe an architectural design in shades of grey is your thing? Perhaps you prefer fine-line tattoos, or colorful and vibrant illustrative works? These are just examples of styles. The point, is that you need to find a shop with an artist that is right for you and the vision you have for your work of body art.
Are the Resident Artists Courteous, Friendly, Patient Too?
You expect a tattoo shop to hire professional and talented artists. That is (or should be) a given. However, you also want them to be friendly and patient, especially if you’re not entirely sure about what you want. There’s unfortunately a lack of patience and a lot of eye-rolling in some tattoo studios when clients don’t come in without an exact replica of their intended design. Of further concern, is that you won’t realize this until you’ve already locked in to a consultation. At that point the bad experience has already started. And worse, you may end up with a tattoo that you don’t want because the artist made you feel as if you had to hurry up and commit to a design. Don’t let this happen to you. Instead, take your time to investigate a tattoo studio’s artists. Read through the artist profiles in addition to the about section of their website, which will give you a good idea of what they’re all…about. If a tattoo studio is not forthcoming about this information, move on to the next candidate. Once you’ve found a place that considers their clients to be like family, make the call. That initial conversation with reception and/or your prospective tattooist will be very telling. Remember, that conversation/consultation is not a commitment. If it doesn’t feel right, end it right there. Conversely, if it does feel right, book your tattoo appointment with confidence.
Which tattoo studio is best? The one that delivers on all of the above and whatever else you deem to be important. If you live in or are visiting the BC Lower Mainland schedule a consultation at our downtown Vancouver tattoo studio today.
Written By:
Sleight of Hand
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