I went here for my first tattoo. Â I did a lot of research on where to go and how to prepare for a tattoo. Â Carla did not disappoint. Â She was very patient with me as we discussed details about the tattoo and she was honest about why the font I had chosen wouldn't work well in the long term for a tattoo. Â I really appreciated that she wanted to give me the best tattoo that would look great indefinitely as opposed to just doing whatever I asked when it might not have had stellar results. Â
Carla was also helpful in assuaging my nervousness and explaining the process. Â Everything was clean, the tools were new or sterilized, and I felt at ease during the process. Â I would absolutely go back to Carla again and highly recommend her work. Â Afterwards, she showed me some of her other work as we talked about aftercare. Â VERY IMPRESSIVE. Â I'm already planning my next tattoo with Carla.
Review 100. I've been waiting and waiting till just the right time to drop it and I think this is as good a time as any.
Last May I went in to talk to Carla at Body Graphics regarding a tattoo I wanted that would roll from my should onto my chest. She explained to me that the chest is prime real estate and that I should really think about what I get there. I ended up waiting and Carla fixed up some old work I had done.
Fast forward seven months. My father passed away and I knew I wanted to memorialize him in ink, and I was so grateful I had never gotten anything on my chest. I brought Carla a phrase I wanted in Hebrew. She priced it out, scheduled it and two week later I was on her table. It turned out better than I could have imagined. Its been 9 days and it's already healed and looks incredible. Carla is such a talented artist, I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to work on such an important piece for me.
I'd like to be able to review their tattooing skills, but this place was such a hassle and the artists were so rude I didn't wind up getting my tattoo with them despite multiple visits. They didn't take what I wanted to do for my design seriously, even though it was a simple design. Every time I went to speak with them, they gave me the go around and were super snooty or kept raising the price even though my design had not changed.
Review Source:I've wanted a tattoo for about half my life now, but my terrible anxiety always stopped me in my tracks. On February 2, I magically worked up enough courage to stop in and get one done. I was lucky and must've gone at a slow time (4pm) so I was able to get it done pretty much right away. I chatted with Carla and Jenny (I believe) at the front desk. I only wanted a small outline of a heart on my wrist, so Carla drew up some quick sketches for me while Jenny gathered my info and paperwork. Of course I started to panic, but they both calmed me down enough to get me in the chair.
Once in the chair, however, I was sure I was going to faint. Becky prepared the necessities in a very clean and orderly manner, which put me at ease. I knew I had to stay still or else it'd be totally messed up, but inside I was freaking out! I begged for someone to hold my hand, and Carla immediately took it and coached me through the process. She made me do yoga breathing with her, and it really helped! She was definitely scary at first - not mean or rude at all, just intimidating - but she really was quite nice (as were Becky and Jenny) and a pleasure to deal with.
My tattoo was super quick and pretty much painless. It pinched once, and that was about it. They gave me super clear directions for after care, and even had the instructions on a business card so I could keep it with me. My tattoo healed pretty perfectly, and I am in love with the results. It may need to be touched up (one part is a bit faint), but that in no way is a knock on the artist Becky or her work. It's skin, not paper, so I'm sure that happens! It's simple, but it's everything I wanted, and I love it. All the women were professional but fun, and very calming to a scaredy cat like me! I'll definitely be back for future work, and recommend the shop for anyone looking for great artwork from great, talented people.
Carla has been working on my sleeve since January and I will be going to my last session later this week. Â I'm sorta sad to be completing the tattoo. Â It's been fun to go in every few weeks. Â
My sleeve is fruits and vegetables arranged seasonally starting on my chest, going over my shoulder and down to my wrist. Â The chest piece is covering up a shitty tattoo I got a couple years ago. Â If you look at Carla's portfolio, you'll see that she is good at cover ups. Â My cover up was a doozy too, dark purple and dark green. Â She made it work and you wouldn't even know. Â
When I first met with Carla to go over the design, I just have her basic ideas and came back a few days later to find beautiful sketches of fecundity. Â She thought about every small detail, how the fruits and veggies relate to one another and my body. Â For instance, Carla place a pomegranate over the tattoo I was covering because the natural texture of a slice pomegranate would help to hide it. Â Also, she smartly placed a sliced avocado on my elbow so that, when I bend my arm, my elbow pushes out the avocado pit. Â Neat!
Every few weeks when I go in for a session, I've enjoyed being tattooed and chatting with Carla and the other staff. Â This tattoo is so much more beautiful than I could have imagined. Â No, really, so effing beautiful.
Oh, and little tip: you can pay with a credit card but you don't have to pay tax if you use cash, so go that way and save some money.
I have nothing but good things to say about Body Graphics as a business, but this review is for one artist in particular.
Let me set the scene.
I have wanted a tattoo for a long time. It was years of wrestling with different designs, scraping entire ideas and starting over countless times. Finally, a visual theme presented itself in my life and I sketched it on a piece of paper. It was crude. It was not well drawn. But every line had meaning and intentionality. It was incredibly specific and I was incredibly meticulous about it. Â I knew this would probably be bad news for what ever poor artist agreed to do this work.
I scouted around, I talked to people, I researched. I decided on Body Graphics.
Then after more scouting. I decided on Pete Zebley.
Here's why:
Where I had lengthy explanations for others attempting to transfer my vision to them and resulting in no better understanding after the verbal counterpart to my drawing than before, I needed only minimal spoken accompaniment with Pete. He got it. Exactly. I showed him my sketch and before I even said anything he explained to me what I had been trying to explain to others. Then when I told him a bit of the back story, he listened, and he understood. Â It took me back a bit and piqued my curiosity.
Pete is a talented artist and, additionally, he is empathic. This is key in tattooing especially when the tattoo has meaning. You can be an artist and create, on someone, what is theirs, but it is a completely different experience when the artist feels the piece of art as if it is his own. I had the sense that Pete did just that. He seemed to care about it and own it. Not only did the art come out fantastic, but I left feeling a sense of solidarity similar to the way you feel when someone else loves a song that is meaningful to you for the same reasons you love it.
There are so many other praises I could sing here, highlighting his calm, in control demeanor that eased my nervousness of a first tattoo, his checking in throughout the process to see how I was doing, his patience with the tweaks I requested, or even mentioning that he an interesting and stimulating person to talk to, but I will leave it at this:
I love my tattoo. I loved the experience of getting my tattoo. I have already recommended Pete to friends of mine who do not even want to get tattoos much less those who do. And I recommend him to anyone reading this.
Love the set up here... Looks more like an art gallery than a tatto parlor. Artists seem to take their work seriously. Clean. Helpful staff... Definitely took more time to answer my questions than the other place I went too. Carla did mine and I like how it came out. I'd recommend coming here if you want a tattoo.
Review Source:It was a very Apple-y day.
I went to Body Graphics on Saturday night for a simple, graphic design: the Mac command key , also known as a Bowen knot or Saint John's Arms.
This store is one of the most interesting I've seen, with a decidedly hip and tech savvy atmosphere. It's part tattoo shop, part art gallery, with gleaming wood floors, a nautical theme and sexy paintings along the walls. No books of flash work here; instead you'll browse through artists' portfolio galleries on an iMac in the wall or browse the internet for your image.
Lucky for me, artist Carla is as big a geek as anyone. We happily gushed about our favorite computers (and tattoo obsessions) while she set up, arranged placement and completed the quarter-sized tattoo in record time.
And it's beautiful. Would highly recommend this shop and Carla's work. Prices are fair and you'll get great quality here.
It was complete and total luck that I first stumbled upon Body Graphics last year, I was originally going to Olde City Tattoo but they were booked up that evening, so the local comic shop proprietor suggested Body Graphics. Â For my very first tattoo I had the incredible good luck to have Carla Hopkins as my artist, she is not only skilled, professional and an absolute joy to talk to but being a fellow nerd like myself it was an honor for her to create my "geeky" tattoos, two so far (one is still being worked on). Â Everyone here is so friendly and skilled and professional, I wouldn't dream of going anywhere else for my tattoos.
Review Source:I stumbled upon NoKaOi and artist Cindy after a disastrous attempt to schedule at another shop. I was frustrated, sad, and feeling uncertain about getting my tattoo at all. That was until I met Cindy Vega!! I wanted a yellow rose and loved her flowers so I put down a deposit and Monday I scooted over to the body graphics shop.
The picture I gave her was a photograph and she made the stencil really lovely. The first time she put it on I wanted it a little over. I was nervous to ask but she just smiled and moved it over for me. Then I asked her to take a petal out and no problem! No sass here, just great personalities and excellent work. What I really love about this shop is that the artists are friendly towards everyone and they obviously love what they're doing. Cindy made me feel completely comfortable and even though my tattoo was extremely painful (ribs) she did her best to check on me and give me little breaks when I needed them. She also talked to me and helped the time pass. When the tattoo was over she took her time explaining the aftercare and making sure all my questions were answered. I have a condition where I heal very slowly and so she went over the estimated time for healing and what I should use, etc. plus she made sure I know there's a guarantee on her work so should it need touch ups I can come back once its healed.
You must come here! Clean, beautiful work, and professional!
Yes..........as good as it gets! Â I just came from a session with Carla Hopkins who took my design and brought it to life. Â Carla is not only personable and funny, she's an extremely interesting person with whom to talk.......and talk we did. Â I had a number of layers of the colours she used and that tends to be somewhat challenging. Â She took my mind off what she was doing with her personality and engaging conversation. Â I was even surprised when she told me she had finished and when I got up to look at the art on my arm, I was taken aback by the beauty of her work. Â The shop is clean and modern (like another reviewer noted, not at all like your "typical" parlor) and the artists are friendly. Â I loved the experience. Â I look forward to returning sooner than later and to referring all my friends who want the best. Â Carla certainly delivered for me! Â One of the things that impressed me was that she seemed as excited about the tattoo as I was and, as an artist, I believe one does their best work when there's real passion motivating it. Â Thanks, Carla!
Review Source:There is a reason that Body Graphics / Portside has a bunch of 5 star reviews - it is AMAZING!! I knew I wanted another tattoo, but I had no clue where to go. And there seem to be a dearth of street shops in Philly - you know, the typical movie like tattoo parlor with designs that look like stickers on the walls in massive books, dingy lighting, etc. Â I knew I didn't want THAT setting, no matter how clean / safe they professed to be. One day while walking around olde city - I walked past Body Graphics and Portside only to be shocked that it said Tattoo on the outside door. It seemed to be more like an art gallery - which it actually doubles as. Â I loved the hardwood floors, the beautiful reception desk, and the high ceilings. Â I made a mental note, and came on yelp to research my new found gem.
After reading all the great reviews, I knew I had to go back. When I was in the neighborhood one day, I popped in, and Carla consulted with me quickly. Â We talked about what my tattoo would look like, she helped me find the right font, and she set me up with an appointment. She is also REMARKABLY professional. Â When I went back, I noticed that they clean their stations after EVERY tattoo, they replace EVERYTHING, and they are a stickler for being professional. Â Granted my tattoo was small - probably all of 3 inches long and 1.5 inches tall, but she finished me up in about 25 minutes. Â And she was REALLY great the whole time - she talked me through it - made sure I was comfortable, and was really knowledgeable about the process. I appreciated her work greatly.
If you ever have to get a tattoo done in Philly - go here. The other artists seem to have a ton of fans from the foot traffic I saw here. Â I was remarkably impressed. You will be too!
So, I don't have much to compare Portside Parlor to, as this was my first tattoo experience, but the bar has been set pretty high. After years of talking about getting tattoos, my wife and I finally decided to take the leap. We walked in on Saturday afternoon, unsure of what to expect, and were VERY pleased with the experience, from beginning to end.
We were very upfront with the receptionist (Lauren, I believe) that we weren't real sure of the process, didn't have appointments, etc. and she was very pleasant, explained everything, took a look at what we wanted done, got us price quotes and let us know they could get us in right then. Amazingly easy!
After filling out all of our paperwork, we went back and met Rebecca (our artist for the day) and got started. She was, in a word, amazing. Very friendly, explained everything as she went and was very non-judgemental about the lack of "art" in our designs. We both had one-color, text-based designs, and instead of being annoyed that there wasn't much creativity involved she told us how much she liked doing this sort of thing because it helps her keep her technical skills sharp. Both she and Lauren made us comfortable from the beginning, and we never felt out of place, despite it being our first tattoos. Most importantly, neither of us could be happier with the final product.
The shop itself is pretty great - extremely clean, paintings on the wall to purchase, spacious waiting area with hardwood floors...certainly not the stereotypical dark, dingy tattoo parlors you see in the movies.
I guess the best thing I can say is that if either my wife or I decide to get more tattoos done, we will return to Rebecca and the Portside Parlor without giving it a second thought.
Extremely beautiful inside. Â The artists that we met were very professional and had really great personalities. Â Got my first tattoo, walked right in on a Friday night and they had great suggestions and tips. Â I am Definitely going back to get more sometime soon. Â Loved Bobby and would recommend him to anyone who wants to get amazing work done!!
Review Source:Thank you Scott Musick!
I strolled in on a Friday afternoon with the design that I've wanted to get for years and a fervent hope that someone would have time to do it (and, you know, tell me it didn't suck). So glad I did!
First off, the staff is great. The receptionist handed the design over to Scott right away and he said he could be ready to go. After all the paperwork, so directed me to and ATM (they do accept credit, but are honest with you about the fact that you have to pay tax then, and the extra cost will really add up) and told my friend and I we could grab a bite to eat or something. Ran into her while we were grabbing a slice and she updated us on how long Scott would be to get ready.
The atmosphere is great, too. My roommate came along for the ride and, with her being a bit squeamish, it was nice to be in a relaxed place that was more about the art side of tattooing than you find in a lot of flash-covered places with loud music. We had a laugh over the fact that the music playing when we walked in was the Doctor Who theme song.
Then there was the tattoo itself. Scott was really enthusiastic about the design, which is always a plus. As he was working, he came up with more ideas (saying he had never done a design like mine, so he really wanted to make it pop). He kept me totally informed and his suggestions really made my piece great!
Best of all, even with all the extra he did the price still came out at the low end of his estimate, which was already a lot less than I had been expecting to pay. A definite bonus!
Also worth noting, the screens rolling through a nice sideshow of the portfolios. Some great work on there, and if you're toward the front and can see it while you're getting your work done, it provides a great distraction from the whole needles raking over your skin thing.
My leg hasn't even completely healed yet, but I'm already planning my next trip to this Body Graphics!
This is now officially the best shop in philly. Â It's new, clean, sleek, and best of all it has Carla Hopkins. Â The attention to detail in this shop is amazing. Â The wood floors, the cabinets, to the sinks are all impressive. Â Carla's work exceeded all of my expectations (which were extremely high going in). Her compositions, the shading and the colors pristine. Â I wouldn't recommend anyone else to go to besides her.
Review Source:I'm not sure how long the shop had been open when I got my work done here, but it couldn't have been long. Â Aside from needing more chairs or seating areas, this is a very cool place. But looks aren't the important thing when it comes to body arts - the artist is. And Carla is one of the best. She knows her stuff and she's an incredible artist. She charges reasonable rates, she does great work, and she makes the process as painless as possible. Plus she'll tell you when she thinks something is going to suck. Â Awesome.
Review Source:Holy gods, but this place is gorgeous. There is a compass inlay in the wooden floor, and the desk is shaped like a boat. Seriously; I would not lie to you about beautiful boat-shaped desks. The shop is also notable because there is no flash on the walls. Instead, there is a fancy computer set-up that allows one to browse shop collections of flash, or venture forth onto the internet at large if further inspiration is required. Instead of flash, the walls are utilised for art proper: the space is both a tattoo parlour and an art gallery. Portside seems to be less frequented than the other Body Graphics shops, probably making it a great location if you should suddenly decide that you urgently require a tattoo at this very moment. I'm told that the lovely Carla Hopkins has relocated there from NoKaOi. She's still sassy, clever, extremely talented, and brutally honest.
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