Eden Tattoo Gallery

Bill Kieffer recently finished an amazing piece on my right arm. I have 2 other pieces done by artists at another local shop and while I love those pieces, when I decided on my recent piece, I searched for a new artist. After looking at the online portfolios of many San Diego tattoo artists and reading countless Yelp reviews, I came across Bill at Eden Tattoo.

I emailed Bill with my tattoo concept (very preliminary at this point) to which he responded that he didn't feel he was the best fit for the piece given the silhouetted/graphic style of my concept and his more realistic/representational style, and recommended I check out the other artists in his shop. He also explained that I should rethink the size and desired location of my piece given its detailed nature. I really appreciated his honesty and artistic integrity. After spending more time figuring out what style I wanted this piece to be, the size, and location, I emailed Bill again and we set up a time to meet.

At our first meeting, we spent almost an hour discussing my concept. He asked questions, listened to me, and explained why some of my ideas wouldn't work well in a tattoo and recommended options. The time he spent with me made me feel that he really wanted to understand what I wanted, which was very important.

After our initial meeting, he emailed me the first sketch. It was beautiful but it wasn't quite what I had envisioned. He made some revisions and emailed me a second sketch. I teared up when I saw it - that was it! I wanted my tattoo to convey a feeling very personal to me, and his drawing captured it.

After four sittings, it was done and amazing! A month later, I emailed Bill a picture of me with my new tattoo on top of a snowy mountain in the Sierras, the place that inspired the concept. He responded that the piece looked great but asked if he could add a bit more detail to make it even better, at no charge. I was once again blown away by his artistic integrity.  

Not only is Bill a skilled artist, he's very personable and friendly. I enjoyed chatting with him, and Toney, during my sittings. The atmosphere of the shop is very friendly, relaxed, and professional.

Thank you Bill! If another concept starts growing in my mind in the future, I'll be back for sure!

Toney was awesome tattoo artist and canvas artist , very friendly, and outgoing personality .  He did a great job on my Japanese Kanji I had placed on my inner forearm in honor of my niece.  He was very accommodating and able to schedule the appointment for me that was convenient. I would recommend Eden Tattoo Gallery and Toney for any ink you are wanting to get done. I will be returning to Toney for future work for sure

I found Toney to be off-putting and unaccommodating. He may be an experienced artist but he acted like a diva. I met with him initially but didn't end up getting a tattoo. He didn't put me at ease or seem willing to work with me on my design because it wasn't consistent with his style.