Went here on the recommendation of my friend Jim, who had gotten a tattoo here a few years back.
Place was amazing! Â We walked in and were paired up with Jesse, who had actually done my friends tattoo and still remembered him. Â We were there for about 5 hours. Â Jesse was fun to talk to, patient, and did amazing work. Â Very pleased with the results and will be back for more! I love my bee. :)
Got my tattoo done here a few days ago, knew that if I didn't get the tattoo done that day I wasn't going to because my bravery only lasts so long. Cheri the owner was the one did my tattoo. Â I came in knowing that I wanted a heart and two words but it terms of design of the heart and colors I had no clue, they were very helpful in helping me pick something out. This is my fifth tat but first at lovedog. After going here I will never go anywhere else. Even though I'm a huge wuss and it did hurt everyone at the shop was very friendly and Cheri is a rockstar at her work.
Review Source:My experience at Lovedog Tattoo studio was awesome! Brian was great about communicating and drafting my custom design before my visit (I came from out of town). He nailed my design idea perfectly, without the need for a bunch of revisions. When I arrived at the studio I found it to be clean and comfortable. And yes, it hurts, but I really enjoyed my whole experience. Highly recommended!
Review Source:You might be a posuer [sic] if:
-You hang a sign in your cube that declares how punk you are. Shudder.
-You sport a phony patch and wear your jacket everywhere like when you were in freshman football.
-You're a stuck up elitist and Ray Charles back shades better than you do.
-You move like frozen freaking molasses and give attitude when you have to, GASP, finish your work.
Buyer beware: Please don't be snowed by this place because you're a tourist or filthy first timer. High profile does not a great experience make, and for those who know, Cheri Lovedog's reputation as a bitter tyrant is fast catching up with her.
Avoid Lovedog Tattoo, fun folks. Cheri's spirit is quite dark, as is the namesake shop. The spirit in which your tattoo is given is something that you may ALSO carry forever. I know I do.
There are about a billion tattoo shops in Santa Cruz county, and damn near all of them are good. You'll find one.
UPDATE: They issue refunds. Ask for one.
I've been to Lovedog a good number of times over the years for a number of pieces. Â I've been thrilled with them all, and am especially grateful to Brian and his work. Â I've taken in friends and referred others who have all gone and experienced something positive. Â It's a friendly shop, clean, and the prices are reasonable. Â They are definitely recommended.
Review Source:I went in with two friends to check out Lovedog after hearing gushing reviews from others about the studio. We sat down to look through some portfolios and the woman at the counter was amazing she was extremely friendly, nice and informative. She let us know which artists were in and gave us the run down of the shop rates, how to make appointments and even offered to have an artist give us an estimate. Would give them a 5 star rating if we had just met her (excellent customer service!).
While flipping through the portfolios an artist came from the back and asked us what we had in mind. He didn't introduce himself so I'm not sure which artist he was. He wasn't Brian or Stefan, they weren't in that day. We were hesitant to answer as my friend and I were still deciding on our tattoo visions. We were looking to find an artist that fit our styles and not planning on getting at tattoo that day. It was really nice of him to come to the front and ask us what ideas we had but he became quite pushy. Overall it made us uncomfortable and pressured into getting a tattoo. I also got the feeling he had thought none of us had ever gotten a tattoo before. It may not look like it but we have. After he asked us a few more times, my friend who had come to see if they did piercings told him what I had in mind for my tattoo. He gave a look of disgust and walked away.
He was very unprofessional and did not make us confident of the studio. For that reason we will not be tattooed here. There is amazing talent at this studio but I won't be tattooed by a disrespectful person. If you don't respect me or my ideas will you respect the art you're putting on my body? I'd hope so but wouldn't chance it. I would rather feel comfortable and less judged elsewhere.
Hopefully others will have a much better experience with him and Lovedog (as well as the other artists we didn't meet) than we did.
I was born and raised in Santa Cruz, and when I moved back home, this is the shop I was sent to. I've been getting tattooed here for 5 years now, and I have a lot of artwork and large pieces.
A lot of my work is done by Cheri, and I love her. She's an old school chick and has always pleasantly surprised me how she takes my ideas and runs with them.
Every time I get tattooed here, I am happier getting up with a fresh tattoo than I thought I would be sitting down to get it.
I have gotten work from most of the shop at this point, and all the artists are amazing and have their own style and talents. You really can't walk in with something that one of them can not do.
I'm almost sad that portraits aren't my style, because I have not seen anyone execute them better than Stefen. It's absolutely astounding.
There are a lot of good artists in town, but this is by far the place I would choose to make my home.
I walked into Lovedog Tattoo on 08/20/2008 fresh off a terrible experience with a rude and condescending artist/receptionist at Staircase Tattoo. After meeting with such horrendous customer service I honestly did not expect to fare any better in the city of Santa Cruz, but I was pleasantly surprised to find my experience was almost exactly opposite of my expectation.
Lovedog is clean, and rich with little clues and allusions to it's owner's passions and history. I was very intrigued by the promotional posters and fliers for her film "Prey For Rock & Roll," they held my interest nicely while I waited. It's a bit smaller inside than I was used to tattoo shops being at the time. I have since encountered much more claustrophobic tattooing environments, but I'd still say the shop is a more intimate setting than most I've been in. I liked that about Lovedog, in case that's unclear! :)
The receptionist was welcoming, friendly, and helpful. He listened carefully to what I wanted, empathized with my experience of having my requests outright rejected at Staircase, and then communicated my desires quite effectively to the artist who would be helping me. The wait was a little long, beyond the normal time necessary to draw it out and ask me if I liked it, but as I understand it that is not usual for them. There were special circumstances all around that day, and that was fine - I wanted to relax and bask in the relief of finding artists who weren't total snobs!
I asked for a dormouse peeking out of a teacup, surrounded by the words "Feed Your Head." I wanted them to be in the style of a classic late 1960's concert poster, and I got exactly what I wanted. Woody is great - he has good people instincts, I'd say. I can be shy, and not very talkative when I'm concentrating on sitting still and taking pain quietly. I could tell that he respected that, and he didn't chatter my ear off or talk over or around me to other people. It was a lovely experience, and I am very frequently complimented on this tattoo by people of all ages and backgrounds.
I wouldn't hesitate to return for touch-ups if I needed them, but I so far don't. If I'm ever craving another tattoo from outside my usual shop and artist, I'd definitely consider going back to Lovedog for more tattoos. I'd definitely say this shop is "first-timer" safe and friendly - I didn't detect any attitude at all from anyone working there, not towards myself or any of the walk-ins I observed coming in after me.
When I got home I rested for a while, cleaned my tattoo, and then watched some television: "Prey For Rock & Roll" just happened to be showing on one of my independent movie channels... twice! Talk about odd and happy coincidences.
I'm only giving this 3 stars because of a previous experience. So first, I was in Santa Cruz and I was a complete walk in. The tattoo I was interested in getting meant a lot to me so I wanted to make it right. Jesse was available, and he spend over an hour drawing and fixing it for me. Me and my friend were being very particular, but when its your body and your permanent damage, I feel I have a right to have my say. He spent so long fixing the littlest things for us, and I'm sure he was annoyed, but he hid it really well. Jesse was very gentle tattooing me, and kept up good conversation, also. He then gave me an amazing price for basically two hours. He should have charged me like 300, especially because it wasn't a small tattoo, but he only asked 100. I was a novice, so I didn't tip him as well as I should have, and I wish I could go back ("P.S. Thanks!"). BUT Jesse is currently traveling the world.
He was the only good artist in that place.
My second time, maybe a year and a half later, I called and asked for Jesse (was told he was traveling) and still decided to go in, because of the amazing quality from the first time. I went in, and the first guy (I didn't catch his name) just poo-poo'd my picture. I brought it in as a reference to the position and the style I wanted, and they all just kept telling me how bad a picture it was. Which is fine, I just wanted them to go off something. So finally, Neil (Neal?) had time, (I was a walk in again even though I called) and he drew something up for me. It was nice, but when I tried to tell him I wanted it smaller, or less "detail" he basically told me I was stupid and anything less than what he drew wasn't a quality tattoo. That may be fine, but I didn't want something HUGE, I wanted just a little design. We kept asking for other designs that anyone had done there, and he kept telling me no, there weren't any. So when I decided to try to work on the one he drew, he made a big deal of redrawing it, didn't even try to resize it for me, and when he was already redrawing it and I wanted to change something, he asked "What do you want me to DO?" And even proceeded to call me nitpicky. Then he showed me pictures of other similar tattoos, to prove something about the shading. (I thought there weren't any pictures?)
I didn't come in for HIS work. I think he was forgetting that. I was a walk in, and originally asked for Jesse. They even saw the one Jesse did and marveled at it, and then told me he doesn't tat like that.
I would just like to reiterate, it is MY BODY, MY TATTOO, my call. Sure it's your art, but when it's NOT your tattoo, the artist should not be that attached to the drawing. Finally we asked him for an estimate, shading, outline, everything, and he said 300. For something that was larger than I wanted yet smaller than the one I got the first time here, it was WAY more money than I was charged the first time. I ended up walking away, because it just wasn't what I was asking for. He was nice about it, in the end, after he first tried to make me feel bad about it. "It's a bummer I spent all the time drawing it." But when I left, he told me all the stuff I KNEW, about I should have something I want and take time to think about it, etc. If he really thought any of that, he wouldn't have been so difficult to work with.
It was an informational experience, so now I know FOR SURE what I am getting (at another parlor).
I don't think I'll go back, until Jesse is there and I will make an appointment with him. Unless I can find a better artist elsewhere. Everyone there has a "my shit smells better than yours" attitude.
Well the front desk girl was nice.
I first came to Lovedog almost three years ago during the summer. Â I had been hanging out with my friend in Santa Cruz, and we decided to go by the shop so I could ask about getting a tattoo in the future. Â I was greeted by Woody, who gave me an idea of what the process would be like, etc. Â I didn't get any work done that day, but left knowing that I would go back in the future. Â
Flash forward to the next summer, and I was visiting my friend again, and we happened to be near Lovedog. Â This time, I knew what i wanted to get done. Â I went in and talked to Herb, and explained that I wanted to get a memorial tattoo of sorts for a mentor of mine who had passed unexpectedly. Â He helped me to design what I wanted, and then I was in the back corner. Â
As far as the tattoo process goes, it was my first one, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Â Herb was kind, and talked me through the whole thing. Â It only hurt a little bit, and it literally took around five minutes (I got a small piece). Â It's been almost two years, and my tattoo looks as good as the day I got it. Â
I'll be going in next week to get inked again by Herb, can't wait!
Overall, the staff are friendly and helpful, and the atmosphere is great. Â :)
Well, this place should be called " The guy with the asshole tattoo"! I am a designer  and one of my clients requested that she would like one of my designs on her back. We went to Lovedog because we had heard that it was a good place. We ended up talking to Stephan, who was rude, bored and lacked any spark of life and finally refused to do the design. Not only that, but he waved at the books of their work and said "Why don't you just pick something out of the book." Well, I'm a designer, I don't want some cheesy flash that requires all the creativity and ingenuity of a rock.
Review Source:I had scheduled an appointment with the owner Cheri but she was a no show-so some other guy did my tattoo and charged me double than what I was quoted over the phone (never knew that a little simple heart about the size of nickel would end up costing $190). Â Spacious waiting area though.
Review Source:Got a memorial tattoo to a deceased friend of mine here from Cheri Lovedog and I had a great experience. I came in wanting a specific typewriter font and they went out of their way, even skimming the internet on their phones for my font and hand drawing it out.
And they have tons of those little old-school lollipops.
Stefan from Love Dog is AMAZING! Â First of all he is totally cute! ha! Â But secondly, he an amazing artist! Â He took the time to make my swallow bird a complete masterpiece. Â I love how dedicated he was and how vibrant the colors he used are. Â He is definitely the man to go to! Â
Thanks again Stefan!
I came here to get a tattoo of Taz in memory of my aunt who passed away. I didn't make an appointment, i just came in and they were all busy at first. Stefan let me know that he would be done in about an hour and for me to wait or come back, so i went and got something to eat and came back. He was ready, and he sketched up the tattoo i wanted perfectly. He was really friendly and worked with me to give me exactly what i wanted.
My tattoo came out amazingly, the colors are great, the art is fantastic, i would definitely reccomend coming here & checking out Stefans art! (although all of the portfolios were impressive)
Lovedog is my favorite tattoo shop in Santa Cruz and Jesse is my favorite artist.
The shop itself is super mellow which is nice when you're getting your skin stabbed repeatably, and Jesse even manages to make it a pleasant experience. His calm and personable demeanor made me feel comfortable with letting him hike up my underwear so he could cover the back of my leg with a beautiful clipper ship. Â
His final results are amazing. Clean lines and bright colors make the tattoos he has done my favorites. While I have strayed to other shops, I'll keep going back to Jesse.
I heard so many good things about this shop, I wanted to give it a try. I tried to make an appointment to have a pin-up girl done. I could not after 5 attempts even get a call back. I will never go back to lovedog. There are too many other great tattoo artists in this town to waste time on a woman who is too good to bother trying to help customers.
When a customer walks in the shop, they are immediately ignored. So, I tried calling. Also a complete failure. After sharing this with others, I was told that was typical. Customer service is not their strong suit.
SO. I would just like to begin this bad boy by saying that Jesse is a saint. No doubt about it.
A few weeks ago, I accompanied a friend of mine to Lovedog as she wanted another tattoo for her birthday. We were greeted by a friendly guy at the counter and he chatted with my buddy while I perused the portfolios, only to find a photo of my boyfriend's chest staring up at me! I mentioned it to my friend, and the guy she was talking with was like, "Oh, I did that!" "OH! Are you Jesse?" yada yada. Funny coincidence that he was the one we ended up talking to, but I thought it'd be cool with having that connection to my boyfriend as well.
ANYWAY. Sidetracked.
We made an appt for her for a week later, and we rolled in. Jesse showed her the sketches he'd made, and she loved the very first one. And so he got to work. Unfortunately, my friend was in a car accident that really messed up her shoulder a few months ago, and she was getting inked on her ribs on that side. This caused her to squirm all over the place and complain about the various types of pain she was feeling. The tat was a hand-sized lotus, and the outline alone took Jesse almost 90 min cuz he had to keep going over his lines to make sure it was perfect.
Where does the sainthood come in?
He was PATIENT AS HELL. Throughout the poor girl's misery, he allowed her to take breaks, never got bitchy (although I probably would have myself), and kept trying to talk her into calming down. Multiple cigarette breaks later he was finished, and she decided she wanted to come back later and get the color done. In looking at her tattoo, I was amazed at the quality of the outline he was able to do with how much she was moving around.
Good job, Jesse. You're f*cking awesome!
As a side note, the chest piece Jesse did for my boyfriend is amazing. He combined multiple elements, each significant in its own right, and turned it into something incredible. People who look at pictures of the damn thing even say how badass it is!
So there you have it. Jesse's the man.
I've had all my tattoos done at Lovedog and will never go anywhere else. Woody did a piece on my shoulder and it still looks amazing, 4 years later. He was able to take my idea (which was from an antique embroidery) and make it look like an old school woodcut. I get compliments on it constantly.
Two years ago Stefan did an amazing quill piece on my arm and it looks just as good today as it did when it was still bandaged. He is amazing at taking your initial idea and transforming it into a piece of art that looks perfect on your body and your body alone.
I got to know these folks real well working two shops down and you couldn't ask for a more hilarious, hard working, artistic, and professional shop. (As long as you aren't a square and can laugh along to a 'that's what she said' joke.) I haven't been worked on by Cheri or Brian but both are such awesome people I can't help but recommend their shop whole heartedly. Love you guys!
My first tattoo & figured i'd go all out & do the whole right side of my back with a tropical vine. Brian, a co-owner, Â is a friend & loves what he does & takes his job seriously so I completely trust this whole process. outline is pretty much finished, coming up on shading & coloring - i LOVE it so far. Â
The shop itself has a very comfy friendly vibe, and although the nooks & stations are private enough for the semi-disrobing that may need to occur, it's common to hear the whole place start laughing at the same joke or discussing a song (good music playing every time)
Lovedog rules!
Great place. Jesse did a small Celtic piece on both my wife and I for our wedding commemoration. He's really mellow and re-worked the messy looking knot-work I brought in into something streamlined and slick and was nice enough not to make fun of my lame Illustrator skills, ha!
I can't wait to go back and get more work done - oh, and good price, too. Just remember, bring cash - no credit.
I'm so happy I found this place!
I walked in here with an unfinished sleeve looking for an artist who could pick up where the other artist had left off. (It's complicated) Â I looked through the books and was immediately drawn to Stefan's work. I wasn't even sure if he would be willing to tattoo me but he was and we talked about some ideas for my arm. Due to finances I couldn't come back for a year and he still remembered me.
I've had two sessions so far and I couldn't be more satisfied. I am so grateful that he was willing help me out and I will definitely be coming back for all my other tattoos.
I got my first tattoo--an enormous back piece--done here by Stefan. I got it colored today, and I am totally thrilled with the way it came out. Stefan was really sweet, even when I was being a baby about the pain, and everyone else in the studio was cool. I second the comment about Cheri's music. The woman is a real rocker and she has fabulous taste. As for the cleanliness, well Stefan wouldn't even let me put my keys on his work table, and the apprentices were constantly coming by making sure the stations were sufficiently stocked. Waaaaay better than Staircase, and cheaper too. It is all about Stefan, he is a really gifted artist with a super light touch.
Review Source:I have gotten two tattoos here and it is very clean and the artists are top notch. Â I feel like there is a high standard for tattoo parlors and artists here in Santa Cruz and Lovedog definitely lives up to the Santa Cruz reputation and standard. Â People are more friendly here than Staircase and won't be rude to you if you are not an expert on tattoos. Â Would recommend this place to anyone.
Review Source:So far, my favorite place to go! Though I had some trouble getting a look at the finished design til the day-of, and, waited around longer than I wanted, I love the results.
Cheri (the owner), along with (I forget his name, but he's usually behind the counter) did a great job taking my sketches and putting them into a finished piece. He was really patient in explaining why certain elements wouldn't work, and was also great about changing small details a few times over until it was 'just right'
Cheri is amazing! My piece was woman-centric so it was great having a woman to complete it. She's relaxed, professional, and friendly. The shading alone was amazing, even before the color was done. The way she was able to blend and fade into different shades in incredible, and I'm madly in love with my piece.
When I had a bad allergic reaction to the red pigment, I went in to have in checked out and got some great advice on how to take care of it til it healed, and I'm going back soon for touch-ups, and more ink.
The only drawback is the cash-only policy.
I have wanted a tattoo since the 2nd grade when I saw my best friend's mom's back adorned with a full set of rainbow wings. I thought that it was the most beautiful thing in the world and I have pined after one forever.
And now I finally have one! And I have never been happier.
I don't get why a lot of places in Santa Cruz aren't open on Mondays. There were only two tattoo places that I found were open, one being Staircase and the other, LoveDog. I only found out about this place because a friend of mine came here for two of his tattoos and recommended it over Staircase.
I stopped by Staircase first because I have heard more about them than this place and figured it's got to be well known for some reason. Also, LoveDog is cash only, so I thought I would save myself a trip to the bank. But after Staircase said that I would have to come back another day, I decided that I would go to LoveDog (I called them earlier and they said that they had room for me).
By the time I got there, there were two people there already, so I had to wait. But while I waited, I got to take in the feel of the place. Definitely different than Staircase, and I preferred it. The music wasn't too loud, so I was actually able to think. Everything was clean and sterile, but without that lifeless feel. I felt a lot more comfortable here. The staff is friendly, Stefan is awesome.
I had to wait a while because the girls who went before me were getting pinups done. When I caught a glimpse of the sketch and the finished result, I was definitely impressed. By then, it was almost closing time, but Stefan was nice enough to just fit me in instead of telling me to schedule an appointment or come back another time. That was great because, while I had thought of getting a tattoo for a long time, when I had the guts to actually get it I wanted it then and there, knowing that I would probably chicken out or make up some excuse, leaving me to wait longer.
Stefan was friendly and attentive to detail. Even though the tattoo I got was just text, he listened to how I wanted the spacing and the lettering and made sure that it was straight and on the right spot that I wanted.
As for the pain, I was prepared. The whole time I was waiting for my turn, they have signs all around that read, "Yes, it hurts."
And, yes, it hurts. But when you're done, all you feel is good. So good.
Worth the stop at the bank and worth the wait. This was one of the happiest experiences of my life.
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
