Phoenix Tattoo

After visiting some other local shops and researching online we decided to stop in to Phoenix and I'm glad we did. The shop is bright, clean, neat and inviting. You're made to feel welcome when you walk in and are treated with respect. We stopped into Phoenix on a Saturday and were able to get an appointment for the next Tuesday. I'm glad we didn't have to wait months like at some shops.Our artist was Matt, although all the artists there are friendly and talented, and he did an awesome job designing my wife's custom tattoo. He listened to what she wanted and understood the significance of her design and came back with exactly what she was looking for. As for me I went to get an old tattoo refreshed and after initially thinking it couldn't be saved Matt ended up being able to not only save it but revitalize it and it looks amazing. We are already planning our next visit there and highly recommend Phoenix Tattoo to anybody looking for outstanding work.

I got my first tattoo here in April 2009, a larger piece in between my shoulder blades using black ink. I initially dropped in a week prior to when I wanted my tattoo done and brought in a rough sketch and some google images related to size and placement. I spoke with a younger guy who took down my info and made a rough sketch, took a small cash deposit, and made an appointment for me.

When I came back for my appointment, the notes and rough sketch had been mis-placed, so I essentially started all over in describing what I wanted, this time without my notes and photos for reference. I was a bit frazzled from this, but my artist was able to understand the design I had in mind and drew me a good stencil.

The tattooing experience was rough, to say the least. My artist was very heavy handed and didn't make conversation with me during the hour and a half he tattooed me. There wasn't a television screen or loud music to district me either; so this made my unpleasant experience seem to drag on and on. I would have liked to have been asked if I needed a break (at one point I started crying) but I was afraid to move or talk much.

After I was finished, I paid and tipped my artist, and received a pamphlet with aftercare instructions...but I don't recall being asked if I liked my work or to call them if I had any questions in regard to healing. My tattoo bleed for a little over a week, every time I took a shower or changed the bandage.

I was absolutely satisfied with the look of my tattoo, but the shop and experience seemed rather cold to me. The pain and weird healing process of my first tattoo scared me away from getting additional work for another three years. I now have three tattoos and my experience with the other two (my feet) were vastly different; I felt very comfortable, made small talk, got to chose something on Netflix, and was invited back to see my healing process and take photos.

Like I said, my work was great but my experience was uncomfortable and impersonal, which may or may not be important to you and the kind of work and experience you want.

I've had two tattoos done here (so far) and I love Lacie! I felt comfortable with her and she was very good about explaining what she was doing as she was tattooing me. Lacie took the time to listen to my suggestions when I was explaining to her what I was thinking of as far as my tattoo design. I brought I sample of what I wanted and asked her to tweak things that I was unhappy with and add some of her artistic touches.

She also didn't let me take the lead on the design ether. She made it clear that some of my ideas wouldn't work and explain in a way that I could understand why and how she could bring my idea to life.

When I had the first tattoo done she was very encouraging about how I was handling the pain; which helped with the sitting a lot. She made just enough conversation to keep me comfortable without over talking. She showed me all the equipment so that I could see it was clean and in good working order.

Once she was done with the tattoo she explained to me in detail how to care for it and then gave me a sheet repeating what she had said. She also gave me a small care package with a sampler of lotion and after care protectant.

Lacie also did my touch up for my tattoo a few months later and told me if I had any fading to come back and she would touch it up again for free. She takes pride in her work and wants everyone who wears her tattoos to wear them with pride.  She is a special lady and tattoo artist; I would recommend her to anyone.