I've been following Karen from shop to shop for years. She does great work and always has a lot of positive energy while she's working on you. Â Her current shopmates are a great bunch and things can be mellow or lively depending on who's doing what.
The color and detail on my tattoos are holding well, and I can't wait to have the cash to get started on the next phase of my personal decoration!
Amazing doesn't even begin to describe Spellbound Studio. Â I went to Karen for my first tattoo, Â which happened to be a half sleeve, and I left with an incredible work of art that far exceeded my expectations. Â From my first meeting with Karen all the way to my last session with her was a pleasurable and positive experience. Â The shop was immaculate and provided a soothing and relaxing atmosphere, especially for a first timer. Her patience and creativity are phenomenal. Â I look forward to working with Karen again on my next piece and cannot stop telling people how amazing she is. Â Karen, you are truly the best in Austin!
Review Source:I can't say enough good things about Karen Slafter's work -- beyond the acknowledgement and recognition she's received from the Austin Chronicle, her work with ink on skin is living art.
I walked into her old tattoo shop next to the Continental a few years ago, either 2004 or 2005 -- a friend of mine is an old friend of Karen's and highly recommended her. We talked briefly about what I wanted (matching designs on both my arms), and I set up an appointment a week later.
The work, at that time, was actually cheaper than originally quoted, and the actual inking went quickly. I'll say Karen had a very light touch, deceptively so in fact, because the colors have remained vibrant, and the details have remained sharp after all these years.
Her shop was very clean and well-lit, she handled me in a very professional but friendly manner, and my one regret is that I've not had more work done by her, something I hope to correct in the near future.
Karen Slafter is freakin' amazing. She's a talented and prolific artist, ridiculously deft with that tattoo gun, and a Reiki healer to boot.
She helped me design a really extensive and detailed caduceus back piece that takes up pretty much most of my back. Meeting her and seeing the sketch she produced from a few source pics, an email, and a quick conversation pretty much clinched the deal for me: she GOT what I wanted, right away, and rendered it beautifully.
Having done the initial outline about seven months ago, and some vivid and marvelous coloring about a month ago, we're still working on getting it finished. It's going in stages because it's so big and detailed. I'm normally pretty good with pain, but the ribcage stuff hurts!
Ah, as an added bonus, because she does Reiki, it does help if you are having a wuss moment. When we were doing the outline, I uttered a string of expletives and after both of us laughing for a little bit, I asked if Reiki would help with the pain (this was before I got attuned myself).
She went ahead and "switched it on" for me and went right back to buzzing away, and the going was much easier.
I honestly can't think of a more rad combination (Reiki and tattoos), or really a more rad tattoo artist, than Karen. Can't wait for my next session.
i live in NY, but my husband is from austin and i started researching tattoo artists in austin before a trip to visit family. karen was clearly very talented and when i contacted her she was incredibly helpful AND willing to make me an appointment via email (rare, in my experience). when i met her in person she was professional, fun, and did a great job on my tattoo. fantastic experience all around, and i'd go back to her in a heartbeat.
Review Source:Karen is awesome - plain & simple. Â I took several sketches and ideas to her for 2 doves on my back. Â She combined them into one drawing (of course, adding her own details) and it was beyond what I had hoped for. Â The tattoo itself is so beautiful and I get compliments on it almost daily. Â I've had several friends go to her also and everything I have seen has been spectacular. Â Plus the studio itself is wonderful. Â It's not noisy & covered in cheesy stock tattoos like most shops. Â It's truly an artist's studio. Â Thanks, Karen!
Review Source:I emailed her several times through Facebook,based on her supposed ranking,with no response.
Finally got ahold of her through her website.We set appt. for me to drop by and discuss work i wanted done.I went by there,obviousy interrupting her lunch,by the look on her face. ...It didn't feel right from the start.
She set an appt. for 6 weeks out.I emailed her for an update on the piece i wanted.She said she lost it.....wth.....
I asked her if she worked on a replacement?....no reply...
What a flakeout.......ughh....
I got my first tattoo with Karen at Spellbound. Â She is totally awesome and her work is amazing. Â She is a talented artist and an engaging person, making for a unique and satisfying tattoo experience. Â Â Her studio is as unique a space as she is and a comfortable place to be. Â I am very happy with my tattoo and the whole experience with Spellbound and Karen and will definitely seek her out when I am ready to get a second one.
Review Source:After moving here 3 years ago and leaving my favorite Tat artist back in NY, I was on a mission to find someone with the same artistic ability and atmosphere that I had been used to. All I can say is Karen's place Spellbound Studio is definitely that place. The place is exceptionally clean, the atmosphere is calm and Karen and Osman are two fantastic artists.
My daughter and I had our tats done there last night, her 18th birthday present :), and I will definitely be going back! Osman had a very light hand and was extremely professional. I look forward to having him do my dog portraits for me, his child portraits are absolutley beautiful!
I watched Karen do a crazy detailed sleeve on her client and all I can say is she has an amazing eye and hand! I look forward to having her do the piece I have been playing with in my mind for the last 8 years. It is a very special piece and I believe I finally found the right person to do it for me!
Great find and extremely happy to recommend them!
I have to disagree with the review before mine. I had scheduled a tattoo appointment with a worker there, and the day of my appointment I show up, and the guy is not there. Bad news right off. So Reese says he'll do it, but he quotes me higher... higher than i wanted to spend... so i told him, and he says he'll do it for what I was previously quoted... so he does... and he was very cocky and impatient the entire time... and my tattoo fucking sucks. there are like 16 blowouts in it and it fucking sucks. I understand that the foot is difficult to tattoo, but I have seen WAY better jobs done on feet, with no blow outs. AND to top it off! I didn't wear a shoe for 2 weeks to avoid fucking it up myself, so it is definitely Reese's fault.
Everyone else that worked there seemed really rad, and off the bat Reese seemed rad, himself. The environment is clean and inviting. I guess i would give it another try if i were working with some one else there.
Karen is the best there is. Â Her custom designs are like no other artist out there and the quality is great! Â I am often stopped on the street by people who ask if it is a new tattoo. Â The colors and crispness are as strong as the day they were done. Â It is also a joy to be in her shop, when it comes to tattooing she is very professional but at the same time the experience is totally relaxed, like kicking back with a friend. Â I will return again, and again, and again...
Review Source:I was lucky enough to have a friend recommend Karen Slafter for my first tattoo five years ago, when I was, I thought, just passing through Austin. The work is "in there" still: red is still new-vibrant after all this time. Since I moved here, there was no question I would always return to her for more work. She has an uncanny ability to understand the meaning behind a vision. From my lousy sketch and some brainstorming, she came up with a back piece that is something I will be honored to live with all my life. Aside from having talent and technique for days, Karen is forthright, caring, meticulous, and ethical. You couldn't ask for a better artist to trust with your skin.
Review Source:I can't say enough good things about Karen Slafter. She took my simple idea for blackwork Japanese style cherry branches on my arms, ran with it and executed it perfectly. Â She is also very gentle and empathic & has a great bedside personality. Just everything you could want in a tat artist.
If you have to wait a few months to see her, it's completely worth it!
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