Tatus by Koré

To start, I will say that Kore was fabulous while tattooing. She made it a great, calm atmosphere and a pleasant experience. However, everything before the needle hit my skin was anywhere from awkward to intimidating. I got my tattoo in May 2010.

When I first came in, I had never had a tattoo or talked to any shop about them. I gave the front desk man an idea of what I wanted and asked what I should expect for price. He said he couldn't give me an estimate. Even ballpark? Not really. So I had no idea where to go from there. He told me I could make an appointment and that once it was drawn I could get a better idea. I assumed that this was just how it was... so I gave the deposit and left feeling uncertain.

When I got to the appointment, I sat with Kore and we drew out my idea. I had a very rough sketch with me. She stuck to my sketch a more than creating her own interpretation. She questioned a lot of my suggestions which it made it hard to be persistent about what I wanted.

Like I said, the tattooing process was great, and we had some nice chitchat during the session.

I came back a couple months later because my mom had pointed out (since my tattoo is on my back I can't see it super well) that some areas were a bit more "faded" than others, just not completely uniform, so I went in to ask about a touch-up. Pretty standard procedure.
The guy at the front desk told me it didn't look faded. I had nothing to retort, since I can't see it and point to where it was. So I have a slightly faded looking tattoo.

Overall, she's a good artist, but I would have appreciated a little more support and graciousness. I was 18 and it was my first tattoo, maybe it was my age that made them question me, but it really didn't help me get the best tattoo I could have gotten.

That being said, I don't regret my tattoo.

I got my first tattoo, (or Tatu) by Kore back in 1994, I have been going to her since! This is a very sacred and healing place, not a place where you go in and pick flash off the wall and get it tattooed on you! If you want a unique experience, and a comfortable one, get your tatu's done with Kore! Everything is done custom, no one else will have your tattoo! I like the fact that Kore only tatu's 3 days a week, so she can keep her artistic flair and not get burnt out. You will not be dissappointed! Kore is also a Shifu, a martial arts instructor opperating another business Five Element Martial Arts (FEMA) check both of them out!

Kore did a large, lovely piece on my right arm that was based on a very vague .jpg of bridal henna that I'd printed out.  I'll make a list to keep this brief- but here's some reasons why I was so impressed with her:

-She sat me down and talked to me about my piece
-She took out some books in her shop- NOT tattoo books, actual books of artwork and drawings from different cultures, hardbound- to find the specific type of design I wanted, and compared it with other similar designs in case I wanted to change it up
-She custom drew the piece while looking at my arm, incorporating it into existing tattoos I already had on my arm (to make a sleeve)

THEN she began to charge.  So the drawing of the tattoo, the consultation, all which took about 30-45 minutes, were free.  Amazing.  Try finding that anywhere else.

Also, if you're a first timer, she walks you through the process with breathing exercises.  

My experience with her was lovely.  Her shop was warm, smelled of incense and was very GLBTQ friendly.  I highly, highly recommend her.  Her shop was the only place I left feeling BETTER after my tattoo.  Plus my work is solid, no scarring and no bleeding.  Great skill.

She's conveniently located within Uptown, and her shop has parking.