This place is now on Bloomington Ave. and 46th for those of you that cannot find or afford a legit tattoo shop that doesn't feel it's owed your business in the Minneapolis metro area. I get that my initial review didn't win me any friends, but it's service industry folks. 1st impressions are everything, and if Joel cannot interanlize that a vast number of people are going to be turned off by his self promotion. I can't help that. 99% of the reviews that are currently on here, that have not been deleted, have referenced his boasting. The guy may be and have employed talented people but if the customer can't push past the initial meeting they'll never be able to prove it to enough people to matter.
Look, as I said in the intital post. I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY wanted to support this place. But at the time, they were brand new. No one had ever heard of them let alone they didn't have the history or reputation of the artists and shops that I got my ink at. This is not putting rims are someone's 1990 Cutlass, people are proud of the art on their body that they paid hard earned money to get that will be on them forever. I didn't write the book on starting a small business in the internet age but I know RULE #1 : DON'T INSULT POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS
Don't listen to all the other reviews. Did they even get a tattoo at this place? No. Why write a review then? That's like writing a review about a restaurant that you have looked at from the outside and give it a bad rating. Well, lucky for all of you soon-to-be-tattooed, I did get a tattoo at Tough Love. I have been getting a tattoo for my birthday for the past few years and after hearing rave reviews about this place from my roommate (he also got a tattoo here) I decided to give it a whirl. I wanted a simple verse from my favorite song tattooed across my lower hip in black. When I arrived I was greeted by a very friendly receptionist and an atypical environment. Usually when I walk into a tattoo studio I am greeted with the faint smell of cigarette smoke and an overwhelming feeling of judgment that I am just not cool enough to be in there. But, at Tough Love the place actually feels like an art gallery. There are canvas paintings on the wall and a lot of them are done by the tattoo artists that work there. Now, not all the pieces are super awesome, but it is a nice departure from the typical studio. I was tattooed by the owner, Joel, who was very consultative and friendly. He helped me pick out a font that was exactly what I was looking for and talked me through the whole process as if I was getting tattooed for the first time (even though I wasn't). Joel was an excellent tattoo artist, he had a really gentle touch and there were really times where I could not even feel the needle. He was a tad bit boastful and a little too chatty, but oh well! My tattoo looks awesome, and I have had a bunch of compliments on it. So if you are looking for a great tattoo studio in the Minneapolis area, take it from someone who actually got a tattoo and not from someone who just walked by the window.
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