True at Heart Tattoo Studio

True at Heart is one of the best tattoo shops ive ever been to. Matt is an amazing artist and very personable. Ive been waiting a long time to find an artist and a shop that i feel comfortable sticking with and i can easily say that i am going to be getting the rest of my work done by matt.

I walked in to see the Piercist.  My jewerly fell out today as I was cleaning and needed him to look at my nose pierce and tell me if I had it in right and if not, if he could put it in correctly.  He had great advice and was very gentle!!  I was so impressed I had to write him a review in gratitude!!  Thank you !!!  He told me to also soak it in salt water and make sure it stays clean!  And didn't charge me since he did not pierce me, just fixed it for me.  He did this all in less than five minutes!!  Just amazing!!!

I've been getting tattoos for a while now. I have over 10 tattoos, have had roughly 30 hours in the chair, I've been to dozens of shops and have spoken to and gotten work done by many different types of artists. I'm no stranger to tattoos. I realize that tattoo shops aren't always "professional". Practical jokes, drug references, fowl language, it's just part of the experience. I actually enjoy that about tattoo shops. Kind of makes me feel at home.

That being said, I have never seen so many artists in one shop be so disrespectful to paying customers. Tattoos are EXPENSIVE. Artists make their living based on making long-term clients and those clients go out and put in a good word put in for them. Connections. A small amount of the artists seem really nice and stay out of the drama, but I've decided that this shop isn't worth my time or my money. I've been tattooed here 4 times, my husband once, my brother once, and a couple of my buddies have gotten work here done too. All of us have concluded the same thing. It boggles my mind. I've seen people come in, get ignored and leave. People leave in the middle of their sessions. People get turned away because their artist is a no show and can't be reached.

I took a break from this shop a couple years ago thinking it was way too dramatic and I didn't like being told that my tattoo ideas were stupid, it'd be over $400 for a simple design that originally was quoted to be $150, having to wait almost two hours to get started after my appointment time, or having my artist show up drunk to our appointment and passing me off to another artist I didn't know, that is if I could get one available at all. Not just one artist. Multiple artists; every time I've gone in, I've been tattooed by someone different. Why should I spend my money at a place where I feel neglected and belittled?

The only reason I went back recently is because OC Inkhouse closed down and they are the closest shop to me (besides White Lotus, but they're funky too). I am giving this place two stars because I feel bad for the good artists that happen to work there and are just trying to support themselves and do their jobs. Otherwise, I'd give it one star. I don't recommend this shop at all. First timers especially should go somewhere else. I don't know how this place has good reviews, but trust me, there are better shops out there. Don't make the same mistake I did and go to a place based on location. You'll be highly disappointed.