Tattoo Shops

5 Signs You Are in the Wrong Tattoo Shop
Articles By Bobby Alexander


1. Smells Bad - Tattoo shops should smell like cleaning products and sterile air, if you walked into tattoo shop and have been greeted by a big puff of smoke, or other foul odor you may be in the wrong place. The owners of the tattoo shop and the artist not caring about how the shop smells is a good indicator that the level of sterilization may be low.

2. Animals - At some parlors the owner will have a snake cage set up or a dog running around. This is a violation of most states health codes and either way is a disgusting situation always avoid any tattoo shop where animals are present. Beside the smell the presence of animals compromises any sterile zone the artist may have set up.

3. Dirty Employees - Employees of tattoo shops should be clean wearing not only sterile gloves and using sterile equipment. But there personal hygiene should also be high. If the tattoo artist you have chosen is dirty, has ink or other stains on there clothes, you may want to leave. If the artist is not keeping his own person clean his working area is probably in similar disarray.

4. Foul Bathroom - Check out the bathroom in the tattoo shop you plan to go to in advance. Does it look and smell clean? The look of the bathroom will give you an idea of the level of cleanliness in the business. If the employees take a nonchalant attitude to the bathrooms cleanliness they may also be nonchalant in the cleaning of there personal stations.

5. "Sorry We Are Out Of...Ink" - Nothing says you are in the wrong shop like "sorry we are out of ink". Maybe its black ink or red or green, but the question is the same how can a tattoo shop run out of anything, much less tattoo ink. It happens all the time, it is usually the sign of a tattoo artist who does not want to do the work. But even if the shop is really out of a particular color of tattoo ink it is still a good sign you are in the wrong shop.

Tattoo Shops

Tattoo Shops Boom During Recession

Articles about Tattoo Shops By Boris Gibson

They say the industries of vice are the ones that do well during recessions. People will, after all, always buy cigarettes and booze when things are down. Well now it appears as though they will need to add tattoos the equation.

It's been a might rough couple of years. Whether you call it a Mild Depression or Great Recession, it is the rare person that hasn't been stressed out by the current economic situation. When the economy goes bad, historically people smoke and drink and...well, do other adult things. If the statistics coming out are accurate, lots of people are also getting tattoos!

Tattoo shops are seeing tons of business despite the recession. This is somewhat of a surprise given the nature of a tattoo. While getting inked is no longer something on the edge of society, there is little doubt the cost of doing it is still pretty expensive. This is why it is somewhat surprising to find that so many people who are otherwise trying to cut there expenses are spending hundreds or thousands on tattoos.

There is, of course, a secondary reason why most tattoo artists still have waiting lists. The reason comes down to how people view their ink. Most view a tat as a form of art work that means something particular. With this in mind, they take the time to really map out what they want and then hunt for an artist that can meet there needs. The best artists usually have waiting lists, and that fact converts the tattoo from an impulse purchase to more of a well thought out effort. With this conversion comes a greater commitment to the tat.

Where there is demand, there must be supply. The current state of the tattoo industry is such that there are not enough tattoo artists or shops. As a result, the industry is seeing a booming business when it comes to the expansion of existing shops or the opening of new ones. This is a pretty amazing development when you think it through. Can you even name one other business group that is EXPANDING these days?

The world of tats is such that ink is so popular these days that not even a Great Recession can slow the momentum down. This will not always be the case, but it is still pretty amazing to see these days.