Tattoo You

It looks like the “what’s up with that lame 45th Express Mart?” question has finally been resolved. Reader Paul B. noted that the tattoo parlor, Slave to the Needle has expanded into the the space. The new layout is pretty classy, too, with warm wood floors, a classy chandelier and a wall just about covered in awards.

We stopped in the other night to chat with the manager, Dave Potter about the expansion:

Wallyhood: Looks like you just about doubled your space. How’d it come about? Were you looking to expand, or did Bob [the building owner] call you about it?

Dave: A little bit of both. We were looking to expand, so when the opportunity came along, it was just a good fit.

W: So, you’re getting a lot of business coming through?

D: It varies, you know, sometimes we’ll have four artists all working at once, but sometimes it’s on larger pieces. Sometimes there are only two or three artists, but yeah, there are a lot of folks coming through: walk-ins, people flipping through the portfolio books…

W: Do you get a lot of customers from Wallingford, or are people coming from further afield?

D: A little of Column A, a little of Column B. We do get people from Wallingford and the U-District, but we also get people coming in from Bellevue, Lynnwood…we actually get people who fly to Seattle to get tattooed here.

W: Given the awards on the wall, I can see why. I’ve seen on Twitter and Facebook that you have guest artists sometimes. How does that work?

D: Well, tattooing is a skill you can carry with you, so if someone is travelling, it’s a nice way to make a little money, and get to know the people in the town you’re visiting. So someone may send us an e-mail, let us know they’re going to be in Seattle. We take a look at their portfolio, their references, make sure they’ve been working for at least five years, and if we like their work, we can line them up. We get a guy who comes in every year from Japan, another guy coming in from Germany.

W: Do your artists specialize, or is it more of a “you draw it, we ink it” thing?

D: All our artists are versatile, but some do specialize in particular styles. For example, not everybody does portraits, and some do them really well. Or some artists really like to work in an Asian-style. Aaron [Bell, Slave to the Needle’s owner], for example, he’s known for his Asian-style tattoos.

W: So what are you guys known for?

D: Top-notch tattoos (laughs). No, really, there’s no one style, but you can see we do good work [gestures at wall of awards].

W: So how does it work? How much does a tattoo cost? Do I come in with my own art work, or does the artist draw it?

D: It varies. For a tattoo that takes less than two hours, there’s a minimum of $75, and it’s quoted based on complexity of the design, where on the body you want it, that kind of thing. Over that, it’s $150 / hr (or $200 for Aaron). You can come in with a particular design you want or just some reference pictures you can use to start a conversation with the artist.

W: So, let’s say I wanted a tattoo of a bee on my arm, right here…

D: You want a tattoo?

W: Yeah, OK. Kinda of. Yes. OK, this whole interview has just been a cover to gather information for getting my own tattoo.

At this point, the interview broke down as we started flipping through portfolios of artists who did good photo-realistic work. So, what do you think, Wallingford? Should we adorn our arm with a photo-realistic tattoo of a bee, courtesy of guest-artist Rok? Or perhaps this would be more fitting?