Ask Chicagoist: Where Can I Get a Tattoo?
By Thales Exoo in Miscellaneous on Jun 14, 2007 2:48PM
Hi Chicagoist: I am temporarily living in downtown Chicago and wanted to get some tattoos retouched while I am here. I'm looking for somewhere clean and centrally located with talented, reasonable artists -- not the kind who hang around smoking out front until some drunk guy walks up wanting a Popeye tattoo. I'm not a kid anymore!
Is there any tattoo studio and/or artist that comes highly recommended?
Many thanks in advance!
Dear Mr. Dark,
We hope you're enjoying your time here in Chicago. Our own lack of tattoos aside (we think it has something to do with a fear of permanence), we are rather fascinated with them and the whole tattooing process, and think you'll have no problem finding a great place to get a touch-up while you're here.
The artist many of our friends have utilized (and we've even hung out a couple of times while they were getting work done) is Deluxe Tattoo (1459 W Irving Park, 773-549-1594). Everyone we've met there is very kind, extremely artistic, and not at all sketchy. They will also without a doubt not be too quick to jump at the chance to tattoo Popeye or the Tasmanian Devil. We can't say there's no smoking out front, but it's not at all creepy, we promise.
In particular at the shop, artist Hannah Aitchison does remarkable work (see the picture in this post for some evidence of her talent) and does it quickly, which can help save you some cash. She seems to have an extraordinary eye for color, which makes all the tattoos we've seen her do really stand out from the crowd. Hannah's talent even has her on the verge of appearing on a new TLC reality show ("L.A. Ink") with Kat Von D. Sadly though, because of that, she won't be back in Chicago until September. But we think you should give them a call anyway, as we really do like the shop.
If Deluxe Tattoo doesn't seem up your alley, there are plenty of other options. We have no first-hand experience, but have heard some really good things about these tattoo shops (in no particular order):
- Tomato Tattoo (1855 W. Chicago Ave., 312-226-6660)
- Tatu Tattoo (1754 W. North Ave., 773-772-8288)
- Insight Studios (1026 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-342-4444)
- Taylor Street Tattoo (1150 W. Taylor St., 312-455-8288)
- Chicago Tattooing Company (1017 W. Belmont Ave., 773-528-6969)
- Shred's Inferno (4304 W. 63rd St., 773-585-2653)
- Cherry Bomb Tattoo (1579 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-645-1703)
Honestly though? If we were you we'd take some of these recommendations and give the shop a call to talk to an artist, to make sure you click. That's a sure-fire way to have an enjoyable time while getting your tattoo. Well. As enjoyable a time as is possible when being poked over and over again with a needle.
Where'd you get inked? Do you have a great artist you'd recommend to our visitor that we (inevitably) missed? How about places to avoid?
Do you want to see the pictures? Need some advice? Email ask(at)chicagoist(dot)com.