Spring Break
Body art
Local piercing, tattoo shops offer a variety of unique, quality services
Gillian Ekern
Issue date: 12/4/08 Section: Showcase
"I do a lot of noses, belly buttons, eyebrows, monroes, lip piercings and tongues," he said. "A lot of people come to me for micro-dermal implants because I'm pretty much the only person in the area who does them."
Willow described micro-dermal implants as piercings that simply go into the skin but don't have an exit point. He has two on his face below his eyes.
Willow said he does about five to 10 piercings a day at Midwest and most of the time they're on students, but older people are also common customers.
"I want to be the guy they come to to get the classy stuff," he said. "It's the reason I have my prices up there and the nice jewelry."
Willow said he really enjoys his job and that's the reason he's been doing it for so long.
"I like to see people's faces and the work that I've done," he said, "and I do it for the rush."
Where Midwest Tattoo may prefer traditional styles, Michael "Tattoo Mikey" Roth, owner and artist of Feed My Addiction, said his shop often focuses on photorealistic tattoos as the style is growing to be more popular these days.
Roth admitted the store is a little more expensive than some.
"Cheap tattoos aren't good and good tattoos aren't cheap," said Roth as he tattooed a man's bicep in the store. "If you want to pay $50 for a tattoo you're going to get a $50 tattoo."
Roth said his philosophy in the business is that a good tattoo will bring even more customers.
"The best advertisement is word of mouth."
Though Feed My Addiction is a little out of the way in comparison to Midwest and Artisan, Roth said it is definitely a place to go when looking around at your options.
Kristopher Kelly, a body piercer at Artisan said the store used to be called Penetrations but has been open for about three years total.
Kelly said they cater to a wide range of people, but being on Water Street allows them to have a large college clientele.
"As students come in, as freshmen come in, that's our busiest season," he said.
Willow described micro-dermal implants as piercings that simply go into the skin but don't have an exit point. He has two on his face below his eyes.
Willow said he does about five to 10 piercings a day at Midwest and most of the time they're on students, but older people are also common customers.
"I want to be the guy they come to to get the classy stuff," he said. "It's the reason I have my prices up there and the nice jewelry."
Willow said he really enjoys his job and that's the reason he's been doing it for so long.
"I like to see people's faces and the work that I've done," he said, "and I do it for the rush."
Where Midwest Tattoo may prefer traditional styles, Michael "Tattoo Mikey" Roth, owner and artist of Feed My Addiction, said his shop often focuses on photorealistic tattoos as the style is growing to be more popular these days.
Roth admitted the store is a little more expensive than some.
"Cheap tattoos aren't good and good tattoos aren't cheap," said Roth as he tattooed a man's bicep in the store. "If you want to pay $50 for a tattoo you're going to get a $50 tattoo."
Roth said his philosophy in the business is that a good tattoo will bring even more customers.
"The best advertisement is word of mouth."
Though Feed My Addiction is a little out of the way in comparison to Midwest and Artisan, Roth said it is definitely a place to go when looking around at your options.
Kristopher Kelly, a body piercer at Artisan said the store used to be called Penetrations but has been open for about three years total.
Kelly said they cater to a wide range of people, but being on Water Street allows them to have a large college clientele.
"As students come in, as freshmen come in, that's our busiest season," he said.
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