Monsters Ink

My fiancé and I came in for the Friday the 13^th specials they were offering. A big thanks to Manuel and Miguel for the tattoos they gave my fiancé and I that day. I have been thinking about putting ink on my left arm from shoulder to hand since about 1995. Before I walked in with my fiancé that day I only had one tattoo. Now I have three and I’m excited to keep going and complete the arm I thought of when I was a younger version of myself. Manuel did a fantastic job on my fiancé’s feather, Manuel did a great job on my dominoes, and both of them did wonderful on our Jack Skellington skulls that we chose as matching tattoos. We will be back soon for more ink and recommend Monsters Ink to everyone we can. Thanks!

Walked in on a Saturday afternoon without an appointment but Nick fortunately had an opening for me. Clean shop, professional crew, great artists. Nick designed exactly what I envisioned with little instruction, and he has a really light touch.

PLEASE DO NOT GO HERE FOR PIERCINGS! It’s not because they are not sanitary (They are! She was super clean when she was piercing me.) I got a Monroe piercing and she had major complications getting it in. I paid $ 55 and left. This was two days ago. This morning, I thought the piercing had fallen out, but it only sink into my skin. So I went to a new piercing shop in SF. The guy told me she pierced it at a 90 degree angle which is completely wrong. He said it’ll rub on my gums and cause immense swelling. My lip is super swollen. I now have to wait three weeks to get it repierced. If you want your piercing done right, don’t go here!!!

There are quite a few talented tattoo artists in the east bay. I’ve had work done by several of them. Talent and being a jerk seem to sometimes come together.
I recently went into Monsters Ink to have a look because I had been thinking about getting a new piece for a while, and it is near my house. I talked to the guy at the counter, his name is Jaime, cool guy, great attitude, all around positive vibe from the dude. They were getting ready to close but we went through a few ideas anyway. He sketched a few out (after closing) and I really liked what I saw. I asked him to change it like four times and he never even blinked. In fact he kept assuring me he didn’t mind and wanted it done the way I wanted it. I was really pumped when he said he was willing to do it that night.
Piece came out perfect, just what I wanted. Clean shop too! Thanks Jaime, I’ll be back!

I recommend Monsters Ink to anyone in the Bay Area looking to get a very good tattoo at a very good price. I specifically very, very highly recommend Joey, so look up joey_​hella on Instagram, because he is the only artist at Monsters Ink that has done work on me. I can say confidently though that the other artists do solid work from everything I have seen, which has been 6 sessions I believe at this point with Joey, so I have seen lots of other pieces being done by the other artists over the dozens of hours I have spent in the shop over the past 5 months.
I started a sleeve at a place in San Francisco that is pretty highly rated and significantly more costly, but I personally had a terrible experience with the artist in every aspect, from his professionalism to the quality of the work he did on the first piece of my sleeve. Afterwards, I decided to find another artist and went to a couple places around the area. I live in East Bay and work in Outer Richmond district of SF, so I checked out lots of places online, and several in person. I had a consultation set up with another artist at a place in Crockett, but had been meaning to check out Monsters Ink, so decided to go ahead and walk in and take a look.
I browsed the portfolios of the two artists that were there at the time, Joey and Lewis, and Joey’s work overall seemed to be more my style in general (though I’m sure Lewis would do a fine job too). So, I talked to Joey for a minute and explained what I was trying to do, and whereas other artists either didn’t really listen to me and kind of was like «give me a deposit and we’ll talk about it later», or were like «that’s not really my style… maybe talk to so and so…» Joey said «it’s my job as the artist to take your idea and make it work in a way that will look good,» which was great to hear. I mean, I do appreciate an artist saying they may not be the best person for me to work with, but I feel a lot of «artists» in the Bay Area feel like only clients that are looking for their exact style of tattooing are worth their time, because I think a lot are tattooers and not artists. But I digress. I just had a good feeling after talking to Joey, so I cancelled my other consultation.
I have gotten 4 main pieces so far from Joey, two involving cover-​ups (something else many tattooers are afraid to tackle), and with each one, he has taken my concept and improved upon it, either in the design, or in the application as he is doing the piece. Joey is a real artist. He is a very good tattooer, but he also will see ways to improve the tattoo as he is doing it, so you can trust him to pay attention to details. He doesn’t just put a stencil on and trace it with a tattoo machine. He usually will put a stencil on you, add some free-​hand touches to the stencil, and if you are cool with it, he will get started. If he sees things he can do to improve the design as he is applying it (because sometimes I feel like you don’t know exactly what a tattoo is going to need until you can see it starting to come together on the body), he can make tweaks to it to make it even better. With me, I have gotten to the point that I tell him to do whatever he sees, don’t even bother running a small change by me.
He isn’t the fastest guy though, so don’t expect to be in and out in an hour and a half. He takes his time getting the design drawn right, he takes his time setting up his workstation, he wants you to be comfortable in the chair, etc., and he tattoos slower than some guys I have been to, but this is not a bad thing in my opinion. As of right now, Joey (I assume it’s the same for the other artists?) charges for the piece and not by the hour, so I am perfectly fine with a tattoo taking 5 hours with Joey that will look better than expected, instead of 2.5 or 3 hours with a guy that is charging (too much) by the hour and not putting time and effort into making it something that exceeds your expectations. They say you get what you pay for, you also get what you invest. Whether that is time, money, effort, etc.
My advice to anyone in the East Bay (at least) is to consider going by Monsters Ink and talking to Joey if he is there, and one of the other artists if he is not, and see what kind of vibe you get before committing to paying some self-​satisfied tattoer in Oakland or SF exorbitant fees to do a piece they may or may not put more than the minimal effort in. Joey is very good, very easy to work with, but very quiet and seemingly shy (or maybe he just doesn’t like talking to me… entirely possible), so I’d go see him before he blows up and charges the rates he could be for the quality he is giving.

Just got a really meaningful signature tattoo here. Joey really took his time and made sure it matched perfectly. Super awesome experience and I’ll definitely be a repeat customer in the future.
Really clean facility and I felt extremely comfortable and taken care of.
Excellent, excellent, excellent
Thanks, Joey!

So I found this place from my sister I went in and got Nick for my first Tattoo then a month later today I got my big piece rose and pearls he did great work I love Nick’s work.

Ok guys, this is a review I really don’t want to write, but I feel like I definitely need to. I appreciate what it takes to do this job, but my experience was not the best. I’ve only been pierced here, so I can’t speak to their tattoo business.
I got pierced by Lewis. He was super cool and patient. I got my second ear holes and a monroe done here, and it was kind of a drag. Their jewelery selection is quite small, which is fine, just be forewarned. I picked out my jewelery, and Lewis pulled them out with his bare hands. This is fine if they soak them in sterilizing solution/​run them through an autoclave, which he certainly did not. I have been getting pierced for the better part of 15 years, and I should have said something, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. In doing so, I took a gamble with my health and I am still paying for it.
Nothing got properly sterilized, which is down right terrifying. I know my body and how to take care of my piercings. I heal quickly, but everything I got done at Monster’s Ink is still in pain/​going through bouts of inflammation/​infection. I had to take my Monroe out because it just refused to heal. About 3 months on, and my ears are still crusty and painful. I’ve been doing salt soaks to no avail.
You guys, please please please don’t get pierced here. I know the price is really appealing, but there’s a good reason for that. Good work ain’t cheap. Don’t gamble with your body.

I went in to try to get a tattoo and one of the tattoo artists left and the other reluctantly acknowledged me. They showed no interest in helping me or getting my business. I don’t know about how good quality their tattoos are but their absolutely shitty customer service was the biggest turn off ever. I literally never want to go there again.

Best tattoo and piercing shop in the east bay! There’s nothing the artists can’t do :-) highly recommended if you want some dope artwork !

I’ve been tattooed by both Joey and Lewis both great artist. Very clean shop everyone is very nice and is the only place I now go to for tattoos and piercings.

Lewis pierced my forward helix almost two weeks ago now. I am SO pleased with the experience. Highlights…
–Lewis is SO nice, patient, easy to work with
–the price was very reasonable, $ 35 included basic jewelry
–location! It’s not in Berkeley! Meaning you can park!
I’m totally working on my next tattoo idea. I’m going to see Lewis because of how awesome he was! Thanks Monsters Ink.

Nick did my awesome tattoo last night. The entire experience was great.
–discussed concept on Sunday and he booked my appointment for the following Tuesday
–he clearly communicated how he would artistically alter my desired image so that it would fit my wrist better (it is better than I had imagined)
–he took the extra time to do a lot of single needle details so that it had the ‘sketched’ look that I wanted
–very clean and friendly environment
–fair price for the work that was done
If I decide on another tattoo I will definitely be coming back to Nick.

1 of the most down-​to-​Earth crew I’ve ever ran across! Definitely a once in a blue moon experience.

Lewis is amazing. He does some of the best work I’ve ever seen. He’s been my tattooer and friend for some time now and I wouldn’t go to anyone else. I recommend him to everyone I know and they fall in love with his work too.

Mike was FANTASTIC! I met him through a friend while visiting from Seattle and I have decided after this visit that he will finish my sleeve.
The location is very easy to get to and there is plenty of parking on the street and surrounding streets. Once you walk in, your immediately welcomed by the clean and orderly front room where there are comfy chairs for waiting and lookbooks to browse through. Behind the counter is their drawing area and the high ceilings and hugs walls allow their artwork to shine.
I wanted my tattoo inverted and a little larger and it only took maybe 10 minutes for him to sketch up a new one. I had previously sent him the image a day or two before.
The back room where the tattooing ensued was just as clean and large as the front of the establishment. I’m always impressed with cleanliness and order.
Mike was relaxed, easy going and very detail oriented. I couldn’t be more pleased with the addition to my sleeve and especially the price he quoted me at. Compared to Seattle prices, I will DEFINITELY spend the airfare to visit this guy again.

Got 3 ear pieced and its wasnt even that bad I would go again. nice shop, great workers, its clean

Great place, Good people, and a very clean shop.