Obscurities Tattoo & Piercing

Mark Thompson did a should piece for me a decade ago — some gorgeous grayscale work — and it STILL looks amazing.
I would recommend this joint to anyone in Texas. It’s worth the drive.

Would have been nice if they were open the hours they have posted. Stopped by the shop during business hours and it’s dark and locked.

Here’s the skinny. Body modifications aren’t going to be dirt cheap. You are paying for a lot when you are going into a great shop. You are paying for experience, equipment, talent, and the biggest one for me– EDUCATION. That’s right folks. You want to be in a place that is very serious about their art, and even more serious about your health. When it comes to meeting both– Obscurities is the cream of the crop. Despite what all they bring to the table, I am amazed that they choose to offer their services at such competitive prices. There is a reason this place is considered a Dallas staple, and I see they continue to shine.
So, I surprised my sister with a trip to Obscurities to start her ear stretching journey for her 38^th birthday. We were able to get to the shop with no issue and chat for a while with the piercer. He was soooo honest and gave such great feedback to my sister of what to expect and how to care for her ears. I think he also talked her out of thinking she could get to a ½ inch considering that she has the ears of an adorable baby squirrel. He also made her day when he carded her because he could not believe that she was 38. For the record, no one asked me for a dang thing. I would take a star away for that, but that would just seem bitter. LOL!
But seriously! The level of customer service and cleanliness is spectacular. I was also happy to see that all of their equipment was stellar, and I was even more blown away with the sheer amount of hospital grade care taken on just routine procedures. This alone is why Obscurities will be my ONLY piercing place from now– PERIOD.
Oh! If you are already modified, be sure to go by there to check out some of their amazing jewelry. They have some of the most beautiful plugs I’ve ever seen. Be sure to look at everything in the glass cases. Simply amazing stuff.

I went in looking for some 00g plugs after losing one in my sleep and not being able to find it. The person working in front brought them out and helped me out with any questions promptly and efficiently. Thanks!

I’ve had my ears pierced twice before, disastrously. I wasn’t sure if I could even try to have them pierced again, but it was really important to me to get it done. Based on Unilocal reviews and some personal recommendations, I chose to go into Obscurities. I am SO GLAD I did! They were extremely helpful, informative, and kind. It has been 7 months now and I have not had a single problem. Come here to get your piercings done right. You won’t regret it!

5 starts for honesty! Went in to get my belly button pierced and they warned me before about healing time/​asked me if I’d be going near water (lake, ocean, pool, etc) anytime soon… And if so not to get it because it would get infected. Great service. Will go back there to get it pierced.

MISSPELLED TAT in 2 PLACES!
The worst tattoo place I have ever been! New to Dallas and live pretty much across the st from this place so I looked it up on Unilocal,read good reviews and decided it would be an ideal place for my newest tattoo. I walked in and they were able to see me right away. I was getting writing on my forearm and had the words written out on paper for then. The artist drew them neatly on transfer paper, larger than I wanted but when I told him this he got offended and argued about what size it should be. After a few more goes we finally agreed on the size and he transferred the writing onto my forearm. I looked in the mirror to make sure it was straight and correctly spelled before we began– everything looked good so far. I laid Down and before be started he decided it wasn’t straight after all, lifters the transfer paper and reapplied then began to tattoo — when he was finished I looked in the mirror & to my HORROR it was misspelled — not in jus one place but two !! he then Began to explain when he had reapplied the transfer paper there were a few smudged places he couldn’t really read so he guessed– making the «c» an «e» and an «n» a «r» — oh ya guy good time to guess at spelling ! Let’s guess while I’m putting a permanent tattoo on someone– HA! They would not give me any of my $ 125 back that I had already paid (way to much) and told me to jus pick the middle of the «e» out when it was healing so it would look like a «c» — there was no talking to these guys! They were so rude and never apologized once for their mistake or offer any compensation! They are in the strip of bars on cedar springs and obviously used to jus doing lil rinky dink tats on drunk ppl — NO PROS HERE! Save your money any go somewhere else!

STAY AWAY! If I can give zero stars, I would. The guy behind the counter, who claims to be the owner, needs to learn a thing or two about customer service and how to treat people with respect. After being given the runaround for months on a simple tattoo, the a**hole had the nerve to curse us out. Was it that serious that he had to drop eff bombs? Idiot. Tattoo shop or not – this is still a business and customer service is key. Again, you’ve been forewarned to stay away.

Customer service lacking, and all I left with was a crooked septum piercing. Less than impressed. Got refunded, so at least I can take the piercing out.

Very clean and this place has a vintage look the best tatoo/​piercing studio I have ever visited. The staff is extremely professional and good at the art. They will treat you with care and will give the detail description, I had gone to get my nose-​pierced. Chris did my Nose piercing and the room was extremely clean looked like a dentist treating room. Chris was amazing and the experience wasn’t that painful may be because of Chris’s art of piercing. Thanks Chris for making my experience memorable in a good way.

Unhelpful/​Unfriendly tattoo artists.
I stopped in here because I was interested in trying to cover up a tattoo on my wrist. I had a general idea of what I wanted to try to cover it with so I wanted to get a second opinion. The guy behind the counter were very rude and dismissive of what I wanted to do and flat out said they couldn’t do it without explaining to me why not. They kept pushing me towards covering up my tattoo with a flower. All that was really saying to me is that they didn’t have much skills. So that mixed with the fact that they were pretty much total dicks, I decided to go else where. The next place I went to was able to do my cover up and told me that there was no reason the guys at Obscurities couldn’t have done this and they must just suck! I agree!

Day Two,
Still doing good on my end, spoke with Chris and again I’m so satisfied with them .
I’ve told all my friends to go here make that appointment, get QUALITY work done and enjoy! I’m almost mad at myself because like others I’ve put affordability or convenience over what it really should have been the QUALITY…
I will never go anywhere else… EVER!

I’ll make this short and sweet.
I’ve been pierced twice there. Both times by someone who isn’t there anymore, but it was clean and professional.
Out of the collective 6 tattoos my husband and I have, our best experiance was with Adam at Obscurities. They are a little more expensive, but worth the cost for a job done right. We are actually getting ready to go back to Adam for another one each in a few weeks after our second daughter is born.
I will never go anywhere else. Ever.

Adam Stewart – one of the most down-​to-​earth tattoo artists I’ve ever encountered – was able to accommodate my fiancé and myself with our spur-​of-​the-​moment tattoos even though it was a busy Friday evening at the shop. He did a great job, introduced us to some local music while he worked, and made us feel at home. The shop was very clean and organized. Overall, a very good experience.

Was out in the Gayborhood hanging with my bud and decided to get pierced! I mean, why not? To be honest, I had been thinking about it but a little out of boredom and a little out of it’s sheer convenience I just went for it. I got my tragus pierced on my ear.
It was a little more than I wanted to pay but decided to not care… it was around $ 50. It hurt, it still does as it heals but overall really happy with it. The guys were friendly and it was rather quick with no wait except for the setup.
They did a little coaching on a tattoo for my friend that he wanted to have touched up… feedback appreciated.

I made a Unilocal account simply to review this establishment. I chose it based on other reviews on this site, and I am completely happy that I did.
After calling in, with really stupid questions and what I’m sure was thought of as a nuisance, I decided to go in. They have a nice large parking lot and are right on the corner of the building. The inside is nicely decorated and appears clean.
I originally talked to the piercing/​mod apprentice (wish I could remember his name, was that Chris?) and he was at the desk up front. Talked to him for a moment and Eric introduced himself. I’m not going to say I was intimidated because I’m kind of used to it, but I don’t really blend that well in places like this. I dress business casual all the time in dress shirts/​slacks, they treated me like a friend from the get-​go.
These were my first piercings and I was scared to death. I had two 4-​gauge plugs installed and a 14-​gauge septum. They were really patient and gave me good warning on everything. They were extremely cleanly, at one point he apparently accidentally touched something, I wouldn’t have even known, but he walked around, threw out his gloves, rewashed and re-​gloved. I was very impressed with it.
If/​when I decided to get something else done, I will definitely return here.
TL;DR — Great, clean piercing. No attitude from employees.

Back in the day, I got my first ever tattoo at Obscurities. Years later, I can tell you that the color has held up extremely well and I am still happy with this tattoo.
When I went in, I wanted the tattoo on my big toe, and the artist explained that putting a tattoo on a toe was a bad idea because it would fade quickly and would be extremely painful. He was extremely polite and almost scientific in his explanation, and I appreciated the honesty. Why would I want to pay for a painful tattoo only to have it fade fast? He suggested the ankle for a location instead, and after some thought — I agreed.
The artist, who does not work there anymore (Erik), was also supportive and considerate that this was my first tattoo and I was a bit nervous.
The shop was very sanitary, and still is. I also recommend having a piercing done here. I went with a friend of mine last week, and even though I just came as a «supportive friend and carpool», I was made to feel very welcome.
Obscurities certainly is one of the best experiences I’ve had with needles in my life.

Rude and overpriced.
I have gobs of friends who rave about the artwork here, so I went to give it a try.
They could get us in (at 7:30 on a Tuesday) for over an hour… they also quoted me $ 100 for an inch by half inch black tattoo on my finger… and gave me grief about getting an exposed tattoo on my hand (even though I already have one on my wrist… and it’s none of their damn business either way).
Overall NEVER going back… nor recommending it, there are way better shops elsewhere in the city.

I’m actually bummed I had to drop my rating. I was here on Fat Tuesday because a friend of mine wanted *gasp* a tattoo! Who would have thought! And the way we were spoken to was unbelievably irritating.
The first guy we came across was the piercing apprentice/​counter boy and he was super snobby. When my friend told him about the tattoo she wanted, he started criticizing her and, basically trying to talk her out of it. When he walked off to get an actual artist, I made sure to say LOUDLY that it was her body, she should get what she wants, and that she can take her money elsewhere if that’s a problem.
The second guy that came out was better. Even still, his comments were dripping with arrogance. When I explained that I wanted mine drawn for me, he made a comment about how ALL of their work was custom. Woohoo! Gold star for you! And REALLY?!? So you have a whole sheet of Chinese characters stapled to the wall for decoration?
Lastly, he quoted her $ 100 for a tiny tattoo on the inside of her finger. I told her I thought that was pricey (based on the fact that I have one twice the size on my hand and it was $ 60). He responded by saying that they had a minimum sitting fee and that’s how ALL places were (yes, thank you, I’m aware– its not my first rodeo) and that it was a difficult location so it was more expensive… yes, thank you for the inane explanation in your best condescending voice.
Either way, they weren’t available for another 40 minutes so we had them call when they were free. By that time, they had left such a bad taste in our mouth

Almost 11 years ago I came from OKC to get a tattoo when they were still not legal there. I picked something of the wall and they guy did an amazing job coloring it and as I have gotten older I wish I would have done something more original.
And believe it or not Mark Thompson who was the guy who did it when I was 18 was still there. He happily sat down with me and we went back and forth on ideas of a cover up. I really didn’t like the first idea at all and he wasn’t even the least bit offended when I told him. He actually appreciated the honesty. Then after a few ideas we started clicking and came up with a beautiful design. Luckily he had an appoint cancel and I was able to get in a few days later. I am now in love with my tattoo and love showing it off. By far the best work I have ever had done!