Off the Map Tattoo

REVIEW # 2 — ²⁄₂₀₁₆
I was so excited when I read that Kristina Bennett was a guest artist at Off the Map that I jumped at the opportunity to have another tattoo done by her. Kristina created the most beautiful, sexy and alluring watercolor mermaid tattoo for me! Kristina is one of the most talented tattoo artists that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. She is kind, funny and super down to earth. This was my second experience at Off the Map and it was an amazing one. Everyone, from the front staff to the other artists, were friendly and extremely humorous which makes for a very inviting atmosphere. I recommend Off the Map to everyone I know that is interested in getting a tattoo. Off the Map goes above and beyond to make their clients feel welcome and appreciated. I will definitely be back to Off the Map for another tattoo in the near future.

I’ve been wanting to get this particular tattoo for years now. Small and simple. I walked in to Off the Map and was immediately helped. Within two days I returned for my appointment and was greeted and treated kindly. Everyone around was jovial, and genuinely curious about each others works in progress. By the end I’d confirmed that I will be using Andre for additional work that I’ve planned. It was a great experience and I felt taken care of.

OTM is the kind of place that I don’t mind driving two hours to get to. The shop employs talented, thoughtful, friendly and funny people who really help keep your mind off any of the discomfort that often comes with getting a tattoo. I really respect that they invite artists based on talent and potential, instead of popularity. I worked with a visiting artist who might be considered «junior» in some places in terms of years of experience, but I’m telling you — when I saw what she could do, it was clear to me that many of those popular «TV show» artists might have trouble keeping up with her. It’s really cool that OTM hires cool artists, good people.

I never loved a tattoo shop as much as I love this one. It really is the best. The tattoo artists are professional, don’t trash other artists, do fundraisers monthly for different awarenesses, and they are very active in their community. On top of all these qualities, they are insanely talented, friendly, and fair. I went to Frank Ready back in January (?) I think it was and he put an amazing peacock on my lower leg. He was patient with me, listened to what I wanted and I couldn’t be happier with the end result. Did I mention that he drew it on me THAT DAY?! Freehand. I will be returning as soon as financially possible.

I researched this shop and everywhere, they were given excellent reviews. The front desk was courteous and even gave me a call to remind me of my appointment with Johnny Smith. I looked over his artwork and photos of his tattoos and they all looked excellent… so I’m not sure why mine went horribly wrong. I had a few colored tattoos within close proximity of each other and I went in hoping he could help connect them to make a larger tattoo. The end result was that he pretty much shaded OVER my existing colored tattoos all in BLACK! It was in a region of my body where I couldn’t turn my head to see what he was doing. I specifically told him NOT to ink over the existing tattoos with black and I know he heard me because he acknowledge it. But still, he did what he wanted. In the places where the black was supposed to be in, it came out patchy and inconsistent and there were a lot of stray marks that just didn’t flow well at all. One of my existing brightly colored yellow tattoos (which originally had NO BLACK in it at all) ended up with a couple of completely straight black lines inked right across it. Things that were originally outlined in color, he decided to go over them in thick black lines. I’m pissed that my existing colored ones are now messed up and I had to spend MORE money to get it lasered off… that’s how messed up they looked. I initially went to another artist to see if he could help and all he could say was that he didn’t know what my artist was thinking and he couldn’t help me because everything was filled in with so much black… even the lady who did the laser work just shook her head and asked who I went to because she didn’t want her friend going to the same person I went to. I would NOT recommend Johnny Smith. The shop is great, artist’s personality is great but his work is horrendous.

I came back here when I moved back to Massachusetts in December of last year. I was desperately wanting a new tattoo and I had the perfect image in my mind of what i wanted (two roses on my shoulders/​chest) and I remembered Tim and the tattoo i had gotten from him last time i was in Massachusetts and how beautiful it was so I went to the Off the Map website, filled out the appointment request form and the next morning had a call from the lovely receptionist following up about my request. and I was able to get an appointment with Tim within a few days. I had a set budget, as i had just moved here and was living off of a fixed income while looking for a job, I spoke with TIm and said i wouldn’t mind breaking up the tattoos into two sessions just for financial reasons and he was totally understanding. I came in on the morning of my appointment, spoke with Tim and i felt he really truly understood what i wanted, he freehanded the roses on my shoulders and even in that marker they looked AMAZING! i was so excited and ready to get started, the appointment took i think about six hours, we ended up doing the whole thing in one session AND he stayed well within my budget. I have never been more happy with anything in my life, I get so many compliments on these rose tattoos and when i tell people that he just freehanded them on me it blows peoples mind! Anyone i meet in Massachusetts that says they are in the market for a tattoo i tell them to go to Off the Map because seriously there is no shop in the area (or honestly anywhere that i’ve lived) that is on par with Off the Map and the quality of work that these artists here produce. I plan to come back for any future tattoo needs and I could not be happier, from the artistry, quality of work and the level of customer service i have never been happier with an establishment. Off the Map, THANK YOU for existing! you are truly wonderful!

I’ve had two tattoos done at Off the Map. Super comfortable environment. Mary is so friendly and everyone makes you feel right at home while you are there. Most importantly they were VERY patient with this newby in hashing out my idea and how it would work best in tattoo form. Can’t be more happy with my work. The color is brilliant and I always receive compliments on the quality.

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to be tattooed at Off the Map by resident artist, Kelly Doty. My experiences leading up to this appointment, (from consultation, to scheduling, to rescheduling, to execution) have been nothing but excellent with the help of shop manager, Mary. Kelly’s talent and dedication are proven in the outstanding quality of her work; she is very accommodating, friendly and I am proud to have collected one of her works of art. The shop is clean, roomy, and comfortable. I highly recommend this shop; be sure to check out their list of rotating, top-​notch artists from around the world.