Lola’s Tattoos

My boyfriend and I were just in here today, and I loved it!
We came out from the city last night and bopped around East Hampton and made our way out to Montauk to Lola’s because my BF had gotten an amazing/​complex tat on his chest (from Kurt I think) this summer and wanted to show me this place. It’s very very cool, have to say — it’s in a beach cottage for crying out loud! And Lola is something else, for real, she’s pretty awesome to the point where I was thinking «maybe I should take the plunge» she’s been doing it for over 30 years! Still thinking about it.
PS: I’m always amazed at these SUPER long negative reviews and then buried in the end the Jewel person says Oh it was done by an apprentice. Well duh. That’s like going to Sally Hershberger and getting your hair cut by an intern then bitching that it doesn’t look like a Hershberger cut. People are so annoying.

I had a completely different experience than the reviewer below.
I have been wanting a specific tattoo and I wanted it done in Montauk. With Lola’s being the only shop in town, it was a win-​win.
I sent an inquiry via email and received a prompt response from Erik. We kept in contact over the next week and making an appointment during my weekend getaway was easy.
Shop was super clean and neat when we arrived. The guys were cool and welcoming. Price was right. Service was precise and quick. Execution was just what a wanted and as I requested.
If I ever fancied another Montauk inspired tattoo I wouldn’t think twice about getting it done here.

I am now writing about my experience at Lola’s, almost 3 months later, because I know the importance of Unilocal reviews, and how it could really effect other’s decisions whether or not to go to the place. I rarely write reviews for restaurants, as a bad experience is just food and beverage, not life and death. Tattoo’s on the other hand, are obviously PERMANENT markings inflicted on your skin, which involves severe pain and scarring if not done correctly. Though I do feel a sense of guilt knowing what this may do to the business, I feel like it is my duty as a human to warn others of what happened to me.
I have been tattooed many times before, so I am not new to this procedure by any means. My friends and I chose Lola’s because we were was working in Montauk over the summer, and at the end of the season, it was the only tattoo place opened. We went there to check it out, and were won over by Lola herself, a very witty, kind, and wise older woman. Soon after, the three of us agreed to have to work done right then, and the entire process took ALL DAY. From the sketches, to the paper work, to the needle prep seemed as if they were moving in slow motion. (and like I mentioned before, I’ve been tattooed all over the country, over 6 times) I must say, two guys who did the tattooing were nice to us, but they were just painfully SLOW in the process. Oh, and might I add, we were the only customers in the place all day, from morning until closing, so there were no other distractions.
I’m not going to go into detail about my friend’s tattoo’s but they were small, if not tiny, and simple; one of them the size of a thumb print, and just simple outline. That one should have taken at MOST 10 minutes. But the total process was about an hour.
My tattoo was a bit larger but still, EXTREMELY simple, no intricate line work, just simple black outlines! I am an artist myself so I have a high understanding of design principals and know what would differentiate a difficult illustration from a simple one. I was in the chair for F I V E hours!!! 5. Tattoos hurt. Some hurt more than others. I’ve had the same area that was being tattooed, done three times before in the past, and one could argue that the others were in even more sensitive spots, because it was closer to the bone. The pain I was in during these 5 hours were excruciating, and now I have come to understand, it’s because this guy had a very amateur command over the needle. For me to try to describe the actual tattooing experience, would probably retract credibility from my story because I don’t know the proper terms. Let’s just say it was anything but smooth. Before starting, I asked them if they could put on a Pandora station of my choice and they did. Half way through, one of the «brothers» turned it off and put COPS on the tv, which I couldn’t even see from the chair! …some atmosphere that was. (remember we were the ONLY customers in there, and I guess for good reason.) When it finally was over, I wasn’t thrilled with the final product, as it looked sloppy, and by no means was it an exact replication of the sketch (again.simple black line work). I tried to stay positive, and thought it would be better once it healed. Man was I wrong.
2 weeks after, the friend with the teeeeny tiny tattoo went back to Lola’s to have it touched up because they told us touch ups are free. For such basic tattoos (all black outlines) one would think a touch up wouldn’t even be necessary, as I have never had to go back to get a touch up in the past. Hers faded in spots almost immediately. A different artist who was there took a look at mine which was not fully healed yet, sighed and shook his head in disapproval. I told him how long it took and he was shocked, saying that it is definitely a half hour long tattoo and needs to be touched up as soon as it heals fully. He said I should go back to the Lola’s in Jersey as they have many more artists, and it turned out, both guys who tattooed my friends and I in Montauk were apprentices. I made an appointment with him but quickly realized the trek out to Jersey from my apartment in the city isn’t an easy one so I changed my mind and went to a highly rated tattoo parlor closer to me for a second opinion.
It didn’t come as a shock when they repeated back to me what I could already see for myself, now that the tattoo was fully healed. Shaky, blotchy line work, uneven distribution of ink, and the worst part; RAISED SCARRING. They also said, the same thing as the other artist said when we went back to Lola’s for my friend. «It should have been an easy half hour tattoo.» They said that they could fix it, but they would have to start entirely from scratch.
Remember that tiny tattoo touch up that my friend came back to Lola’s for? The same (very nice, but very slow) artist did it for her and we were there for almost 2 hours. Ridiculous. My other friend got his tattoo touched up elsewhere because he was unhappy with his as well. :(