Tattoo Shops near Belmont

“This is a long review, so I below I posted “Short Story” followed by a more detailed “My Awesome Experience with Morningstar Tattoo Parlor”.

SHORT STORY:
Morningstar Tattoo far exceeded my expectations in every way; their facility is comfortable, clean, and professional. My Tattooist, Jordi Simmons, did an amazing job throughout the whole design and application process. You will not be disappointed with Morningstar!

MY AWESOME EXPERIENCE WITH MORNINGSTAE TATTOO PARLOR:
I never thought I would ever be a “Tattoo Guy.” However, after my daughter suddenly passed away at age 30 in 2022, I wanted to have something that keeps her spirit with me and will always be with me wherever I go and whatever I do. After about a year of introspection, I decided that a memorial tattoo for my daughter would be highly appropriate for me. After much research on local Tattoo shops, I decided to work with Morningstar Tattoo Parlor.

When I first visited Morningstar, I was amazed that this parlor was not like tattoo parlors as portrayed in the media. Morningstar occupies a spacious, clean, comfortable, and professional series of suites on the second and third floors of their building. They are by appointment only, original artwork only, and they have several policies that strike me as highly professional.

When I reached out to Morningstar, Jordi Simmons returned my call, and after a brief conversation, I felt comfortable proceeding with Jordi as my tattooist.

My whole experience with Jordi, given her professionalism, creativity, artistry, and skill was outstanding! Jordi and I initially met for about 2 hours, and she really took the time to understand why I wanted this tattoo, what my what my daughter was like in life (the good and the bad), my spiritual beliefs regarding life, sentience and death, and other topics personally relevant and meaningful to me. Jordi also clearly described what she could and could not do with tattoo designs, such as font sizes, resolution, and other things to consider with the design. I gave Jordi some initial concepts of what might work for a design concept as a starting point.

Over the next 4 months Jordi and I periodically corresponded via email about design concepts to be considered. When I arrived on the day we had scheduled for the tattoo to be applied, we hadn’t yet settled on a final design, and Jordi presented the latest design she developed for me.

I was absolutely blown away at the design she created!

The design is way beyond anything I had thought possible. The image Jordi created for me captures an amazing amount symbolism about what my daughter was like in life, my spiritual beliefs regarding life and death, and other aspects of my daughter’s short life. The images, and even the relative placement of numbers, text, and images carries deep symbolism and meaning for me. Jordi quickly incorporated some very small changes to the design based on my feedback, and then it was time to apply the tattoo.

The initial application was a 3-hour sitting at Jordi’s station, toward the end of which, my skin was getting irritated enough that Jordi advised that we should stop, because continuing the application that day could compromise the quality of the final tattoo. Because of this, we ended our session for the day and scheduled a second sitting 3 weeks later.

During the interim time between the first and second application, I researched Tattoo best practices for design and application. This helped me really understand in detail that Jordi had carefully planned of the tattoo’s overall size, orientation, and placement that otherwise I would not have noticed. Everything Jordi did was according to the best practices I researched; Jordi planned for a tattoo that will displays and ages well.

We finished the tattoo during our second sitting of about an hour and a half and I am beyond h“

“Gloria was really helpful with finding replacement jewelry for my triple forward helix and making sure they were secured properly.“

“I was vacationing from Washington and wanted to cover up an old very ugly heart tattoo, I knew what I wanted over it, but didn’t really have a clear vision, victor not only came up with a beautiful image, but he transferred it to my wrist totally covering up the very ugly tattoo and putting in its stead a beautiful tattoo that I love showing off!! If I lived here I would get more tattoos done by him. I’m very grateful.“

“I have been getting cut by Net for over ten years. He is a professional in his craft and keeps the shop in a meticulous state. The attention to detail, customer service, and consistency goes above and beyond. Also, Net's super realistic artwork around the shop provides a unique atmosphere. His steady hand sets him apart from the rest. If you need a cut for any event, be sure to book an appointment at Studio 348! Thanks for always keeping me fresh.“

“Todd was awesome. Highly recommend. I hadn't had any ink in 6 years due to liver disease, he took the time to listen and make sure that my tat was going to hold properly and heal, which it did. He's a pretty good musician too“

“10 of 10 Stars!!!! I had an amazing experience at Redwood Tattoo Co. From the moment I walked in, the customer service was superb. Don't let appearances fool you--everyone there may look tough, but they're total teddy bears: respectful, courteous, and incredibly welcoming. I was super indecisive about my tattoo design, but Johnny was incredibly patient with me the whole way through. While I mulled things over, they even had Love, Death + Robots playing--definitely not my usual kind of show, but surprisingly entertaining and helped pass the time. A special shoutout to Johnny--he was inspiring, gentle, and made the whole process feel easy and comfortable. I couldn't be happier with the end result! Highly recommend Redwood Tattoo Co. to anyone looking for quality work and a chill, supportive environment.“

“1st tattoo experience was excellent experience all around from the min I walked in, professional, clean, and looks amazing no complaints. Definitely will b back! 10/10“

“Leo does beautiful fine line wok. My daughters and I have been to this shop many times. If you are looking for fine line work this tattoo shop is the place to go. We haven't been to the new locaton but the artists are the same so I'm certain it's great. One draw back, I wish they took credit cards. ; )“

“I have been returning to ROYALTY TATTOO on California Drive for close to 10 years. The owner and artists are friendly and helpful. The shop is very clean and spacious. I recently called ROYALTY for a special memorial tattoo and not being very patient, I thought I would not wait and I tried another tattoo place in San Mateo. BIG MISTAKE. The man approached me at the counter. No hello, no smile, just wanted to know what kind of tattoo I wanted. I had already spent over an hour at home drawing it and using color pencils. I told him my drawn tattoo is the size and color I want tattooed. All he had to do was to copy my design. He took my design and left me standing at the counter for 20 minutes. He came back with a design nothing like what I wanted. I thanked him for his time and left. NOW I have an appointment at ROYALTY on the 21st of this month. I was impatient and wanted it done right away. I learned my lesson. WHEN YOU HAVE THE BEST, WHY SETTLE FOR LESS? I know Sarah at Realty will tattoo exactly what I want and will be perfect. I highly recommend Royalty Tattoo. It is worth the wait to get what you want in a clean environment with talented artists. Pat, Brisbane, CA“

“An amazing experience by me, 68 years old and 1st tattoo! Amazing artist Zack Rose at godspeed tattoo in San Mateo. No pain and beautiful artwork by an amazing artist, Zach Rose, thank you my young brother.“

“Got my first large tattoo of my baby Jackie from Jia, and the experience was amazing! Her website was very informative for prep and aftercare. She was also responsive to my emails. The studio itself was clean and organized, and has lots of street parking options. Jia was very intent on following what I wanted for the placement, size, and color/shading. The 2.5 hours we spent was fairly charged, and I was comfortable throughout the session. She's definitely now my go-to for my next tatt, and I've been recommending her to all my friends. Thanks Jia!“

“I absolutely love my tattoos! Tina is truly talented, and thanks to her, I have two new masterpieces on my skin. The shop is super cute and clean, and you are also accompanied by a cute kitty cat while you are getting your tattoo ? I 100% recommend Hello Tattoo.“

“BG was great, everyone was super chill. i did call pretty last minute but they were able to get me in asap ! highly recommend this place“