About Tattoo Hawaii Studio
Tattoo Hawaii Studio offers world-class tattooing and body piercing services, specializing in Polynesian, old school, traditional, and western tribal designs. The studio welcomes custom work and has a staff that understands the importance of personal connection. With a full range of services available, clients can expect a unique and professional experience. The studio is open 7 days a week from 1-8 pm, with a last call for piercings at 7:30 pm. Artists at the studio, such as Lai and Haru, are known for their exceptional skills, friendly and flexible nature, and attention to detail. Clients have praised the studio's work, citing the artists' ability to bring their designs to life and making their tattoo experiences unforgettable.
"I'm wearing short sleeves, I don't want to expose my tattoos." -Jerry Seinfeld Well now I DO wanna wear short sleeves to let my new honu peek out a bit! Been wanting to get a honu ink'd to remind me of where I came from... where home really is. Everytime I go back, I run out of time or just didn't want to give up the beach day. This time the whole fam was IN... when I explained my design concept, both my wife and daughter wanted their own version, still honu themed. da Scene: Determined to get this done done during the 16 day visit back home on Oahu, I did my research early and narrowed it down to 3 spots initially. After some dm's, email exchanges and finally some voice calls, it was Lai @ Tattoo Hawaii who I connected with most, so we scheduled an in-person consult and then our sessions, with 2 days left on our trip - only lost 1 beach day (it was a perfect one too). da Service: Every contact before our session was courteous and replied to promptly. I did have to be insistent on Lai doing our work, even if it meant spanning multiple days. His work on social media and Yelp! most connected with me. At our consult he explained how he would approach my design concept and adapt it to my wife and daughter. Lai was confident he could get us all done in one afternoon/evening session. The shop is tucked away on the 2nd floor of a little building on the corner of Kapiolani and Piikoi... parking is a challenge, so arrive early to wait out a spot. The shop is comfortable and can accommodate 3-4 artists working, with friends looking on in support. da Work: Kai was up 1st as hers would be the least complicated. She went with 3 petroglyph style honu, each about 3.5" diameter, ink'd fairly heavy - vertically on her upper arm, pretty classic design. She has several tattoos already and was surprised that Lai didn't work with a stencil... he simply free-handed the design with several pens, directly on your body. He's a very cool, confident cat, laid back and within minutes has you chatting it up like you went to high school together. I went next as my wife wanted to see how mine's worked out to help solidify her concept. Lai drew a honu/dragon/shark tooth design on my upper arm and I said "go for it". 2.5 hours later I was stunned at the fine details he added to the shark's teeth encircling the honu shell, as well as tribal accents in the honu, while incorporating the dragon profile. It really was satisfying to see my concept executed closely, while adding style and depth, bringing it to life. Carla was last up and really wanted to stick close to what I had done... just smaller and wanted the dragon to "pop" more. As you can see, Lai nailed it... however subtle, the dragon does appear more prominent on her piece. da Wrap: Really happy all-around, already thinking about how to add to it, maybe add color, grow it further down my arm, how to add to the story. It's a very personal thing and I really suggest you take your time to research and find the right artist. I'm confident that you'll find the right one at Tattoo Hawaii. We were there most of the day and saw several folks and artists' work, there was actually one guy there the whole time getting a large whole body piece worked on with a manual tattoo tool, that's an investment! HUGE shout out to Lai for making our sessions so enjoyable and comfortable... When he found out it was my and my wife's 1st work, he said he was honored to be 1st... such a humble guy, great disposition. We'll see you soon brother!
After having many compliments on my first tattoo on my lower leg by Lai, I had to see him to get the upper part completed. He has amazing skills integrating the tattoos. I appreciate his artistic eye in rendering all the elements I wanted. Thank you, Lai, for making these dream pieces come alive!!
Have gotten two tattoos here and both appts were made the same day. Lai and his staff are very talented and friendly and flexible. Great work and would definitely come here to get more tattoos!