Josh and Kala are both awesome artists. I've seen Josh's work up close and personal, some on some of my friends. I'd only met Kala the day that he did my piece. Josh assured me that he was an awesome tattoo artist and that he'd take good care of me. I would have sat down with Josh but he'd been booked up for a while. And seeing that I wasn't going to be in town much longer, he made sure to sit me down with Kala.
Backstory:
I'd noticed their work on IG a while back and eventually started to put some things together: Oh hey that's a cool design. Oh wait! That looks like my friend's piece. Oh dang! That is. Awesome. Oh that one too. Wow! Having seen his work in person I knew what kinda quality work he did. I contacted my friends who'd had work done by Josh. They quickly gave me his number and from that point on, I was texting to book my appointment.
Session with Kala:
I showed him what I was thinking of. It was a simple design but one that is meaningful to me. In fact, it ended up being a tad too simple. So, Kala added a lil of this and a pinch of that to my design to spruce it up a bit. Still simple, dainty and feminine, I went with his remixed design. I explained to him that I wasn't really restricted as far as placement was concerned but that of course I just wanted it to flow with wherever we put it. Initially, I thought of the inside of my wrist. Then I thought, what if I put it on my back? After using a stencil to compare and figure out the best placement, we went with the outside of my wrist. From an aerial view, you'd never know my piece is there. Even turning my wrist over, you'd probably not notice it. Awesome. That allowed me to maintain my "professional" appearance without having to worry too much about trying to hide my piece.
Kala drew up the piece that he'd mastered for me, printed it out and made up the stencil. We tried it on a few different locations, and in different sizes before we decided the outside of the wrist would be best. Once he actually started to hit me with that ink, I felt like the entire piece only took 30 minutes or so. Awesome. He doesn't have an especially heavy hand. His line work is clean as is his station and supplies. He does beautiful work and I cannot thank him enough for the beautiful piece that he did for me. I'd like to go to him for more in the future.
On that same day, Kala also did a piece for my lil one's godmother and my husband. Each piece was beautifully done, in a timely manner and with great skill. The line work on my husband's tribal portion was beautiful. I'd love to see more of Kala's work on my hubby as I know he is interested in completing an idea that he's been thinking about for years. Now that he's had work done by Kala, he seems to feel like he has found THE artist he'd like to do his larger leg piece. We'll see when we can make it back next.
The Shop:
Aftermath Tattoo Studio is a nice, spacious, clean, very welcoming lil spot. I THINK there are only 2 artists working out of this studio, Josh and Kala. I might be wrong but that is my guess. There is a restroom in their studio. There are a few sinks in their studio as well. They offer you snacks and some monster beverages. I like their waiting area as well as the sitting area that is comprise of sofas and a huge TV. Music is playing throughout the session and the guys are more than happy to chat with you. There are photos of different pieces that Josh has done. I'm not sure if Kala has his book of previous work out there or not. I didn't see it. There are plenty of books for reference as well by the door on top of the bookcase. It never hurts to take a look. You may find something that changes your mind about your tattoo idea. There is parking behind the building, free.
A few days after:
I have been receiving nothing but compliments on my tattoo. People have asked me if it is healed up already because it looks so good. Some people have asked me for the name of my artist and the shop name. People have asked if they could take a photo of the work.
Regret:
The ONLY regret is that we were not in town longer to have more work done, by either Kala or Josh. I can only hope that they will stay together and in the same studio for years to come so that I can return a number of times in the future to have more work done.
Definitely, I recommend, with the highest praise, Kala and Josh for their beautiful tattoo work.
THANKS GUYS!!! I'm so in love with my piece and so is my lil one. read more