After living in Baltimore for five years, I was nearby with a friend and finally decided it was time to check out the museum, which one drives by on the way to Fells Point or Canton. We walked around the "museum," which consisted of wallpapered drawings of flash/custom/signature designs from artists over the past 100 years (the most recently dated stuff maybe mentioned the early 2000s) in the hallway/waiting area of an active tattoo shop. Small biographies of significant artists were nestled in, which contained some funny anecdotes of this fascinating profession.
Like other reviews mention, there was no info about present-day art styles, and I didn't see anything about female and/or non-white artists. "No photos allowed" signs were posted throughout the building. It was an interesting collection of tattoo history but not a professional museum by any means.
After 20 minutes of looking at the displays and flipping through flash binders, I talked with the storefront manager John about a silly tattoo idea (melon on my melon = watermelon tattoo behind my ear), and he was friendly and laughed at my idea, which was all I needed to convince me to go through with it. After that, he tapped in his coworker Ian, who listened to my explanation and talked me about the realistics, suggesting we simplify the design so I could keep it small yet discernible over time.
Ian drew a melon up, which certainly seemed much plainer than what I was envisioning, but I trusted his judgment that "if it was any smaller or more detailed, it would blow out like if it was on knuckles." He then set up while I filled out paperwork and waited in the museum, then he called me in and got started with shaving my hairline and laying the stencil down.
Ian warned me the placement might not hurt that bad, but it would be loud, then got to work. From start to end, the actual tattoo time was 25 minutes. For pricing, it was a minimum $100 for arms and legs, $150 for face/neck/hands/feet, and $120 for everything else (I believe) - mine ended up $180 plus tip. They took card, but something I found weird was that I paid and tipped before the tattoo session started.
Ian didn't talk to me much, only asking to reposition, but he was thorough and clear about healing directions. He was professional in demeanor; when I checked out the design in the mirror, I was pleasantly surprised to see the added shading detail that made the design much cleaner than the original, demonstrating a great attention to detail. Great walk-in tattoo experience when I wasn't expecting to even get a tattoo when I walked in! (PS: Funniest part was the "F*** Yelp!" sign at the register...) read more