My mom and I had wanted matching tattoos for almost 10 years. When a funeral brought me from out of state back home, I told her that we should get one. We stopped at one place on a Saturday and the guy said the soonest he could get me in was Thursday. I was leaving that Monday. We decided to stop here and the lady told us it could be 1.5 to 2 hour wait. Perfectly fine with us. We ended up getting Jonathan to do our tattoos. Unknowingly to us he is the owner. Best experience ever!!! He was very professional and precise with what we wanted. He even sang while he was tattooing us and it made the pain less. I highly recommend him and am thinking about what yo get the next time I travel home. read more

Black Ball Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Midland, Michigan

Botched Septum Piercing -- DO NOT GET PIERCED HERE The piercer assured me she was able to do septum piercings and she was confident in the placement of my piercing. When the piercing was happening, it took her a long time to get the needle through, and it hurt more than it should have, but because it was my first time getting a facial piercing I didn't know what to expect. A week later, I came in a second time because the piercing was too tight and it was creating indents in my nose, and she widened the piercing for me. At that time she didn't note that anything was wrong with my piercing, but she did encourage me to manually move it into the proper downward position because mine was stuck sticking straight out. I tried moving it into the position as directed but it wouldn't stay. Initially, I thought it was an anatomy thing, but after looking up similar cases online, I began to worry it was pierced improperly. I sought a second opinion from a more experienced piercer and she confirmed that Serenity had pierced my nose not through the sweet spot, but instead through the hard cartilage. Now I have to wait for my septum to heal fully before I can get it repierced properly. Two stars instead of one because they did give me a full refund and Serenity seems like a genuinely kind person, but I don't believe she should be doing any piercings until she does another apprenticeship. read more

Maggie is a great piercer. Super knowledgeable and I appreciated the emphasis on cleanliness and sanitation. Her personality is perfect for easing shaky nerves. The process was quick and easy. read more

I attended Black Ball's flash sale on 3/27/25. The place was hopping. I witnessed many very happy customers exit as I waited for my turn. I got Jon as my artist. He did an amazing job. I love it. The lines and shading are perfect. I went back the next day to purchase something and he remembered me! I showed him the work and we talked about possible additions. I loved his ideas and I'm very grateful I was able to attend the event. Thank you Black Ball and Jon!! read more

I have a lot of tattoos from a lot of different people but the experience I had at Black Ball Tattoo really stands out as one of the best I've had. I had a hard time finding an artist that was willing to do a lot of re-work on my old tattoos so when Jonathon agreed to spend as much time as I wanted on it, I was stoked. When I arrived the front desk staff was friendly and professional. Jonathon was ready to work the moment I got in and didn't waste any time getting as much work in as possible for the three days I was there. He was able to free hand draw over my old tattoos and created beautiful design very quickly. I traveled all the way from Northern California to Midland Michigan for this and it was totally worth it. I'm already thinking about when I can go back for more! Thank you Jonathon and the staff of Black Ball Tattoo. read more

See all

Don't fall for their, we'll just book you for the day and the artist will just tattoo you till their finished tricks. If the artist doesn't like your style of tattoo or gets bored, they will just milk you. I worked with the owner too. it's a great place to go if you don't mind him complaining about his truck, the new shop, politics, taxes blah blah blah. Heaven forbid you want to just sit there and get your tattoo done. Not sure what it takes to get a fully saturated tattoo from them as mine is still barely half done after going in for my touch up and several appointments. Maybe hand the next guy to someone else in your shop that would like the money. I would be super upset if I was another artist there and saw something like this happen. I'm glad others have had good experiences here but this was mine. read more

Messaged the establishment via Facebook February 22, 2024 as per instructed on their voice mail. About a week later, another message was sent, as the first one was seen but not replied to. Just revived a bounce back with hours and walk in info. My son went in and asked about why no reply and was met with silence. No explanation. Too bad they lost out on 4 people wanting tattoos. Very poor communication. And if this is met with resistance, I have screen shots to document my review. read more

I had the pleasure of meeting Kelsey to fix my finger tattoos from a previous artist that didn't do a good job. The shop was clean and they had steps in place to make sure everyone was healthy and clean. I would recommend messaging them through Facebook and not email as it took a while for them to respond (but thats emails for you). 10/10 will definitely be going back! read more

Maggie is a piercing goddess! Today I got my helix and second lobe piercings. They look stunning. She made sure the placement was precise, everything was clean, and I was happy. Black Ball is a great place to go if you want to be sure you're in a clean environment. Maggie sanitized everything and took all necessary precautions. The piercings themselves were over before I could even register it happened. Professionalism at its finest. Will definitely be going back for all my future piercings. Love the fun atmosphere at Black Ball Tattoo. Great people! Great work! read more

Went to the $10 piercing special that they had for 2 days. Jordan pierced my belly button and she was just ths cutest and sweetest! Loved her. She was calm and walked us through what she was doing. I'd go back! I hope she is successful because she deserves It! As busy as she was, I didn't feel like a number or rushed. read more

Maggie was amazing!! She was so personable but professional and made my experience so great. Highly recommend!!

I have been a long time customer of Blackball Tattoo since they first opened. After living 19 years in Midland and serving 13 years on active duty (currently serving), I would look forward to visiting home and stopping by Blackball Tattoo. My wife and I have recieved multiple tattoos from their artists and were satisfied; even referred numerous people to their shop. So when it my wife's birthday and she is excited to get a small tattoo, when stop by Blackball Tattoo during walk in hours about 3 hours before closing. The store did not appear very busy, no one was waiting to get a tattoo or piercing. ISSUE: The young lady sitting at the front desk was impolite, and told us (with a snotty tone) there were no openings... that was it. No attempt to offer an appointment on another day. I asked when we could try to come back, and at that moment mentioned their store hours. I told her that we couldn't make it since we are moving out of the country. I also mentioned that it was my wife's birthday, which we were clearly excited about when we came in. The lady sitting at the desk, with no customer service skills, replied with a smug look on her face, to my wife "happy birthday". Upon leaving the store, my wife was noticably upset, and I felt bad for her. We were excited about returning to our tattoo spot which we have spent a lot of money at, and remained loyal, to be disrespected by some rude young lady. It took some time before My wife was able to shake off the upset feeling resulting from the poor customer service and coldness of the unqualified young lady at the front desk. RECOMMENDATION: Put someone up at the front desk who has at least some interpersonal skills and a desire to contribute to the business. FINAL THOUGHT: I do not plan on returning to this place, and will not recommend it to another person. English Jonny: You gave me my first tattoo, you are great, I cant say the same for the rest of the team. read more

Very pleased with our experience at Blackball. Exceptionally clean facility and such friendly staff. My daughter got her ears pierced. She is young. They even changed the radio station to Disney for her. Just made the experience the best it could be. Maggie is really amazing at what she does. Very informative and kind. read more

My partner and I received tattoos from Logan around April, he was wonderful patient and took his time with our pieces (even with out late appointment time!!).The tattoo have since healed and are still as beautiful as they were when he did them! The shop is clean, and the prices are fair. We will be back for future tattoos! read more

This place is super awesome and clean with their tattoos and piercings. Tattoo pricing is very great however piercing prices are a bit ridiculous. Both lobes is at least $120. Seems a bit expensive. read more

This is a great place to get a tattoo. The tattoo artists are all professional and friendly and they do great work. Price is a little higher than other local tattoo shops but in my experience you get a better quality tattoo for the money. English Jonny is reported to be their best artist and judging by the online photos of his work, that's certainly whom I'd go to if I wanted a more complex tattoo, such as a portrait. However I got my tattoo (uncomplicated lettering only) from one of their other artists and still got a great piece. I've been to multiple other tattoo parlors in their area and this is definitely where I'd go for a tattoo in Midland, hands down. read more

Very professional and sanitary. My friend and I both got piercings here and were thrilled by the experience. Maggie was very friendly and fun to talk to, and explained everything she was doing clearly. The piercing was much less painful than I originally expected and was very reasonably priced for the high quality jewelry. Both my piercing and my friend's exceeded our expectations and look amazing! We both enjoyed the atmosphere of the building and had a lot of fun. I would absolutely choose this place again for another piercing. read more

Black Ball is by far the best place I have been to, to get work done. John did some amazing work. The music, excellent choice. The other people working there were very friendly, all seem very happy to be there with a great comradery, which is hard to come by these days it was nice to see. In my opinion Black Ball is one of, if not the best place around read more

Amazing artists! They made sure my tattoo was exactly how I wanted. Friendly environment, won't go anywhere else.

Johnny is absolutely incredible! An amazing artist and hilarious guy. Did some of the best work I've seen. I live in Los Angeles and the artist here have nothing on him and he's affordable! I've gotten tons of compliments of the work he did on my half sleeve. Go see Johnny for every tattoo!! read more

This is a very nice and clean facility to get a tattoo. Originally, I made a spontaneous decision to get my first tattoo. I looked on this site to figure out where to go. I am so happy that I did. The shop's owner/manager was extremely helpful, and nice. The artist that I was given is extremely talented. My husband didn't even believe me that my tattoo was real; because the colors are so beautiful and vibrant. I would recommend going to this shop. I can't wait to go to get my next tattoo. All of the artist are friendly, and talkative. The shop is very clean with a very nice decor. The location is a little hard to find, but if know where the Speedway is and the "circle plaza on the circle" is you will have no problem. This facility had a very nice vibe with everyone being so down to Earth. I will not go anywhere else, even though the price is higher than other places. You get what you pay for, and I struck gold!! I am so happy. Thanks to the staff and Nick B the artist. Great Place!!! See you guys in a week or two!! :) read more

Jonny did a couple rib pieces for me, a tribute to my sister. I couldn't believe the sketches he did , then he inked me up and I was blown away!! His line work in my opinion is second to none and the rates at blackball tattoo shop is great! Will recommend this shop to everyone who wants some ink! read more