We had such a good experience here! Me and 5 of my girl friends made an appointment to get matching tattoos here and we are so happy with the results! Glen was our artist and he made us all feel very comfortable and we loved the work! It only took us 1.5 hours from start to finish 6 tattoos. I will definitely be back for my next tattoo read more

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I lost my cell and they IMMEDIATELY grabbed a phone, problem solved in 2 minutes. If only all my problems were solved that decidedly! Thank you so much for springing into action!! It's also a beautiful location, clean, and the staff are so nice 10/10 read more

I had Koal recommended to me from a friend. I was able to get 4 tattoos done by him in one session. One on my left calf, my right knee, right rib cage, and right collar bone. He took great care of me and is very talented. They all turned out amazing and everyone in the shop was cool read more

Matt was incredible and I love my leg tattoo! The staff was polite and helpful. I loved seeing how busy they were during these crazy times. If you want a tattoo shop that is welcoming please visit them! You wont regret it. read more

This is my go-to shop! Sean Smallwood, the owner is a great artist. Just take a look at their wall--full of awards! His work is quick and efficient, well done and looks great most importantly!! He is so good, its hard to get an appointment right away with him, he is always booked up! :) Ive had several tattoos done by him over the years and I love them all. I highly recommend this studio.. and if you can get a Sean Smallwood tattoo! read more

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My rating is for the entire shop as a whole. Many factors go into my 3 star rating. The shop personality as a whole is difficult to rate. The artists! Sean Smallwood (4 stars for the owner) although myself I have not been tattooed by him, I have witnessed over a handful of great larger pieces done by him. He can achieve it all the softest grays to the saturated colors, he knows what he is doing when it comes to realism, I haven't seen many other styles from him yet.. Braylyn is the awesome spirit in the shop, knocking out some classy traditional work, let him do his thing! Chris Vantucky has solid line work! Bold and has a good personality! He knows what he's doing so let him guide you! Now Charlie... Charlie has some things to learn about dealing with people in general. You will always feel rushed, no matter what. Says he will work on designs for you and never get back to you. You show up and he hasn't done any design work yet. Not professional at all, he's very capable of duplicating art, but designing something himself is not his strong suit. (2 stars) I have gotten about 10 hours of ink from Charlie himself. Let's just say there are better artists in this area than Charlie. I would not mind providing a recommendation to a different artist/shop - just ask! Please! read more

Imperial Tattoos - Top left piece - Tattoo Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

Me and a friend had called twice to set up and verify our appointment several days in advance. When we got there we were told the artist was double booked and told to go do something else while we had to wait. After an hour and a half we called again to see if we should come back up and we're told yea come back up. When we got back we had waited another 30 minutes and not a single person could bother to come let us know it would still be a longer wait. Super unprofessional tattoo shop. Thanks for wasting my Sunday. read more

I received a tattoo when I was in Louisville on vacation. I live in Washington State. The tattoo has errors, crooked lines, and it does not match the design I brought in. I know that an artist cannot copy a design exactly, but the design I ended up with is far from what I showed the artist I wanted. I am naive about tattoos. This is my third. I assumed everything would work out well, I was happy, happy for what I perceived as having received friendly competent service. I signed all the forms as requested. When I got back to Washington and took off the bandage, I saw the errors, but decided to put on the second bandage, hoping when it came five days later, things would have improved. They did not. I began emailing the business. I was stonewalled initially, then told repeatedly there was no refund policy and I had signed a release to that effect. They repeated that a lot, in several emails. That I had signed a release. And they repeated over and over that they did not offer refunds. I went for a consultation to a tattoo artist in Washington state to see about fixing the errors. I was transparent with Imperial about everything I was doing and continued to press them for help offsetting the charge for fixing the tattoo here in Washington State. I received more messages to the effect I had signed a release and there were no refunds. All along, I had hoped they would work with me to help me find a reputable artist in my area, and help offset the charge of fixing the errors, which is why I consulted with the artists in Yelm, WA, and told them all about it. Finally they said to come in and they would fix it no charge. By this time, I had made it clear multiple times I live in Washington State, and coming in to have it fixed in Louisville was not an option. After a great deal more back and forth, a lot of telling me over and over I had signed a release and there were no refunds, I told them I'd be filing a complaint with the BBB and putting negative reviews on Yelp and Google. Well. Then the message changed. Substantially. They said they had been discussing working with an artist I found in Washington and helping to offset the cost of a fix, but now that I'd filed a complaint with the BBB "that ship has sailed". There were a couple more back and forth emails communications, but as they said, that ship had sailed. And I replied, not only had the ship sailed but it was well out of the harbor. I have the complete email chain and will provide it to anyone upon request. The tattoo was $115. That's a high price to pay for the negative impact this review, as well as the BBB complaint and the Google review I will complete next will cost their reputation. Unfortunate all the way around for all involved. But just remember - if you frequent Imperial Tattoos in Louisville, you sign a release! And there are no refunds! And if you sign a release you have no recourse! And you sign a release! You sign a release! You sign a release! Don't forget! You sign a release! +++ I received this response from the BBB 9/24/2021: Dear D: This message is in regard to your complaint submitted on 8/31/2021 against Sean Smallwood Presents Imperial Tattoos & Piercing, LLC.  Your complaint was assigned ID 15820682. The BBB has made several attempts to resolve your complaint filed against the above-named business. Unfortunately we have not received a reply from this business. Your Better Business Bureau receives the cooperation of the majority of firms when working with customer problems. Sometimes however, we encounter a company that simply refuses to cooperate. If your complaint has been resolved or is resolved at a future date, please advise so we may adjust the company's file. We sincerely regret we have not been able to assist you.  However, please know that anytime BBB must close a complaint as "no response," the company is advised that continued failure to answer the complaint may have a negative impact on their rating with BBB. When potential customers check the company's BBB report before doing business (always a good practice), your complaint will help the BBB alert these consumers regarding the company's business practices.  Thank you for using the services of the Better Business Bureau. Sincerely, Conciliation Department Better Business Bureau read more

Imperial Tattoos - Tattoo Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

Sean is AMAZING! He combined two tattoo samples to give me exactly what I wanted! It did not hurt at all! I love my new ink! Can't wait to go back for another. Highly recommend!!! read more

Very bad, and its permanent. Asked for small tear drops of hearts. He drew a heart w a drip coming from bottom, looked like genitals w the drip. I said i wanted a heart w tear drop hearts in colors of lite red purple and periwinkle. Got all red w a dark purple trace line which looked like a 9 yr old color w in the lines. No ointment or instructions. Im sorry if this offends but it looks likee southend trailor trash and redneck, which is not me. Never asked how much i wanted to spend, i brought up. Calling mgt and they hopefully will fix w 2 small hearts that are fenimine and lighter in color w no outline in dark purple. Then i am done. Tatoo shop across from wicks is way better read more

I hate to write bad reviews especially for local businesses instead of big corporations but I got a really important tattoo i've always wanted here, I went to a recommended shop instead of my regular tattoo artist that works from home for that exact reason because I wanted it to be perfect and that was my first mistake lol. He didn't listen to exactly what i wanted at all, just printed out a basic tattoo and rushed it. I said it would be cool if he added more lines to what the picture was and added more detail, he didn't. He just rushed it, was done in like 20 minutes, and then charged me 150 for something everyone else told me should have been 100 at most. Maybe it's just the guy I got, they did say he was pretty new. Hopefully others have a better experience than I did. He also took time out of his day to make fun of my usual artist because he works from his home, which I found extremely rude because my regular tattoo artist does a million times better than what this guy did that day. Just goes to show sometimes shop quality is no better than people that work from home. Everyone else at the shop was extremely nice and from what I saw did amazing work. Even gave us leftover pizza after our wait. I wish I remembered everyone's names so I could put them here. read more

Went here because I googled best rated shops in Louisville and it had a 4.6 rating - all I wanted was a very simple & small, less than an inch long tattoo on my wrist so I figured it was a safe bet. I was addressed a few minutes after entering by one of the artists, Charlie, who was rude and unfriendly from the minute I told him what I wanted. He was clearly scoffing at the tattoo I asked for. Also, this tattoo took 1 minute maximum to do - and I was asked to pay the $50 minimum tattoo charge, which would have been completely okay if I had not been treated with such disrespect. (However, most decent people would have at least given a $10 discount. And I mentioned coming back to get another tattoo touched up). I was satisfied once the tattoo was over because I have wanted it for a while and was excited to get out of there- then I went to tip Charlie $5, because I am a kind person and believe you should always tip service workers. He again, SCOFFED AT THE IDEA THAT I WOULD BE TIPPING HIM. I explained that I was just trying to be nice and walked out the shop as he continued to laugh. One of the rudest people I have met in a while and nor he or the shop will be receiving my service or recommendation to others. Don't go if you want to treated disrespectfully and stupid. read more

i was extremely hesitant to go get my first tattoo at a shop i didn't know much about. heard about imperial from a friend of mine and had her go with me to get my first. the experience was awesome and the artist really make you feel welcome. i have now went to see tim 3 times in the last week and i have no regrets. they all do great work and i hope to go back again soon. read more

Sean did an amazing job on my tattoo. It's absolutely gorgeous. Everyone in the shop was friendly and immediately felt at ease. He tolerated me being antsy because it hurt like hell. Very nice place, great staff, and extremely professional. I couldn't be happier. read more

Imperial Tattoos - Tattoo Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

Amazing place, went to Sean Smallwood for the first time, gonna stick with him!!! ---will post tattoo when it's finished!! read more

I've gotten two tattoos here and this place is top notch. Anytime I've been here the staff has been friendly, answered any questions I've had and really been on top of the process. I plan to get more done here as soon as I think of some designs and complete my sleeve ,but if your thinking of a tattoo definitely keep this place on your radar! read more

Clean gorgeous shop with friendly and helpful staff. Tattoo came out wonderful. I will definitely visit again!!! The atmosphere is so nice. Braylyn was really great. Soft handed and fun to talk to. read more

I wont say this is a bad tattoo shop because i am very pleased with the coverup work I had done I am about 75% done but i just couldn't take the bulls**t any more. I don't like my time wasted and if you schedule me for an apt at 5 i expect to start around 5 not 715 730 this happened to me on not once twice but three times and i finally just walked out. i was overcharged for about 10 hours of session work but its not the money its the principle. they lost my business after yesterday i came in for a spot at 4 i booked a week in advance and someone else is in the chair as usual. if they would just give me a call in advance and say their behind this wouldn't be a issue but it is what it is at this point. read more

I've gotten several tattoos between the ages of 19 and 32, and at this point in my life, absolutely refuse to let anyone else tattoo me besides Sean Smallwood. 100%, the absolute best tattoo artist I've gotten work from. On top of being good at his craft, Sean is happy to get to know his patrons, which aides in ensuring that the tattoo will be up with the customer's personality. The shop always has at least 2-3 people in it, which explains the wait period for an appointment. I always have to book several months out, which speaks volumes for Sean's work and the work of his fellow employees. The shop is always clean, as well, with every artist putting emphasis on sterilization. The dirtiest the shop gets is some of the language from patrons who can't take the pain! In all seriousness, Imperial is the only place I'd recommend to anyone who wants good work at a fair price. I look forward to returning for my what... 6th? 7th time? read more

I'm really surprised by some of the previous reviews on here. Every one at the shop was super nice. Charlie did my tattoo. He did an amazing job and I'm so in love with what I got done. read more

this is solely based on my piercing experience. I got the other side of my lipped pierced here the other day. the guy seemed nice, but he did not use any type of aseptic technique aside from gloves and got the placement wrong, which is obvious. The piercing i received is closer to the lip line than the other, and closer to the center of my lip than the other, making wearing matching snake bite jewelry uncomfortable due to the fact that one piercing is located at the fatter part of my lip, than the other. He also offered no after care advise. i would not recommend for a lip piercing. read more

I was a winner in the Friday the 13th tattoo contest . So happy I was they are great super friendly and when Amanda found out it was my birthday month she gave me a t shirt also . Love my new tattoo and they are so friendly and professional . I look forward to many more tattoos from them . read more

This was my first and last visit to Imperial Tattoo. Most dissatisfying results I've ever had, hands down. The tattoo looks awful, and I will be getting it covered up at a different tattoo shop as soon as it's completely healed. Save your money, time, and trouble and find somewhere else to get your tattoo. read more

The environment was clean and professional. Braylyn was great and I'm very happy with my tattoo. I recommend them completely