Post-familial disintegration, I found myself quite often at loose ends and with time to contemplate…read morethe larger questions of existence - why are we here? What is the meaning of life? Where did this funny pink lump come from? - and so to fill up the space I took to excessive coffee, a rigid abstinence from alcohol, and a commitment to doing some "serious writing" every day (two or three years on and of those three, only an addiction to coffee remains a constant). However, during periods without caffeine and when I was all wrote-out, I got to thinking about a mid-life crisis proper. With a son and shared custody, selling the car and purchasing a motorcycle was appealing but a non-starter given the ex-missus's shrill tendency to risk aversion, and although I used to sail as a boy, I've no love for all that bollocks these days. So I went and got a tattoo instead. Two in fact. I have long wondered about what I might like indelibly inked onto my skin and have until recently come up blank (literally). But several influences, notably Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man and a chap I once knew called Pete, led me to consider something that would capture a particular point in time, a critical juncture and what I was feeling, something abstract but loaded with meaning, to me at least. But I couldn't think of anything. I plumped instead for two pieces of advice, stolen unapologetically and without originality from two of my favourite authors, both reminding me not to do anything stupid in future. Ironically, when quizzed by a charming elderly lady about why I might permanently spoil my skin in this way, on providing this rationale in my defence, she remarked that it was "too bloody late for that my laddo." And so to the meat of the dish. Neither tattoo took long to do, nor was particularly tricky for an artist as accomplished as Justin, and not once did I feel in the entire process that I was an idiot or that the guys at Valkyrie were in any way sitting in judgement on my life choices. They were extremely helpful, kind, clean and supportive with lots of after care advice, and the two tattoos together cost less than £100. If you do feel like having a cluster of needles rip into your flesh hundreds of times in the pursuit of intrinsic meaningfulness, or so you can show off your hipster credentials at the beach / swimming pool, I can think of no better place to get it done.

From the owner: Bespoke custom Tattoo studio! We have very talented and professional artists determined in creating…read moresomething special for you!

If you totted up the amount of tattoos that have been performed here you'll have aged considerably…read moreby the time you finish, unless you are exceptional at 'doing the math'... Cardiff Ink has been around since 1983, which is some achievement! But not only that... it is also one of the best advertisements a tattoo parlor can have! I know at least half a dozen people that have had their tats done here (now that's my kind of 'math'!), all of whom wouldn't even dream of going anywhere else. (I'm sure hairdressers and make-up artists would appreciate the same kind of loyalty that people afford their tattooist!) Cardiff Ink have also been body piercing for about fifteen years as well. Their pricing is competitive, with a blanket price of £18.00. I have my nose pierced and my ears in four places, and so I'm maxed out on this front. I'm a little too long in the tooth for having my belly button done... but if I ever relented, i know where I'd come to get it done! I wonder if they are going to put out a sign saying 'No Pets' after the recent scandal in the news? I hear that someone is going to be prosecuted for the piercing of that poor little puppy... but what about the parent s that pierce their babies...? Don't the toddlers of the world deserve some 'chav' protection too?!?

Jay did an awesome cover-up on and finished off an existing tattoo for me and now I'm going back to…read morehim this week to begin a new piece. My tattoos have been done by two artists other than Jay and I definitely wouldn't go back to anyone else now. He's good fun to have a chat with too! Definitely recommended.

I have happily used Frontier in the past for both a tattoo and piercings…read more However, recently I booked a tattoo a month in advance only to be called to say that they 'ballsed up' and had double booked the appointment by accident. After stating that I was in the middle of a two-hour drive down to Cardiff for the tattoo, I was told that 'sh** happens'. I appreciate honest mistakes happen, but this sort of response is appalling. I would have appreciated some sort of attempt to rectify the situation that day or at least some genuine empathy. The situation was handled terribly and I would recommend looking elsewhere for a tattoo.

Went in for a piercing. Paperwork was taken care of immediately and I was sent to Jess upstairs in…read morea private room. She was absolutely fantastic. Super quick and professional. Definitely recommend.

Very unhappy. Went in after booking a few days before. no designs where drawn for me prior to…read morearrival. Ended up with a different artist as the one I booked was understandably busy, maybe I should have waited as the guy who took over clearly didn't have his heart in it. He was saying he wasn't a fan of script during the tattoo?! The other artists where praising him for doing such a good job on script!? As it was the end of the day, maybe he just wanted it over and done with. Lines had blown out, tattoo wasn't even, poor shading (if any) and generally looked half assed. So disappointed as it takes up half of my arm.

Don't go to inkcognito. i had a tattoo design all drawn up, they had the design for over a week and…read moreit was all agreed to be fine.. when i got to the shop i was just told how it had to change. after over an hour of waiting i was told that it needed to be a quarter of the design on a completely different place of my body, was so bad that i decided to leave with no tattoo at all.. really quite shocking.

I chose Doc Graham's for my first tattoo a couple of years back because it was the only place I had…read moreheard of. Then I chose it again more recently because it was the first place I'd thought of. It's one of the oldest places but it's probably not the best. I only had a few letters etched on to my wrist the first time but it was quick, clean and pretty cheap (it only cost me £10). On closer inspection the writing was a little wobbly but nothing major. The second visit, I was tattooed by another guy who was far more thorough and even though I had lettering again he printed out different fonts for me to chose from and the tattoo itself is far superior to my first. It is clean and I watched them select a new needle from a sealed pack and put on fresh gloves. For something simplistic this is absolutely fine but if you're choosing something more complex I'm not sure if you'd get exactly what you're after.

My first tattoo here was at the age of 11 years when I was also under the influence of alcohol. The…read moreparlour was a very welcoming environment, with Doc providing encouragement to answer the question of my age verbally and loudly. Are *nods* you *nods* over *nods* 18 *nods* ? I went back for my second tattoo at 13, and then a "coverup" of the first at 15 (when Doc decided to just fill the middle of the tattoo in with outliner ink). Now twenty years on, both were laid too deep into the epidermis, so there is no sharpness at all and my first one looks just like a lovely black blob. Things do not seem to have changed either, as I just read an article in the press about an underage girl being tattooed here too. Verbal agreement of age is not sufficient really!

Great place, surprised not to find it here! Got my tattoo there, you can see it in the gallery.read more

Very disappointing. I've been here a bunch of times including when it was in the smaller shop. For…read morea while I had good service, found a barber i liked, and all was good. Then he left shortly after, and i found another I liked, who also left shortly after. Once the shop moved across the road, it has all seemed to down hill. I find the "put your name on the list and wait an hour in the shop" ridiculous. Ive popped in, put my name on the list, said i'll be back in 10 mins, (even though the estimated wait is 30mins-1hour) and the answer is no. When asked why, because "thats just how we do things". The last time i went there, I sat waiting for 1 hour, and 2 barbers both disappeared for lunch while i was sat there, leaving one guy slowly working, with 2 other equally frustrated customers who had been there longer than me. Poor customer service! No communication at all. On top of that, the last 2-3 times ive had the same grumpy, can't-be-bothered, too cool for school guy with no people-skills cut my hair, do a middle of the road job, and walked out £18 poorer for the experience. This place seems to be caught up in the new world of tattooed "cool" barbers, perhaps believing their own hype a little too much without actually providing quality in terms of customer service or work. Perhaps I've just been unlucky the last few times, but every time i leave i feel annoyed with the experience. I'll be looking for alternative places from now on.

I came here accompanying my partner who was getting his haircut and we left overall very happy with…read morethe experience!. ~ NOTES: Aside from tattoos and piercings, the barbers is pretty much male cuts only. Do NOT come here if you're a woman looking to get your hair done, all the barbers are male and they probably have no clue how to do women's hair. ~ Customer Service: Really good and why it gets 5 stars! They were very courteous and shook my partner's hand as he went in. The guys have a "grungy hipster" vibe to them, but they definitely know their hair. My partner is one of those stereotypical men that have no clue how they want it cut so all the direction he gave was - "shorter". I've been with him to salons before where they keep pressing him for more information and he would get stressed out because he genuinely doesn't have a clue, but the guys here were very understanding and probably have experienced a lot of guys who don't know what to say! There was also free WiFi for me as I was waiting! ~ Results: The results were great! My partner's hair looks fantastic and they were definitely thorough with their work. He's very happy with his cut and we ended up leaving a tip for the experience. £18 for a full dry cut isn't too bad at all given the quality. We've paid more at places like Supercuts for poorer results! --- If you're a man in Cardiff looking to get a haircut, Keep The Faith is without a doubt the way to go!

The last time i had a tattoo was quite a while ago now 10yrs+.Have wanted one for ages but just…read moredidnt get round to it..and sometimes didnt want to walk into a tattoo place alone!! Today was the first time i'd been to Tattoo U...And i have to say they made me feel welcome,relaxed,and comfortable even with my belly hanging out everywhere lol..But seriously i really did feel at ease,and the Tattoo is amazing(lots of fiddley detail) I am 100% pleased with it..Will definately be going back again..:-)

I look forward to a consultation re my wanted tattoos, I found Anton friendly and informed as to my…read morewanting vegan ink and such regarding my wanted tattoos.

This is the place I went for my 2nd tattoo which I wasn't too sure about as I'd already had a…read moretattoo which got messed up but the guy was totally cool there. He did a brilliant job of my tattoo and was very fairly priced! I had chinese symbols down my neck and even a chinese man was able to translate them so he didn't mess it up in anyway. Also my husband had playing cards on his forearm which they did a good job with. thanks a lot. Jessica