Bear is the absolute best! They are the artist that has tattooed me the most. Their work is…read moreimpeccable, their creativity and style is undeniable, and their attitude is so positive and inviting. Their room is such a vibe; it's easy to relax there while getting your piece done. Especially felt safe and seen going to a QTBIPOC artist like Bear.

I definitely recommend this place! It didn't take long for me to get taken care of, even as a walk…read morein on a Saturday. The staff were kind and helpful. They have a beautiful variety of jewelry options, but I just went in for a plain ol' horseshoe septum. Took longer to drive there than the piercing process itself. I got pierced by Reagan who was knowledgeable, sweet, and quick! I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

Brie no longer works at the primal instincts- she opened up her own shop (sad but very happy for…read moreher!) I recently finished another piece with Laura alone and she does not disappoint! Worth every amount of money. They do require negative covid test in advance. 48 hours for unvaccinated folks, 72 hours for vaccinated folks.

I cannot say enough about the talent and professionalism of Ariel at Primal Instinct. She saw my…read morevision and just created the most beautiful piece of art to put on my body. It was nothing I could have imagined and everything I wanted. Still need to go back for the rest of the color but I'm already so in love.

Lakeland did an amazing job on both tattoos. Really dig his energy ! My now go to every time tattoo…read moreartist!!

Piercer Valerie is amazing. She's friendly and calm. She pierced my nose in 2015, and it was an…read moreawesome experience. Tattoo artist Lakeland was good to work with. He took the time to draw up art, and adjusted it until I was 100% satisfied. They have wonderful people working there.

Great artists that are good to chat and work through ideas…read more Shop is well set up, shiny clean and a good spot to just hang out. Kevin Harden is a fantastic artist, couldn't recommend him more.

I absolutely love my flash by Madison! She's super chill and very detailed. Made sure I was…read morecomfortable the whole process.

I absolutely love Haylee's line art! She did the pup as a memorial to my dog that passed away last…read moreyear and 4 1/2 months later it still looks great and I get so many compliments on it! For the flower bouquet today and she really took her time with the drawing and positioning to make sure it was exactly what I wanted. It barely took an hour and her prices are very reasonable. She's very talented and super fun to chat with. Light with the needle, both tattoos barely hurt at all.

Do not get tattoos from Halyee, she went over my tattoo too much causing it to fall off within the…read morenext 3 days. I took proper care of it and had it retouched by a better artist who told me the reason the tattoo fell off. Not even symmetrical, do not recommend.

Someone close to me gave me a gift certificate for Eagle River Tattoo. I was surprised to learn…read morethey only do business over Instagram. So I DMed some artists who I thought could be fun to work with. One artist agreed to get me in and make a plan, that was a couple of months ago and I have yet to hear back. I came by the shop in person today and kindly requested a refund which was denied. I am really upset by how this was handled after hearing such good things about this place. Edit: After the review Debra reached out and granted me the refund, cleared up the miscommunication (they do not operate strictly over Instagram) and was rather apologetic. While I haven't had any work done here, I can say that I am willing to give eagle river tattoo the benefit of the doubt and may return for my next piece (with a different artist).

I have had by only tattoos done here by Don. The first one I was soooo scared of possible pain I…read morewas shaking! I think I was 59 years old. Don very gently walked me away from the ledge! He went slow and explained everything well so I felt pretty comfortable. His artwork is amazing. Surprise ... It didn't even hurt! I got my second one there as well and they are both beautiful. I get a lot of compliments on them, especially on the coloring. I doubt I'd ever go anywhere else. I've got 2 more already planned in my head!

I was on a vacation from Cali & wanted to get a tattoo to remember the beauty of Alaska. I looked…read moreat multiple shops and everyone was either booked or not accepting walk-in, I called Southside and they were willing to get me in before I left. I stayed in touch with Glade to figure out the details and when was best to get my tattoo done. When I got there, we were greeted & btw I love the way the shop is set up. Great vibes all around. Everyone was so nice and welcoming. All the artist appreciate each others work which is really great to see. Glade created a sketch for me that was perfect. His input really helped with deciding a lot about my tattoo. I got fireweed and forget me nots. His touch wasn't rough I got through the tattoo pretty easily and in the end I was in love with it. I have a lot of tattoos and the one Glade did has to be my favorite. Even my best friend went in and got a fireweed because she loved how mine turned out. (2nd pic) All in all. Next time I'm in anchorage I already know my first stop. Our pictures don't do justice. I get compliments all the time for my tattoo.

Updating my review to say that Beth contacted me shortly after I posted my first review. She was…read morevery nice and receptive to my feedback, which tells me she cares a lot about providing excellent customer service. She told me the shop is going to try having an apprentice handle scheduling which hopefully will make communications go more smoothly. I always greatly appreciate and respect when business owners and employees take the time to respond to feedback, whether it's positive or negative. She even offered me an hour of her time at no charge, which I think is very generous. Unfortunately I no longer live in Alaska so I cannot take advantage of that, at least not any time soon. But even if Beth hadn't offered that I would want to book an appointment with her just based on her reply to my initial review. Here's hoping I can eventually give a 5 star review and post some photos of Beth's awesome work on me!