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Side Show Studios

4.7 (90 reviews)
ModerateTattoo, Piercing
Closed Closed

Services - Side Show Studios

Piercing

Tattooing

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Reviews With Photos

After a couple removal sessions

Char Hall did a half sleeve of mine years ago and I'm paying thousands to have it removed. It is the ugliest tattoo you could ever see, people would look at it then look away. She did not know how to execute the vision AT ALL and, instead of saying so, she went ahead and tattooed something I have hated ever since. When I went to another shop and showed them the tattoo, they said "oh the best tattoo artist in sac per the Sac News and Review" and laughed. I was like YEP that's how I found her, so Thanks A lot Sac News and Review!! At the 2nd session (which I only needed one really) she got up, walked into another room, came back and started cleaning up. I was like um?? She wouldn't even look at me and was like I need to wrap this up today. I knew that she knew it was atrocious and couldn't fix what she started. I only went to the 2nd session hoping it was going to look normal once it was complete. I would never recommend her.

Nautilus with a Fibonacci spiral overlaid. Tattoo by Andre Garcia.
Alyssa O.

I emailed Andre after seeing the work he did on a friend and he was very quick to respond. I went in for a consultation and he helped me come up with an idea that would weave in a piece I had gotten done a couple years ago with a new piece. I never would have thought to do this on my own, so I appreciated his expertise! We made an appointment for about a month later (he was able to fit me into his busy schedule because I wanted to get it done before the school year started -- I'm a high school teacher). When I came in for an appointment, Andre and two options for the tattoo and he totally took what I had said in our original appointment and ran with it. I loved his design! During the entire tattoo, he was so easy to talk to and so friendly. Honestly, it was the best tattoo experiences I have ever had! I felt so comfortable throughout the entire process. I can't wait to go back for my second appointment to finish the piece. I am excited to see what my math students think about the tattoo, too!

Keith did the cartilage and 3rd earlobe piercing. The other 2 earlobe piercings and tragus were done in different shops.
Victoria B.

I've had nothing but great experiences with Side Show. I've gotten two piercings done by Keith (a cartilage and an earlobe), as well as a tattoo from Jocelyn. The shop itself is absolutely beautiful, and is extremely clean and well kept. I got both piercings done over a year ago now, and they've both finally fully healed very well. I've never ever seen a more thorough piercer than Keith. I've gotten lots of ear piercings over the years in various locations and at different shops, and the way he sanitizes everything and keeps everything clean is above anywhere else I've gone. He was also very helpful when I had questions or when my cartilage had some problems healing and answered all my emails. He even changed out the earring for me as well. I also got my tattoo from Jocelyn about a year and a half ago, and I had the best experience. She did a wrist tattoo for me with a word in Italian and an arrow underneath. She was great with helping me figure out exactly what I wanted. It was my first tattoo so I was a little unsure of what to expect and was worried about going into a shop and feeling like I was being patronized or blown off for being a newbie. But Jocelyn was super nice, and her station was also impeccably clean. I ended up with something better than I had hoped and it healed beautifully. I'm happy to say I've already booked another tattoo with her for later this year, and once again she was very accommodating by fitting me into her already packed schedule. I would absolutely recommend this place to anyone looking nice to get pierced or tattooed, they have a lot of really nice and talented people! They also sell some amazing artwork in the shop as well!

Blacklight constellation tattoo on forearm
Summer M.

I FUV Side Show (aka: I f*****g love this place) I first came to Side Show because my best friend was working there at the time, and I'll never go anywhere else for my ink. I love the comfortable vibe you get here- not that standoff-y feeling you get at other places like you're not inked enough, you're not cool enough, you're not hardcore enough. I love the shows they have, the occasional bands, the Second Saturday events, the cool DIY art and items you can buy there. And I love love FUV the artists. Char was my first artist at S.S. and she is flat-out amazeballs. She is a ridiculously good tattoo artist and artist-artist. Now that Char is SO popular and thus quite busy, I've started getting work done from Josh, a dapper gentleman with mad ink skills and enough mustache to pay the bills! I haven't worked with Jessica but my friends have beautiful tattoos from her. Plus she has some gorgeous original artwork. When a business does me right, I sing it from the moutaintop. I've pimped Side Show to anyone who's even the slightest bit ink-inclined, and everyone I've directed there has come back happy. ...what are YOU still doing reading this? Go get a tattoo right now! :D

Here is my #Anchor #Compass #Rastawatercolor Tattoo 1 month later and fully healed. 

Artist: Jocelyn
Estrella G.

The decision of getting a tattoo is not one that should be taken lightly, neither should selecting your tattoo artist. I must say I researched for a few months before finding Jocelyn and she is a straight bad ass artist. She was able to bring my idea and vision to life and I am so grateful. I was also very impressed with her knowledge of art, tattooing and specialty drinks ;p Looking forward to revisiting her again.

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14 years ago

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7 years ago

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Jocelyn is a ninja artist and was able to manifest in ink what I conceived of in my mind. Her version was far better actually.

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12 years ago

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Review Highlights - Side Show Studios

I've gotten two piercings done by Keith (a cartilage and an earlobe), as well as a tattoo from Jocelyn.

Mentioned in 12 reviews

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Emerald Tattoo & Piercing - Lodi - Piercing by Kat

Emerald Tattoo & Piercing - Lodi

4.4(480 reviews)
16.0 mi
$

Kat was so great! So professional and kind. She made sure both my kids were ready and talked them…read morethrough each step. She was quick and efficient. Best piercer!

Never get your piercings here is an understatement. In November, I got three piercings: belly/navel…read morepiercing, "helix," and conch. Costing me around $100 (without tip). Cheryl pierced my belly button without informing me know that I didn't have the ring anatomy to support a belly button piercing. I thought I was healing fine until the around May/June. I started noticing more crust build up even with regularly cleaning. I also didn't wear clothing that fit the belly area super tight. I had gone to a different and apparently more well informed piercing shop (not Emerald) and they broke the news to me. I went in under the impression that my piercing needed to be downsized because the swelling had gone down but instead I was told that my body was rejecting the jewelry because I didn't have the right anatomy for it. Then my jewelry was inspected by the shop and there were signs that the jewelry was poor quality, inadequate for body jewelry. Now I have scarring on my belly, money loss, and eight months wasted. When I was getting pierced Cheryl was training a new piercer. She should not be training and should get her license reevaluated. The reason helix is in quotations is because my helix piercing was also pierced at a bad location, it was closer to a flat piercing than a helix. Both my helix and conch piercing were removed because it was infected due to jewelry quality. Spark Notes: Please please please go to a better shop to get your piercings, jewelry is about one of the most important part of a PIERCING and even that was cheap, poor, and inadequate. Do NOT come here because its cheaper, that lead to potentially permanent scarring on my belly. - CHEAP JEWELRY - POORLY TRAINED STAFF (DIDN'T INFORM ME THAT MY I DIDN'T HAVE THE RIGHT ANATOMY FOR A PIERCING AND JUST PIERCED IT ANYWAYS, MY PIERCING WAS FLOATING) Avoid this place at all costs or end up like me and have scars everywhere. Getting my money back wouldn't even begin to make me feel better about this. This is such a big hit for me because I frequently wear clothing that shows my belly (hence why I got the piercing). Now I have a big ugly scar. THANKS.

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Emerald Tattoo & Piercing - Lodi - Tattoo by JEN

Tattoo by JEN

Emerald Tattoo & Piercing - Lodi - Tattoo by JEN

Tattoo by JEN

Emerald Tattoo & Piercing - Lodi - Tattoo By Jen

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Tattoo By Jen

Chief Piercing - Septum piercing

Chief Piercing

4.8(424 reviews)
23.0 miMidtown
$$

I had such a great experience getting my nostril pierced here! Britt was amazing. Her experience…read morereally showed through the entire process. She gave clear direction and helpful cues, which made me feel comfortable and confident from start to finish. I really appreciated her patience while I took my time deciding on the exact placement, and she never made me feel rushed even though I had a ton of questions. It's now been four weeks, and my piercing is healing beautifully so far, which definitely speaks to the quality of her work. Also, shoutout to Sergio at the front. He was super patient and helped me pick out the perfect jewelry. The whole space had great energy, with friendly, helpful people all around.

The good: The piercings are healing okay. They were…read moreunderstanding when it was a bit much for me. I got snake bites so I took a break in between the first to recuperate myself. The bad: I'm immunocompromised. I thought going to one of the highest rated and recommended places in Sacramento would have a good level of hygiene. I ended up getting strep. My partner called after I slept for almost 24 hours straight and I got confirmed strep from the doctor. They told us "no one had strep that day when you came, but our owner recently had strep". This raised huge concerns to us about how they were maintaining hygiene.... The ugly: I didn't want to write a bad review. We messaged them on IG to see if we could discuss this further, but we have not heard back. I've been at urgent care 3 times now for different reasons 1) I couldn't swallow, 2) the meds didn't work, 3) the meds are giving me a reaction. No accountability for the pain I've been going through for the past week due to their irresponsible hygiene. I'm lucky my piercings seem okay so far, but I'm absolutely miserable. With how immunocompromised I am, I've had to take off multiple days of work. I do not trust them after this. I feel horrible both physically and how they have not responded privately to us.

Photos
Chief Piercing - Septum piercing

Septum piercing

Chief Piercing - Both nostrils by Katrina. Another great job. She's legit the BEST

Both nostrils by Katrina. Another great job. She's legit the BEST

Chief Piercing - Both nostrils. Another great job by Katrina (lip was done by her as well)

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Both nostrils. Another great job by Katrina (lip was done by her as well)

Side Show Studios - tattoo - Updated May 2026

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