I had a great experience at Lost Lakes! I messaged Brooke on Instagram to ask for a knee tattoo in…read morethe style of one of her previous pieces. She went above and beyond and drew three different beautiful designs for me to choose from! She was also happy to work with me to find the best placement for the tattoo, as well as to pause at a few points during the appointment to give me a breather (the knee is a notoriously difficult spot). I would absolutely get tattooed by Brooke again! Additionally, the shop has plenty of places to sit and wait for your appointment, as well as providing complimentary snacks and drinks. Their sign-in/waiver process is the easiest and most efficient of any shop I have visited, and I've been to many. Quick note: the image provided is of a first tattoo session and more details will be added later. However, I would be happy with the piece as a stand-alone tattoo, and have already received several compliments on it!

Gone there a few times now to see both Cass and Bronwyn. Awesome space/vibe, and I would highly…read morerecommend to anyone interested. Service is awesome but a bit expensive, save up, it'll be worth it no matter who you meet.

Let me just start off by saying that the experience here was fantastic. If you're someone who just…read morereads the first sentence that's all you need to know other than I would highly recommend working with Alex. I came in with a vision of what I wanted but not necessarily with a vision of how I wanted it done. Alex was super chill and made the experience extremely good. Not only was he great with his customer skills he is an amazing artist. He drew up what I wanted, and I truly captured everything I was looking for. He asked questions trying to make sure that it was right for me. He gave me a little bit of guidance to help lead me away from some potential misguided notions about what I wanted, but he did it in a nice and pleasant way. I will recommend Steve's and especially Alex to anyone and everyone who asks me about my tattoo and tell them about the awesome service that was offered. Please keep up the good work and keep Alex around he is an asset to your business.

Review / Complaint About My Experience With David at Steve's Tattoo…read moreI've been getting tattooed at Steve's Tattoo for years -- by Steve himself and by many artists who've come and gone, including David, who this review is specifically about. Up until recently, I actually liked David's work. He's done multiple tattoos on my sleeve and even tightened up some older pieces to make everything flow together. His talent can be great when he actually tries. But what happened this year is something people deserve to be warned about. 1. The First Red Flag Last year David tattooed a tarot card of my dog on my bicep. The work turned out great, but his behavior that day was... off. He was short, rude, and uninterested in even basic communication. I brushed it off as a bad day. We talked afterward about finishing my sleeve, so I assumed things were fine. 2. October 26th Appointment - The Point Where Everything Went Sideways I booked an appointment for October 26th at noon to finish some filler on my sleeve. What actually happened: He made me wait over 30 minutes just to start setting up. He barely spoke and acted irritated from the second I walked in. I explained what I needed: the same pattern and color he started near my wrist, carried up the rest of the arm. I put my headphones in because the tension was so uncomfortable. While he was tattooing, it felt like he kept going over the same spots repeatedly. I have tattoos on my neck and feet -- I know what tattoo pain and swelling look like. This was different. When I looked, the area was extremely red, raised, and bleeding more than anything I've ever had. When I got home, I realized why: He only used ONE color -- and it was the WRONG color. The design didn't match my sleeve at all. It looked sloppy, rushed, and honestly more like flames than the pattern he originally created. It already looked like something that will age terribly. I emailed him politely because I was genuinely afraid I had somehow upset him and he did this intentionally. That's how uncomfortable and off his behavior was. He told me to come back on December 10th so he could "fix it." 3. December 10th - The Gaslighting & Disrespect I went to my appointment today hoping he would make it right. Instead: He completely gaslit me. He insisted the tattoo "is the same" (it absolutely is not). He claimed "there's no room," "it would look crowded," and "that's the best he can do." When I showed him the areas that are clearly different, he just argued and dismissed everything. And then he said the part that really tells you everything you need to know: "I don't want to work on it anymore." "You're being too emotional." "I just don't feel like it." He refused to finish the work he messed up. I begged, I reasoned, I even offered to pay him AGAIN just to fix the damage -- because I've already had multiple artists start and stop this sleeve and I wanted the same person to finish it. He didn't care. When I asked for Steve's contact info, he refused to give it to me. When I turned to look for a business card, he literally yelled at me: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? THE DOOR IS RIGHT THERE." He treated me like trash and threw me out of the shop after knowingly giving me a tattoo that doesn't match, isn't the right color, and was done so aggressively that it raised and bled more than any tattoo I've ever had. 4. Why I'm Warning People I've never disrespected an artist. I tip well. I sit still. I don't complain. I've never caused a scene or been rude. There was absolutely no reason for him to treat me the way he did. And here's the truth: **If David gives you work you don't like, he will NOT fix it. He will gaslight you, blame you, and then kick you out.** I don't know if he was having a bad month, a bad year, or if something happened between appointments. But what I DO know is this: What he did to my arm was careless and nothing like the work he is capable of when he actually tries. And the way he treated me -- after years of being a good client -- was inhumane, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable. People deserve to know.

Anthony is the bestest! I had my unalome tattoo done and it looks AMAZING!!! Scheduling is nice!…read moreVery clean and organized shop! Everyone is nice and friendly! My boyfriend is getting his large chest tattoo right now! I will upload pictures soon! I've found my new tattoo spot! All the artists are very talented and extremely accommodating. I highly, highly recommend. Check 'em out on Facebook and Snapchat!!! The building is easy to find, lots of parking, and bathrooms are clean! This is a shared building, so don't be afraid to ask questions if you're having a hard time finding this shop! They're upstairs!!! I hope that helps!!!

This shop is very welcoming and the artists are very talented. I got my tattoo done by Lincoln and…read morenot only is he excellent at his craft, he also is personable and cool and has a calming presence. The shop is very clean and I am looking forward to going back and getting more work done!

I returned to Chuk for my half sleeve. I told him I wanted to have my kids' birth flowers, but with…read morethe possibility of adding more if I have another child. I am obsessed with it! He drew up the design himself, and the color is just amazing. We knocked it out in 4 hours, and it's healing really nicely. The artists here are top notch!

Dan was great to work with. My tattoo is fully healed now and I'm so happy with how it turned out…read more Reasonably priced and professional.

I've been wanting to get tattooed by Jon for yearsssss and finally pulled the trigger! I couldn't…read morehave been more impressed ! He is very professional and kind, with a very clean and welcoming shop, and I left with a beautiful traditional butterfly tattoo to start off a full leg sleeve! 10/10 recommend this shop!!

Visited Black Moon on a referral from out of town. The shop was super clean and the artist are…read moreprofessional and friendly. They were able to get me in and out quickly with exactly what I described. I couldn't be more happy. If you are looking for some ink in Madison, definitely check them out!

I've gotten quite a few tattoos here, solid work, good pricing, clean shop and amazing people. I'm…read morereally happy with all the tattoos I've gotten here. Highly recommend this shop!

AMAZING! My partner and I recently went to get matching tattoos and Dave really brought our vision…read morealive. We sent him a picture of our cat's forehead and asked him to draw up a design that would like fire by our shoulder blade and he did NOT disappoint. They took about 40 mins and the pricing was reasonable for the work he was able to do! If I ever wanted another tattoo in Madison I would certainly go back here.

First I want to say Dave is the nicest tattoo artist I've ever met hands down. I have 14 tattoos…read morethis was my 15th, I'm from NJ visiting family in Madison and I had this tattoo on my mind for a while. I was originally going to just wait till I got home and get tattooed at my shop because I was comfortable and I wouldn't be nervous to get tattooed by someone I've never met or had experience with. Needless to say my impulsive teenage self wanted to get it done right away so I looked up some places and none of them had great reviews accept for Hand and Eye Tattoo so I read the reviews and look at the pictures and it filled my expectations. Online it didn't say walk ins so I called about 5:30 and he set me up with an appointment for 6:30. As soon as I walked in the shop I knew the tattoo would turn out amazing and it did. It's such a cute shop and I would recommend it to anyone. I'm so happy with the outcome with my tattoo, he fulfilled my expectations in so many ways! Unfortunately I leave Madison tomorrow morning but next time I come to visit again I'll be back for another tattoo! Thank you Dave!

I've been here twice, once for a small Friday the 13th tattoo with Billy and once for a large…read morecustom piece with Zach. Both experiences were faaaantastic! I really can't say enough good things about Zach. I looked through his entire portfolio while waiting for my Friday the 13th tattoo and decided then my next big piece would be by him, since he's got that clean, bright traditional style I love. We emailed a bit then set up a consultation. I knew the placement and basic design elements--a portrait of my cat, flowers, maybe her name--and left the rest up to Zach. When I came in for my appointment and finally saw his sketch, I was ecstatic. It was so much better than what I had come up with, which is why I'm glad I gave Zach creative license and let him do his thing. We had talked about splitting it up into 2 sessions, but I was sitting well so we knocked the whole thing out in 3 hrs. I had a lot of fun talking with Zach and Billy and the other artists that popped in, and Zach made sure I had some candy halfway through to keep my blood sugar up :) Once he finished Zach actually brought me into Spike's studio so he could see it, which was cool, since he was Spike's apprentice! The tattoo healed beautifully, no hard spots/loss of ink and very minimal weeping. In conclusion: this place is great, Zach is great, and I can't wait to get my tax refund and come back for more work!

This will probably be one of the only shops I could give 5 stars to-and they deserve it…read more I've been to countless tattoo shops, and Spike's is on a pedestal. The staff is easy going and professional, and above all, absolutely amazing and gifted artists. They truly work with you, put in the time and effort, and have a passion for their jobs. I've gotten most of my tattoos here, and even had them cover up past tattoos. (Not because they were necessarily bad, but because the guys at Spike's just do so much better.) My tattoo work has been displayed on several different websites and I'm constantly receiving compliments-I turn everyone over to Spikomatic. The shop is newer. Give it a few years and I have no doubts it will take over as Madison's prominent tattoo shop. UPDATE: I've been disappointed in my last few runs there. They're losing most of their artists, and the fun atmosphere has gone way down, as has the work.