I got my belly button pierced about a week and a half ago (almost 2 weeks now) I went with my…read morefriend and she got her lip pierced as well. she went before me and everything went well. my piercing also went very well. the next day it started to get extremely infected. red, bloody, pus. i decided to give it a few days to settle and then i would take action of it didn't get better. about 2 days after the piercing i was talking with my friend when we realized the piercer never changed gloves after piercing my friends lip. it has been almost 2 weeks and my piercing is so infected i now need heavy antibiotics from the doctor. the pain is unbearable, and getting worse each day.

Friendly, clean, and great staff. I would definitely recommend. I had my ears pierced.read more

Amazing atmosphere and talent exhibited by this establishment. Spooky decor is nice to look at…read morewhile the artist prepares. My artist was splendid, and I was able to find the right one through repeated inquiries through social media. A good friend recommend me and since I have been here four times. And I'm an out of towner. I'm just used to it. It's renowned for a reason and I recommend it.

I waited a long time to get in to Tyler - first because he is so highly sought after and busy, and…read moresecond because of the pandemic. My session lasted over 6 hours and was super relaxing. He is very down to earth. Everything in the shot is spotless and top of the line. His room has a super comfy reclining chair with a huge tv with hulu netflix cable et. And you have total control on what you want to watch or listen to. On arrival check in was super friendly. Waiting room clean and comfy. Tyler Introduced himself took my photos and we had a pretty detailed discussion about what I hoped to accomplish. He took my idea and elated it considerably. He went back to his studio and came up with some stencils, worked my ideas and the final product was more than I could have hoped for. This is session one of two- hope to complete begining of Feb.

Requested 10 inches LONG, narrow, thin, tattoo down the center of my back. Not wide…read more I'm wide enough. Tried to show John what I wanted. He said he knew what I wanted. Apparently, not. I had been reassured that John was aware of my request plus I had submitted pictures. A simple black & gray tattoo that maybe should have taken an hour to do. Instead, I have 5 flower heads without stems or leaves that cost more than double what I was expecting. There is no way to rectify this. The script is completely obscured. To say that I'm not happy is an understatement. This is why I felt the need to have a consultation. Obviously, he did not understand what I meant. Flower at the base of my neck, leaves on either side of script & stem running down my back around the words. This tattoo looks nothing like what I asked for. Avoid at all costs!!!

1st off John answered the phone & put me at ease immediately. At 69 & 73 my sister and I embarked…read moreon our first tatoo. Dan LaMacra tatoo artist was incredible, detailed, super clean, thorough, gentle & oh so kind! We are thrilled with our hearts. He stole ours!

I am 59 years old and always wanted a nice rose on my upper right shoulder. Jaime was incredible!…read moreWould highly recommend him. Very gentle too!

Just got a great Lost in Space Robot tattoo fromTom. I would…read moredefinitely recommend this place very friendly staff great prices. Thank you

Erin is amazing! She helped design my tattoo of my son's signature and incorporate it with another…read moredesign I showed her. She is extremely nice, patient and has amazing tattoos. This was my first tattoo and she made it an amazing experience!

Showed up randomly one week night to get a small tattoo on a whim with a friend. Adam took us on…read moreeven though he had already cleaned down his station. They both came out so good that I booked him for a full day for a bunch of little projects I wanted done. They all came out phenomenal, including some small finger ones. Not only was he extremely patient when I wanted to tweak stencil placement a couple of times, he ENCOURAGED me and made me feel super comfortable. One tattoo we worked on was a wave of words down my leg. He free handed the general shape, took the time to cut each word and tape them to my leg, we checked and rechecked the design, placement, flow etc and I ended up changing the font style and he worked with me every step of the way. I will DEFINITELY be back to work with him for future projects!

I decided to get my first Tattoo in rememberance of my Son that passed away. I wasnt sure what I…read morewanted but with the help and guidance of the Owner/Ronnie we discussed and came to a decision. The shop was ultra modern and imaculate. His staff were all so welcoming and talanted. I live in Miami and have received so many compliments and people asking for his information. You will have a great experience at MERK INK TATTOO STUDIO. Thank You Ronnie

I'm afraid I don't know the name of the artist I had the misfortune of meeting; all I know is he…read morewas not the owner. I do believe he goes by Ireland Tattoo. I cannot speak to the quality of his artwork as we never got that far. My friend and I walked into the shop looking to get matching tattoos. Nothing big, maybe a couple of inches, no color. The man was very aggressive from the get-go. He had zero patience when it came to what we wanted- we had a nice idea but were hoping to work with the artist to execute it. While he was working on someone else, he demanded answers RIGHT NOW- he was not willing to talk it over with us at all. Again, his manner was very brusque and aggressive. When we finally had a design hammered down, we asked if it could be turned facing us. You would have thought that we had asked him to walk to Antarctica with bare feet. He incessantly argued with us regarding this. He kept stating "it's wrong." Is it though? If I am paying you for a service and I insist on the way I want it, then what is wrong? He then said "Well, why would you want it WRONG?" He really kept stressing the word WRONG. My answer was- it's my body, my choice! Again, I am paying YOU. YOU are working for ME. It was like trying to reason with a toddler. Finally, he was so dismissive and demeaning, like he was doing us a FAVOR by doing our tattoos, that I told him that we would just go somewhere else. And we did, one block away, where the artist was extremely sweet, told us she would do it any way we wanted it, AND charged me a whopping $80 LESS than what he had quoted me. And I love it. It is so RIGHT. (When we told her about our experience at Merk, she said she had heard it before. So apparently this guy has no social skills and it wasn't just us.) I get being an artist. If your art is so important to you that you don't want to compromise, then go paint a picture. Go commission a model to get your art put on their skin. But when you are in the SERVICE industry, you are there to do what the customer wants. Your input is fine, but the antagonism and arrogance are not. I cannot speak for the rest of the artists at this studio, but I would avoid the dark-haired man who was in the second booth. He needs to have a handler to deal with customers for him or something. Or perhaps a muzzle.

I love them all! Awesome place, great vibes, tattoo's always come out awesome! Would highly…read morerecommend this shop to anyone!

Now I have a 2 because their communication sucks!! Like really really bad! I had called to book an…read moreappointment or to see about a tattoo. Guy told me to message them on IG cuz it would be better to communicate about the tattoo I wanted. Nope took days for them to communicate and also believe it was multiple ppl messaging at the same time. (Because they would ask same question that I just answered). The conversation just went around the bush and I had to call again. They thought I was playing around. Day came and went in. Nobody was at the desk. No communication still until they were ready to tattoo u. They got a 2 because 1 they r the cheapest shop in Salem! 2 they r the only ones that do flash tats. The girls there do awesome tats! I had one she was good. I also messaged her on IG after the fact and she messaged right back!!

Never will you regret getting your next tattoo here!…read more Once you get a tattoo from the group at the gallery tattoo, you will never find yourself in another tattoo shop. Even the thought of another tattoo shop hurts my eyes to consider. Thanks everyone! My first tattoo was from where Kurt Started when he was in middle school transition to opening his own shop. Thank you Pino Bros ink. But thank you Kurt for opening this shop! If you guys ever need reading material, i have tons of self published books now! Can always bring some in wherever I have the time for my next tattoo!

I got an amazing tattoo by Nate the tattoo artist. He gave me exactly what I was looking for…read more Excellent work, nice clean studio, very hygienic along with friendly staff. My tattoo is a tribute to my late daughter who I recently lost on October 5th which is two of her flowers that she had tattooed on her hands along with an xbox remote control, which is something in common we always shared, we always played video games together. My wife recommended me this tattoo studio and I'm very happy with the result. Highly recommend this place

great work, wicked friendly dudes, real clean & cozy. best place for a trad tat on this side of the…read moremississippi

This is the most interesting and cool tattoo shop I've ever been too. The tattoo artist, Sean,…read more knows what he is doing and he has many years of experience. The shop atmosphere was great, felt like a spa with such nice plants. My cousin and I both got our tattoo here and the line was perfect. We both got a lot of compliments on our tattoos. Our friends are now coming to this shop for their tattoo. Definitely going back for more.

This was honestly the worst experience I've had at a tattoo shop. It took me awhile to write a…read morereview, but this has been on my mind since it's been done. This place is unhygienic and has an extremely rude owner. She allowed her dog to jump on my chair while being tattooed. I had to ask multiple times for it to be removed, while she just laughed it off. She had friends in the shop waiting for her to go to dinner during my appt. She complained the entire time she did the tattoo about how she did not want to be there. The work was subpar and done so aggressively. Her fee does NOT equal her work or atmosphere she creates. She made me feel like I was such an imposition to her. It was money wasted and I should have stood up and walked out. I highly recommend going anywhere else than this place. I had to go to another shop to fix what she did.

My girlfriend recently got a tattoo here, she was very specific about the line-work, shading and…read morestyle, explaining to Teagan with PHOTO REFERENCE what she did and didn't want. After seeing her initial stencil she wanted Teagan to redo a couple details. After a couple re-stencils Teagan began to become annoyed with the request. When the tattoo was nearly completed the line work was far thicker and messier than she had hoped. This as well as improper shading based on their earlier conversations about such a detail. Don't go to 5 Monkeys if you want to have a good first (or any) tattoo experience where you feel heard and respected with your opinions valued.