This review mostly has to do with tattoo artist Mel Georgakopoulos but also reflects a general pattern of disorganization and poor communication at Wintership. I chose to work with Wintership (and Mel in particular) because Wintership is an extremely well-respected tattoo parlor (and one of my siblings has had numerous tattoos done at Wintership over the years) and Mel is a professional tattoo artist with an impressive portfolio, years of experience, and many satisfied clients who have left positive reviews of his work. However, I have been consistently surprised and disappointed that Mel and Wintership have met so few basic expectations throughout this entire experience. In April, I scheduled a tattoo consult with Mel for a tattoo I'd had in mind for a few years. I sent a detailed email with reference images and descriptions as suggested on Wintership's website. At the consult, Mel took a $40 cash deposit and was totally unprepared for the consult. He hadn't looked at the email and didn't even know it existed, so most of our 10 minute consult was him reading the email. (All emails to Wintership appear to go to a single shared mailbox.) We did discuss the design, and I felt encouraged by his creative insights. I asked to be kept updated with in-progress art so we could collaborate, and we scheduled an appointment for May 30th. Unfortunately, I heard nothing from Mel over the coming weeks and was concerned by the total lack of communication. On the morning of Friday, May 26th, I reached out for any artwork in advance of our Tuesday appointment (Monday was a holiday), but he was already off for the weekend. I respect people's time away from work, so I figured maybe I'd hear back sometime Tuesday morning so we could collaborate on the design. That didn't happen. On Tuesday, the day of the appointment, I finally heard from Mel less than an hour before our scheduled time. He texted to say he couldn't find my email, which suggested to me that he hadn't been working on the design at all. I reminded him of my email address so he could find it and said, "I was expecting to have seen some art by now, and I'm not comfortable moving forward with the appointment today without input on the design. If it's possible to reschedule, can we do that?" He agreed and was very apologetic. We rescheduled for June 14th, and he said, "Ok. Again, sorry for the inconvenience. I'll send art before the appointment." I felt disappointed but fairly comfortable with his reassurance, but that ultimately turned out not to be true. Early in the afternoon the day before our rescheduled appointment, I texted Wintership to see if I could see any art because I'd expected to have already seen art and was getting worried. Mel was busy tattooing at the moment, and I was told the message would be passed along. As of 9 p.m., I had heard nothing. I texted, "Given the continued lack of art (which was assured) and therefore the inability to collaborate on the art beforehand, I'd like to rebook my appointment with [another artist at Wintership] and have my $40 deposit transferred to [that other artist]. I understand there will be a wait. I'm quite disappointed with this whole experience as I thought I would have had this tattoo on May 30th." The next day (the day of the appointment which was scheduled for 4:30 p.m.), Wintership finally responded at 5:05 p.m. with a line drawing of the tattoo concept--the first art I had seen the entire time. I responded, "To get art (that was requested and assured to be provided in advance so we could collaborate) a half hour after our scheduled appointment time does not fulfill the expectation." Wintership refused to even attempt to schedule me with the artist I requested, but they did refund my $40 deposit, after which they insulted me. They also managed to remove this exact same review from Google Reviews. Apparently they REALLY do not like accountability. Throughout this ordeal, Mel and Wintership have consistently demonstrated staggering incompetence and disrespect. I have to assume based on this experience that I should not be attempting to do business with Wintership. Fare thee well, Wintership. I hardly knew ye. read more

Wintership Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Eau Claire, Wisconsin

We had an amazing experience with the incredibly talented artist Ashley. My sister and I got matching tattoos and had an excellent experience from booking through to the day of our tattoos. She exudes kind, chill, and professional energy throughout the entire process. Her nature inspired art is displayed in the shop (also very clean) and was an inspiration for future tattoos. If you're looking for a gifted and professional artist, I'd highly recommend Ashley! read more

Clover was an hour late for appointment. Heavy handed. Tattoo looks smeared. When questioned, said, it happens.

Very disappointed! I had made an appointment for my daughter, my mom, and myself to get tattoos- 3 weeks in advance w/ Clover. 2.5 hours prior to our appointments we received a text that said Clover's hair appt that had started 6 hours prior to our tattoo appts was taking longer than she had expected so she needed to reschedule all 3 of us for another day. Needless to say, we did not take the new time given to us as we already had taken time off of work! Luckily I called a local shop and explained to them what had happened and they made time for us! Things happen but this seems to be pretty common for Clover. :( read more

I had an appointment for today at 4:00, was texted at 3:00 and asked if I could coming at 4:30 instead because artist was running behind. I said sure, then 1/2 way to the appointment I was texted saying artist no longer had time today. How does this place not honor appointments? I've booked elsewhere, they don't deserve the business. read more

They do dirty business here. Took my cash only (their requirement) deposit and when COVID hit they re-opened they would not make good on it! The artistry and studio are good at best, but if you're in the market for getting ripped off, you've found the right place! read more

An awesome experience. Very clean, cool shop. Me and my two girlfriends walked in on a Friday afternoon not expecting for them to have time, but they took us all in right away. Duff did all three of our tattoos and he did an amazing job. He was helpful, personable, and funny. Highly reccommend! read more

was spending a few weeks back in eau claire to visit family and we all decided to walk in on wednesday and didn't have to wait super long but when we got there they told us that they had to raise their minimum price, i was fine with that so we waited a couple hours and i finally got to take a seat and started with my tattoo artist was very heavy handed and was basically pressing the tattoo gun all the way done there for he was extremely heavy handed and missed a few of the futures that you could clearly see in the photo, as well as after it healing for the most part there's so many spots that were missed and not filled in fully and some details were not given enough attention. after all that it took about 25 minutes for my tattoo and was charged $120 for a half ass tattoo. do not recommend going here not worth the price. read more

Zion has done both of my tattoos which turned out amazing and very reasonably priced.

Zion did an amazing job on my tattoo! He was so friendly, and flexible with my ideas, he also was so focused but still made an effort to talk to me! Don't ever fret to check out Wintership, they are great! read more

Getting a tattoo can be a very intimidating experience. There are very few places in Wisconsin that I would get tattooed at and Wintership is truly the best shop in the Midwest, if not the country. The artists are immensely talented--just check out their website (www.wintership.com) or stop by the shop--their work speaks for itself. The inside of the shop is gorgeous and the cleanest tattoo shop you'll ever step foot in. The prices are extremely fair and these guys will not rip you off like half the "artists" in this town will try to do. read more

They are simply the best! I got an awesome tattoo for a fair price and was treated very well. They are professional, clean, and talented.

Just got a new tattoo from duff love it. Clean polite and professional would recommend him to my mother