Oak Iris Tattoo — Attraction in Portland

I am so, so lucky to have found Bex. I have a birthmark that I’ve always been self-conscious about, and I wasn’t sure if it was even possible to create something beautiful around it to camouflage it, but when I had my first free consultation with her over Zoom she gave me so much hope. At the time I lived out of state and my job didn’t allow me to travel, and it wasn’t for another full year that I was able to get to Portland and have an in-person consultation, and another four months until I was able to get the tattoo. Words cannot express my gratitude at that kind of customer service. The tattoo itself was a tall order—I asked for a slightly cartoonish seal, in brown tones to disguise my birthmark, with watercolor and abstract elements. Some people might be scared to give that much creative freedom to an artist but that is exactly why I wanted to work with Bex. I’d seen her art and knew that her vision would be so much better than anything I could imagine. I was right, and the art is everything I’d hoped it to be. But in addition to the art itself, Bex was really thoughtful about the placement of the tattoo, which is in an awkward position on my elbow. On the day of, she made modifications to her own design on the fly, just to get the placement a little bit better. A minor adjustment maybe, but proof that she’s always considerate of the client even with the smallest details. Overall, it was a two-year process from consultation to completion. Only an exceptional artist, professional, and person could be so patient,...

Unreliable and Unprofessional - Disappointing Experience

As a repeat client of Mac, my experience with them was extremely disappointing and unprofessional. I had scheduled an appointment for a touch-up on a custom piece, only to be stood up on the day of the appointment. When I reached out to inquire about the situation, I was shocked to learn that the artist had gotten drunk the night before and cited being hungover as an excuse for missing our scheduled appointment.

It is particularly disheartening when an artist's personal life interferes so significantly with their professional commitments. I had trusted Mac with my previous tattoo work, and the lack of respect and reliability displayed in this instance was truly upsetting.

Following this incident, I made the decision to seek out a new artist to address the touch-up on my custom piece. I have since had the original work covered up by a different artist, as I could no longer trust Mac to fulfill their professional obligations.

I would caution others to think twice before engaging with Mac due to their evident lack of professionalism and commitment to their clients. It is crucial for any professional to maintain a level of consistency and reliability, especially when working with repeat clients on custom pieces.

Overall, my experience was one that I would not wish upon anyone else. I hope that they take this feedback constructively and work towards ensuring that such incidents do not repeat...

Bex does an amazing job with tattoos. She has a light touch, good shading, and crazy straight lines. However, if you have an issue, Bex is not professional. I got a chemical symbol tattoo and after many months noticed it was missing two lines from the original symbol. I contacted Bex, and checked the images I gave her to make sure they were correct, and asked if during our next tattoo we could add the missing lines. Also, she flipped the lettering order when I asked for a different font. But, since she originally did not allow you to see the design until your appointment I didn't notice that an O and H were flipped. I was looking at the tattoo itself, which is partially on me. Bex said she was an artist who doesn't make mistakes, that she was now uncomfortable working with me and wrote highly unprofessional emails until I got upset (originally wasn't, just thought it was kind of funny I didn't realize for months). She also tried to say that she would be keeping my deposit for my next tattoo (even though she cancelled the appointment) because they are all nonrefundable, she caved on that and refunded my deposit. I went in as nice as possible, understanding that she's human and also that the deed was already done, and was even willing to pay for the lettering if I decided to correct it eventually. It was highly unprofessional and uncomfortable, mostly the part about her never making mistakes because...