Stay Humble Tattoo Company — Local services in Baltimore

I’ll start this review with the caveat that this was my first tattoo. After a recommendation from an apprentice tattoo artist I decided to research the tattoo artists at Stay Humble. I was impressed with the quality of the artists’ portfolios. I ultimately decided to pursue Troy Clements as my artist and could not be happier with the result.

Consultation: I reached out to Troy with a rough concept explaining what I wanted and some reference photos via email. He got back to me the very next day and asked that I drop by for an in person consultation. The consultation pretty quick, but he gave me an opportunity to explain my idea and ask any questions I had about the process and what to expect since it was my first tattoo.

Shop: Stay Humble has a great vibe with a ton of cool wall art and a traditional atmosphere that matches the style of tattoo that the artists are known for. There is a shop dog, she is extremely tame and keeps to herself for the most part. The guy working the front desk (Sean) was friendly and helpful. Overall the shop is clean and very cool.

Location: Stay Humble is a little tricky to find, if you have an appointment and this is your first time visiting this shop give yourself a few extra minutes. It is located right off of W36th Street in Hamden, Baltimore. This is a nice area with a lot of small locally owned shops/restaurants that feels safe and well policed. While I was getting my piece done my girlfriend walked around the surrounding area and she said that she felt safe/comfortable.

Process: I showed up about 30 minutes before my appointment while Troy was finishing up with another client. Once he was wrapped up he gave me a print out of the drawing he did of my tattoo and gave me some time to look over it. He was willing to make any adjustments on the spot (he works off an iPad so he was able to make edits pretty quickly) so that I was happy with the design. Once we were both satisfied he spent some time placing the stencil, allowed me to check it out in a mirror and began tattooing. The pain was pretty manageable and Troy was good about offering breaks and making sure that I was doing fine. Overall I sat for about 3.5 hours.

Drawing and Design: Troy has a unique traditional style which was what led me to making an appointment with him in the first place. As I mentioned above, he was willing to work with me on the drawing the day of my appointment to make sure I was satisfied. He was flexible so long that the piece remained true to his style. I deferred to him on all of the color choices and let him decide what we would do with the bottom and center of the tattoo where there was some open space in the drawing. I was happy with all of the design choices he made.

Price: Cash only. Expect a $100 deposit when your appointment is made. Rates are on par with other high end artists. You get what you pay for. If you are interested in this shop go in and get a consultation, they were very forthcoming about their prices.

Overall: Troy is an extremely talented artist who is clearly passionate about his work. I look forward to having more work done by him in the future. I would recommend Troy Clements and this shop if you are looking for quality...

ALEX_Sabur!!!! (Follow him on IG)Where to begin?

I received my first (9 hour) piece from Alex in 2013... Many years have passed, I have moved to New Jersey, and still find time to make my way down to Bmore for m'boy every blue moon. Since 2013 I have received about another 10 hours from him and will not go to anyone else.

Alex as a person: Alex openly takes the time to evolve as an artist, AND evolve as a person. How does that matter? The outcome of your work translates PERFECTLY into the vision you thought only you could see in your mind. I consider him an all encompassing tattoo artist, not someone who traces from one idea and slaps it on your skin.

With Alex, you have the opportunity to watch your idea form into a reality. For my most recent tattoo, I asked for 2 Namakubi with afros on the upper back thighs - not easy to describe - but once completed, EVERYONE understood and (greatly) appreciated his work. A coworker drove down with me, came in with ideas-ish, they communicated for a while, he gave his honest opinion about placement and such... BOOM! She is getting even MOAR compliments than me! She cannot stop showing me her (Both forearms and top of one foot) tattoos: They are simple, yet specific. Very clean and well done, IMO.

When it comes to Alex's capabilities? STUPID GOOD! imagine me kicking the air while saying that

Alex is clean, patient, professional, listens and triple makes sure you are happy before his drawing touches the tracing paper. He is also amazeballs with lines and is fast (thank you, baby jebus). When he is tattooing, you can feel how even he is on your skin and doesn't press hard like he's trying to ink up your effin soul.

Last point: I was at a bar in Bmore the night before my session, the bartender and I were talking about tattoos, he has a BEAUTIFUL elephant on his forearm, and we all were drooling over the detail. He asked where I was going to get my tattoo and I said "I only come back for Alex." He said "That's who did this one!!! I want to see him so badly, but I do not know what I want, but it doesn't matter because I completely trust him." When I walked out, he yelled "Please tell Alex I am on his waitlist!" (At that moment, I hit Rockstar status)

If that random meeting of strangers does not get you into Alex's chair? I pity you and your crap judgement.(Alex may Stay Humble, but I won't)

And yes, I told Alex about you being on the waiting list, if you are reading this, Bartender...

This is a great place! If you are thinking about getting a tattoo, make an appointment and you won’t be disappointed! Clean, excellent décor and great music to go with being tatted, not to mention Shawn’s helpfulness at the reception. I asked to work with Troy, because I admire his bold and clean style. I wanted to have a dragon and a tiger on each side of my ribs, and I really liked the dragons and tigers in his portfolio. During our first consultation, we went over my thoughts and my allergy with the red ink… very annoying indeed. He examined the problematic red-inked areas carefully and said that he could still make the new tattoos be clearly seen from across the street with all the details. He delivered, hands down. So now I have both and am very happy. I love his work so much that now we are working on a flying eagle on my chest. For this originally unplanned tattoo, I exchanged e-mails with him to go over a few of my thoughts and he gave his feedbacks promptly. He is a straight shooter, and funny, regarding what would be good and gave me suggestions based on my thoughts. The outline of his design is just fantastic. Going for more pain in the coming weeks and cannot wait to see it finished.

The other thing about the place is the bond between the tattoo artists. I thought it is really cool that Fran, Andrew, or Dave would come over to look at my tattoos in progress and offered their opinions, and chatted with Troy about to do it this way or that way. And Troy would go over to their stations to look and talk about their work on their clients. The collegiality between them are refreshing. I felt like that I had been tattooed by all of them with their collaborative inputs. Their random bantering can be really funny… we had to stop once because I was laughing. I watched Dave’s ‘burning the boat’ video blog, and thought he is an amazing person to go through all the hardship and come out on top to be so successful. He is definitely top notch in his craft. I would have asked him to do my tattoos, but at the moment I am addicted to Troy’s bold and dramatic style over Dave’s astonishing artistic transformation of portraits. Maybe someday, but it is probably a long wait to get on to Dave’s book. Nevertheless, I thank him for creating a great environment, in which I enjoyed much of my ‘painful’ experience. While these guys are great artists, they certainly do stay humble. I recommend...