Athens Tattoo Co. — Local services in Edgewood

Steer clear of this place - my niece wanted a tattoo for graduation and I finally gave in and gave her means to pay for one. Her first. She said a friend of hers had told her about a shop not far from our home and this one being fairly new I assumed this was it and set it all up for her as a surprise and dropped her off one day - needless to say she was elated. WAS being the key word there - she came out when all was said and done so upset she cried the entire way home. I was horrified. She said the customer service was absolutely horrible and the design she chose looked nothing like what it should have. The shading is horrendous and looks unfinished and uneven and misplaced. She had no post-procedure instructions she did say they told her what to do but come on, the lowest cost laptops have word on them you can't come up with a simple short aftercare sheet for people to take with them JUST in case they may not have understood, heard, etc. your instructions? I found out weeks or so later an associate's son had a horrible experience with a piercing at same shop as well. And I can't say what are and aren't facts, but he further told me that this shop was recently established and the employees don't have a whole lot of experience behind them and "probably jumped the gun" and opened a shop for bragging rights rather than taking the time to get the experience they should have before "realizing the dream." Don't care what the "reasons" were, what I do care about is they obviously didn't take the time to make sure my niece left with a good experience in the least, not to mention with the proper aftercare information. There are so many tattoo shops in the local area I cant imagine why anything like this should EVER happen - close up and work for an established shop until you get the experience and professionalism to have a successful business. I will find another local ESTABLISHED shop and take her to fix your sorry excuse for an effort and hopefully she wont remember this experience when she considers future pieces. What was supposed to be a beautiful picturesque piece of art she could be proud of and build upon turned into a DISASTER. Had she had ONE good thing come out of her day there I would not have been this harsh and I rarely if ever leave feedback for anything on here BUT i felt compelled and obligated to and I have all confidence I have been fair leaving this one. There's obviously some level of talent there or else it probably wouldve taken one doodle to redirect your path - build upon it, learn, absorb and practice and most importantly BUILD some customer service skills or no matter what talent you may have you will sell yourself short always. You are creating personal MEANINGFUL pieces that are carried FOREVER by those who sought you out for them - put that...

Athens Tattoo Company is the epitome of excellent service and quality work. In my humble opinion, all tattoo businesses should aspire to achieve what Athens has managed to create. From the professionalism of the staff (which seems more like a family), the ease of booking my appointment, the cleanliness and immaculate way in which the space is kept and curated, and the overall feeling that the experience I received was unlike any that I could’ve imagined for myself - the whole experience was overly exceptional.

I submitted a request to acquire a large back piece from Gonzo, and was contacted back within 24 hours. All of my questions were answered thoroughly, and were responded to quickly. The forms and deposit payment were easy to submit, and required minimal effort on my part. They get 5 stars for communication alone.

When I arrived for my first session, I was kind of in awe. The place is so refined, and I don’t mean just compared to what I was used to, I mean it might as well say tattoo day spa on the front. It’s open, airy, inviting, and is filled with some really great art. They practice all social distancing and mask protocols, and just to be frank about it - they are friendly af! There are no airs or attitudes, everyone gets along in a way that shows they care about one another, and they openly show support for each other’s work. I wish my workplace was half of what they have going on.

The quality of the work happening at Athens is beyond reproach, and that’s with every artist in the shop. During my sessions, I occasionally got the chance to watch the other artists work, and everyone is truly a master of their craft. If you want a specific style of work, I guarantee there is someone there that will change your life.

Gonzo is the GOAT though, just gotta put that out there. The tattoo I received takes up about 60% of my back, and he knocked this joint out of the park. The effort and detail he puts into his work is not only indicative of his passion for the craft, but is overwhelmingly representative of the way his business is run and who he is as a person. I’ve never been more excited to be on time for something in my life. He’s also not heavy-handed, which made it less arduous as the hours passed. Don’t show up trying to outdo his shoe game though, because in that, you will be disappointed. lol

I highly recommend Athens Tattoo Company for anyone looking to elevate. Not just their own work, but their tattoo experience in general. Wishing the tattoo family at Athens the best of every good thing, and I look forward to...

I would NOT recommend this shop for anything that’s going to take more than one or two sessions. I have been ignored all year when the shop still had my deposit for a sleeve I started with Allisin, Colton, and Kasey “Gonzo” back in 2019. I had previously gotten work done by Allisin and Colton and I loved the idea of my three favorite artist coming together and making a collab full sleeve for me. During our consult, we had the ideas of changing seasons with harsh cuts between styles (so a harsh cut between black and gray to neotrad then to new school etc) and we talked about including animals going towards a Mother Nature like statue. When it came time for my first appointment, Allisin was the only artist that came prepared with her drawing. The three of them spent 3 hours drawing and gathering reference photos and putting the design together and then another 3 hours tattooing me. They then charged me for 6 hours of tattooing since they came unprepared. Not to mention the design they came up with was NOT what we discussed in the consult. But I trusted these artists and gave them full creative freedom on my arm. Due to COVID lockdown, I didn’t really get a lot of work done in 2020 and 2021 but I still did get some work done. Now, they have proceeded to ignore all my appointment requests, emails, and phone calls trying to get work done and finish the sleeve. Allisin finally responds and put the blame on me for them not finishing the tattoo. I luckily got my deposit back, but I’ve been left with a half finished sleeve that I have to find an artist/artists to finish it. This will be really difficult considering the different styles of design that are already on my arm. It’s just shocking that I’ve been working with these artists even before they opened Athens and this is how I’m being treated. Tread lightly with this shop, it’s a shame that such good art is grossly overshadowed with how poorly they treat...