Ms. Tings Shanghai Tattoo — Local services in Folsom

It’s been over a year since I was tattooed at this location by Maci. She is an incredible artist. I hesitated for the longest time write this review because this industry can be so toxic. This was my first time going to this location and getting a tattoo by Maci. I let them know my budget could not exceed more than $600. After emailing the shop manager Joshua, he insisted that I see a girl named Maci whose rate is $200 per hour. This is the highest hourly rate I’d ever have to pay for a tattoo—coming from someone whos been getting tattooed for over a decade. I love art and am not a “cheap” person, whether it’s our society, inflation, or whatever, costs have just gotten unreasonable. Neverless, if I wanted the art Id have to pay or not get anything at all. I get it.

When I hesitated on seeing Maci specifically because of her hourly rate, he insisted she was “a really fast tattooer”. This also concerned me, because I don’t care how long an artist takes (within reason), as long as they are able to produce quality work. He mentioned a couple other employees (at $150 hr rate) but insisted that the style I wanted would be best with Maci. Obviously for the sake of getting good work, I compromised with Maci.

I gave several photos of the art I wanted, images of the body part I wanted it at, and specific details that I needed included with the piece. For privacy purposes I won’t say exactly what it was (yes I have the email thread) but there was a specific animal I needed included in this piece. It was written in the email, Maci was aware of this prior to the appointment—this request/detail was not withheld.

I had to submit a mandatory non refundable $150 deposit to secure the appointment. I did that. On the day of the appointment (12:30pm-3:30) I arrive and wait 10-15 minutes before I spoke with Maci. Upon meeting her for the first time she introduces herself, again lovely sweet girl, and shows me the sketch. She did not include the animal I specifically requested in my inquiry. Maci then denies that I ever asked for it, disputing, “You didn’t ask for that”. I pull out my phone and show her the email thread that specifically requested this animal be included with the piece. She didn’t argue further and went off for another 20-30 minutes to re do the sketch. I’d been trying to find a new artist for a while as I’ve had unprofessional interactions previously, but I paid the deposit, and waited patiently for this moment—I was okay with the mistake, so long as i didn’t have to pay for it. Well that’s exactly what happened.

The manager Joshua ensured that even if she didn’t take the entire 3 hours for the tattoo, I’d only have to pay $200 an hour (and obviously my $150 deposit went towards the total). After waiting around 15 minutes to meet/speak with Maci, and her taking another 20-30 min max to re draw the stencil which I’d clarified details for via email weeks prior, we didn’t actually start tattooing until 1:20pm-1:30pm. She is a fast tattooer, and got done with the entire piece just before 3:30pm (I have the text messages confirming to my friend when she finished). So I go to check out, assume to only pay for 2 hours worth of work, because she tattooed me barely (maybe 10 minutes over) two hours, but she demanded the total of $600. So if you include my deposit (minus the $150) I forked over another $450 dollars when the piece should have only been $400 total (meaning I should have only paid $250 more). I believe I even tipped her an additional $10 or $20 on top of that.

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I had the honor of getting a tattoo done by Ms.Ting @ her original Shanghai studio in 2015. The reason behind me getting this tattoo was extremely significant and I wanted to make sure I found only the most awesome & talented artist. I told myself If I could not find the right fit, I would just accept not getting the work done. Upon entering the Shanghai Tattoo Studio there was an immediately welcoming vibe in the air. Very hip, creative and professional. I could feel every artist in the studio was extremely passionate about their work. After looking around at all the awesome in this studio, I sat down with Ms. Ting to discuss my idea. She was so chill and confident, telling me what would work and what wouldn't in part with using her own creative spark to bring everything to the next level. I knew immediately she was the perfect artist! I could go on and on with this story but I feel you get my point. Hands down Ting is best artist I have ever come across and I feel proud and honored to have a tattoo done by her. To this day it still looks so clean and has not faded in the slightest. I am confident that any artist that Ting brings aboard is also very talented. I am so happy for Ting & Joshua, it's beautiful what they have created. If you are looking to get a tattoo on the west coast, or even in the USA for that matter I would 100% recommend Ting. She is so LIT. Also if you find yourself in SH, definitely stop by her original studio and give it some love. This team totally deserves all the success they have had thus far! Much Love For Ms.Ting's...

Shanghai Tattoo is the absolute BEST! From customer service to quality of work. Josh up front is the friendliest and always super helpful when booking appointments and answering questions. I saw Ting for a pretty good size tattoo and she drafted up the design really quickly with great understanding of exactly what I wanted. I had some ideas of placement that wouldn’t work with how my leg bends, it would have distorted the image. She was able to create the look and placement I wanted with a few modifications that make it look perfect even when my leg is bent which is very hard to accomplish. She killed it. She works quickly and uses perfect heaviness with her tattooing machine. She is incredibly talented and made me feel really comfortable the whole time.

The amount of respect and kindness I received from everyone in this shop is unmatched. I recommend Shanghai to anyone looking for a quality tattoo by amazing people. My favorite is Ting but I’ve followed the shop for years and they don’t have any bad artists come through so I would trust anyone in the shop with my next piece. If I could give more than...