Iron Born Tattoo Studio — Local services in Franklin

Although the owner and the apprentice that I talked to were nice, my experience just went downhill. I am completely ok with being tattooed by an apprentice, especially when the tattoo is very, very simple and the owner was praising them- "Oh, they're really good", "They do great work". That's a great sign of someone with talent. And seeing a degree in fine arts on the wall was awesome and a good sign to me. However, like I said before, things went downhill. First of all, I am shocked that anyone would leave their shouting children in their car while they were inside. I find it unprofessional that there was gangster rap with the n word every ten seconds and an array of other curse words blasting so loud that I could not speak at a normal volume to speak to my family, as they could not hear me. Now, I am completely fine with slight changes to the design of the tattoo- it's something I know might happen. I understand small details or script might be hard to do. What I am NOT fine with is changes in price when I had already gotten a quote. The price jumped $10, and when it is a cash only payment and you only have a certain amount, that isn't really ok. But whatever, I want an awesome tattoo- right? Wrong. I am sat in the chair and the stencil is placed on me. It looks like the design I drew- great! And then someone the apprentice knows walks in and the attention turns to the person. As my stencil dries, they go outside. And when they come back, the smell of weed followed. I assume that one or both smoked weed, however I am not 100% sure if it was specifically the apprentice. (I am simply writing my experience, not throwing accusations). The apprentice then began to tattoo me. I must state that they were extremely careful and sterile with their equipment and took the needle out of the sterile plastic case, which was a nice reassurance that infection would be unlikely. However, when I saw the tattoo begin to come together on my skin, my heart dropped. And when it was finished, I wanted to run off and get a cover up or laser removal immediately. As an artist, I expect attention to detail. I expect crisp, consistent lines that are almost exactly the same as the design I presented. I expect the coloring to be in the style that I wanted, not to look like random splotches. Are there bound to be inconsistencies? Yes, of course. A human put it on skin- a canvas that can be difficult to work with. But this... was something else. Lines varying in thickness. Lines that aren't solid like they're supposed to be- skin can be seen underneath. Solid black objects that are, in fact, NOT solid, as the line art around the object is darker than the filled space in the center. I am just overall so, so disappointed. The tattoo I WANTED to get meant so much to me, as it represented my unconditional love for two very special members of my family. The tattoo that I got was an insult to the meaning that it held. All I can do is go somewhere to see if they can fix it. If not, I'll just have to get it removed. The experience has just made me want to cry my eyes out because I had such high hopes. The overall lack of professionalism just appalled me, and as someone with severe anxiety, I did not know how to address the problems, as I am someone that does not like to cause a scene or hurt someone's feelings. I hope that things can improve in the future, but I will not be returning and I will not be recommending this studio to any of...

If I could leave less than one star, I would. I’m not the type to leave reviews or complain, so it took a lot for me to even write this. I went in for a cover-up on a tattoo I already had, and unfortunately, the experience was an absolute nightmare.

The owner himself did my tattoo. Initially, I only went in for a piercing, also done by the owner. While there, I mentioned wanting a tattoo cover-up but explained I was hesitant to trust anyone new since tattoos are not only expensive but also permanent. I told him I’d only ever gone to one artist for all my tattoos. He reassured me, gained my trust, and convinced me to consider letting him handle the cover-up.

A week after the piercing, it became infected because the stud he used was way too short for a new piercing. The skin started growing over it, and I had to go back for him to fix it. Even after he adjusted it, the issue worsened, and I eventually gave up.

Months later, I decided to move forward with the tattoo. I showed him a picture of what I wanted and asked for a quote. He quoted me $500, and I saved up for the session. On the day of the appointment, he showed me his design, which I didn’t like. I expressed this to him, and he said he would adjust it as he went.

I specifically told him I wanted a Halloween-themed tattoo. However, he kept suggesting a galaxy theme. I told him multiple times that I didn’t want anything galaxy-related, but I felt pressured to go along with it. During the session, I kept reminding him about my request, but he ignored me. He went ahead and incorporated the galaxy theme anyway.

The actual tattoo process was awful. He was unfocused, dug into my skin too deeply in some areas, and laid down ink so thick that it caused permanent damage to my skin. On top of that, he blamed me for the outcome, even though he ignored my clear instructions.

To make matters worse, he changed the price when I arrived and refused to offer a refund, despite the damage and the fact that he disregarded my requests. He only offered to “fix” the tattoo, but after such a terrible experience, there’s no way I could trust him again.

Now I’m left with a horrendous tattoo on my arm that is far from fixable and $500 wasted. I deeply regret trusting him and not sticking with the artist I’ve always gone to. This entire experience was a disaster, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I also want to add he wouldn't get back to me until months later. Then on my last message did not bother responding. One pic shows what I was wanting the next shows what I got. As well as the damage to my...

Great local business!!! Everybody is professional but personable. Their prices are reasonable but the artwork is absolutely amazing! Genuine Experienced artists!!! I had my ears re-pierced this time. No gun, it's professional needle poke-through and funny the earrings lock from the front now. Things change lol. But Daniel did a great job. It really wasn't any better or worse than the old piercing gun. I saw a few tattoos on some other very happy clients. The water color tats are my favorite! I also noticed from the conversations of some of the people there, they were definitely returning customers. I can see why. Again, amazing artistry. They do have a small selection of handmade 100% soy candles too. I guess it's something new but they're really good. Good scent and good prices. This small business is an asset to Franklin. They also give back to their community and that says a lot to me about a business owner and their bottom line. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES!!! Thanks to Daniel and everyone at Iron Born, you guys are absolutely...