Hocus Pocus Tattoo Piercing & Permanent Makeup — Local services in Oaklyn

I have enjoyed every single time I've visited. I have felt so comfortable. As an LGBTQ+ person I've never felt any negative vibes. The staff is super friendly, and the shop takes their service very seriously.

I show up at my allotted time (maybe 10 mins early cause there's always paperwork). I get all signed in. The person running the desk is usually pretty busy. They seem to get a lot of calls and bookings when the shop is full of artists and folks. When it's my turn I get escorted back to the artist or they come and get me in the cute little waiting area.

There's clearly a lot of time taken to keep the shop clean here. I've seen so many single use sanitary needles and paper towels among other things. Everything gets wiped down before I get going.

The artists do a good job of making sure you are ready and super happy with the sizing and placing. One of my tattoos I actually asked to be moved three or four times and I felt like a butt but the artist was super chill about it. I am not the person to send back a restaurant dish if it's wrong and it took some practice to tell artists to resize or relocate an outline.

During the tattooing process I get asked a good number of times if I'm comfortable or if I need to stand up and shake it out. They do have water and snacks if you forget, but you should always eat!

I will always return to this shop. It's a third-place for me for sure. I always feel...

I had an appointment with an artist yesterday. My tattoo was a simple design: two names and a pocket watch. However, I was kept waiting an hour and 1/2 to even begin the tattoo. I was not acknowledged in my waiting. I witnessed a potential client come into the shop, but leave because no one was at the front desk to acknowledge him after several minuets of waiting. Needless to say, when I could not even find my artist to inquire how much longer the wait would be, I left.

I wrote a respectful e-mail today to the shop manager, Jessica Dennison. I even told her that since I liked the artist and thought he was a nice person, I was addressing the matter with her personally and not in a public review forum. This was Ms. Dennison's response.

"I will take your complaints into consideration, but tattoos are permanent and quality takes time, as does setting up the equipment and insuring the cleanliness of the room and everything involved in the process, which again, is permanent. If you want somebody to rush a tattoo for you, this is probably not the shop for you anyway. Best of luck with your future tattoo experiences elsewhere."

Not even a FAKE apology was offered! Instead, my intelligence is insulted. I have 4 other tattoos. I understand the process. I also know a very disrespectful and unprofessional business...

I can’t say enough good things about both Hocus Pocus and Ricky Rivera (who did my tattoo). This is a clean and very friendly shop with a great vibe (even their pens are cool haha). I walked in and was greeted in a friendly manner immediately. I was then easily walked through their appointment process (very easy) and was able to book a two-hour session with Ricky. Ricky is an incredible dude. This was my first tattoo (with him) and I’m already thinking of others. He had something well-prepared and unique ready to go, after I texted him some background and parameters, on what I wanted done. Then, I gave him tons of creative leeway(as I recommend doing-because he came up with something perfect) and he knocked it out of the park. I chose to do exactly what he had prepared, when I showed up to my appointment. It healed excellent, gets compliments all the time, and is very meaningful to me. I’ve had ink done before. Let me tell you, Ricky knows his craft. He is quick (but careful), extremely honest, is fascinating to talk with, and is just an amazing artist. It was an honor, to have him tattoo me. Thanks Mr. Rivera!!! You are the man, keep up...