My bro Jeff Dixon from the band Lowbuz recently emailed me that his buddy, Bruce Walker, was opening a tattoo shop in Fair Lawn, NJ, right next door to my old stomping grounds of Saddle Brook, NJ. Needless to say, it was a pretty easy find. Bruce’s Jerzey Tattoo opened back in December 2011 right on River Road in Fair Lawn between the popular Joker’s Child comic book shop and the long-standing Rag Shop fabric store in Hawthorne. For those not familiar with the area, River Road is one of the busiest streets in Fair Lawn, making this location a perfect one for a place like a tattoo shop.
As I pulled into a pretty ample parking lot, which seemed to be set up for the customers of the shops in this little strip mall, I found that the parking was a little weird because the spaces were stacked on top of each other—meaning that if you parked on an inner spot, you can easily get blocked in—but that’s not what I’m here to write about it today! Let’s talk tattoo shops! I walked into the Jerzey Tattoo shop that was still being painted light green with blue trim. As you enter the front door, you walk into a guest waiting room with three private tattoo booths on the right fully equipped with brand new tattooing chairs and machines with all disposable needles. Opposite the entry door is a drawing room where the tattoo artists do their drawings for their clients. When I walked in, owner Bruce Walker was preparing a client to get under the needle, but he took a quick break to show me around.
Bruce, who’s only been tattooing for a couple of years, appears to be a natural at this tattoo business because he really seemed to know what was going on. He’s surrounded himself with three other artists in Alec Albert, Edgar Lucero, and Georgia Mollica, all of whom have been tattooing for just over five years. Yes, this was a very young shop in all shapes and sizes, but their artwork really exhibits experience. When I asked Bruce what would draw a customer like myself into his shop rather than the other shops in the perimeter, he told me that they offer a little bit of everything at Jerzey Tattoo. His artists were selected because they all can do different things. Alec specializes in new school, detail and colors, while Edgar specializes in black and grey and West Coast styles of tattooing, and Georgia, who was in Rome tattooing, specializes in portraits. Bruce went on to say that they’re all artists and not only tattoo artists—meaning that they can custom draw anything a customer wants and pretty much bring their ideas to life in his shop.
Bruce said that one of the most important things that will bring customers into his shop is the low prices. He claimed that he had the cheapest prices around, so I had to ask about these low prices. Bruce gave me an example of someone coming in and asking for a name tattooed on them. Comparatively, most places charge around $130 to $150 just for a name, and he said that his shop will only charge $75, which is half of the competition’s price and that’s what keeps customers coming in. As for the actual pricing, Bruce told me that they charge $100/hour unless it’s a color piece. Color pieces are obviously a little more, so they charge $120/hour. All work done at Jerzey Tattoo is custom work and all drawing is done on premises. Walk-ins are welcome anytime, but appointments are required for bigger pieces of artwork. Bruce also told me that he eventually wants to add piercing to the shop, but that will be a little bit further down the road.
As far as age requirements go, Bruce told me that his shop is 18 and over with a parent consent form and from 15 to 18 with a parent. Bruce also reminded me that he runs a clean shop, as all of his needles are used only once. They’re open seven days a week—Monday through Saturday from 12 p.m. until 9 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. until 6 p.m. Jerzey Tattoo was such a new shop with new artists that there really wasn’t much to report about it except that they have a pretty bright future ahead of them and it will be exciting to watch their success.
Bruce and his gang at Jerzey Tattoo will be hosting a grand opening for the shop on April 21. There will be raffles, food, giveaways, live music, and other special guests at this rain or shine event, so this should not be missed! Plus, I heard that free tattoos might be some of the raffle prizes. Jerzey Tattoo is located at 16-23 River Road in Fair Lawn, NJ. If you’d like to call them for more info or make an appointment, you can call them at (201) 773-9311 or email them at jerzeytat@hotmail.com. You can also check their work out on the web at facebook.com/jerzeytat. If you’re in the Bergen County area, stop in and check this shop out and see if this will be the next place for your next tattoo!
Well, I’m off to check out my next tattoo spot! Who knows what state it will be in! If you have a tattoo shop that you want to suggest, please e-mail me the name of the place and whom I should ask for at tim@theaquarian.com.
