Yes, this is not a shop in the U.S. and it might be a shop difficult for many of you to get to, but my wife and I spent two weeks in London, and we discovered this amazing shop with some incredible artists in Hammersmith, London. While it’s a shop out of your reach, I still wanted to share them with you because in the day of tattoo conventions, you never know when these artists will come across the pond, and you might want to look into work from them. Anyway, I’m talking about a little shop in West London called Hammersmith Tattoo. We happened to pass it on the way to a museum. My wife said to me, “Hey, there’s a tattoo shop. We should go in and take a look at their work.” Yes, this is why we’re married. We think alike.
We walked into a comfy waiting room with red walls decorated with artwork. The shop’s manager, Chris Ozo, greeted us when we walked in. He was not consulting any customers at the time of our visit and was willing to answer any questions I shot at him. When we told him that we were from the United States, he really took an interest in speaking with us. I asked him why he thought customers kept coming back to this shop, and he told me, “Well for starters, we’re friendly, we’re comfortable, and we’re a clean and sanitary environment with, as you can see, a nice waiting area and private rooms for each of our customers to be tattooed. Plus, we’re a custom tattoo studio where you can get your first tattoo, as well as your hundredth.”
Chris told us that every artist in his shop has their own unique style, who take body art very seriously since it’s something they will be doing for the rest of their life, but at the very least, their clientele will wear it for the rest of their lives. He said that his artists have the skills and experience to provide customers with quality artwork that will fulfill all expectations and stand the test of time. Just like most shops that I’ve visited in the U.S., Chris said that they urge customers to bring with them any reference material or ideas they might have, and they will manipulate and mix the material with our own ideas and thoughts and have a design that’s hand drawn for a client and ready in time for their appointment. If there is something the client doesn’t like or any changes they will require, then his artists will be happy to rework the design until it’s perfect for the client and exactly what they want.
Joining Chris at the Hammersmith Tattoo is the extremely talented Ivan Bor, who’s only been tattooing for about four years, but it’s been over the last two years that his style has really come into its own, and his incredible work ethic has given him the opportunity to fine tune his distinctive and individual style. If you see his artwork, you wouldn’t believe that he’s only been tattooing for four years. Also joining them is Alex Roze, who easily adapts to different styles of tattooing and brings out amazing results no matter if it’s just a small tattoo, tribal, script or black and grey. Then there’s Ruslan Moshkin, an award-winning graffiti artist, and Archie and Robert. All of whom are simply amazing artists and can actually blow away some of the artwork I’ve seen here in the States.
Hammersmith Tattoo also offers piercing, and Chris says they’re also well-known for their online store. I asked if the shop had an age policy like that did in the U.S. and he told me that no one under the age of 18 years may get a tattoo. In fact, no one under the age of 18 may enter the shop unsupervised, and no one under 16 may enter the shop at any time. Chris went on to tell me the shop had a few rules to abide by other than these. He said that no one under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs may enter the premises ever. They’re a cash-only shop. There is strictly no smoking on the premises. Each client must read and sign a consent form before each tattoo. The shop reserves the right to refuse anyone for any reason. Appointments are recommended but not always necessary. Walk-ins are welcome based on availability. And there’s no loitering on the premises at any time as they are not a coffee shop! I love it!
I have to admit this was a really clean shop. It wasn’t what I expected of a European tattoo shop. I didn’t really bother to ask about pricing since everything is paid for in pounds over there in London and I didn’t feel like converting those prices to dollars. Chris did tell me that deposit payments can now be made via PayPal to make a client’s session reservation in their studio from anywhere in the world with no additional fee!
If you’re ever in London, jump in the Tube to the Hammersmith stop on the Green District Line. They’re located at 3 North End Road in London. This shop was definitely worth the stop. Just check out the artwork! They’re open on Mondays from 2 pm till 7 pm, Tuesdays till Saturdays from 11 am till 8 pm, and Sundays from 12 pm till 6 pm. If you’d like to check the shop out for yourself, but are not getting to London anytime soon, visit them online at HammersmithTattoo.co.uk or email them at info@hammersmithtattoo.co.uk.
Well, I’m off to check out my next tattoo spot! Who knows what state or country 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.
