My lady friend and I were having dinner in Brooklyn, NY one night, and as we were driving home, we both noticed a tattoo shop on Seventh Avenue. The name of the shop is what caught our eye, though! It was called Hand of Glory Tattoo! We loved the name, so naturally we had to indulge on our weakness and decided to check the shop out. We loved the antique vibe of the shop, which made it feel very old fashioned. Upon entering the shop, you are hit with Flash art right away! The wall to the right is covered in frames of Flash Art, while the front desk in front of you is, as well! Hand of Glory Tattoo wreaked of old fashioned tattooing at its finest! Beyond the front desk is where all the magic happens, and where all of the tattooing is done.
The shop seemed to be extremely comfortable, and intimate with its gallery-esque decor. The artists at Hand of Glory Tattoo have years of tattooing under their belts and are very friendly. The equipment used at Hand of Glory is autoclave sterilized, and their needles are all single use needles only. The age requirement at Hand of Glory Tattoo is the standard 18 and older with a photo ID. Shop owner Craig Rodriguez runs a tight ship and recently hired new artists to help him and partner Jeff P. out. Joining the Hand of Glory staff are artists Adam K, Jonah Ellis, and Derik Snell. With the new artists working there and the new wave of clients the shop has to now open seven days a week. They’re open Tuesday thru Saturday from 12 pm till 11 pm, and on Sunday and Monday from 12 p.m. till 8 p.m.
Hand of Glory is mainly a custom shop that specializes in traditional, Americana, and Japanese art. I mean it does say just that on the front sign when you walk into the joint, which by the way was the other thing to catch my eye since my weakness is Japanese style of tattooing.
My girlfriend and I watched as one of the artists sat there with one of the customers to draw up a custom design to fit exactly what the customer wanted. That is something that you love to see in a tattoo shop. I like to see when the artist makes it more about the customer and not so much about the money they’re about to make off of the customer. Speaking of, the prices over at Hand of Glory are pretty comparable to other shops. They charge by the piece rather than the time spent on the piece, and that’s the way most honest shops work. Hand of Glory prefers appointments, but like most shops, will take walk-in customers.
I’m actually surprised that I haven’t heard of this shop before, but owner Craig Rodriguez seems to keep things low key. He doesn’t do much advertising and most of his clientele is pretty much word of mouth. Again, the environment was clean and comfortable, which is important, but most importantly, it seemed like the staff was having fun! Hand of Glory isn’t only a tattoo shop, though! They sell tons of merchandise, as well! Like t- shirts and all that other fun stuff!
If you’re in the Park Slope area of Brooklyn, I recommend that you stop by ol’ Hand of Glory Tattoo. You won’t be disappointed and you’ll feel right at home! Their address is 429 Seventh Avenue, Brooklyn, NY. You can call them and make an appointment at (718) 832-5020. You can also visit them on the web to get more info about them at handofglorytattoo.com.
Well, I’m off to check out my next tattoo place! If you have a tattoo shop that you want to suggest to me please e-mail me the name of the place and whom I should ask for!
