Went for a walk in piercing. SO many red flags. I should have walked out. - In the lobby, several guys sitting on old couches while browsing their phones- not waiting for services. It's a business, not a clubhouse. All were buddies of some employee. - Shelves and shelves of Funko Pops. Piercing person told me the owner had them as an "investment". Nah. I should have walked out then- that's on me. - After my piercing, no aftercare advice or instruction was offered. I asked for some info and was offered a printer-paper trifold pamphlet. Had to ask google for more. Piercing care is essential and should be gone over before and after the service. Would NOT recommend this place. Feels like a crew of barely licensed people in a cheap rent shop. I have gone several other places that were way cleaner and tons more professional. read more

I would give this place negative stars if I could DO NOT go Here I had an appointment for my 18th birthday for 3 and he told me his daughter was in the hospital after I had text ed him asking where he was because I was already at the shop , he told me he would find another time to schedule me in and never did I called over and over and no answer now I'm out of 100 because of him read more

Paper City Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Holyoke, Massachusetts

See all

I message Jamie about getting a new piercing a while back and didn't put in a review. I show up to my appointment turns out the shop is closing because he didn't pay rent on time for 3 full months. I got there and the landlord and movers were there and tried to get in contact with him again because he hadn't message me for an hour while I waited there. He never sent my money back which was only $20 but still that was crazy. He does illegal substances and is never on time for appointments. I had an appointment scheduled for 8:30 and didn't step into his shop until about 12am. Ridiculously unprofessional and a scammer please do not go here! The quality of his tattoos are also terrible. And the vibe is always way off because he's always going to the back to "smoke" his cigarettes but god knows what he's actually doing. read more

See all

Don't do i! they are deposit thieves. look online and on BBB multiple reports of people being scammed and robbed of their deposit read more

Paper City Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Holyoke, Massachusetts

I gave this man a deposit and he blatantly robbed me. He refused to book an appointment and started blocking my calls. I sent him $80. Had to go to the police to file a report and make a claim with the bank to get my money back. Do not trust Jamie. read more

See all

The manager attacked me on instagram after I called him a scammer, but let me tell you why he scammed me and my friend. We called earlier in the day and got an appointment for 10:30pm and we sent over the deposits after he texted us information (none stated that deposits were not refundable, which me and my friend would have picked another shop because we got scammed in the past). We waited a good hour or so in the parking lot and didn't hear from the artist until about 11:40pm to come in the shop, we waited until 12:15am then decided to leave because it was almost 2 hours past our appointment and we both had work in the morning. A month goes by and I try to message them on instagram because we have not heard from them and we really needed the money because we are both in college. Moral of the story, don't go here unless you want to wait hours after your appointment time is scheduled and not get ur money back after talking (and getting attacked by) the store manager. Also he decided to fight back when I stated the obvious!Terrible service( would give 0 stars if I could) read more

See all

It was our first time at this shop and we were blown away by this artists work!! Jamie is an awesome artist and an even cooler dude! Awesome experience overall one of the friendliest most interesting and fun artists you'll ever meet!! Some of the dopest custom sneakers you'll ever see at shoodchaincustoms! Definitely coming back for more of jammies work. Would highly Recommend!! read more

Paper City Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Holyoke, Massachusetts

See all

Great experience- The gentlemen were professional and accommodating. More characters required. read more

James Riddle was VERY uncomfortable to be around. He told me to be there at 530 then 630 then 645 and excuse after excuse I did not even STEP FOOT into the place until 730.... By 930-again, excuse after excuse-- I didn't see a sketch or any viable progress into getting a tattoo. I HAD to leave because he continuously played his "rap songs" he made which contained very sexual and uncomfortable material. When I left I asked for my deposit back because I had wasted $100 and FOUR hours of my time he told me I was "inconsiderate" and "didn't think about him" and starting GASLIGHTING me into thinking I could even ask for my deposit back. Absolutely disgusting place, he WILL SCAM YOU, and he is known around holyoke to partake in dangerous substances. Such an uncomfortable, unforgettable and disgusting experience. read more

I am going to make a very long story short made a deposit on July 4th of 120.00 for tattoos for my daughter and I.It is now July 30th no tattoos and Jamie the owner will not refund my deposit.I am not the only one he has done this to.Beware of this place. read more

If I could put a zero I would. Jamie R is an extremely unprofessional tattoo artist. My 4 friends and I called on a Friday night and Jamie said he could take us and to text over our designs, which he said all were very doable. They were all small and simple tattoos, no shading just line work. Once we arrived at 9:00pm he said to come back at midnight which we already thought was strange. We came back at midnight and ended up waiting until 12:50am to even come insides. We came in and continued to wait. He FINALLY began starting the first small tattoo at 1:20, by simply putting on the stencil which he said needed to "dry" and continued to disappear behind a closed door for another 30 minutes. We've all had multiple tattoos and never been told the stencil needed to dry more than 5-10 minutes max. He finally finished the first tattoo around 2:10am. He continued to clean up and disappear for another 30 minutes before even starting another stencil. The second tattoo on the second person went the exact same way, took almost an hour and a half for a small 444 tattoo. This second tattoo he forgot to wrap and acknowledged that he didn't and continued to disregard the fact it was exposed and waited another 2 hours to wrap it, it now looks infected (PHOTO ATTACHED) after him making it a point to say the first few hours of a tattoo are the most important to have them wrapped. Now skipping to the last tattoo, which I wasn't even going to get because it was now 4:30 in the morning, when I had expressed many times that I had work in the morning. My tattoo is extremely uneven and the lines are no where near clean(PHOTO ATTACHED). The last 4 is by far smaller than the other and has a larger foot than the other two numbers. I have contacted Jamie about this tattoo and have yet to get a real response, I have attached photos of some of our text messages from that night and from recent days of me contacting him. It is so extremely unprofessional that he won't acknowledge the errors he made and continue fabricate other clients experiences. And not the mention he didn't take any of our IDs and there was no paperwork filled out, which is why he says in other reviews there is no paper proof of these botched tattoos. Please don't make a mistake and get something permanent on your body by someone so unprofessional and someone who doesn't have clean work. read more

See all

if i could i would rate this place in the negatives. HE IS KNOWN FOR SCAMMING PLEASE DONOT GO HERE. he is very dishonest and cannot accept the truth. (will put screenshot of other review). He took 2 hours to sketch a quarter of my tattoo that was ALREADY drawn and just needed the lines cleaned up. he went on 6 different smoke breaks while we were sitting in our "private session" playing his inappropriate raps. never id us (we are age 18, yet you still need to id) and he kept coming up with different excuses to push our time later to keep us until 1230am when we finally left (mind you we didn't step foot in to the shop until 7:30 when our original time was 3pm and he never finished ONE side of my sketch). We did not keep changing our design like i've said multiple times mine was already sketched and my friends was one word. After we left i've heard many bad things about him and he is KNOWN for scamming people in the area. Mind you if you go through his reviews he said the same excises 6 months ago and he said to us. saying he tore his ACL on a cinderblock from "roofing workers" when the roof was not under construction AND used this excuse 6 months prior on yelp. PLEASE SAVE YOUR TIME AND MONEY AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! read more

Paper City Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Holyoke, Massachusetts

See all

If I could, I'd leave 0 stars. I made an appointment on Tuesday for Thursday at 3. Texted at 9am to ask about final payment, no response. Okay, maybe he's busy tattooing, no problem. Get there at 3, sign on the door saying he's tattooing and not to interrupt. I texted that I was there and would just wait in the car, figuring he was just running late. 3:30 rolls around, I text again saying I'm here and out front when he's ready....still no response. 4pm comes, I've had no response from him all day, I have no idea what's going on. Wait a few minutes more after another text to him before I leave and ask for a refund of my $60 deposit. I don't hear from him until 10pm that night saying if I come now, he'll wait for me and give me a deal. He claims he double booked and didn't realize it. I said no, I would just like my deposit back. He said fine, he would go deposit money into his cash app after he was done cleaning the shop that night. Waited a day or so, figured something came up, being patient. Text again, he responds, he forgot and will do it today when his next deposit comes in. I wait. It is now over a week later, he has not responded to my texts, that's fine because most of his responses were excuses in the first place. I work in healthcare, i understand staffing and do my best to be patient and understanding. At this point, this is just stealing. The more reviews I read, the more I see this is what he does with peoples deposits. Please read all the reviews you can before giving your $60 to this place. read more

Paper City Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Holyoke, Massachusetts

See all

If I could give zero stars I would! Called march 3rd 2023 at around 2 pm and James riddle (the owner) said he would text me a overview of the booking process. In that process it said you need to send a deposit which was $60 and any other general information. I send the deposit and booked my appointment for 6:30pm on March 3rd. We get there at 6:30 and he isn't in the shop. I call and he said there was an accident on memorial drive and he'd be a couple minutes late. A few minutes later he texts me and asks to move the appointment to 7:30pm. I said that's fine. 7:30 rolls around and he's making up excuses and is saying he's running behind. At this point I ask for my deposit back because it's about 8:45 at this point. He said he'll send the deposit and after another 15 minutes he said I need to sign a non disclosure before he sends it back. I'm like whatever and say I'll sign it after he send back the deposit. He refuses so we go to the tattoo shop and knock on the door because he blocked both me and my mom and won't send back the money. He threatens to call the cops for trespassing and I still haven't gotten my deposit back ! Absolute worst experience of my life and I am taking this terrible business owner to court next week!! DO NOT GO TO THIS TATTOO SHOP!!!!! (All receipts attached) read more

See all

I have gotten 2 piercings & 2 tattoos from Paper City Tattoo. Stephen, Jay & Nick have all done work on me and they've all healed marvelously. 100% recommend Paper City Tattoo to anyone looking for a new tattoo or piercing. The shop is extremely clean and there's a friendly atmosphere at all times. read more

Paper City Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Holyoke, Massachusetts

A friend of mine had hers done there. And brought me for mine!! Easily done, and it was about the same feeling as those piercing guns. Hurt for a tweak of a second, and then totally fine.healed nicely.. just a little pink in this pic, taken first thing in the morning! Would absolutely go back, and recommend. read more

Paper City Tattoo - My cartilage piercing. - Tattoo Near Me - Holyoke, Massachusetts

I live up the street from the shop and had wanted a tattoo for a long time so I chose this place having known nothing about them. It was my first tattoo and was rightfully nervous about what to expect. I made an appointment with Nick and was really impressed. The shop is really clean, the staff really friendly and safe, and Nick was willing to answer my million questions. The tattoo was quick and painless. Nick does have a gentle tattoo stroke and customized my tattoo just like I wanted. I'm sure it was very simple for him, but very important to me as it was in honor of my wife and our wedding day. I wish I could give them 10 stars on here! I'm sure I'll get more tats, I have a few in mind, and this is THE place that I will go. Thanks a bunch!!! read more

Thanks to Nick and all the awesome people at Paper City Tattoo! I love my tattoo! Clean shop, great conversation, and great music! Nick brought life to my vision and gave me the tattoo of my dreams!! Great guy, thanks Nick!!! read more

Paper City Tattoo - This was taken before completion. Nice, huh? - Tattoo Near Me - Holyoke, Massachusetts

I brought my girl there for her birthday and he manipulated us and sold us a bs story on price and his character and started the tattoo but only did the very beginning of the outline due to him Jamie being too rough so my girl couldn't take it. He said we could come the next day and finish but the next day he said he needed more money ontop of what I already paid due to the time he spent the day B4 but he only spent maybe 1hr on her that's including the drawing and spent hrs dicking around on his personal things. He told me to b there at a certain time was late and when he got there had us wait another hr so he could take care of his things . Very unprofessional and a manipulater and a liar . I would never recommend him. On top of it all he didn't even finish or cover the money we put down . I gave 160 at first and the next day he said he needed another 100 for what he started in order to finish! There's pics to show what he wanted 260 in order to continue! Mind you he didn't mention anything about more money when we were at the shop. He scams ppl! read more

A joke!! I walked in with one of the easiest tattoo, was told a sketch would be sent to me and had 48 hours to cancel with full refund on my deposit. He didn't send the sketch and gave me the wrong information regarding their policies. I spoke to the owner, who told me that the tattoo artist felt "too much pressure" to do my tattoo and refused to ink me. Absolutely the worst experience I have had at a tattoo shop!!!!!!!! read more

Great experience! Friendly and professional artists. They spent a lot of time talking to us about what we wanted and made a few recommendations so that our tattoos were the best they could be. The owner of the shop (Jamie) and the artist who did the work (Jay) treated us well and made us feel very welcome. I will return for my next tattoo and definitely recommend them to everyone. read more

Paper City Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Holyoke, Massachusetts

if I could give no stars I would awful place stole money won't refund you if you call them out on it and will harass you and "take you to court for slandering" after saying they have bad customer service and unprofessional. the owner also made fun of my cancer and said I didnt have it I was lying. will call you amber heard for telling him his wrong. overbooks appointments. over all bad owner treats customers badly. don't go here. read more

DO NOT GO TO THIS TATTOO SHOP!!! Jamie or James whatever his name is, apparently is the owner of this shop. Had a scheduled appointment at 7pm with Jamie ,was there on time and the artist said he was getting food and supplies for the tattoo... as unprofessional as this already sounds it gets worse! Finally the artist shows up but proceeds to say he was heating the place up and getting the tools sanitized. Didn't end up in the shop till about 8 pm. To summarize this monstrosity me and my partner were at this tattoo shop waiting for HOURS for an unfinished tattoo that he said he would finish the next day. We come back at 4pm the scheduled time to finish the tattoo, as soon as we know it the time is now 5pm and we finally get a message from Jamie and saying he fell asleep and needs to bring food to his family... THEN WHY SCHEDULE A CUSTOMER FOR 4??? My boyfriend and I were totally furious and left the shop and will never return with an unfinished tattoo as well as wasted money we will never see again. Jamie is a complete scam and a petty lire!!! Made a 3 hour tattoo almost 4 hours and it was not even finished yet!! This man is running a terrible business and needs to be stopped!! I've never been to a place so unprofessional and scummy EVER!! DO NOT GO !! read more

These guys are great! Had an issue with one of my piercings (pulled out and damaged the jewelry) while on the road. So being from out of town I was super excited to find a really friendly and professional staff at Paper City Tattoo! read more

VERY untrustworthy! Paid upfront for a tattoo that he (Jamie) could not finish that day and he has been avoiding/ignoring me to finish it. it has been MONTHS and he has not returned any of my calls or messages. I am completely upset with what he has done so far and have asked another artist to fix this botch job!! BEWARE!! EDIT: The owner Jamie has commented below and is a complete fabrication. In fact, he was boasting about being the new owner while he was starting my arm piece. Also, the fact that he would publicly bash a previous owner just proves my point of the unprofessional conduct by the owner of this establishment. read more

What can I say? HANDS DOWN the place to get inked! Very clean. Very professional. Staff was absolutely the nicest and eased my nerves. I discovered more information about tattoos and where to have one placed, best size, best color, best style - so much! I had NO IDEA what sort of design to choose. This was on my "bucket list" so they offered suggestions based on questions they asked about me and how I define myself. This custom gecko, curved and crawling up inside of my ankle is brilliant in color. His body is twisted to contain the first letters of both my sons names - and it is SPECTACULAR! They nailed it and I might just become addicted. read more

Great work. The people are extremely helpful and nice. My tattoo looks amazing. Absolutely great place.

I got my first tattoo here over the summer. At first I loved the tattoo but by the next morning the tattoo began to look smudged and I immediately messaged the artist directly with a picture and he told me it's because the tattoo was still healing and to give it some time. I'm a nurse so I adhered to the aftercare instructions very closely so as to not get an infection/ensure proper healing. I messaged them again about 2 weeks after with another picture with worse smudging and got no response. Because of this, I decided to reach out to other local artists with pictures for a consult on what to do with the botched job and most said that most likely the "smudging" is ink that has spread out from the lines subcutaneously: a mistake by the tattoo artist itself and nothing with to do with how I took care of the tattoo afterwards. So now I am paying out of pocket to have the issue corrected with laser tattoo removal that will take more than one treatment. Otherwise they said I'd have to get a much larger tattoo to cover it up. I still haven't heard back from the shop almost 7 months later so I came here to warn any of you considering going here to go somewhere else so as to avoid the same issue. I would post pics but I'm too embarrassed to share, other people have even noticed so now I wear clothes to cover up the tattoo whenever I can. Go anywhere else but here to get tatted, it's not worth it and the whole experience has been a nightmare and honestly will definitely affect any decisions I make to get a tattoo in the future. read more

Amazing! Piercer and tattoo artist were very nice. Everything was clean and they explained every step. We walked in and they took care of all of us. DEFINITELY GOING BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

I got some work done by Jamie at Holyoke Tattoo a few weeks ago and this place is as good as it gets. Jamie and the rest of the staff were courteous and helpful when it came to the design of the tattoo that I was looking for and the finished product is amazing. The place is clean as a whistle and all of the artists do great work from what I've seen. I live in CT but you can bet that I'll be back up at Holyoke Tattoo when it's time for my next piece. Thanks guys! read more

Found this shop by accident and I'm so glad that I did! I was searching for an artist to do a coverup while I'm still in the area and my usual guy here was booked. Usually, I'm weary of Google Searches and Yelp Reviews, etc, but really wanting the memory gone, I rang the shop. They told me to come in so they could take a look at what I wanted/needed done and so they could give an accurate price/estimate. Went in the next day as soon as they opened and was greeted by a lovely chap named Nick. I was wanting blackwork on my knuckles and hands to cover up horrible memories and he gave me the options. And I told him that I was settled on blackwork as I knew it was the only thing that would cover up the date and lettering on my hand/fingers and we started out! He explained how it might heal a little differently, since its a hand and all the movement etc and just gave broad stokes since I know the procedure and healing and everything. He did an amazing job doing the solid blackwork, getting in all the crevices, taking his time, but not being a rip off artist like you get these days. I can't wait to go back and have Nick do some other work on me. He's friendly, professional and easy to talk to. We got on spiffingly. The shop is IMMACULATE. The owner, I think who's name is Jamie is a right laugh and a good guy. The shop has a great vibe, the artists are friendly and the whole place is very welcoming. I will be back here for more work. read more

Was a bit nervous about getting a tattoo at my age, but Jamie, the owner, was great with me. He explained everything he was going to do and showed me the sterile instruments he would use. Everything went smoothly. Jamie was great and wouldn't let me get up until I felt ok. The whole experience was fantastic. The shop was clean. I even liked the music!! The other employees seemed very professional and were great with their clients. I was impressed with the whole setup. Not sure if I'll ever get another tattoo, but if I do, I will definitely go back to this place. Jamie is the best! read more

Unbelievable service and a very welcoming crowd. The workers are funny and can keep the mood light even when pain is present. Not to mention the amazing skill of the artists. Would recommend to anyone looking for a good tattoo on a moments notice. read more

So I'm not just some chick who has a little feather behind her ear... I have a sleeve and many more around my intire body including my back done, and my husband is covered head to toe. With that... we can definitely say with complete confidence, honesty, and full experience that this shop is the BEST. Personally: I got a tattoo from Jay and he literally made my sleeve come alive. It's absolutely beautiful, and everyone including myself can't stop looking at it. My husband got a neck tattoo and every has the same to say about his as well. The beginning: We have walked into other shops and they were afraid to do what we were looking for, but not Jay from Paper City lol he took on our idea with complete confidence! Not like the other shops were they figured...act like a jerk and they will go away... all cause they didn't have the skills or balls to say no. The outcomes: Jays tats are constant, and it dosnt matter if your doing old school, new school, or more lifelike it's all just amazing art. The Shop: Everyone in the shop is beyond friendly. They don't treat you with that arrogant attitude you get from other shops, and coming from a woman... I really give a lot of respect for that. Jay didn't treat me like I didn't know anything, he listened to what I had to say, and extremly professional. Everyone in the shop was nice, and they all treated us like we were friends of the shop, and it created a very comfortable environment. Unfortunately, I can't say that for other artists, and shops I have been too. I honestly can't wait to get more work done. Iv already gone back multiple times. Thanks Paper City most importantly Jay A++. #InkMe read more

See all