Chris was absolutely amazing!!!!! Such a great guy. So personable, calming, reassuring,…read moreprofessional, and super clean. HIGHLY recommend them!!!!

I got my first tattoo here! I was visiting my friend in NC and we wanted to get tattoos together so…read morewe booked an appointment and our artist was Mike. Overall the appointment process was pretty simple. You can message on instagram/facebook and they were very responsive. When we arrived we just signed our waiver and provided our photo ID's. The actual place is very clean which I appreciated. Mike was such a friendly guy. It's funny because I came all the way down to NC to get a tattoo and I'm from NJ/NYC. Mike is from NYC and moved down to NC recently, I thought that was a funny coincidence. He always let us know what he was going to do before he did it and was very informative. He let us know the aftercare process and what to expect. That being said, we are almost a month out and my tattoo has healed beautifully! If I'm ever back in NC and looking to get a tattoo, I will book it with Mike.

I really wanted to be able to leave a better review because my tattoo was meant to symbolize such a…read moresignificant day in my life. I called the morning of to see if there were openings for a very simple tattoo on my forearm. I was able to get in later that afternoon. My experience at the parlor was great. Everyone was friendly and it was clean. I initially was excited about my tattoo, but as days went on I realized how terrible it actually looks. There are places where it is very dark and places where you can barely see it. I have since gone elsewhere to see about getting it fixed and the tattoo artist actually asked me if I had it professionally done because it doesn't look it. It is supposed to be 3 birds flying off of a dandelion but the birds look more like blobs. Other tattoo artists may be much better at this establishment, but I can only speak for the artist I went to.

i'm so disappointed in my tattoo. i wanted a simple cute heart tattoo and it turned out uneven and…read morespotty. it looks so dumb. i'm so upset! i don't recommend this business at all! it seemed unprofessional and they had vulgar language the whole time i was in there. i never leave reviews places but i'm so upset with this one i had to.

Come for a tattoo, stay for good time! Tracy has the voice of an angel. It's like a combination of…read moreFergie and Jesus. I couldn't even look at her it was so good. Char is the best! Took a few reference ideas and brought to life more than I could've hoped for. Needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed working with her. A tattoo looks so good, you're going to wanna talk to it. If you're just looking for a tattoo, sure you could go elsewhere, but if you're looking to go to the f*ckin Catalina wine mixer, this is the place. (No you don't get any wine, but you will have a good time!)

just got my 8th girls trip tattoo. this place was amazing very friendly and our tattoo aroChris was…read morewonderful. this was his first day on the job in this shop but he did an awesome job!!! We are so glad we stopped in to check it out!! highly recommend this shop!! thanks again Shades of Gray and Chris

I was a nervous wreak before I got my nose piercing. I'm sure they thought I was insane pacing back…read moreand forth. It's not as if it was my first but it has been so long since I've been "under the needle" I was sweating (though I knew I was overthinking and freaking myself out) Everyone was so sweet and patient. Amber did everything but hold my hand, she walked me though the process so I knew what to expect. I had 1,000 questions and she answered every one with a smile. I definitely would recommend her for first timers

Oct 2023 I had a slight mishap and needed to change the…read morepiercing. Amber told me at time of piercing in Feb 2019 to just call and she can swap it out anytime as she does this service for other clients. I always tip as a courtesy. A guy answered the phone and said Amber is there and there is a charge. I had a problem so I did not feel comfortable changing myself at the moment. Although the fee was nominal, I am deducting one star based on original information from the piercer. Amber has good customer service. The change back to the flat back 14kt yellow gold earring caused significant pain level such as initial piercing from the 14kt yellow gold hoop which was purchased somewhere else as not sold at this establishment. Omg and yikes! Problem if the hoop is completely 14kt gold as a problem in the manufacturing since 14kt gold does not tarnish. I found another establishment that solely does piercing and carries a vast selection in products including 14kt and titanium and after a month got a different 14kt gold hoop and 2 other piercings, zero pain surprisingly for all services. Hope this review is helpful based on my experiences, thanks.

Got my girls pierced about a month ago and they have been healing great! They are super even and…read moreI'm very happy. The studio itself is clean and sterilized, I felt super safe there. The girl who did them was very calm and said out loud each step she was doing but not overly talkative. She also asked me if I was ok throughout, would 100% come back!!

Brooke is my favorite piercer! Love her work, very relaxing vibes and she does perfect work!read more

10/10!!! The piercer is a HOOT! He's so fun and really took…read moretime to make me comfortable and get to know me :) which is very nice I didn't feel rushed in and out Beautiful ( and well priced) jewelry, with anodizing options. It's been over a week and they're healing beautifully! Great piercing, PHENOMENAL jewelry change !!!

I have exclusively used Mad Ethel's for all my tattoos for awhile now. I have only used Clinton but…read moreI can say I like they will set you up for who does the best at a specific style. Clinton has just been able to do an amazing job on everything I have asked for!

Blair did an amazing job, not only on the work itself but with the design. I was all over the place…read morewith my ideas. I knew I wanted a book tattoo that had elements from several of my favorite books but also didn't want it to look like patchwork. She did an amazing job designing this piece and I absolutely love it! The shop is super cute and clean as well!

Nate at Femme Fatale is my go-to guy from here on out for my artwork. I was hella nervous getting…read moremy homage to Atlanta at a tattoo shop in NC. Sent Nate a broad idea of what I wanted for my tattoo. The concept he came up with was better than what I expected. His coloring work is stellar, especially when considering I have a darker complexion. It was also a cover-up and no one can see the tattoo that was covered up, even after I mention it was a coverup. It's not the cheapest place in town, but I believe you get what you pay for. I'd have paid more!

100 STARS Ken is amazing, brilliant, talented, artistic,…read moreprofessional, receptive, personable... the list goes on. He has tattooed, both myself and my husband. Our tattoos could not be more different, in size concept and style, but both are completely perfect and beautiful pieces of art. He can do it all!!! I came to Ken with a hot mess of halfway thought out ideas and he was able to patiently and kindly pluck right out of my "oh squirrel" brain exactly what I wanted and executed it to perfection! My husband and I both are already discussing our next pieces that we will undoubtedly be going to Ken for. I could not be happier with the experience or the art!!!!

OMG, Ken is amazing! He is so talented and kind and gives you plenty of time to make sure your…read moredesign is exactly what you want. I have to say my first tat experience was overall positive thanks to Ken's skilled hands and wonderful demeanor (plus, he's cute as a button). This was my first tattoo at 74 yo and Ken's first opossum! We were both pleased!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my tattoo!! Thanks so much, Ken.

i absolutely love this place! every time i come here wether it's for a piercing and tattoo i'm…read morealways satisfied! steve especially is such a great tattoo artist because he's not only good at his job but he interacts with his clients very well and makes then feel welcomed and have fun during the whole process. it's very clean and the vibe of the place is so fun! i definitely recommend coming here!

My 14 year old daughter went in with my wife and a friend to get her second piercings on her lobes…read more Her friend had the owner pierce her and she was in and out, nice and clean as you'd expect from a piercing shop. My daughter, on the other hand, had someone who was clearly new to the game. She pierced her and then struggled to get the threaded hardware in for 10 MINUTES on one ear with similar challenges on the other. She walked out with blood all over her shirt, one piercing was loose and the other wrenched down so tight she can't turn it, and both bleeding extensively. Wife and daughter left kind of in shock so didn't raise concern at checkout. I called as soon as they got home and spoke with both the piercer and owner. The piercer (apprentice) said she'd never worked with threaded hardware before and apologized. She handed me off to the owner who proceeded to tell me she had in fact used that hardware before and he was sorry if I felt I had a bad experience. Really?? Yes, bad experience and worse than what you get at Claire's at WALMART. Refused to give a partial refund and instead offered me a discount if I got something else done there...sure, that's gonna happen after this experience. Lying and placating, great customer service. I don't blame the apprentice here, rather owner decision to assign them to a new skill on clients without coaching. Strongly suggest going elsewhere based on complaint handling alone, spotty talent levels, and overall quality. Shame on them. Make the right choice here folks, plenty of high quality piercing shops around here besides this one.