I've had all five of my tattoos done by James for a reason! My first time getting tattooed he…read moreexplained the process and listened to what I wanted. He adjusted the design until it was exactly what I envisioned. Shelter Tattoo is has a great vibe--the studio is clean and comfortable. I have never had any concerns about cleanliness around any part of the tattoo process which I greatly appreciate. The shop itself is easy to find and parking is readily available. James is always on time--I've never had to wait at any of my appointments. I show up at the scheduled time and James is always ready a small fact that I really appreciate. Initially, I was a little anxious about knowing what to talk about while being tattooed/if it was going to be awkward, but James is super chill. He's open to chatting or just quietly vibing--whatever is comfortable for the client. There's a reasons I'm a repeat customer. 10/10 experience!

James was the best of the three different tattoo artists I've had. I got two pieces done with him…read morerecently and both turned out great. He was kind, honest, easy to communicate with, reasonable, clean, and most importantly talented. Was shocked at how quickly he is able to work too. 10/10 would recommend him.

Johnny Beavers gave me something I'll carry with me forever. I got a fine line tattoo of my dog…read moreTank, and I genuinely couldn't believe it when I saw it finished--it looks exactly like him. Not just the details, but his expression... it feels like him is with me. This tattoo means so much to me, and Johnny handled it with so much care and intention. You can tell he really understands how important pieces like this are. Publik Studios is also beautiful--calm, private, and almost spa-like. The whole experience felt peaceful and really special, which made it even more meaningful. I'm so grateful for this piece. I can't stop looking at it!! Thank you Johnny!

tl;dr johnny and melanie make a great team. They work well together and their personalities differ…read morebut work well at making you feel comfortable and welcomed in the studio. The place is kept really clean and Johnny even offered snacks during a break. It's a private studio which is nice because I don't really a big fan of random people popping in while I'm being worked on. 5/5 In depth review of the whole process. Objective: Booking periods happen only so often. I submitted my application with two concept ideas. I received my email October 2nd telling me I was selected for the Feb/Mar cycle. I paid my booking deposit then gave them my availability, they worked with my availability and I was scheduled for March 15th. Once the appointment was confirmed I told them I'm willing to switch appointments if necessary to work around his other clients. My appointment date remained the same but my time was moved to 7am which was nice. Johnny reached out February 16 for a confirmation on the exact design (I kept going back and forth sending in different things) and March 8th I got a courtesy email for my upcoming session. I showed up to the studio and Johnny was finishing up the final design. We talked briefly on the different aspects of shading and line work but I told him that I trusted him because he's the artist and he knows what will probably look best for the final piece. The session was about 6 hours with 3 breaks. Snacks and beverages were provided. The studio itself is open with tall ceilings. It has couches and a long meeting table. The tattoo I got cover parts of my chest, my sternum, some ribs, and my upper abdomen. It was a painful tattoo Subjective: The booking process was really nice and communication from his assistant was nice. I think he got a new assistant sometime after my appointment was confirmed, nothing was wrong with his old assistant but his new one Melanie has a much more welcoming online persona. Her personality in person matches it too. Johnny comes off as a casual laid-back guy. He's nonchalant yet he's very interested in his clients. He gave me a sense of autonomy throughout the whole process. In hindsight I gave him very little to work with and while doing the final touches he was asking me what I liked specifically about the reference pictures. I sent him a couple of pictures of different designs by other artists and it was really nice to know he took them into consideration. I've been to an artist before where I brought in printed references and the artist glimpsed at it then pulled out the sketch he already had before I showed up. While I was being worked on the pain was too much for me to handle in the beginning, given the location and design it's expected to hurt. I asked if I could have a break after the main outline was done and Johnny agreed. I didn't feel any mental resistance from him. He wrapped up the area so I could go outside and get some fresh air. After that I didn't have to ask for breaks, Johnny stopped and gave me two more. I'm not sure how but Johnny knew when I was getting reaching my threshold. Given he's had years of experience I'm sure he's picked up a 6th sense on how to read people. After the main outline was done Johnny stopped and asked how I wanted the rest of the session to play out. I told him I'd prefer to do the top part of my tattoo because I knew the bold lines would hurt more and I personally like having the most painful part of a tattoo done first. Johnny is the first artist to give me that option. Johnny himself as a person is hella cool. During the whole session we didn't talk much which was nice because I just wanted to relax (i'm on spring break from nursing school and my life since august has been studying so I actually don't know how to talk to people anymore lmao). From our conversation Johnny comes off as someone who wants to know his clients. This isn't just another transaction for him. He asked me questions to get to know me but he never pushed me to share. We both shared stories and aspects of lives that were interesting. Melanie went out for a bit and offered to pick something up. Johnny asked if I wanted anything which was really nice and I asked for coffee and a sandwich. When she came back I offered to pay and Johnny told me that he'd pay for it ( johnny is just nice af). This is my opinion but getting a tattoo is only cool after you get it. When I'm getting work done I'm being vulnerable to the public. I'm not a fan of getting work done while random people walk by watching me trying to hold myself together. The whole process is just painful and it sucks. I like this studio because it's just him and his assistance. Overall I had a really great experience. It's only been 4 days but I wake up every morning still in awe at his work. Pros: Johnny is cool Melanie is nice final product is dope snacks privacy Cons: that shit hurted

Okay so this was my first choice for my first tattoo but I never got to get it bc of other…read morecircumstances.... 2 tattoos later I decided that I wanted to get my 3rd one here and let me tell you I regret not doing my 2nd here... Valentin was my tattoo artist and dude he's amazing i gave him the inspo and he went beyond it, we talked about the place and how it would look at certain angle and position, the whole thing took 5 hours, he would give me breaks and I also remember that I came in right when he was about to eat I felt so bad :c I was also hungry mid tattoo so he offered me one of his egg rolls after that I was getting a little of pain and asked for numb Cream and it went by pretty smooth... I also forgot to mention that he gave me pasties and made me feel pretty comfortable during my tattoo it was an amazing experience since I told him I had a bad experience with the 2 other places I've been before and he exceed my expectations it's been 7 months since I got my tattoo and I just love it... i really recommend Valentin for black tattoos Lol I also decided on not doing the starts bc of the pain but hey still looks pretty sick I also forgot to add the he added better designs like the brow area of the moon and the shading !

Flying Squid is a comfortable, professional location located in Houston Heights. Billy Ho is the…read morereal deal! Traditional, portraits, you name it- he's your guy! Not only is Billy a true artist but he is customer focused!

AMAZING SERVICE, they were really great and this tattoo shop has grate quality and the vibe is so…read morewelcoming.

Went in for a tragus piercing and was not content with the result during healing. Service was good…read moreit's just that they do not know how to pierce. To start my piercing was done at an angle rather than straight. Second, they put in a curved barbell which is not meant for the tragus affecting the healing process. I would've appreciated if they had let me know beforehand if the piercing was not able to be done rather than going through all of this. Shoutout to Venetian Tattoo and Piercing for saving my tragus

I love coming here, I've been going to Pete for almost all of my artwork for the last twelve years…read more He always kills it, I give him an idea and he runs with it and creates beautiful pieces.

Came in as a walk in with my friend. Decided to get a tattoo…read moreas well. Chris was available. After looking at his work, I went for it. Clean place, dope artists, fun staff. Chris line work is amazing. Very clean as well. Family vibes made the experience even more comfortable.

As a skincare expert, this shop is on point! Gentle, thorough and current on training and skills…read more This flower tat was a coverup for another tattoo persons mess up.

This is the best tattoo shop in Houston, bar none. The vibes are immaculate, the artists are…read moretalented and fun to work with. There simply is not a better shop for American Traditional in Houston. I have been tattooed by Cambo (@kilroytat2er), Jordan (@big____q), and Diego (@under_handed). I cannot recommend this shop enough.

Real stand up dude he gone take his time on your tats so you know the quality will be perfect…read more Whatever ideas you have he can make them come to life or he'll make them better and his prices are great I got 3 big pieces from him and imma keep going back.