There are not enough good things I can say about Steven Lam and his shop, Working Class Tattoos. I'd known for ages that I wanted to get a tattoo but I had no idea where to start looking for a shop, so I turned to trusty Yelp. At Steven's old location in downtown, there were 36 reviews, all five stars and I thought "Wow, alright, there must be something to this." Let me tell you, Steven deserves every single one of those 5 star reviews. He's an artist first and foremost. He takes his work seriously. I sent him an email asking for a consolation about getting a tattoo, he responded promptly and we made an appointment. When I came into his shop the poor guy had just moved in to his new location, there were paint cans and half empty boxes scattered everywhere, but it didn't stop him from being professional, listening to my ideas for the design, sketching out a rough idea while we talked. Steven has a very quiet demeanor that is very calm and seems to be just listening to your vibe as well as your words to get a feel for what you want in your tattoo. For the calligraphy in my design I'd asked for something legible but still feminine. Despite being nervous, Steven had a quiet calmness that I trusted easily and I left the appointment feeling very good.
The actual tattooing appointment was about a month later (the guy books up fast, that should tell you something about his work). I came in to his fully finished shop (which was very clean, organized, and displays a lot of cool artwork) and reviewed the stencil that Steven had drawn up. I made one small change (that had been a mistake on my part when I gave him the quote I wanted to use) which he easily fixed. He'd had two styles of calligraphy and both were lovely. Somehow he'd penned to paper exactly what I wanted, but only better. The other half of my design he said that he would freehand and while that did make me nervous I trusted Steven. We discussed the placement of calligraphy and I went with Steven's opinion and it turned out to be for the best. Don't be afraid to trust him, he definitely knows what he's doing.
We set to work and, let me say, as having been a tattoo virgin and having been worried about the pain, don't be. Unless you're getting it done near or on bone, it's not nearly as bad as some people make it out to be, and after a while, even becomes almost relaxing somehow. It feels like having a sunburn and being scratched by a cat. While he was working Steven was fairly quiet but it managed to not be awkward in the slightest. Again, I think because of his calm demeanor it made the process so easy and relaxed, something I really appreciated. After the calligraphy was done, he set to work free handing the rest of my design. From my position I couldn't see how it was shaping up, but I figured it was only Sharpie, it could easily be fixed. It did not need fixing in the slightest. Steven completely understood the look I was trying to achieve, the placement and spacing was beautiful, it was so much better than I could have imagined. During this portion of my tattoo one of my girlfriends came in and Steven was very gracious about it. This portion of my tattoo also hurt a bit more (I was getting it done around and on a portion of my collarbone) and this was the only time it was kind of difficult to hold a conversation and not flinch, but even with talking to my girlfriend (who had lots of questions, she knew nothing about tattoos) Steven worked quickly and efficiently. The whole process from making edits to the stencil to finishing up and giving me aftercare instructions took about an hour and a half. An hour and a half and I now have a beautiful piece of meaningful artwork on my body that I will get to keep with me forever.
Also, I should mention, Steven's prices are incredibly fair. I had put down a $60 deposit on the day of my consolation, which he put forward to my first hour in the chair, and he didn't start the clock until he was actually tattooing me. After showing my tattoo to many of my friends, many people told me that the $180 Steven had charged ($60 for the deposit, 120 for the hour and ten minutes or so that I was in the chair) was a huge bargain. Also, another major thing I want to highlight, after my tattoo had healed, several parts of the ink had pealed/flecked away and it needed to be touched up. Steven said not to worry and was able to fit me in pretty quickly, the fix took less than fifteen minutes, and he didn't charge me a dime. This is a man who takes pride in his work and loves what he does. If you're looking for a tattoo on the island of O'ahu, look no further. I doubt I will ever go to anybody else so long as I live here. Steven, you are amazing, I couldn't ask for anything better. read more