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TATTOO SHOPS

Can anyone recommend a good tattoo shop in Cambridge? I know of 3 - one on Victoria Road, one nr Ken Stevens (forget the name of the road) and another on Mill Road. I want to get an old one refilled and improved - so I'd need a good one, otherwise I'd just end up with another one that looks like a load of crap (well, it's not that bad, jsut not that good either).

I'm also thinking of getting another one done. Can anyone help? Got any personal experiences/horrors/shockers to report?

I've heard a rumour that the Mill Road bloke is a pisshead, however, this may be unsubstatiated.

Cheers

Published by Three Headed Lizard at 11:11am on Tue 2nd November 2004. Viewed 32,314 times.

I've been to the one on Victoria Road and the one near Ken Stevens. The former was okay but had a rather "scuzzy" appearance, while the latter appeared to be very clean. However, I didn't pick up any nasty infections at either place.

I have to say, though, that the tat from the "one near Ken Stevens" is much better; clearer, darker, more defined, etc, but, from what I can remember, it was quite a bit more expensive as well ...

I'd heard that about the Mill Road bloke, too

Published by Old Rocker at 11:26am on Tue 2nd November 2004.

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Published by at 11:29am on Tue 2nd November 2004.

i've been to the one of victoria road a couple of times and he's very good, the one near ken stevens i found to be very rude on a couple of occasions.

if you can get there, i reccomend you go to March. the two guys there are superb. its not cheap and its a bit of a trek, but its worth it.

Published by volvic at 11:33am on Tue 2nd November 2004.

We know a lot of people who have got tattoos from the Mill Road shop (Moving Pictures) and the guy is not a pisshead. Everyone was plesed with their tattoos from there.

Looked into getting a tattoo at Tattoo Crazy (the one in town) and the staff in there were really unfriendly, had an attitudde problem and the tattoos were very expensive.

I think the shop in March you are talking about is the sister shop to Tattoo Crazy in town.

Published by LastGangInTown at 3:45pm on Tue 2nd November 2004.

I have had four tattoos (if you count two sittings on the same design as separate tattoos) and four piercings at Tattoo Crazy on Hobson St (near Ken Stevens).

The place in March is the 'parent' shop really of the Cambridge branch - it opened first.

Tattoo Crazy probably is more expensive than some of the other stores but I have never had any problem with the place or the people - I would definitely not describe them as unfriendly or having an attitude problem. The shop does get very busy, particularly at weekends, and I know they were short-staffed recently so this may have had an impact on the reception you got.....

Barry K, who is the main guy at the March studio, has won several awards for his work, as has Fabio, who is doing the custom design on my back for me at the Cambridge store. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Tattoo Crazy to anybody looking to get a tattoo done - I've seen them doing some very good touch-up/cover-up jobs too.....

Published by Jennie at 4:34pm on Tue 2nd November 2004.

I got mine at Mill Rd place - wasn't aware the guy was 'allegedly' a bit of a pisshead - this was my first tat so it would have scared me had I known! He was dead nice and the resulting tattoo is okay.

Published by Jude 1 (not active) at 2:04pm on Wed 3rd November 2004.

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Published by SpankySpangler (not active) at 2:09pm on Wed 3rd November 2004.

No, no, no, no!!!! I'd strongly discourage anybody going to a Tattoo parlour in Cambridge. They're unfriendly and uninspiring and the cleanliness is suspect. I
I do, however, strongly encourage a visit to Soham to see a tattooist called John Knappet. He's a well respected tattooist who's won awards up and down the country. He uses new needles each time (none of this sterilisation of the same needle malarkey) and then destroys the needles after use - he makes sure you wittness the destruction too, a nice touch, i feel. An added bonus is you get some chocolate if you feel faint - not that i needed to take advantage of that facility of course.
He charges by the hour rather than the size and colour of the tattoo, though i can't remember how much it actually is. My tattoo took about 40 minutes and i think i paid around £30. The colours are still really vibrant and the outline is still very dark and defined.
I wouldn't suggest anywhere else.

Published by pink moon at 2:14pm on Wed 3rd November 2004.

i would 100% reccomend john knappet from soham. he is fantastic! like was said before you pay for the hour, not the tattoo. he does amazing work and is so friendly and puts you at ease striaght away. i will never have a tattoo anywhere but johns again!

Published by angiiste at 9:40pm on Sun 20th August 2006.

I had one done, of a tattoo design I bought off the internet, at the one in town, behind Waterstones? I have nothing bad to say about it at all, apart from the fact that she wasn't chatty but then neither am I so that was cool! :o)

Published by Foxysmasher at 2:15am on Mon 21st August 2006.

personally i wouldent go near tattoos by fabio as he is one arragant toad,his guest tattooist
done a celtic ring for me and its a piece of crap boy am i sorry i ever stepped into his gaff
when i showed it to fabio all he done was shrugged his shoulders,he certainly looks after his customers NOT.so be warned ,if you are looking for a propper tattoo artist go down to mick gray in hitchen not only is he a good artist but fair priced .

Published by hellbent at 5:24pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

::Throws some grammar at the above post:: :oP

Published by Teresa at 5:37pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

i don't think there is a tattoo shop on victoria road any more, unless its a different one to where i had mine a while ago, as hairdressers next door bought it (opposite-ish) Carpenters Arms

Published by adele (not active) at 5:40pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

Fabio down Mill Road. I wouldn't go anywhere else.

Published by MissM (not active) at 5:48pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

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Published by Janeyferr (not active) at 5:49pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

I noticed the date :oP

Published by Teresa at 5:57pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

ahh i didn't, a sneaky post between data crunching

Published by adele (not active) at 6:04pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

so fucking what, seems like you dont have fuck all to do except critasise, you self ritious cow,FAO TREE SA SHRIVELED OL HUSK :-p,ITS BITCHES LIKE YOU STOP PEOPLE FROM
POSTING MESSAGES,

Published by hellbent at 6:53pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

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Published by Janeyferr (not active) at 6:54pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

i thought it was me, took several re-reads to work out

Published by adele (not active) at 7:02pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

sorry janey im shouting at treesa seems she gets her kicks by picking fault with peoples grammar,punctuation,must be a teacher or something

Published by hellbent at 7:04pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

I've had three done in Moving Pictures and I'm really happy with them. Had my last one done in Tattoo Crazy (got vouchers as leaving present from work!), and found the people to be really helpful there. The guy there took time to really go over the picture I'd taken in and explain what changes he'd have to do to make what works on paper work on skin, so to speak. And the end result is super-excellent. Would heartily recommend either, Tattoo Crazy is slightly the more expensive though.

Published by Ugly Barney at 8:07pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

::Laughs::

Published by Teresa at 8:08pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

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Published by Janeyferr (not active) at 8:15pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

::Laughs again::

Published by Teresa at 8:50pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

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Published by Janeyferr (not active) at 8:54pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

I'm a nice girl now. Being content with life will have that effect ;o)

Published by Teresa at 9:53pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

I\'m a nice girl now. Being content with life will have that effect ;o)

Published by Teresa at 9:54pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

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Published by Janeyferr (not active) at 9:56pm on Wed 30th January 2008.

I really had no work to do at all back then ...

Published by Three Headed Lizard at 9:08am on Thu 31st January 2008.

Has a thread ever had more views and less posts?

Published by Old Rocker at 9:13am on Thu 31st January 2008.

Oh, i missed all this ruckus...Teresa, i am a bit disapointed in you passive attitude of late!

Bloody happy people in love...it's just not healthy...

Published by MissM (not active) at 9:39am on Thu 31st January 2008.

>>Teresa, i am a bit disapointed in you passive attitude of late!

I have nothing to be angry about anymore, lol.

Published by Teresa at 11:23am on Thu 31st January 2008.

I'm resurrectin' this thread again. I've nothing at the moment, and was looking at a couple of stars on the back of my neck - one pink, one blue, each with fairly thick black outlines.

Am I correct in thinking this would require virtually no talent and therefore it should make no difference where I have it done, or is that terribly naive? If the latter, is there any update to all the above? I'd default to just having it done on Mill Road, and failing that, I'm in no hurry, so somewhere where I'd just happen to be at some point anyway so I wasn't making a special trip (read: certain areas of Cambridge, London and Sheffield).

Published by angelica at 4:15pm on Sat 4th April 2009.

I have had ones from both Tattoo Crazy and Fabio's. I had my back done at tattoo crazy by fabio (when he worked there) and also some other pieces by other 'artists' there. I have to say that since fabio and louise (his girlfriend) left that store it has become a very unfriendly place and I would avoid it like the plague.

Tattoo's by Fabio on mill road is a better shop, with a better 'vibe' and as long as it is Fabio who tattoo's you, you'll get a very decent result.

I've seen tattoos on friends who have had them done at Moving Pictures on mill road and have to say I would never go there.

My tattooer of choice is Justin. He works at Body Craft Studios in Nottingham from Monday to Friday and at the weekends he comes home to Cambridge and works from his own private studio. He's young (21/22 i think) but very, very good. Examples of his work can be seen here: http://www.myspace.com/thedeadpunk

Also, I've not been to him, but have heard nothing but good things about John Knappett in Soham.

Published by No Class at 5:00pm on Sat 4th April 2009.

Thank'ee, Fabio's it is then. Think I'll wander out tomorrow when I get bored of essay writing; nine in the morning or so.

Published by angelica at 8:16pm on Sun 5th April 2009.

go out of town try Soham: i would recommend john knappet from soham

Published by Stewart Lights at 10:11pm on Sun 5th April 2009.
This reply has been edited, last edit at 10:13pm on Sun 5th April 2009.

I'm a fan of Tattoo's by Fabio. He's well priced and an amazing artist.

I wouldn't recommend Tattoo Crazy (nr. Ken Stevens) as I have found the staff unpleasant and my tattoo from there was rubbish.

Published by Robson at 10:35pm on Sun 5th April 2009.

Lets Bump all the other threads to get rid of the BNP thread!

Please copy and paste this in all the front page threads except the BNP one.

Published by hunts_kopite at 10:42am on Mon 6th April 2009.

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Published by LittleMissBoomerang (not active) at 12:31pm on Mon 6th April 2009.

Went to tatoo crazy about 6 years ago and the tattoo was and still is very good and very vibrant. Can not remember tattooist name but was a women in her early to mid twenties.
I also have a 25 year old tattoo from Dennis Cockell in Swiss Cottage (did the Stray Cats) that still looks good. Can not say the same for the tattoos from Dirty Don of Ramsgate. Serves me right for getting tattoos at 16.

Published by marcosthebubble at 1:47pm on Mon 6th April 2009.

Gah, foiled again. Why exactly is a tattoo parlour open if there's no tattooist?

Published by angelica at 2:22pm on Mon 6th April 2009.

To sell punky babygros and t-shirts, I think ;-)

Published by Jude 1 (not active) at 2:26pm on Mon 6th April 2009.

In reply to Angelica and Jude1,
Consider this:
A tattooist has been tattooing most days a week for 16 years - which, apart from 'everyday' tattoos, also includes large custom work on most days (which is mentally and physically strenuous). Severe RSI and the possible onset of arthritus, is something that simply has to be accepted at a relatively young age.
So, for a tattooist to take one afternoon off a week is surely understandable. If anything, it is the responsible thing to do (to ensure that he/she is fresh and on their best performance when marking people for life).

So why shouldn't the shop stay open on this afternoon, so that enquiries can be made and appointments and/or advice can be given?
For a tattoo shop to sell tattoo-related clothing , baby-grows and accessories etc. makes sense - as it invites people who would normally feel unsure (or nervous) about walking into a tattoo shop.

I hope this answers your question

Published by fabiozart at 6:42pm on Mon 20th April 2009.

These are just my personal experiences... slightly biased, however!

My wife went to John Knappet in Soham, who tattooed her back - a full backpiece of a phoenix. He skimmed her back very quickly - hers took 4 hours, whereas my backpiece took 14 hours, to give you some idea of comparison.

Most of the black and all of the colour on my wife's backpiece fell out within 8 months. It was reworked by Barry K from Tattoo Crazy and is still excellent 8 years later.

I had some tribal work done on my arm by Mystic Ink (Victoria Road). Half of the black fell out within a year - it was re-inked by Barry K from Tattoo Crazy and is still solid black around 7 years later.

OK so you see a pattern emerging here - since then all my other work has been done by Barry K, as I know it will be excellent and it will last; for example, I have a chaos star on my leg which is still shockingly orange, 13 years after the event. And I do wear shorts in the summer!

Barry K has won more than 'a few awards' - he is a recognised International Tattoo Master.

Fabio is an excellent tattooist... who was working at Tattoo Crazy under Barry K before he went off and set up his own shop.

Tattooing: You get what you pay for. And it is on you for the rest of your life.

Caveat Emptor.

Published by pagan_flame at 6:56pm on Mon 20th April 2009.

I'm booked in with Fabio for another 2 hours worth of inking next week and can't wait!

Published by simon040480 at 8:19pm on Mon 20th April 2009.

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Published by Xavier Bollo (not active) at 12:48pm on Wed 29th April 2009.

two19tattoos littleport,cambridge

Published by bonny at 3:04pm on Sat 27th February 2010.
This reply has been edited, last edit at 3:16pm on Sat 27th February 2010.

How old is this thread!

Published by joosypigeon at 6:00pm on Sat 27th February 2010.

not old enough to vote ;)

Published by clarissa (not active) at 6:11pm on Sat 27th February 2010.

Youngest voting age in the world is Iran at 15.

Oldest is Uzbekistan at 25.

Published by Silent Rob at 10:17am on Sun 28th February 2010.
This reply has been edited, last edit at 10:36am on Sun 28th February 2010.

I want a tattoo of Micheal Carroll on my chest so I can rub it for luck before doing the lottery each week. Would a tattoo artist decline on grounds of taste ;-]

Published by daggg at 5:21pm on Sun 28th February 2010.

Google Tattoo

Published by joosypigeon at 5:36pm on Sun 28th February 2010.

Published by R0B3RT (not active) at 11:57am on Mon 1st March 2010.

...

Published by happyted at 12:06pm on Mon 1st March 2010.

^ Do you reckon the tatooist was dyslexic ??

Published by Manda Panda at 12:20pm on Mon 1st March 2010.

Published by R0B3RT (not active) at 12:21pm on Mon 1st March 2010.

Hmm I thought the Mill Road shop was being run by someone new now?
The drunk running it dates back to the 80's /90's (rumour was go after 11am so he was topped up enough to have stopped shaking but not after 3 as he was too far gone after that), I'm sure he would have keeled over with liver failure by now if he was still there!

Strange how you can recognise someone by a description of a tattoo..I remember that chaos star being fairly new(and, yes, very orange) :-)

Published by Cmouse at 12:24pm on Mon 1st March 2010.

This guy's website always gives me a laugh:

http://www.alstattoos.com/

Local too.

Published by DJ Ohmygod at 12:42pm on Mon 1st March 2010.

I live right next door to the Mill Road shop and I never see ANYONE in there, day or night, staff included. Don't know what that means...

Published by R0B3RT (not active) at 12:48pm on Mon 1st March 2010.

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Published by Stewart_Griffin (not active) at 12:54pm on Mon 1st March 2010.

Tattoos are done by oompah loopahs? ;-]

Published by daggg at 12:54pm on Mon 1st March 2010.

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Published by tueyza (not active) at 4:51am on Tue 30th May 2017.

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