Tattoo shop founded on good design principles & solid tattooing
We are pleased to announce Nate Mcgaughy joining us full time here at Good Graces Tattoo. Nate leans more towards Japanese style of tattooing but can handle anything you throw his way. Nate is available for walk-ins and more immediate availability.
Contact him today to set something up!
Good Graces is currently, and has been operating BY APPOINTMENT ONLY since we reopened the first of June. If you’re looking to get tattooed immediately or same day, it most likely isn’t feasible. We are currently fielding daily requests from folks and playing catch up on back burner appointments from being shut down for 2 and a half months. This has us backed up from anywhere from a few days to 2 months depending on your chosen artist. Additionally, we are only allowing one client in at a time to minimize exposure and reduce risks associated with larger gatherings of people. Most, if not all tattoo shops are operating in this fashion.
As much as we welcome walk-ins, that method of business is not conducive to this current climate. We are not accepting walkins or same day appointments at this time. We will be having guest artists periodically throughout the summer and your best bet to get in quickly would be to reach out to them directly and set an appointment. We will announce these guests on all social media platforms so stay tuned for those updates. For now, and the unforeseen future, please direct all inquiries via email to your chosen artist here and we will do our best to accommodate you. You can do that very easily through our website.
Last but not least, please practice common courtesy and good judgement by wearing a mask inside our business and wash and sanitize your hands upon entering. We are doing our part in this, sanitizing after every client in between appointments and keeping the place as sterile as possible. It is a drag, we know, but all we ask is for you to please show us the common courtesy and do the same.
Thank you for your patience and patronage through all of this. This is new territory for us just as it is with you. We are navigating uncharted waters and want to accommodate you just as much as you want to get tattooed but also want to ensure your health and safety as this has always been of utmost importance. Thank you for understanding, be safe and much love to you all.
With today’s means of communication, there’s numerous ways to get in touch with friends, family and businesses alike. Several online platforms are available at the ready to communicate, but make it almost improbable to make sure you actually *get* your message to someone unless you actually talk to them face to face or on the phone – especially businesses. Between fielding emails, web inquiries, texts, DM’s through Twitter, Facebook & Instagram, it can be laborious to keep track of the daily inquiries we get here at the shop. While all these means are great and convenient, the best way to communicate with your tattooer will always be face to face conversations.
Nine times out of ten, when corresponding with a client (or potential client) via cyberspace, we always ask if you’re local and if so, if you could come into the shop at your convenience. The reason we do this is so that we can meet you, see physical examples of your ideas, see the placement that we’ll be tattooing and/or the other tattoos we may be working around/with. This face to face consultation goes a long way in making sure we know exactly what you’re wanting to do with your new tattoo and that we execute our design for you correctly and in an adequate window of time as it pertains to your appointment date and time.
There are always exceptions to the rule however. Smaller and/or “canned” designs, may not need a face to face consultation. Folks from out of town or even out of state may not have the means to come in for said consultations, we get it. However, if you’re local and have the means to make it by before your appointment, or to talk about an idea for a tattoo, by all means, please stop by! See ya at the shop.
Photo credit: Kristen Catoe
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Just a friendly reminder that we have Gift Certificates to cover those last minute holiday needs. Sure, you could get your gal some jewelry, some perfume or a pony, and your dude a wrist watch, a handgun or a falcon, but what better gift is there than the gift of beautifully adorning your loved one with a timeless tattoo? I see the wheels spinning and you’ve got nothing… because there isn’t one. Drop by the shop to get yours or you can call us at 910-769-8807 or email us at goodgracestattoo@gmail.com with any questions. Hope you all have a safe and memorable Holiday season. Cheers!
Good Graces will be closed from November 1-7 for Fall Break. Please direct all inquiries and emails to Shawn via shawndtattoo@gmail.com and Luke via luke.worley@gmail.com and we will kindly return them once we’re back in the shop. Thanks!
Tattoos are more than ink in skin. They are a representation of self; a symbol of remembrance: of time, place, and a representation of who we were at that exact moment in our life. The relationship between tattooer and customer is just as important as the piece of art that walks out of the tattoo shop.
Every city has its fair share of shops and talented artists, and along with the growing number of people entering the industry, egos have begun to pop up and/or remain prevalent. But along with this newly termed “tattitude,” remains the true tattooer who respects tattooing’s history and upholds the dignity of their craft while catering to their customers and remembering that tattooing is a service.
What makes a tattooer isn’t the amount of Instagram likes he has, the number of shops he’s guested at or amount of trophies and/or accolades he’s received during his career. A tattooer is measured by his ability to apply clean, timeless designs that the wearer can carry with them for life. That coupled with a good tattoo experience that’s welcoming, kind, accommodating and timely sets apart a good tattooer from the crowd. Tattooers are in the good graces of their customers; without them, they wouldn’t be able to do what they love every day.
Everyone gets tattooed for different reasons. Some pieces have deep meaning, some have sentimental value and/or memorial value and some are put on just because whoever’s getting it thinks it looks cool. Regardless of why you’re permanently marking yourself, it is in your best interest to take your design ideas to a well researched tattoo artist for a consultation. Tattooers know you have a vision, but they also know what makes a good tattoo. Certain fads come and go for a reason and without a good foundation of black and proper application – what once looked cool evolves into a faded ink blob.
Some people know exactly what they want and show up to consultations prepared with plenty of reference material, while others may need a little direction. If you’re lost, but have the itch for a new piece, your tattooer always has your back. Often, there are designs they have drawn and/or painted that they would like to do, and if nothing strikes your fancy, it always helps to at least peruse those designs to maybe spark an idea of something you’ve loosely had in mind all along. Most any picture, design, or idea can be turned into a tattoo. Sometimes, there may need to be a little reconfiguring that needs to take place to make a design “tattooable”, but for the most part, your tattooer has your best interest and the longevity of the tattoo itself in the forefront of the design process. The old saying, “Bold Will Hold” has been around for a while for a reason: Clean lines, bold black shading, and solid color lasts. Black pigment is the pigment that lasts longest in the skin and without black, a tattoo is more prone to fade and lose it’s shape over time. So bear in mind that each idea or concept will be approached with that fundamental principle.
No respectable tattooer is going to completely turn a client’s idea away, but it’s important to bear in mind that there may need to be some compromise in certain situations to reach a successful end result. See you at the shop!
Dustin Brown (Tattoo Collector )
I’m pleased to announce that we will finally be hosting our Grand Opening Memorial Day weekend. The event will begin at noon and last throughout the evening. We will be tattooing the words “Good” and “Bad” as a thank you to our customers old and new starting at noon and will be doing the last ones around 5pm. The party will begin at 5:00. There currently is an Instagram contest via the @goodgracestattoo profile page in where by sharing our announcement and hash tagging the post, you automatically enter to win a $250 Gift Certificate, so check that out. We will have food, brews and spirits catered by Front Street Brewery and DJ Matt Hearn from Reggies on 42nd Street. Cannot say thank you enough to all of our customers, old and new, without you, we wouldn’t be able to do what we love to do every day. Hope you can make it!
The day has finally come. You’ve compared online portfolios, read reviews, met with an artist for consultation, and made an appointment. But now that it’s time to get tattooed, what do you need to know before you get to the shop?
Try and eat something beforehand. Something light and easy is fine, so if you’re planning on bringing something with you, keep that in mind. No burgers, tacos, brisket sandwiches or po’ boys. Tattoo shops have to keep a sterile environment and abide by strict health codes, so there’s no food in the tattoo studio area. A lot of first-timers bring friends, which is fine; just make sure they know that the tattoo studio is a place of business, just like any other and that they should act accordingly. It’s also a good idea to keep the number of friends to a minimum — there will be other people getting tattooed and providing a comfortable atmosphere for all our clients and artists is something a shop aims to deliver.
Don’t wear your best clothes to get tattooed. You’re going to bleed a little, there will be some ink that may get on your fancy duds and you’re going to have to make it home in a bandage, so things could get messy. Keep in mind these things hurt, so try your best to stay still while you’re getting tattooed. A tattoo shop is no place for children. There are visuals, music and language that are not suited for younger ears, so please try and make arrangements for your children before coming to get tattooed, or coming in for a consultation. Last but not least, tip your artist! Tips are never expected, but always appreciated. Tattooers don’t have corporate insurance packages or fancy retirement funds. They work hard to better their craft and stay ahead of competition in order to give you the best tattoo possible. Tattooing is a service, but it’s also a brief relationship between the tattooer and the customer. Adhering to these things will make the process go much more smoothly for both parties involved. See you at the shop!
– Dustin Brown (Tattoo Collector)
We’ve got new Good Graces Tattoo shirts in stock this week. Re-upped on some sizes that were requested including some XXL for the big and tall guys and some more commonly requested sizes. We also have stickers and shirts in 2 more designs (click here for a preview of the other designs by Luke Worley & Shawn Dougherty). Come and grab one if you’re in the area before they’re all gone again! Thanks for looking
– Luke