On this long overdue trip to L.A., I was going to get something done at High Voltage (of L.A. Ink fame)... until I did a search and found some awful reviews. Found another highly rated shop, but they didn't have any appointments available for my window.
Then I found Purple Panther Tattoo and a slew of raves.
Koko *is* brilliant and the sweetest person ever. Believe the reviews.
The shop charges by the hour, and my tattoo took a lot longer than her initial estimate -- but she didn't charge me for the additional hours.
Check the website and call ahead to verify availability. There were two artists available when I walked in (Koko and Emily, who also seemed to have some high recommendations), but they both got tied up for hours (with me and someone else) so they had to turn away a bunch of walk-ins. And check the hours to make sure you aren't asking to get a 3-hour tattoo an hour before they close.
I probably ended up saving a lot of money by not going to some of those higher-profile shops. I vouch for the incredible work that Koko did for me (based on a design that I had ready for her), but I'm sure the other artists are of the same caliber. A shop doesn't need to have its own reality show to be stellar, and this one is well worth your time.
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