Short North Tattoo

Went to get a tattoo behind my ear fixed the other day. Matt the owner was so helpful and friendly. He worked with me to make sure it turned out exactly what I wanted. He fixed the tattoo in less than an hour. I was embarrassed of my tattoo before coming here– I love it so much now! The place is much more inviting now after the remodel. I highly recommend this place, especially Matt!

Just got home from getting my 11^th tattoo by Scott Sims at Short North Tattoo. This guy is great. His passion for the traditional tattoo is what got me through the door intially, now it’s the excellent work that keeps me coming back.
The place is clean! The artists have talent! And I don’t plan to go anywhere else.
Keep up the good work, Scott.

I went to Short North Tattoo for my first tattoo and had a great experience! My artist put me at ease and the process was easy and also extremely professional. The shop is clean and the staff is really friendly and accommodating. I would really recommend checking them out, especially if it’s your first tattoo.

I very rarely decide to write reviews but after the service and work I received these past couple of weeks from Jacob Brentzel I felt it was imperative to share! So last week came into the Short North Tattoo shop to get a traditional-​style suitcase done and had the fortune of having Jacob come up with an idea. I was very open minded in letting Jacob put whatever he wanted on the tattoo with only one thing I wanted to keep specific to the original design and it was absolutely beautiful! While getting it done, Jacob and I got into the conversations of whom are favorite artists are and our interest in fine art. I mentioned my interest with Frida Kahlo and showed him a portrait that I had saved from a year ago and he immediately showed interest and was in love with it and told me he HAD to do it on me. I had no intention of getting it done recently but after much consideration and respect for Jacob’s artistry, I decided I would give it a go. Fast forward a week and I was back in the chair for another session. Man, I am so glad I decided to let Jacob to do the portrait. Initially we hadn’t intended to change the original idea but throughout the week Jacob contacted me and informed of some things he had come up with from a photo he had saved on a previous Frida piece he’d seen. In the middle of our session, Jacob informed me that he wanted to try some water color and some texture throughout the piece and he made me feel so comfortable with it that I gave him complete control over my tattoo again. Needless to say, it was absolutely beautiful. I am so content and incredibly happy with Jacob’s work that I intend on returning for my next portrait. If you want quality from your tattoo, I strongly recommend the Short North Tattoo Shop — especially Jacob Brentzel.

Scott was GREAT! He was so great, I brought 2 friends to him the same day! The shop is very, very clean — I say that because I tainted the chair with my shoe (and then again with a book) and Scott immediately disinfected it.
Scott is a great guy — he is easy to work with and has fabulous suggestions!
Short North Tattoo and Scott get 3 «thumbs up» from myself and my friends!
I’ll be back for a touch up of an old tattoo, that’s for sure!

My husband and I were in Columbus for the day and wanted to get matching tattoos, so we walked in to Short North Tattoo and spoke to an artist (Scott Sims) immediately. He told us that what we wanted was absolutely doable and told us to come back in a couple of hours when his appointment was over. At the appointed time we returned, and Scott drew up exactly what we wanted.
My husband went first, but about halfway through another artist (Ben Ervin) became available and did my tattoo from Scott’s drawing. The whole experience was wonderful, the guys (and everyone in the shop) were professional, kind, and very funny! We even wound up watching videos on youtube once the shop cleared out and that made the minor pain from the tattoo seem to fade. Very reasonable prices, excellent artwork, we would definitely return to Short North Tattoo!

I had color added to a tattoo by Alison Reber a few weeks ago. The tattoo turned out amazing! She did a wonderful job at keeping me calm the entire time. She is very friendly and talented! Alison has a really good eye for color. I came with her with what I wanted and she suggested a few more things which were much better than my ideas. The rest of the staff are really friendly and easy going as well.

Alison Reber is a great find! She was incredibly patient with all of my questions about the process and did an awesome job turning my idea into something simple but unique. Highly recommend. The shop is clean and everyone there was very friendly. I had a great experience for my first inking :).

Ben is great! As an out of town walk-​in client, he treated me with kindness. While this is my second tattoo I am not an expert nor do I claim to be an artist. However, this is a tattoo I have wanted for several years. Ben took a few seconds to understand what I wanted then he drew up a sketch and told me he’d work on it and to come back later that evening. He doesn’t know this, but I walked into the other shop right up the street and walked out pretty immediately after. I knew I was going to wait hours for Ben to do my tattoo! It turned out great. He was fun to chat with, and he recommended many local places to visit. Thanks, Ben!

I had such a bad experience. Not only did they make fun of me for my tattoo choice, but they all stood around debating who would take it because it was so ‘simple’. Once someone finally said they would take it, I asked him how he thought we could elevate the ‘simple’ tattoo and he laughed and said «fire, skulls» he wouldn’t take me seriously, which I’m sure was not helped that I could smell booze on his breath. I asked for someone else to do my tattoo since he had clearly been drinking. Once the tattoo was finished, i noticed that it was not done correctly and now I have to wait for 2 months for it to heal and then go back and have it fixed. I would not recommend this place to anyone else, especially being a female, i felt judged and uncomfortable the entire time.

I’ve never gotten a tattoo before, so after asking around, and talking to sweetie about the whole thing, I checked out Unilocal,of course. This place was in my top three, and we moseyed in on a Friday evening. They weren’t too busy, and Alison did a great job of translating our ideas into drawings. Then she walked me through the whole process, and I walked out without shedding any tears or blood (okay, a little blood.) The tattoo looks great and is healing well. Sweetie’s is just perfect too.
The place is clean, the staff is welcoming and full of amazing artists, and prices are reasonable. I don’t have anything to compare it too so I hesitate to give it five stars («as good as it gets,») but I am very happy with my experience.

I went to Short North Tattoo after reading the reviews online and hearing good things from former customers. I was looking for a quality artist to fix a tattoo on my foot that looked terrible. I was worried I’d be stuck with the terrible ink. But, Josh K. worked a miracle. He met with me twice beforehand and listened to exactly what I hated about the bad tattoo. He showed me his portfolio and let me show him some things I liked. I was thrilled when he said he could rework it based on ideas I had and he brought some wonderful ideas to the table that I wouldn’t have thought of! The new tattoo hurt (I am the first to admit that I have a low pain threshold!) But Josh was awesome and let me takes as many breaks as I needed until it was done. And the finished product is amazing. I am thrilled beyond words. Thank you to Josh! On top of all that, all the guys at the shop are polite, funny, and welcoming and the place is spotless. If you’re looking for a great place full of quality artists this is the place for you!

I decided on Short North Tattoo after visiting several other shops (High Street, Envy, etc) to get my current tattoo covered and to incorporate a portion of it into a new piece of artwork. This tattoo shop makes you feel comfortable the minute you walk in the door. I found Brett to be very receptive to my ideas as well as giving his own professional opinion on what would be end up with a good looking tattoo. I am trying to keep this as a short ½ sleeve in size so that it can not be seen at work. Of the places I visited he was the only one to agree to incorporate all my ideas as well as work with the space constraint. I was greeted by one of the other artists at the door who referred me to Brett as I would fall into his field of specialty. He was took my ideas and thoughts and improved them into a beautiful piece of artwork.
The tattooing session was pleasant. They have a TV in front of the chair and play music. Overall it took about 4 hours and it felt more like hanging out at a friends house than getting a tattoo. I am very happy with the final product and the entire process. He was able to reproduce the idea in my head and make it even better. When I have my next idea for a tattoo I will be returning to Short North Tattoo.

Several people referred me to Brett.
So let me sum up the first two visits — first — getting the appointment, talking the design.
The second? Outline. So painful outline. Brett said he is fast and brutal — and he had a half-​sleeve done in under sixty-​minutes. I was bruised and sore — but I fucking love the outline (including the touch-​up he did for a previous tattoo to fix a date).
The third — coming up, the coloring.
Brett has been awesome and friendly, and the rest of the staff has been cool and friendly — more so than other parlors I’ve been to.
I have several more planned — and if their staff is up for it, they’ll be the ones I stick with.

With an ego-​maniac, prima-​dona for an owner, I wouldn’t recommend it. I went to Brett Prince because he is a talented artist and soon learned that he is also an accomplished A-​hole! Where shall I begin?! He would not let me see his sketches until the day of the tattoo appointment and assured me if I wanted to change the design there would be no problem, but when i actually did want to make a small change he immediately bristled and became indignant that I «had had a month to look this over!», this was not true, since I saw it for the 1^st time at that moment. He seemed offended that I wanted the image to be my vision and not his, he refused to make the changes I asked for and the conversation quickly escalated to an argument for his lack of communication skills.
He immediately raised his voice and was talking over me. I could see that he was unstable and so i spoke with him as diplomatic as possible, but it’s hard communicating with someone with such an enormous ego. He insulted me several times, his language littered with profanity, and called me unprofessional, accused me of being an «emotionally unstable woman» and acted as though I were judging him for being covered in tattoos (clearly I wasn’t since I wanted him to tattoo me). Ironically, in his rant he shouted that he was «known for his customer service skills» and that he «wouldn’t have two tattoo shops if that was not true» (the 2^nd is now out of business). He rounded off this soliloquy with another nod, to his own superior skills as a tattoo master stating that he was now at «a place in his career where he could be choosy about his customers» and that I was «already a bigger pain in the ass than people with entire back pieces» (I guess I should just be honored he «chose» my body for his art, and shut up?) He then told me he wouldn’t tattoo me and stated that he would be keeping my $ 100 deposit.
In the end I am grateful for that interaction, because I would NEVER want the hand of such a person to etch anything permanently on my skin! Especially considering that the tattoo I had chosen, was to symbolize the interconnectedness of humankind (I would rather not be connected to him). I offer this story for your consideration because, for me getting a tattoo is a spiritual experience and should be focused on the customer and not an exercise in the ego of a narcissistic artist.
Edit response: I see Bret has accused me of being «high», yeah right. First off, more evidence that he truly is the up tight asshole that I was saying he was, second, what tattoo artist is seriously that concerned with whether or not their client smoked a doobie or not? This is just an excuse for his asinine behavior, he has terrible people skills, he thinks he’s god’s gift. Also, P. S. I have seen him smoking joints behind his shop about a million times as I used to store my pedicab in the garage behind Late Night Slice (their nextdoor neighbors), WTF, hypocritical! For the record, I had only ONE artist draw the tattoo before Brett I was not being overly picky, as I am an artist myself, and the next artist I went to got my business, $ 950 of it but he was kind and respectful.

Stopped in today for my artist consult and I must say I was impressed. I was greeted by not 1 or 2, but all three of the staffers there when I walked in the door. The space is open and bright and the art on the walls is eye-​catching and fun. The tattoo area is clean and sterile. Everything is very well-​organized.
I met with Gorilla Gillum — as his card proclaims — and he took my reference art and morphed the concept and idea into something that I’m sure will turn out beautifully (I’ll be sure to update when I see the final product). He incorporated not only my references and ideas, but also some really fantastic concepts I hadn’t even considered.
The price I was quoted was $ 100 an hour — which is more than fair and pretty much industry standard as far as I can tell from my 5 previous tattoo experiences. Finding a time to get my tattoo done around my weird work schedule and sleeping needs (Hello my fellow 3^rd shifters!) was super easy since he pretty much let me dictate my needs to him.
All-​in-​all, I’m very pleased with this first experience and look forward to updating you all when I’m done with my first session in a week.

I was recommended Brett Prince through a friend and I can safely say that I am very happy with how my tattoo turned out. I sent him an initial concept that I whipped up in Photoshop and he came up with a truly exceptional custom piece.
Across 3 sessions I always felt comfortable in the shop and enjoyed my time their. The have a large tv mounted on the wall and watching movies helps take the mind off the tattoo process.
Tattoos should be looked at as an investment and I felt what I paid was more than fair given the quality of my finished product. I would recommend Brett to anyone and I will be definitely getting more work done from him in the future

Before even getting into how talented the artists at Short North Tattoo are, I have to talk about the initial reaction you have when walking into the shop. The front is an art gallery – wood floors, tall and ornate ceiling – extremely minimal yet inviting. The actual area where the tattooing is is super comfortable. When I had my latest tattoo done, we put Netflix on the large flatscreen and it served as an enjoyable distraction.
There is no awkwardness when presenting an idea and they are always willing to take some time to sketch out an idea to make yours even better.
I definitely recommend Short North Tattoo. Will I be going back? Yes. Just give me some time to save up for the next tattoo.

A little background — I’m not really a «tattoo guy» and actually was kind of opposed to the idea of ever having one as recently as a few years ago. However, I warmed dramatically to the idea over the last couple of months and was finally pushed into action after an impromptu visit to Short North Tattoo with a friend of mine. We stopped in to say hello to his brother, who was getting a piece done by Cary, one of the artists at the studio.
I was extremely impressed as soon as I walked in, as the studio doubles as an art gallery, and the space has a very clean, minimalist feel with hardwood floors, high ceilings, and exposed brick. Cary was gracious enough to discuss my possible tattoo while he was working on my friend’s brother’s piece, and seemed genuinely excited about working with me. We exchanged a couple of ideas, and he committed to sending me a sketch of what he came up with. The sketch ended up being truly amazing, and surpassed my wildest expectations. I immediately made an appointment to have the work completed.
(Let me just say that Cary is an awesome artist. His work doesn’t begin and end with tattoos — he has many paintings and other works on display in the studio that are available for purchase.)
On the day of my appointment, Cary was very professional and kept my mind at ease, as this was my first tattoo. The whole set up was very clean and very sterile… not like those nasty ass tattoo parlors you see in the movies. Over the course of the two hours it took to complete the work, I watched in amazement as Cary basically turned my arm into a work of art. I could not be happier with the outline, and can’t wait to return in two weeks and have him do the coloring and shading (hopefully the pain subsides before then. Haha.)
Cary charges $ 100/​hour, which is extremely reasonable for an artist of his caliber. He won’t work on other peoples work, so don’t walk in expecting him to fix the tramp stamp you got when you were 18. However, if you want a truly original piece of art that will literally be a part of you for the rest of your life, do yourself a favor and check out Cary and Short North Tattoo.

I was referred to Brett when I was looking for an artist who was good with reworking existing tattoos. He is currently working on my entire sleeve that I was less than thrilled with. The initial consultation went better than expected and I was impressed that he hit the style I was going for right from the get go. Being that he is having to work with a piece that he had nothing to do with, the limitations that come with that and still be able to produce an amazing result is worth commending. I’ve had two sessions so far and can’t believe how he’s been able to salvage a washed out, dull, poorly planned tattoo and turn it into something I’m proud of.
Sovereign Collective sets itself apart by being stylish and comfortable rather than contrived and intimidating. The space is clean and doubles as a gallery for emerging artist. Parking is easy and pricing is very reasonable.