Certified Customs

This is not a professional shop. Don’t waste your time, money or clean skin. They do crappy work and don’t stand behind it. Way too expensive. Plenty of other good shops in the area. Move along from this one.

Way too expensive for what you get!!! $ 60 bucks for a simple black tattoo on my finger! The dude cut my husband’s finger with his needle, slicing through the tattoo! Definitely not worth it especially with so many tattoo parlors in Denver

Extremely disappointed. I moved from the west cost & was excited I found what I thought was a good tattoo place. After about a year of thinking of a design I came up with a tribute tattoo to my mother who passed away. I searched for months and decided on certified customs. I called ahead of time to schedule an appointment, but my 1^st & 2^nd choice are booked till Jan (understandable). My 3^rd choice doesn’t do color at all. The lady working the desk helped me pick someone else and assured me I could make the appointment on my birthday, towards the end of August and said it would be $ 80. She also said I could meet wih the artist for a consultation before he left for the day. A short 5−10min meeting. Her idea. He leaving at 8pm. I had to wait for my boyfriend to get off of work a 5 to get the car, filled up the tank, and drove an hour and a half to get there to talk to him. I arrived at 7pm, an hour before it was time for him to leave.
As soon as I walked in the door the lady at the desk had an attitude. I told her I had talked to her twice on the phone. That I was the one that had a consultation with Chris. She said «I talk to lots of people. I don’t remember you.» Even though I had talked to her on the phone, twice Just an hour beforehand. Plus she remembered me the 2^nd time I called to ask a question! I after explaining what I was there for she didn’t let me meet with the artist. even though that’s why I changed my plans, rushed, drove 90 mins to meet him. She insisted she could answer my questions.
She said they couldn’t do the first tattoo I wanted. Okay. Then they couldn’t do the second tattoo I wanted. Then the third tattoo was fine for $ 150 – 200 even though I was told $ 80 on the phone. I asked which spot on my body, between three, was least painful. She said they were all the same… Then I asked if I could get the 2^nd tattoo if I got it bigger and higher up on my leg, she said yes. I asked what’s the smallest I could get it, she didn’t know. She asked the person next to her, they didn’t know. That is why I drove all the way there! To talk to the actual artist, who would know! When it was time to make the appointment she said Sep 28^th, even though on the phone I was guaranteed Aug 19^th with the same artist. How did it change by a month in an hour? I went a head and scheduled the appointment regardless. I asked to see Chris’s portfolio before I left and she said they don’t have any… for any artists… what!?! So then I asked to see a script book and they didn’t have one… I have NEVER been in a tattoo shop that didn’t have portfolios or as script book. EVER. So I asked if I found the font I want on my own would the artist be able to do it? Meaning can he do any script or does he only specialize in a few? Or what? And I qoute «no don’t worry about it. They’ll come up with something.» And waved her hand. They’ll come up with something!?. Or course I’m going to worry. It’s going to be on my body for the rest of my fucking life. And it’s a tribute to my mother. What if it’s not the font I want and I end of hating it for the rest of my life. I’m not paying $ 200 for something they are just going to wing and I’m supposed to like. Most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Needless to say at that point I was NOT going to get tattooed there. She then asked me for my $ 50 cash deposit. 1. I was told the deposit was $ 100 over the phone, and 2. I was wasn’t told cash only. I told her I would have to think about if I wanted to keep the appointment at this point. If I decide and call back can I pay the deposit over the phone with my card. After saying yes, she wrote down my details on the back on a card for when I call back. On the back on the card the price for the tattoo was $ 90÷100−150? So yet another different price qoute… on the same tattoo. She also wrote on the card $ 50 CASH deposit. You just said I could pay on the phone. So do I have to drive all the way back again just to pay cash? Because that would be helpful to know. She really didn’t answer ANY of my questions, I don’t understand why I couldn’t meet with the actual artist who is going to be tattooing my body, for 5mins, to discuss my questions and get some actual answers. Lastly, I got interrupted the whole time by random customers coming up to talk to the lady at the reception desk, and she stopped in the middle of our conversation to take 3 different peoples payment! This was all within 15mins, It would have only taken 5 mins if she would have stopped putting me to the side and just asked other people to wait bc she’s dealing with me, a customer, right now. She had an attitude and was rude the whole time. I would not have made the 1hr and a half drive there, 2 hr drive back, with traffic, if I knew I knew it would have only been a few minutes of bad service. I’m assuming it’s the same girl because she told me she would be there when I got there. I was so excited, but within 5mins I don’t feel comfortable getting any of my tattoos here

I wish there was a way to give this shop a lot more stars! I had been researching watercolor style tattoos for nearly a year. After looking through different shops and portfolios I couldn’t find any that did a style I liked. One day I decided to Google search «Watercolor tattoo and Denver.» Yeyo’s work popped up. I was blown away! I searched his work and came to realize he was booked out pretty far in advanced. This was in February. At the end of March my fiancé and I decided to go Certified Customs just to see if we could get in. We are getting married in June so we were wanting to have our pieces done before then (I know, we shouldn’t have waited but life sometimes gets in the way)
I can’t say how IMPRESSED I am with the shop. Maira greeted us upon arrival and we both explained what we wanted. I knew I wanted to work with Yeyo and my fiancé knew what style he wanted so they set him up with Mordecai. Yeyo was able to fit me in even though he is pretty much booked for months.
I had my first session on ⁴⁄₆. I told Yeyo what I wanted and gave him reign to do it his way. I’m still amazed when I see the first flower he did. The detail and color is beyond anything I could have imagined. Yeyo was great at taking breaks when we both needed them. The atmosphere of the shop is fun and exciting. Great music blasting along with laughs all around. They like to have fun but are extremely professional at what they do.
Yeyo does have a gentle hand when tattooing. I sat for around 2 ½ hours each session and not much of that was insanely painful. I think that’s pretty good for the amount of work he did. His price per hour is what I think it should be.
I had three more sessions to complete my entire upper back. I got emotional when I saw the end piece because it is so beautiful! I’m excited to show it off in my wedding dress in a month.
Just a few tips if you are wanting a nice tattoo:
–You’re going to have have to PAY for it. Don’t expect a piece of art for $ 50.
–Be flexible. Don’t schedule your appointment expecting to be somewhere by a certain time. You want the artist to have the time they need to do the work you want
–Don’t get mad if the artist is running late/​behind. Life happens. I’d rather an artist run late on my appointment because they’re taking longer on the person before me. At least I know they’ll do the same for me.
All in all… would HIGHLY recommend this shop! They have an artist for any kind of tattoo you could imagine and it’s a great atmosphere!

My original status… Tattoo Virgin! I had thought about getting a tattoo for quite some time… years to be exact. So this was not one choice that I rushed. Difficult life experiences with my daughter prompted the idea for the tattoo that I desired. I wanted a personalized piece that would represent our struggles in a positive way. I knew my concept and the objects that I wanted represented but I needed help putting it together. I research shops online… looked at artists after artists, read reviews and write-​ups regarding each shop… I found that I was drawn to Graham N. work at Certified Customs on Broadway. Woohoo! Because the tattoo entailed a lot, the artist requested a detailed email with examples of what I like and wanted. I shared a little about my personal struggle so the artist could hopefully understand the concept and what I was looking for. I even went so far as to share some of my artwork (digital photography) that I created around my daughter and I. (Again, hoping that the importance of this piece would shine through.) Alright, came in for the actual appt… the artist showed me his idea on the stencil. I looked at it and I really like the design. Had some questions about the background and what some parts were… obviously there was no color or detail. I felt good… again liked the design and we proceeded.
Graham was supper nice and kept checking in with me. After he finished the outline, had me take a look… it is located on my right shoulder blade and is a good size. It looked and okay… then came color. As I was heading back to the chair, Yeyo who was tattooing in the chair next to us looked with not much reaction and asked if we were doing it all today and the artist said if I could sit through it. At this point I started to wonder if perhaps I should have been advised to do this larger piece in a couple sessions. I just thought maybe this is not the best scenario. I even asked how other people do their process broken up or not… All done… took a look in a mirror to see my back… looked good. The artist spoke to me about care, wrapped it up and followed me down to pay. Said a few things and went to the back part of the shop. The guy collecting payment asked me several times if I was supposed to come back and I said not that I was told. This also caught me off guard as if there was suppose to be a check but… Yeyo was also sitting there and he told me that if I wanted to come back for a touch up after it healed I could. Okay… felt weird that artist not talking to me and requesting to look at his work after healing. Took a nice tip back to artist-​legitimatly felt that he was interested in how I was doing and he did put some work into it.
Showed my co-​workers and no one was really impressed. I was asked where did you get it and how much did you pay for «that.» My friend that has several tattoos said that the wings of the butterfly did not match-​not symmetrical and neither was the turtle. Shading was different side to side and fade out was really choppy. Felt bad about it… called shop they asked me to come in. Went in. Yeyo (owner) came looked said oh he thought it was all messed up-​said just needs touch up and left. I was looking for some straight-​up okay this is how we will enhance it and clean it up. I recommended stronger lines… but I was really needing the artist to be aggressive look at the work and say this is what it needs… Scheduled touch up. The next day I went to several other shops for opinions. Overall… not a bad tattoo-​all agree needs clean up and adjustments and more color. I was also told that overtime with the natural fading of color, the lotus flower (no outline or strong color differentiation would blur together.) The one artist that I was supper impressed with looked at it for a bit. Recommended more color talked to me about where the eye was going and how the turtle was getting lost and that the fade outs needed to fade to nothing and not end so quickly… Showed me an example of fading and of lotus flower. This is what I was needing! Canceled appt. with Certified Customs. I will not return to Certified Customs — quality control is lacking and I was ignorant.

Unilocal didn’t let me down this time! Went in as a walk in and was helped right away. I was able to get a draw up in a reasonable amount of time and he was very flexible with my budget and what I wanted. Butch is the man!

I had a fantastic experience with Yeyo. This is only my second tattoo, and my first I got in color. After searching long and hard for the right artist to do my watercolor tattoo, and even putting a deposit down with someone else, I decided on Yeyo. He really listened to what I had to say and didn’t make it seem like I was asking for something that couldn’t be done as others had. He was ok with the size (other people had told me I would have to go bigger for all the detail to come through) and he understood the abstract washy style I was going for. He seemed genuinely excited to be working on this design and when he drew it just before my appointment he gave me time to think about any changes I might want to make. In the end, I pretty much let him do his thing and it came our beautifully. I would definitely go back to Yeyo and Certified Customs!

Just had some work done here today by Graham, I can’t be happier with the whole experience! The staff was wonderful, even offering to keep my parking meter paid while in session, like wow!
And as for the work itself, to say that Graham is extremely talented is probably an understatement — I’ve been looking for «my» artist in Denver ever since moving from SoCal and I’m lucky to have finally him here.
Can’t wait to come back for my next piece!

Went in to get a piercing changed and the guy did not know what he was doing and was stoned out of his mind (I could smell it as soon as I walked in). The staff was not knowledgeable and were not organized at all.

We had an appointment with Yeyo and when we got there we were told he didn’t check his schedule and wouldn’t be there till 2pm. Our appt was 12:30 and we had to be at work. Girl at front desk said she would do our appt and then said it was over her ability. Duh… that’s why we scheduled an appt with the artist ahead of time and not the receptionist!

Got a piece done by Artis. Picked him because of his style and great realistic tattoos in his portfolio. Then when I got my actual tattoo, the end product was cartoon-​y rather than realistic and not at all what I was hoping for. He also seemed unfriendly during the appointment and not really willing to make changes to the sketch he’d drawn up (which it seemed like he didn’t even do until I got to the appointment).

I’ve been through 4 tattoo shops around the Denver area. This is by far the most professional and best quality tattooing I’ve experienced in Denver. I go to Artis for his realistic style and his ability to visualize your concept and to apply it perfectly. I am convinced he is the best black and white portrait artist in the state. You won’t be disappointed. And if he doesn’t believe he can create your concept the way you want it to turn out, he’ll suggest another one of the talented artists more suitable for the job. So legit! I ended up filming a video portraying Artis’ style, here it is
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Great artists, fun atmosphere, newly remodeled! No matter what style you’re interested in, Certified has an artist for that. I have 10 tattoos from Certified, pretty much a walking billboard. Everyday, people compliment them, and i always tell them about Certified Customs with pride. These guys work hard, and their tattoos reflect that.

I get tattooed at Certified Customs all the time, Spencer is ma boy!!! He is a great artist, with beautiful line work, a gentle hand, great company and has some purdy eyes! I’ve had 4 pieces done by him neo-​traditional and traditional. I won’t go to anyone else! The shop is sick as f*ck and the staff are all great, and very welcoming! There is an artist there for any style you want! I definitely recommend this shop!;)

Very pleased with the atmosphere and the craftsmanship of my work. My tattoo was relatively simple and on the funnier side, but definitely an awesome experience. Butch was my artist and did a great job.

I can’t say enough good things about this place. Chunk is an exceptional tattoo artist. His skill and creativity with lettering and grayscale is just sick. It helps that he is a really nice guy and super easy to work with. It’s what a tattoo shop should be in the most classic sense in my opinion. It’s in a very unique area, across the street from an Adult Entertainment store, filled with people covered in ink, great music, ad infinitum. 5 stars. Headed back today to get another one!

If I could give this place more stars, I would. I would never dream of going anywhere else to get a tattoo. Certified goes above and beyond. I was so nervous about getting my first tattoo, but all they guys were so nice and made me feel comfortable. I worked with Artis. I met with him about a week before I had it done, and told him what I wanted. On the big day, he showed me what he drew up. I liked what he had but I didn’t LOVE it (which I think you have to love it if its going to go on your body forever.) I told him the things that I liked and didn’t like and he drew up another draft. At first I felt kind of bad for having him take the time to redraw it, but he told me he was more than happy to do it because its my body that its going on forever, not his. This is true. His second draft was PERFECT! Once everything was set up, he went to work. In fact, he worked on me for 9 hours straight with 3 little breaks in between. He was beyond patient with me and very calming. Because it was my first tattoo, I was not only nervous but I didn’t really know what to expect. He talked to me the whole time and made me feel a lot better. He always made sure that I was comfortable and doing ok. Towards the final hours I was starting to get a little restless, but I wanted him to finish. He stayed very gentle and steady the whole time. Once it was all over I’m pretty sure I cried tears of joy because, 1) it was finally done and 2) because he did such an amazing job!!! I always told myself that I was only going to get one tat. Well, after my awesome experience here, I was back a few months later to get my second one with Artis again. I will continue to go here as well as refer anyone and everyone here! This is such a good place to go. I’ve seen some incredible artwork come out of this place from ALL of the artists plus its really clean and comfortable! I can’t say enough good things about Certified Customs!

This place is wonderful. After a terrible experience at Phantom 8 with JD over quoting me 20 hrs at 150.00 an hour for my small half sleeve, I went to Certified Customs. When I walked in everyone was so friendly and Artis was super enthusiastic about doing my tattoo. He was stoked and said he would love to do it and I felt right at home. I also brought some song lyrics that I was hoping to get as well and Yeyo took me right in, drew up a sick font and made my ribcage tat as pleasant as a rib cage tat could be and he did it that night. Chello was wonderful and friendly as well. They are fabulous, extremely talented and make you feel like youre at home. They have a customer in me for life.

I decided to get a tat a few weeks back because after seventy some years of living, I finally had an experience worthy of a lifelong alteration of my skin somewhere on my body. I researched the hell out of places and decided on either Colfax or South Broadway as having some of the better shops and artists. Since I live closer to South Broadway, that’s what I picked.
I stopped in every tat shop on South Broadway looking through the portfolios of the artists, paying particular attention to the higher rated shops and the recommendations of those I trust in the Unilocal community. Ironically, I didn’t like anything I saw at any of the shops as I was looking at something in particular… that is, until I stopped into Certified Customs.
Spencer was the guy that did Japanese-​styled tats, so I talked to him a bit, told him what I was looking for and asked him for some recommendations for splashing it up a bit as I’m not much of a creative chap. A week later, he had some really cool recommendations and off we went. Sure, it felt like he was cutting my nipple off at times even though the gun was nowhere near my nipple at any time, but overall he did an incredible job and was a cool cat to boot. He added some really nice touches with colors and making it look a bit more airbrushed. All his post-​tat care recommendations resulted in a great looking tat that everyone who’s seen it says is bad ass.
I’d post a pic, but I’m afraid of either turning on or off people with my chiseled or non-​chiseled body. I’d definitely leave any other tats in the hands of Spencer here though.

This all in one shop is a great addition to the neighborhood. They go far beyond the realm of «tattoo» shop or «urban clothing store» and really affiliate themselves with the entire lifestyle, as well as the community.

Yeyo and Brandon, owner & manager respectively, are cool people with a good attitude and a desire to truly help you whether its a tattoo design you are contemplating or what can of paint to use for your first tag (on your personal property, of course…)
They have a pretty sweet logo design on their store brand tees and I hope to see them designing more and more clothing. More importantly, I hope to see that clothing on more and more locals!