Ink Side Out Tattoos

Awful customer service. Called ahead to ensure a piercer would be available (but they wouldn’t take an appoinment) and drove a half hour to Ink Side Out. Upon arrival, the staff informed me that the piercer had left for the day. They truly could have cared less about the situation… ended up elsewhere and had a much better experience.

Tons of people hanging around makes you feel very uncomfortable. The owner seems disconnected and lacks customer care. He makes you feel like your bothering him with questions and feedback. I’m done dealing with them. I got 1 there a couple of years ago and it’s jacked as hell. Just because you live in Norwalk doesn’t mean you have to permanently mark your body with sub par work from local yocals. Venture beyond state lines and see the true beauty of better artists.

Do not go here if you want a perfect tattoo and a fun enjoyable experience. I got a tattoo done here last year and the artist could not have been any more unprofessional. He was extremely rude and sarcastic right off the bat — this is not how I want the artist who is about to put something permanent on my body to be. After multiple attempts to position my tattoo correctly he grew frustrated that I wasn’t satisfied with the uneven placing. I walked out of there with a sloppy, uneven tattoo and I will never go back or recommend this place to anyone.

Terrible terrible terrible!!! Three bad experiences and I’m finally writing a review.
Number one, I got my belly pierced there and it’s crooked. So yay for paying like $ 80 and not being fully satisfied with my piercing. That occurred in September 2013.
About a year later (October 2014) I called to see if I can get a piercing done and the lady on the phone said yes, the piercer is here today. So I take a train and walk over a damn mile. Walk in and say I called to get my piercing done. The girl says «oh yeah ok what are you trying to get done» I said septum and she goes «oh yeah… our piercer that does that isn’t here today. He’ll be here tomorrow though» uhm first of all what kind of piercer doesn’t know how to do septum piercing? and second of all don’t you think you should mention that to a customer or at least ask on the phone what piercing they’re trying to get if your piercer is limited to his job?! The piercer that was there seemed to be the same one that pierced my belly a year before that so totally makes sense why he can’t do all the piercings if he can’t even get a belly one straight. So I was really annoyed and went to get ink in norwalk for the first time, which was fantastic! Got my septum and tragus done there the same day! Great customer service and cheap as hell!
Today I had another bad experience with ink side out which is why I’m here. I called all the places in Norwalk to see how much a back dimple piercing is. All of them (besides ink side out) said $ 50 or $ 60 for each and $ 80 or $ 100 for a pair, the only issue is that the piercers are not in today and I really wanted to get it done. So I called ink side out (was that desperate) and the piercer is in today, cept the lady (pretty sure same one that fucked me over with the septum situation, why is she still working there I have no clue) she told me that for one its $ 120 and for a pair $ 200! Can you believe it?! Get Ink has the same piercing available for $ 80…that’s over $ 120 price difference. I honestly couldn’t believe it and called ink side out again to see if the uneducated lady is positive about the price she mentioned because that just sounds surreal. She said she’s 100% positive. So I’ll wait out till Monday to get my dimples done and save $ 120, energy that is used to communicate with the biotch that works at ink side out and I’ll know my piercings won’t be crooked. I would suggest same to you. Ink side out looks nice and professional but they’re way overpriced and customer service isn’t great at all. There are many other places in Norwalk that you can try out and be more satisfied with.
I would give zero stars to that place but that’s not an option lol

I came here recently to get my nose pierced. I first found out about it when stopping someone in Greenwich who I saw with their nose pierced and asked where they got it done. She really recommended it and said they are the best in the area (I had just moved here so I didnt have any idea).
The guy who did it was pretty relaxed and straight forward, I already had my nose pierced before and Ive had many other piercings in the past including industrial and nipple. I explained to him even though I love piercings I am really not good with needles. He assured me I would be fine and it that he is very quick and it will be easy. And it was, it was by far the easiest, best, quickest and more relaxed piercing experience I’ve ever had. No fuss and pretty much no pain!
The reason I can’t give it 5 stars however is because when I was first enquiring about it, I called up and asked the girl how much, and if I need an appointment etc. She said it was $ 60 (which is expensive I think — especially for Norwalk, I had my nipple pierced in NYC for $ 50 at a really good place). So the price I think is a little high.
Also the fact that after enquiring about the piercing I asked what time they were open until, she said 7pm. I drove over and got there at 5.35, I told her I was here to get my nose pierced and she replied that that piercer just left as he leaves at 5.30pm. Ok then… The week after that I got out of work and wanted to drive over and hopefully catch him before he left, I called (at 5.05 on a saturday) and told them I will be leaving now from stamford and I should be there before 5.30 but I just wanted to make sure it would be ok if I came now. Her response was pretty much, he leaves at 5.30 and if you aren’t here by then and get stuck in traffic he’s still going to leave. Again, ok then… Fair enough. But this is a $ 60 2 minute piercing were talking about, if I was 5 minutes late he couldn’t just quickly do it? So I didn’t bother going I didn’t want to risk it for a second time.
And one other slight annoying factor was that they didn’t have any plain silver small studs, he pierced it with a gem one, he didn’t give me the choice. When I saw it I asked do you guys not have any plain ones, he replied no. Which is again annoying paying $ 60 for something that isn’t fully what you want.
All in all though the piercing experience was great, I’m just being a bit nitpicky, the girl on reception was really sweet and through everything on the phone was really nice and was never rude. The guy that pierced it was as I said was quick and he was also pretty informative yet laid back. I would definitely come back!

George has an incredibly steady hand. As soon as I saw my finished tattoo I couldn’t believe how amazing it looks. Very friendly atmosphere and will definitely be back for more. Highly recommended!

Great experience! Got my nose pierced by Josh, he was awesome he made it painless and enjoyable experience. The shop was extremely clean and everyone was friendly. I definitely recommend Josh if you need a piercing!

Everybody was so unexpectedly sweet. Courteous and knew what the hell they’re doing. George did an awesome job on my shoulder. After leaving a Maryland artist I was comfortable with, finally found my Connecticut tattoo home.

Im not sure if he still works here but i got a tattoo by an artist named elliot, not only was the work sloppy (all the letters are shaky and the skin around the letters looks shaded) but i paid 200 $ for a painful rib tattoo that he did incorrectly the first time so all the ink came out and i had to get it completely redone and was never offered any kind of compensation for the pain, inconvenience and sloppy work and on top of that i met someone who received a tattoo from the same guy and he misspelled a word on his tat

Came here months ago to get my first tattoo on my hip. The tattoo was fairly simple and came out fine but the artist seems to lack knowledge on proper care and treatment for tattoos.
I asked repeatedly if there was anything i should put on it after i took off the bandaid, but he kept saying no it’ll be fine. After getting advice from another tattoo artist and many people after my second tattoo, i was advised that it is important to put ointment on it for 2 weeks and sunscreen on it when going into the sun.
Also, he never shaved the area first. Not that there were any visible body hairs on my hip, but after going to get tattoos with friends and getting another one myself, i noticed that they always shave the area to make sure it’s clean and that there are no in grown hairs.
Although i got this tattoo less than a year ago, it’s already starting to fade. I’ve had multiple other tattoo artists look at it to see if i can get a touch up and many commented that the technique used when doing this tattoo wasn’t as professional as it could have been. There are uneven areas that are darker than others and some spots that are a little bumpy.
I know that other people love this place and thats why i came here, but it just seems like the work was done carelessly and the lack of instructions for how to care for it is unprofessional. Really disappointed.

Great shop, will definitely be back soon for more work. Overall very pleasant experience.

They were great here! It was my first tattoo, and I was pretty nitpicky (spelling?) about the design (fleur de lis), for the obvious reason that if it’s going to be on my body forever, it better be what I want. I brought in a picture of the tattoo and they didn’t trace it because the picture was asymmetric. We worked together to draw what I had in mind and they were totally patient and carried out all the details until it was my idea of perfect. The tattoo part was quick and easy and they gave me a handy little aftercare kit.
The little tattoo was $ 120 though, which was definitely more expensive than i expected.
I also got my cartilage pierced here a couple years ago and it healed quickly and came out nicely.
More recently, I got my nose pierced here, and I’m not sure if every place uses this type of jewelry, but the stud they used had virtually nothing on the other end to keep it from coming out. Then, even though I followed all the instructions for after-​care, the stud came out while I was sleeping the second night I had it in! And it was so small that I couldn’t find it in my bed or on the floor, so I decided to get my nose repierced on the other side. The second time was much faster, and I only had to pay for the jewelry instead of another piercing. It’s been about two weeks and the stupid stud came out plenty of times, and it got lost in the ocean the other day. The piercing itself is fine, though — it’s almost fully healed and now I’m just looking for another stud or something to replace the last.

Really nice crew working there. I went there for a very simple addition to an existing tattoo. I had clouds put around a cross I already had. To make it short, the artist made the clouds come out crooked. The whole tattoo is thrown off. I also have lettering above the cross which he brought the clouds into — so the lettering has become blended with the clouds and is hard to make out. I spent almost $ 400 on the job. Pretty disappointed.

Went here for sensitive piercings, and then returned later with my sister for two tattoos for her. The tattoos were great, and they asked a ton of questions to get placement and sizing correct. I loved their attention to detail and the tattoos are still going strong 5+ months later. For that, I think this shop is an A+ experience, and it earns them 3 stars.
However, I learned later on that curved barbells for nipples were a big no-​no, and guess what? I got curved barbells. They didn’t ask me what gauge, and they showed me no other jewelry options. A year later, they’re still healing, which I know is normal, but I can’t help but think they should have been much further along, if not healed. I’m a very fast healer, so this is just annoying. For piercings, go elsewhere. –2 stars.
They were friendly and reasonable in prices, but piercings are one thing you should never have to be iffy about.

Best tattoo shop ever… I’ve had mine done for a little over 9 years and it still looks amazing just like the day I got it. The detail in the cross is absolutely insane… Josh, (the owner?) really took his time and did an amazing job. When I’m ready for another, this is the only place I would consider. Whoever says they are overpriced is just being cheap… You get what you pay for… Clean and comfortable inside as well, not like a lot of LB places in other cities. :)

Many of my Unilocal followers might not be aware, but I am a big fan of tattoos; with that being said, when it comes to Ink-​side-​out, I don’t think I’ve been to a better tattoo shop yet in my life. Ink-​side-​out is the standard to which all tattoo and piercing parlors should be measured, period. It’s an amazing place, and is definitely one of the best of its kind in the entire state of Connecticut. Don’t believe me? Just check out their accolades.
I’ve had two tattoos done here within the past two years, both of which were done by Anthony Neave (Pony Rose). My experience overall was absolutely lovely each time I was in the shop, from beginning to end. You don’t have to worry about pretentious workers like you sometimes encounter in other tattoo parlors — everyone at Ink-​side-​out is just as excited as you are about getting new tattoos, planning out new designs, and talking about new piercings. I’ve not yet met anyone at Ink-​side-​out that I wasn’t immediately at ease with, and can highly recommend Anthony as a tattoo artist. I’ve had tattoos done by other artists in different parlors in New England, but my tattoos done by Anthony are my absolute favorite. I can’t imagine going to any other artist for my future tattoos, and hope everyone that’s even considering Ink-​side-​out will listen to me when I say that they can do no better when it comes to tattoo parlors.

I’m going to be writing this review in every website I possibly can. If you are considering getting any tattoo work done in this establishment, stop considering; just call and make an appointment. Every artist in this place is top-​notch. You can see what I got done here:
Believe it or not, it looks so much better than these pics. This place is clean, professional and effective. I went in with an idea and my artist (Anthony Neave) designed something absolutely beautiful. What I wanted originally was something that, aesthetically didn’t make sense so, instead of just doing what I asked he explained why it wouldn’t be agood idea and he was 100% right! I would have regretted getting this piece as I was thinking of at first. I wanted until my time with them was concluded (a 4 hour session, a 5 hour session and another to go over small arts after it was healed and not swollen) to provide a complete analysis and review. The ONLY negative here is that the place isn’t handicap accessible. HOWEVER the staff was more than willing and able to get me in there wheelchair and all so really that factor wasn’t enought to subtract the top rating. Although I would be more inclined to visit more often if it weren’t for that step outside the entrance (hint hint JOSH lol too subtle?) All in all, this was an awesome experience with friendly and professional people. KUDOS!
–Oscar Fernandez

The best tattoo shop in CT!
After researching and seeing too many crappy tattoo shops in my area I finally found Ink Side Out. They are absolutely amazing. The staff is very nice and accommodating. I have gone to many a tattoo shops where the staff and artists are intimidating and condescending. It was refreshing to come to a shop where the artists are passionate and really nice! Anthony turned my old crappy tattoo into something beautiful. He took my idea and customized a design just for me that I love. The artists portfolios are amazing so you can trust their work fully. I am totally faithful to Ink Side Out and recommended everyone to come here!