Moth and Dagger Tattoo Studio

Just finished a 20+ hour masterpiece by Justin. It is truly one of a kind. The price always came second to quality. I would suggest any one looking for quality work from an honest artist, contact Justin or Mario at Moth and Dagger

Great First Tattoo!
After years of deliberation I decided to get a tattoo. I went here on the strength of the reviews on Unilocal.Mario, the owner, was extremely helpful and fit me in on relatively short notice. He also asked questions to understand why I wanted a tat, it’s significance, etc. And he took me seriously even though I am probably much older than the average customer.
My tat looks great and I recommend Mario highly.

Mario is one of the kindest and most thoughtful people I have ever met! As a breast cancer survivor in need of new nipple tattoos, Mario was extremely generous with his time and determination to make sure I was happy with my new «look», I am grateful to him for giving me back some confidence I had been lacking for a while due to my mastectomy scars and faded tattoos. He did a fantastic job and I highly recommend him to anyone seeing ANY type of tattoo!

I had always wanted a tattoo but could never decide on exactly what I wanted. Well, I finally decided what I wanted and « Unilocaled» around for a tattoo studio/​artist that did great work and had good reviews. Well, I found that at Moth and Dagger Tattoo, where Mario just finished my second tattoo I had done by him. The shop is located at the intersection of the Nob Hill, Chinatown and Union Square area of San Francisco and looks likes it was converted from a barbershop.
I am extremely happy with the work that Mario did. He is quick and his lines are very sharp and clean. He engages you in conversation and checks that you are doing okay. He’s like a gentle giant. I had even apologized for any profanity that might spew from my mouth, prior to the tattooing… glad none came out!
The other two guys that work there also look like they do great work.
If anyone is looking for a great tattoo artist and studio, check out Mario @ Moth and Dagger!
I may be back for a third, colored tattoo!

Long overdue review.
I came to Justin after hearing about him from a friend. Justin is the man. Fun guy to talk to for three hours. and charged me VERY fairly so a large tip was in order!
That was 7 – 8 months ago and I’m still very happy with the tat!

My 3 sessions with justin is awesome! Highly recommended! Book ur appointment or consults by calling or email first! Ask as many question as possible specially if this will be ur first tat! Make sure to check their portfolios as well! Follow him @ Instagram: sweetmiserytattoos /​FB: moth and dagger tattoo studio/​or contact him via email:
. I’m definitely Happy with my ink! Will probably be back for more! Maybe a back piece this time…

Justin Davis is a god. He listened to my idea, turned it into art, laid it down efficiently, and charged a fair price. Highly recommend, and I will be back in.

I just finished my owl chest piece with Justin Davis, and I couldn’t be happier with it. It came out beautifully, and he was great during the entire process. The third session to color it was by far the most painful (the previous two, outline and shading, actually weren’t that bad because he has a very light touch) but he was really understanding and tried his best to distract me with conversation, stories, and jokes.
I checked out his Instagram feed before booking with him, and it’s a very accurate representation of the quality of his work and his style, so if you like what you see I would strongly recommend booking with Justin.

Me and my friend Marcelo got an awesome tattoo with Mario. He is very kind and professional. this was my 1^st tattoo and for sure not the last. I really love it and the way he made me feel confident about it was crucial for encouraging me to do it.

Got my first tattoo done here by Mario and I am so happy with it! Mario is a super cool and funny guy. He definitely makes you feel comfortable throughout the whole process. Although my tattoo is still at its healing stage, it looks amazing. Quality work people! Will probably get another one soon and for sure going back to Mario

Once again, Mario did an amazing job on our tattoos! My sister and I wanted matching cactus flowers and he was so patient with us and did everything he could to make us both comfortable. We ended up getting 2 tattoos each and he took his time with both of us making sure we were doing ok as we sat there. The line work is flawless and the color saturation is amazing! Defenately the place to go in the city if you want an artist who takes pride in his work and takes his time with you. Great customer service and great prices for absolutely amazing work.

I adore this shop. It’s is definitely my home shop from now on!
Mario is a boss! Literally, he owns the joint. He does incredibly work. Beautiful lines, lovely shades and a swift hand. What more can one ask for?! Shop is wonderful, small quaint, community style. The other guys who work here are swell. I don’t have enough words to show my appreciation. Give them all the monies now. You won’t be sorry.

Got a tattoo done from Joe, it is one of my favorites by far. Joe was very professional, his art is amazing, & his attention to detail was much appreciated. Love my new tattoo more than words can describe, thanks Joe. Also my boyf really likes his new shirt he got from the shop. He made a point to tell me at least 12x.

Moth & Dagger is the real deal, does great work, is reasonably priced, in a great location, and won’t take months to get an appointment. I’ve had alot of tattoos and this was handled very well.
Justin is the guy you want: very careful, patient, methodical, and very experienced. He also likes to do alot of prep work prior to your appointment, which is really helpful in nailing down exactly what you want and making you more comfortable. I highly recommend doing this and getting a consultation with Justin before your actual appointment. Justin has been there 6 years and I feel very confident in his work and process, like knowing you have the top doctor in the country when you go into a scary hospital situation! He’s also a great artist.
Chase

Joe did an amazing job for me yesterday. This was my first tattoo and I was only in town for one day. I called in and he said to walk in. I got in, told him my idea, and he drew it up and talked to me about the idea (and talked me out of some points that he said probably wouldn’t work well). Anyway, long story short, I love my first tattoo. I’m normally quiet and don’t talk much and Joe seemed to realize that. But he also was willing to answer any questions and small talk I made. I’m super happy with the work and I can’t wait to get more work done here.
Side note: Mario was also really friendly. He was doing work on another guy a seat down and he did a beautiful work of the Joker.

Came here to get my first tattoo. Joe did an awesome tattoo for me. Great vibe in the shop and I would absolutely recommend him. I felt at ease and really enjoyed the process.

I could not ask for a better artist than Justin Davis for a first tattoo.
I had an idea of what I wanted but was still not sure.
During the consultation, Justin listened to me patiently, leaving it entirely to me to decide but giving me a couple of clever advices that looking back helped me to avoid bad mistakes.
After a couple of email exchanges he presented to me the final drawing the day of the appointment and it was beautiful!
I sat in the chair, Justin put me at ease, I knew I could trust him.
I was in good hands, the pain was totally bearable and the result was divine.
Thanks Justin.

Made an appointment with Mario, and he used my expired groupon at face value for the deposit. Life hit that day, and I ended up being like 45 minutes late. He was super cool about it. The shop is split into two little parts, which is strange, but whatever works. I scooted around a couple other people getting tattooed in order to reach the back chair. Mario was super clean and changed his gloves anytime he touched something that wasn’t clean.
I had him do a fairly difficult copy of some artwork my friend did in photoshop before he died, which was about 95% shading, due to layers upon layers upon layers. Ugh. God it sucked, but yaknow, it’s a tattoo, they suck. They’re not supposed to feel great. His attention to detail was great, and he also made me feel at ease with friendly conversation during the 3 hours I was sitting in the comfy tattoo chair. He even touched up a small hand tattoo that another artist didn’t really impress with. It looks 20 times better.
The 3 hour tattoo turned out AMAZING. I’m going to upload it into the photos. It’s the orange squid. Check it out.

Where do I begin? I first met Mario years ago, when I worked for a rape crisis center and he was OBSCENELY BADASS enough to offer a tattoo sleeve for our silent auction. Ever since, I knew that when it was time for me to get a real tattoo piece– I would come to him.
These are the things to know about Mario:
1. He’s hella funny. Seriously– you will laugh so hard you will be making that ugly face.
2. He’s got hella comebacks. so…don’t be talking shit because he will always win :(.
3. He is a man of integrity and honesty. I really mean this. He cares about making this world a better place (even if he tries to downplay how much of a softy he truly is). He will tell you what he likes or dislikes about your tattoo idea.
4. He is f’ing brilliant. Seriously. Check out Moth and Dagger on Instagram to find a better representation of his work than the paper print out portfolio in the studio.
When it was time for my half-​sleeve, I came to Mario with an idea– «roses, lotus flowers, and succulents with a art-​deco theme.» He blew it out of the water. He also incorporated a symbol I already had tattooed in white– the mayan hunab ku– and he finished the piece with a mayan themed border to draw everything in.
I can’t tell ya’ll how much I love this tattoo. It feels like protective armor or a good luck charm :). There is deep symbolism that is a direct representation of my life’s path and it feels SOOO GOOD to have it captured so perfectly on my skin.
Love, love, love this studio and wish they could all be my friends :). I would make them tea and we would color.

Got a foot tattoo done here a couple of weeks ago during their toy drive event. The owner Mario seems like a genuinely charitable guy who was just glad that I brought in a toy – (and he even offers to do free ribbon tattoos for cancer survivors) pretty cool. There’s a place in Sacramento that does a Toys For Tats event once a year and they actually hand out free tattoos, so I thought the $ 5 discount for the toy was a little menial considering I drove all the way out to SF for it. He was kind enough to bump up my discount to $ 10. =)
After much debate about whether or not I could even get a tattoo on my foot (I know some places refuse to do it bc the tattoos don’t stay well and then they blame the tattoo artist for a shotty job) Mario finally agreed to do the tattoo after giving me sufficient warning. It was pretty busy at the time, I actually had to leave and come back later, and Mario ended up having to stay past 8pm that day. I appreciated him sticking around after hours and he was very efficient – the piece was small so he got it done in about 10 – 15 mins. I was really happy with his work and he gave me a free bottle of their special oil-​free lotion to put on my new tat.
Almost 3 weeks later and I’m happy to say my ink hasn’t faded into a sloppy mess yet! I’m hoping it stays on my foot… but I might have to come in again for a touch up. I’d say if you’re going to get a tattoo here try to get Mario to do it…(or it seems like Justin Davis also does great work judging by his portfolio and reviews) but I wouldn’t go to the third guy, I forgot his name but he was frankly being very impatient and kind of condescending to me.