Upscale Tattooing

Farewell to the traditional tattoo parlors that were adorned with tacky neon signs and loud art on the front door. Say hello to Tattoo Clubs, the new breed of tattoo parlors making their mark in Hollywood. These new studios are hoping to break down the stigmas and taboos associated with tattooing and tattoo artists in the past. They are chic, clean and a place of business, and did I mention celebrities? The Los Angeles Times said, "Fashionable salons can further help to dispel the notion that tattoo parlors are the domain of low-rent districts."Our goal has been, from the very beginning, to remove the stigma of what people had thought of tattoos and tattoo artists, that they're kind of dirty, tough guys [working on] convicts, bikers [and] military guys overseas," Bennington says. "Our goal has always been to elevate the image of the tattoo industry as a whole." This particular shop in LA's trendy miracle mile is situated between a cookware store and art gallery, part of Tinseltown's most coveted rental areas. As tattooing gains ground and even prestige, this may call for more tattoo removal clinics as well, because we know that increased tattooing also turns into more people searching for removal.