So I am looking into getting a tattoo

Unfortunately, I have not had the oppertunity to get my tattoo yet. However, I have a buddy I went with a couple years ago he got one done by Honest John at Slave to the Needle in Ballard. He got a lion and Honest John did a PHENOMENAL job. It's pretty stinkin sweet. There's a lot of well known artists at that one too aparently. Also, from what I understood at the time he only spent about $150 total for a black and white Lion head on his shoulder. Not sure about the sitting fee though. Sorry I can't be more helpful with the Bham area.

I've recieved 4 tattoos over the past several years...3 of them I have gotten done at Chameleon. $85 is a pretty reasonable amount to pay for a deposit...depending on how big, detailed, and how long it takes will depend on your final price.

Mark Keller is awesome! He walks you through the process and is really talented. I can't say much for other places around town, but I'd recommend Chameleon to anyone.

I haven't had a tattoo from Chameleon, or anywhere else for that matter, but I just got a piercing job done there... and comparing it with past experiences with other piercings/piercers, Chameleon had quality work and a really fair price.  I would definitely recommend their services to anyone.

Never gotten inked in Bellingham, but 7*Duce tattoo in Federal Way is an amazing shop.  The guys are all chill there, and they treat you like your their bestfriend when you walk in.  Its far, but I would defentialy check out their website.

I recently got my first tattoo at Old School which is downtown on E. Holly. They were really clean and friendly. Their baseline fee is $50 and then gets pricier as your tattoo gets bigger/more complicated. Depending on which artist you go with, they'll also do free touch ups. I would definitely recommend Old School. I love my tattoo. =]

Good luck!!

aww, home sweet home, feddy way.  i'm going to have to disagree with you on this one.  my first tat is from them, by justin.  the guys are cool and super chill, but they're overpriced for the quality of their work. my sparrow is pleasing, but i've seen better work from smaller lesser known shops. 

if you're going to go that far south just go a little farther to All American Tattoo in auburn.  that's where i got my second tattoo.  see cupcake or darren.  cupcake did mine and i'm thoroughly pleased with it.  their minimum is 50.  they do good work.

I got all my work done in the Tri-Cities, (Birthmarx!, gotta represent) but, from what i've seen an 85$ deposit is kindda ridiculous just for a sketch but it will go towards the price of the finished piece so its whatever, but I needed some extra rings when I got here and I went to the shops in town, they all seemed alright except for the guys at Old School Tattoo, I don't know about thier quality, but they were really rude to me and im never going back there, they where talking shit about whoever did my piercing and were generally not helpful or listening to me, not a good trait in a tattoo artist. 

yeah,.... i got my tattoo done in everett. Enemy Tattoo. Really good results. My deposit with 60 i think.... I was incredibly happy with the results!

I've gotten tattoos from Sabbath and Old School. Every single artist at Old School is amazing. The deposit for a drawing and to secure an appointment is $20, which goes to the price of the work. Phil at Sabbath is great, too, and he's really reasonably priced. I got my entire foot done for $200.

I've never seen any work from Chameleon myself, so they might do good stuff, but I know them and Hooligans have turned out some bad work that has needed to be redone before. The price is pretty high, too.

 If I were gonna reccomend anyone to get a tattoo, it's Old School by faaaar. After that, Sabbath and Industry.

I have three tattoos, and all of them were done by Michelle at Sacred Soul Tattoo in Fairwood/Renton area. She has a $50 deposit fee and her work is AMAZING! Last year her and her shop was voted in the top 5 tattoo shops in Western Washington, I would definately check out their website: sacredsoultattoo.com

As for 7Deuce, they've messed up a couple of my friends tattoos there, I would not reccommend them or their craftsmanship by any means.

Goodluck with the tat!

If you want an AMAZING tattoo and a fair price and an amazing experience, go see Brandon at The Inkwell. It's located on Cornwall. Brandon is the nicest guy and he's tattooed many of my friends and my sister. I'm planning on getting another tattoo and he's definitely the person I'm going to. His baseline is $50 and he's just a fantastic artist. I've checked out Chameleon out before and it kinda creeps me out, plus $85 dollars seems outrageous for a deposit. Check out The Inkwell :)

 Slave to the Needle in Seattle is amazing. They have two locations Ballard and Wallingford. I went to Ballard and Erika did my tattoo. Black ink, Celtic knotwork with lots of shading, medium sized. It's very well done and not my first tattoo. Slave to the Needle is seriously the best. Almost all of the artists there have won awards for their tattooing abilities. Check out their website (slavetotheneedle.com) and you can see all the artists' portfolios. As far as price, you can get cheaper elsewhere but it's ... well, cheaper, ya know?

Chameleon in Bellingham is a great place to get a tattoo in Bellingham, but I think it's worth the drive to Seattle. If you do go to Slave to the Needle, you're definitely going to want to call ahead and make an appointment to meet with an artist. They do take walk ins if they're not busy, but they're always busy. (For piercings you can usually just walk in)

If i was you, I would check out the Black Rose on Meridian st,  across the street and near the Haggens. They do awesome work, the line work is perfect, and they are affordable. Can't put to easily into the hands of others images that will last forever on your body.

 i have 4 tattoos, 3 are from places other than Chameleon. The last one i got was from Chameleon, and i'll never go anywhere else. Mark was my tattoo artist and did an amazing job sketching, making sure it was perfect before he started, making me feel comfortable, and constantly updating me on his actions. I felt completely comfortable in his hands and would recommend him to anyone. Though $85 might be high compared to some other places, you for sure get your moneys worth. Its completely worth it to spend the money on something you will have for the rest of your life. 

Good luck!

I have to agee w/ this one!!! All 3 of my tat's have been done by Brandon of Inkwell. I haven't had any done at the inkwell but had them all done when he use to work in Sedro Wooly. Brandon is an awesome tatoo artist....check them out!!!  360-715-1010

Their hourly minimum is $180 now. Not what I would call affordable.

 I'm going to put in another yes for Chameleon Ink. Sure, it's a little more expensive than Old School, but you definitely get what you pay for; from artistic quality, to professionalism, to aftercare.

Hahaha. But I like talking about tattoos, so I'll let it slide.

My answer to questions like this is always find an artist who is good at what you have in mind. Unless it's generic, then it doesn't really matter.

I got my first tattoo at Laughing Buddha on Broadway (Capitol Hill). The straight lines on my stars are a definite plus but WAY overpriced. Most of the good Seattle shops are super overpriced.

My second is a sparrow from Old School. The dude who did it was super cool, fast, and reasonable (I paid shop minimum for a pretty good-sized tattoo with shading), but he doesn't work there anymore.

As a side note, I really like the guys at Old School. I've hung out with a couple of them and they're good people. I hate that they have such a bad rap.

The last two tattoos I've gotten are from Black Rose. I love that place. THIS IS THE PLACE TO GO FOR TRADITIONAL WORK. Hands down. My first three tattoos were just walk-ins and I didn't pay more than $100 on any of them. I love them, but they don't mean a whole lot to me. I chose Chu at Black Rose to do my memorial rib piece for my grandma and I have absolutely no regrets. It's a great traditional piece and the price was super good.

Chu said he normally charges around $140 per hour. This was in August, so I'm not sure where your info's coming from, duder.

But, yeah, OP, like I said, it's really all about finding an artist who does the style you want. Just go look at some portfolios and say what's up. And good luck!

Old school - great price, great work. I'v gotten both my first piercing and tattoo by them and am highly satisfied. Paul was my artist, he didn't charge me anything to draw up my tattoo, it was just a by the hour rate. I don't remember the actual price, but I do remember it was very reasonable. My recommendation is just to look at a bunch of shops and artists to see who fits your needs. I would definately say check out Paul at old school while you are looking.

They have a bad rap just because some beef between shops - everyone talks shit about everyone else. Depending on who you're talking to, every other tattoo shop in town has a "bad rap." I can personally vouch that every single artist at Old School is amazing. Paul did mine, a big ATAT walker in my side, it took a about two and a half hours and then a 45 minute touch up a few weeks later, and it was $200. They're all great artists and they're really good about pricing for the time spent tattooing (not drawing, breaks, chit chat, etc).

I know as if right now, the houlry minimum at Black Rose is $180, and Chucho is only tattooing in black, red, and yellow. I got my traditional looking tattoos from Phil at Sabbath and I love them, and they were WAY cheaper and have beautiful color.

Hahaha wtf? That's so weird.

But yeah, the between-shop drama is a lot like high school. Not tight.

Hands down, slave to the needle in wallingford. BEST BEST palce in U.S. Look them up. I have seen a lot of tattoo's done at other places and they just DO NOT compare. Infact they can look like complete shit. Not to mention that they might not be as experienced so it might take longer so you get billed for something that could have been done a lot faster and better. Can't really beat that. My advise....don't cheap out. I LOVE my tattoo and so does everyone else because it is a QUALITY tattoo.

 I've only gotten one from Enemy Tattoo in Everett. The deposit there was only $60, and that included a sketch and appointment reservation. Plus, the work was very high quality and they supplied free touch up. If your tattoo is larger, more detailed, or colored, I'd say $85 isn't bad, but I'd keep looking otherwise.

Wow, that's pretty shitty to say.

Yeah, and I like how this person only has one tattoo. I'll bet it's a tribal armband.

I've got to say NO to chameleon.  My friend went in to get some ink and it turned out like shit.  We walked in and had to wait like 30 minutes just for someone to even ask what we were in for.  Horrible customer service and they were just not personable and made his piece look like crap-flash off the wall.

Another friend went there for a piercing.  The piercer was bragging about how hard septum piercings are to do, and how he does them so well, and pierced it crooked.  It's ridiculous.

My friend recently got a tattoo from Phil at Sabbath - it looks amazing! She has 5 other tattoos and Phils looks way better. He uses a different needle so the outline is thicker and darker, compared to her other tattoos it stands out and looks really good. He outlined her whole back in 4 hours - watching him do her piece made me re-think who will do my second tattoo!

this is where i got mine done and they did a great job!! Not to mention the guy giving me my tattoo was making me laugh I totally forgot what the were doing to my ankle.

 OLD SCHOOL TATTOO! 

If you're willing to drive a little ways, I recommend where I got my first tattoo: at Scuttlebutt Tattoo in Lynnwood. The place was easy to find, clean & sterile, and the people were extremely nice and talented. I don't know if they have a base price, but my 3-inch tattoo was about $60. No charge for drawings or appointments.

I got my portrait done by Paul for only $200. Super detailed and fairly large. Chameleon said between $400-600 and Industry said mimimum $500. Even though your not going for a portrait that should give you some idea. And Old school is really clean and your not sacrificing any kind of quality! I recommend Paul at Old School

this. X1000

I have to agree with the other people who recommended Inkwell. I have six tattoos and Brandon added on to a piece that I had before that another tattoo artist did which isnt always the easiest task. He is extremely talented, extremely clean, very personable tattoo experience. I highly recommended him. I have also gotten work done at Old School and they as well do a great job. I don't know how far you are willing to drive but DONT go to Enemy tattoo in Everett. The guys are nice but not a lot of quality artists. There are a few but I have seen some sloppy lines and their piercing jobs aren't so good either. I got my lip done there and they messed it up!

So the bottom line is go to Inkwell. Great guy. Amazing artwork and good prices. He has been my favorite artist of all of the guys who has done any of my tattoos.

i can't recommend any good parlors in bellingham, but what i will recommend is WAITING.

you say you don't know what you want yet? then i would sit on an idea for several months before going for it.

you don't what to end up on http://ugliesttattoos.com/

... or do you?