Toucan Tattoo Studio

"Super disappointed in this place. They say they value their customers, did not have that experience. Or try to make their customers happy, again, not my experience. I went in for a ring tattoo and less than 3 weeks in the lines in the tattoo were inconsistent and lacked a clear line. I have attempted several emails with the artist and owner, neither have responded. So, I guess customer service is not their priority. I wanted a consult and requested one but no response. Very unfortunate and disappointed with this service."

"Jerry was fantastic, suggesting ideas without coming off as "the professional" I am very happy with my tattoo and its placement. I will definitely be back for more work!"

"I have got to say this place will have my business (and skin lol) for a very long time, I went in for a walk in appointment advertised for Saturdays and Sundays, I was having a rough day and just needed to feel good again. Jerry was so understanding and matched my energy. We figured out what kind of tattoo and where I wanted it, I left everything else up to him. He did everything WITH NO STENCIL NO PICTURE just my arm and a tattoo gun, he is extraordinarily talented and has been tattooing for 40 years you can trust his skill. I’ll include a picture as I am very proud of the art on my body I really believe no one could have done this better"

"Only after an amazing experience at a shop in Richmond this weekend for my first tattoo could I really appreciate how ridiculous my encounter with one particular tattooist at Toucan Tattoo was. My adult son and I were looking for a tattoo shop after he went through a difficult life experience and wanted to get a tattoo (his first) of a Picasso sketch that inspired him. I decided to also get my first tattoo in support. I had an appointment at Toucan and emailed the art. In an incredibly insensitive manner, the artist sent a terse reply stating “I will not put "doodles" on people because it reflects poorly on me when people see the tattoo and ask where you got it. I can't attach my name to poor art.” Even after learning the “poor art” was not mine but Picasso’s, she fell back on her fear others would mistake it for hers, which makes absolutely no sense (assuming she didn’t plan to sign it, anybody asking me about my tattoo would learn it was Picasso, right?) So basically, a tattoo is not yours but theirs?! The meaning you place on a tattoo is meaningless to them unless they approve of the art? And heaven forbid you submit your own art, be better than Picasso or prepare to be insulted. I can appreciate the right of a tattoo artist to decline work for almost any reason, but rather than asking for more information or if she could work with me on it, she responded with an extremely condescending email unknowingly calling a famous (and completely non-offensive) Picasso painting “poor art.” A little humility goes a long way. The artist later apologized but felt the need to reiterate her refusal, leaving me to question the sincerity and whether it was just to avoid a bad review. In fairness, I never was in the shop nor met Jerry the owner and I am sure the artwork would be great. For my first tattoo experience it just created a first impression of an elitist tattoo community, which thankfully turned out to be wrong. I hate writing a bad or one-star review (this may be my first one ever), but my encounter with that artist at Toucan’s almost made me abandon the idea of a tattoo, which would have been a mistake. I hope this review is a reminder that although the artist makes the tattoo, the customer wears it for the rest of their life along with the memory of the experience of getting it. Fortunately I found an amazing place in Richmond that understands that, and I absolutely love and wear proudly my so-called “doodle”! Note: After reading Jerry’s response, I checked and found I had missed his reply, so I edited my review. My experience is what is, but it looks like going direct to Jerry first would have been a much better one. Perhaps there is just a better way for certain tattooists to accept appointments without insulting somebody’s art - at least for me it was Picasso’s and not mine."

"very clean shop. very friendly people and a fun environment. took my son today for his first tattoo and Abby did an amazing job! we go back in two weeks for the colors to be done . it's an exact drawing of my son's pet ball python charlie I will add a new review with the completed tattoo after it's finished . this is what was done today and we love it"