Studio Policies

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Due to the very specific details and information our artists require to provide an accurate quote for your tattoo, we CANNOT provide quotes over the phone, via email, or through social media/messenger. Quote requests sent this way may very likely not be answered.

It is important for our artists to determine if the design/idea you have in mind will work in the area you want to have it placed, determine proper sizing, discuss changes/variations/limitations, as well as any additional unforeseen details that will affect pricing. This is a process that can only be done face to face, so if you’d like to get a quote for a tattoo, please stop into the studio during our regular business hours to speak with an artist.

If you are looking to schedule an appointment with a specific artist, please call the studio to speak with them directly.

TATTOOS: Walk-ins for tattoos are always possible at Underground Tattoo Station, but availability will depend on how many artists we have in-studio on a specific day (and if they have scheduled appointments) as well as how many clients are already waiting to be seen. If you are wanting to get a tattoo on a walk-in basis, please stop into the studio during regular business hours as soon as you are able to be put into our queue. Please be sure to bring any reference materials you would like to share with your artist. We are unable to give any estimation on availability via phone / email / social media / messenger as availability may suddenly change if another walk-in arrives before you. If we are unable to get you in same day for your tattoo, we will be happy to get you booked for a time that works for both you and your artist.

PIERCINGS: Though appointments are preferred, walk-ins for piercings are always accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis during regular piercing hours (please be aware that clients with appointments will be seen ahead of walk-ins). If you are walking-in for a piercing, please understand that we have one piercer and a brief wait may be necessary if he is serving a client/clients ahead of you (not often very long). Please consider booking an appointment if you will be under any type of time constraint. If wait time for a piercing on any given day is too long for you, our piercer will gladly schedule you for an appointment on a date and time of your choosing so that you receive the time and attention you deserve. Please stop in or call our studio to speak with our piercer to schedule an appointment if it is your wish to do so.

At Underground Tattoo Station, we want to be able to provide lasting and memorable experiences of the highest quality for all of our clients. In doing so, we do provide tattoo services for minors starting at 16 years of age (with parental consent, of course). If this is the case in your situation, please stop into the studio with your parent or legal guardian to speak with one of our artists about your desired tattoo. The paperwork we require to schedule a tattoo appointment for a minor is the client’s birth certificate as well as a current ID from the parent. If you are the legal guardian or if your child’s last name is different from yours, we will additionally require the appropriate court-issued paperwork verifying your relationship to the minor.

· We do not provide tattoo services for anyone under the age of 16.

· No minor will be tattooed without a parent/guardian present for the appointment and all documentation must be provided in hard-copy format.

· As always, all tattoos need to be quoted/scheduled in studio by the artist. Please schedule your visit during regular business hours.

· Not all of our artists provide tattoo services for minors. If you have a particular artist in mind to do the tattoo, please call our studio to ask first.

One of our strictest policies to prevent cross contamination is to NOT TOUCH YOUR PIERCINGS WHILE IN OUR STUDIO – healed or not. This policy is in place at every professional body art studio for very good reasons:

Due to the transfer of bacteria and other contaminants, fresh and actively healing piercings can very easily develop infections when they are touched by unwashed hands. When touched, blood and other body fluids can get on your fingers which contaminates everything you touch after that. If there is any suspicion that your piercing may already be experiencing an infection, it’s doubly important not to touch it.

Because we insist on maintaining a clean and safe working environment for our clients and ourselves, it’s essential that you DO NOT TOUCH YOUR PIERCINGS WHEN VISITING OUR STUDIO. You will be required to use hand sanitizer before touching anything and reminded of this policy every time that you do.

It is not necessary to touch or handle your piercings when describing an issue or potential placement with our piercer – nor is it appropriate to remove any jewelry you are currently wearing without the piercer’s assistance. If a closer inspection of your piercing or removal is necessary, it will be performed under controlled conditions in the piercing room.

Even healed piercings develop buildup and an excess of skin cells that can be transferred to and contaminate clean surfaces and materials, so no matter the condition of your piercing, PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THEM WHEN VISITING OUR STUDIO. It’s not our intention to insult you or make judgements on your level of hygiene – it’s a simple fact of having piercings that needs to be addressed to maintain the strict levels of cleanliness we’ve put in place.

Additionally, if you are bringing jewelry into our studio, please make sure to bring it in a container or plastic Ziploc bag. We must assume that any outside jewelry brought into our studio has been worn, is therefore considered “contaminated”, and needs to be handled with the proper precautions.

Please help us in our efforts to maintain a safe and clean environment by (once again) NOT TOUCHING YOUR PIERCINGS WHILE VISITING OUR STUDIO. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

As we’ve said many times already, it is crucial that we ensure the safety of all of our clients and guests when visiting our studio, so if you have a child accompanying you, please ensure that you have made arrangements for them to be properly supervised during your tattoo or piercing appointment. Some reasons for this policy are as follows:

· Because the work we perform in our studio involves contact with blood and other bodily fluids, it produces hazardous materials that we do not want children (or anyone for that matter) exposed to. There are very specific surfaces and items present in our studio that should not be touched for any reason, and if an unsupervised child is wandering loose in our studio while artists are focused on their work, it poses a very serious safety hazard to them, our artists, and our clients. It is therefore necessary for all children in our studio to have adult supervision at all times to keep them safely within the waiting area for the duration of their visit.

· It is crucial for our artists to maintain aseptic working environments at all times to provide safe and clean service for our clients. These environments can be compromised simply by touching them or brushing up against them with clothing, bags, and other materials. Unsupervised children pose a much greater risk for unintentional cross-contamination.

· Loud and rambunctious behavior in the studio can distract artists while they are performing work that requires concentration and precision. It can also adversely affect our client’s experience during their visit. Supervising adults are expected to immediately address disruptive behavior or may be asked to remove the child from the studio until they have been calmed enough to return.

· In the event that a client with an attending child has a momentary loss of consciousness or other medical issue during the appointment, it is important for our staff to be able to respond as quickly and intentionally as we can. Small children likely will not understand that these occurrences are perfectly normal and could react emotionally and severely when seeing their parent in this condition. Our staff need to have the space and ability to maintain a calm environment free of obstruction and interference to be able to assist clients in these situations. We’d also like to avoid the possibility of your child being unnecessarily traumatized!

· No unsupervised child is permitted in the piercing area of our studio. If you arrive for a piercing appointment/service without proper supervision for your child, you will be asked to return once suitable arrangements have been made.

Please be aware that our artists and staff are not available to provide supervision for your child - even if they are not busy with a client. Our studio is not set up to entertain young children, so please consider that having them present for long periods of time during your appointment may not be ideal. You know your child best, so please consider if it would be more appropriate for them to be supervised at home or in the care of a trusted person so your appointment does not have to be interrupted or cancelled. 

Please also be aware that our artists reserve the right to cancel/reschedule your appointment if your child's behavior at any time poses a safety risk to anyone in our studio.

We understand getting a tattoo or a piercing can be an anxiety-inducing situation for some people, and as we often say, the anticipation of the experience is often far worse than the experience itself. Yes, it’s true that these things can cause some momentary discomfort in the process, but very seldom is it as bad as we work it up to be in our minds. Please be assured that all of us at Underground Tattoo Station have been performing this work for a very long time and we appreciate the trust you put in us to do our work gently, quickly, and professionally to limit the amount of discomfort you experience when you come to see us for a tattoo or piercing. We want you to come back after all!

As a professional studio, please understand that we have a very strict policy in place that we cannot and will not perform any service for anyone under the influence of alcohol or any other substance. Some of the reasons for this are:

(a) Whatever intoxicant you indulge in to settle your nerves and anxiety will more than likely heighten the amount of discomfort you feel during the performance of the service, so you’re actually manifesting more of what you’re attempting to avoid.

(b) Intoxicated behavior is very often disruptive not only to our artists, but to our other clients as well. We work very hard to make our studio a relaxed and comfortable environment for everyone who comes to visit us, so if disruptive behavior affects that in any way, you will be asked to return at another time.

(c) The waiver you sign to be tattooed or pierced in our studio is a legally binding contract that requires you to affirm that you are not under the influence of alcohol or any other substance to fully complete it. If you answer this dishonestly, it is called “fraudulent misrepresentation” (essentially perjury) which voids your contract and will result in the appointment being cancelled. We are a professional business that wants to remain one, so it is absolutely crucial for our client paperwork to be iron clad.

(d) Our primary concern is the health and safety of our clients above all else. Depending on the level of intoxication present in a client, there is the possibility of excessive bleeding, a higher probability of loss of consciousness, a greater likelihood of getting suddenly and violently sick, the inability to sit still, and several other issues that complicate our job and puts both you and our artists at a safety risk that we are not willing to take.

Lastly, we will not debate with clients about the level/nature of their intoxication. If any of our artists detect that intoxication of any kind is present, they are within their rights to cancel the appointment. Causing a public scene or arguing with our artists once they have made this decision will not be tolerated and will likely result in a ban from our studio – which none of us want.

We hope we’ve effectively communicated that we do not have this policy in place to ruin your experience or cast judgement on you for whatever activities you choose to indulge in your personal life. We absolutely want to be the ones to do your tattoo or piercing, but there is a proper time and place for those activities - and they are not during a visit to our studio. We will happily book you for an appointment at a more appropriate time when the experience will be better for all involved. We appreciate your understanding.

TATTOOS: Artists request that you speak with them directly about your desire to use a numbing agent before your appointment. They will be able to advise whether it will be necessary or appropriate and can also instruct you on what type of agent to use and when/how to use it for maximum effect. Please do not arrive to your appointment with a numbing agent already applied without speaking to your artist first!

PIERCINGS: No piercing can/will be performed if a numbing agent of any kind has been applied to the piercing site beforehand. The effects of the numbing agent make the tissue stiff and rubbery, so even if the piercing is performed straight at the time of the appointment, it may drastically shift once the effects have worn off which can result in more difficult healing and/or jewelry migration/rejection. Generally speaking, no body piercing is so uncomfortable that a numbing agent is necessary. Any client arriving for a piercing with a numbing agent already applied will be asked to return once it has been removed and the effects have worn off.

Once jewelry has been purchased from our studio, it cannot be returned for an exchange or refund. Please take the time you require to select a piece of jewelry you will be happy with prior to getting a piercing or change (our piercer will be able to assist you with selecting a piece that is of appropriate size and style for your piercing).

We strongly recommend that if you are purchasing a piece of jewelry from our studio for an existing piercing to allow our piercer to install it for you to ensure a proper fit and your satisfaction with it. If jewelry is purchased for you to change yourself and does not fit, it cannot be returned or refunded (no piercings are allowed to be changed in our studio without the assistance of our piercer).

If you are purchasing jewelry for someone else, it is advisable to have that person present for the same reason. If you are unsure about the size/style they require, we recommend purchasing a gift certificate they can redeem when they are able to stop in (our piercer will determine the approximate amount necessary for you).

There are very few reasons that broken or damaged jewelry is replaced free of charge and will depend entirely on whether or not the break or damage is a result of manufacturer error. As we source our jewelry from top-level makers, this very rarely happens, but you are welcome to bring your broken jewelry into the shop to be examined by our piercer to determine if a replacement is warranted. Lost or incomplete pieces are not eligible for this consideration.

Our piercer is passionate about stocking jewelry styles and types that appeal to our clientele and is always interested in hearing what you’d like to see in our studio. Please feel free to share your ideas and desires with him, and as much as he is able to, will try to include new pieces to offer on upcoming jewelry orders.

On occasion, our clients may have interest in a specific style/design that we do not regularly keep in stock but would be willing to investigate and order for you if you wish. If our piercer needs to order a custom piece for one of your piercings, it will be necessary for you to come into our studio to consult with him so he can determine the appropriate size, style, and any additional information he requires to locate and purchase your jewelry.

If the type of jewelry you’re searching for is not something that we intend to maintain a backstock of, you will be required to put down a deposit to initiate the order (the amount will depend on the type of jewelry being ordered but is typically 50% of the final cost). Once your jewelry has arrived, you will be contacted by our piercer to schedule your appointment, and your deposit will be applied to the total cost of your jewelry.

Due to different manufacturer’s making and shipping schedules / order loads, we cannot provide you with a definitive arrival date but will give you our best estimation.