Hand Skull Over Knuckles

Jake’s a hardass. Don’t let his slim build fool you, at 6’7”, the dude’s huge. He also might be a complete nut, ‘cuz he got this Skull tattooed on his hand and asked for it to come down over his knuckles like this, OUCH! We’ll post healed pics as soon as we can. Thanks Jake! Will’s still designing that sleeve y’all talked about!

Old Friends

It was a strange thing for Will to tattoo the image of one of his childhood friends on her daughter. Melissa was one of Will’s sister’s good buddies growing up, though he hasn’t seen her in many years. So when her daughter showed up to get a portrait of her mom, well, nothing like a little pressure to liven things up!

“It’s always a bit more stress when you’re doing a portrait of a loved one, someone the clients sees everyday. Have to nail those.” Will is succinct in his explanation of the anxiety portrait artists face when when tattooing family members or close friends of clients as opposed to some celebrity or movie character.

Still, Destiny has portraits of her mother and father, as well as her two children, all expertly performed by Will. Never a better endorsement than another satisfied repeat customer!

Will is currently accepting appointments from new clients on a limited basis, in order to prevent long wait times and to allow him to finish existing pieces on his current clientele. Interested parties should visit the shop or fill out our ‘Set an Appointment’ form here on this website. Thanks for your interest and we look forward to hearing from you!

Universal Monsters!

Monsters are Universal, especially these! Universal Studios are the original purveyors of horror films, with classics like Dracula, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Wolfman, all shown here, as performed by our portrait artist Will. We can’t say enough for the impact these original creature features had on the film industry, our imaginations, and pop culture even today! Combined with the expert craftsmanship of a veteran tattoo artist, these creatures come alive once again in the flesh of those who would be so honored to call them home.

We’re drawn to the strength and suffering of these monsters, as we see ourselves in them in so many ways. Outcasts, those who have lost their way, those on a path of regret, we fear the depths we might descend to and that’s why these creatures frighten and inure themselves to us. They seem to serve as both a punishment and a warning: ‘Beware the thing you fear so that it is not what you become.’

Join us at Lighthouse Tattoo in celebrating our love of these classic horror icons.

Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr.

This Saturday, November 28th, the exhibition match between 54 year-old Iron Mike Tyson and 51 yr-old Roy Jones Jr. will be taking place. it’s not really like anyone has anything better to do, you know? Hell, I’ve felt like I’ve been getting punched in the face for most of 2020, so how bad could it be?

Regardless of your leaning, or betting odds, we hope both of these legendary fighters make it through this upcoming fight healthy. This portrait was done for free as part of an exclusive promotional offer on our Instagram account. If you’re interested in such offers, go follow us on our Instagram @lighthouse_tattoos, or follow us on Facebook, where will be making more exclusive offers, but you must be a follow to win!

Update: Carbon Monoxide and Coronavirus Measures

Until next week, when our heat and A/C system is replaced, we will be using kerosene space heaters to knock any chill out of the room. If it is supposed to be especially chilly, or if you are going to have to be in an advanced state of undress during your appointment, you may want to go ahead and reschedule. Otherwise, we will do everything in our power to keep you comfortable during your appointment, as always.

Secondly, as the rate of new COVID-19 infections continues to rise, having remained above 70,000 new diagnosed cases per day for the last week now, we would like to inform our clients of our intention to close temporarily during this peak time, should the situation appear to become untenable. We have already seen the inability and unwilling of state and federal government to protect us. We have experienced first hand the inability of some of our clients to put others before themselves. It is our solemn promise to do what we can to protect the public whilst still trying to serve the same. Also, with schools and universities reopened and with Halloween being on Saturday this year, combined with the phenomenon known as pandemic fatigue, we expect that the number of Halloween parties will result in a spike of infections.

So: We will be drastically limiting access to the shop. We will remain open, but only to conduct remedial assistance with piercings and to conduct pre-scheduled business. No one else will be allowed into the building, and as usual, not without a mask. (We have masks on hand if you need one when you get here.)

It would appear that now is the time to really buckle down and practice social distancing. We encourage like-minded folks who already have an appointment to voluntarily reschedule, and if the situation does not improve within the next couple of weeks, we will shutdown all services indefinitely for the greater good. We hate to inconvenience anyone, but we just can’t see a workable alternative.

Hang in there, we’re all in this together, take care of yourselves. Remember to log on to lighthousetattoo.net to keep up-to-date!

Well, WE almost died!

You know how it is: first chilly day of fall, you cut on the gas heat, and get carbon monoxide poisoning. Happens every year, right? Well, this is what happened to us today. We have already put in a call to have the system replaced, which should be done early next week, and we plan on being open for business as normal tomorrow. We want to thank everyone for your patience and the good Lord for not calling us home on the express pass! Fortunately, no clients were affected and those of US that were managed to recover quickly despite a lingering headache. See y’all tomorrow!

Update:

After the killing of George Floyd and subsequent and ongoing upheaval regarding policing in particular and race relations in general, we saw fit to re-post our policy about not doing Confederate imagery tattoos. It’s times like these when people start to come out of the woodwork so to speak and emblazon their beliefs on their skin, sometime to their detriment. We want no part of that. We pride ourselves on conscientious tattooing and while we seek to not judge our clientele and the wide array of beliefs they exhibit, there are just some things we don’t want to participate in.

That being said, we’ve had our previous post up since June 30th and in the last 6 weeks we’ve had more people come into the shop asking for Confederate flag tattoos than have in the last two years. It’s no coincidence. It takes a special kind of ignorance to wind up being called a racist and a race traitor in the same week, but the same day?!? Come on! That must be some kind of record.

To reiterate: We will not put imagery related to gangs, racist ideology, hateful images, boyfriend/girlfriends’ names, or anything else we as a group or a particular artist finds objectionable. We’re cool, and we want you to be cool too, but if you’re not, don’t expect us to be.

That being said. We understand a lot of people don’t feel that the rebel flag is a racist image. We understand, we just don’t agree. Certainly, in years to come, that symbol will become even more synonymous with bigotry and since tattoos are a lifelong commitment, we would not want to saddle any of our beloved clients with that kind of long-term burden. We hope you understand. If you don’t that’s okay too, but we’re still not doing any Confederate flag tattoos.

Now accepting Piercing Appointments!

We are now accepting appointments to do piercings. in order to observe the most reasonable balance of social distancing and commerce, we will be scheduling piercing appointments at 30 minute intervals, starting at noon daily. Clients will need to call the shop at 615 784-4500 and pay for the piercing over the phone in order to get an appointment. We do this to reduce the number of people who may waste our time and yours. Once the appointment is set, the client need only bring their appropriate identification paperwork (Driver’s license; or the extra documentation needed for minor piercings), get your new piercing, and you’re done!

We ask that all piercing clients please bring their own masks and wear them while in the shop, until our piercer dons their face shields. We appreciate your patience and cooperation while we work diligently to serve you during this time of heightened risk.

So, call Lighthouse Tattoo today to schedule your piercing appointment! We look forward to serving you!

Re-Opening Plans, We Think.

Governor Lee has seen fit to lift the ban on close-contact professions conducting business as of May 6th. While we respect the practical nature of this decision, we also understand the threat it poses to the public health and we must acknowledge that this choice has been made for many of us out of necessity. It’s not the safest choice, but the alternative for many people is forced poverty. So wish us all in close-contact businesses luck!

To insure that we have enough protective equipment for our artists and clients, we will not be opening until May 15th. Our procedures will be as follows:

  1. We will not be offering piercing for the foreseeable future, once we do, it will be by appointment only. Feel free to call to book your appointment or stay tuned to this website for updates.

  2. We will only allow the person getting tattooed into the building. Upon entering, you will be directed to wash your hands and don a pair of gloves and a mask. We ask that you either leave your phone at home, in your car, or in your purse/pocket, we have ordered a UV sterilizer for telephones but it is on back order and phones are dirty people, so please use some restraint with them.

  3. If your appointment is not the first one of the day, we ask that you remain outside until the previous appointment is complete. Please call once you have arrived and we will let you know when to come in.

  4. Common Sense: If you don’t feel well or suspect you may have been exposed to COVID-19, please reschedule your appointment.

  5. Tattoos will be performed on an appointment-only basis. We will not be letting people into the shop for any other reason. No questions, no consultations, no exceptions. Please resort to phone calls or emails to correspond with us regarding your interest in getting tattooed.

The next few weeks will be pretty tentative, but we will persevere. We want to go ahead and express our humble thanks to all of our loyal clients who have stood by us during this difficult time and are ready to ride it out with us, we love you all, please stay safe