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Best tattoo shop: House of Tattoo!

Winner in 2017's Best of Tacoma

The House of Tattoo! crew: From left to right: Owner Katie, Mike, Jeff & Jesse. Photo credit: Jared Lovrak

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With a name like "House of Tattoo!," you know what to expect -- a museum dedicated to the diminutive assistant from Fantasy Island. Fine, it's a tattoo parlor, an amazingly awesome one.

House of Tattoo! Has been inking up Tacoma residents for over 20 years now, garnering a reputation among their clientele -- and even their competitors -- as one of the very best parlors the City of Destiny has to offer thanks to their diverse stable of experienced artists and a primo 6th Avenue location surrounded by some of Tacoma's most popular bars and restaurants.

With all of this going for them, House of Tattoo!'s services are in the high demand. Depending on the tattoo, you can expect to book your appointment as much as a month in advance, but it's well worth the wait.

You want a tattoo of a crayfish that says "Cray Cray"? With more than 15 years of experience and a work portfolio that spans the globe, Mike is more than up to the challenge. An anthropomorphic cartoon taco holding a beer and saying "Let's taco ‘bout it."? Nine-year veteran Jesse already has his machine warmed up. (They're called machines. Don't ever call them "guns".) Want a tattoo involving the phrase "midnight snack" and a giant mustache that I can't elaborate upon further in the pages of this paper? All in a day's work for Jeff -- After 14 years, he's seen it all.

The House of Tattoo! crew really knows a lot about tattoos. Did you know that tattoos date back to prehistoric times, with the oldest examples being on a 5,000-year-old mummified caveman found in the Italian Alps, or that it's bad luck to get a armband that goes all the way around your arm, or what the tattooing "rule of threes" is? The artists at House of Tattoo! will fill your head with knowledge while they fill your skin with ink.

No matter the tattoo, you can expect top-tier service here, even if it means talking a customer out of getting a tattoo that they would almost certainly regret. "I'll try to talk them down," says owner Katie Williams. "I'd rather have something out there that I was okay with."

House of Tattoo! isn't just your run-of-the-mill tattoo parlor. Talented artists are one thing, and House of Tattoo! has them in spades, but it's the welcoming, friendly environment and a genuine care for their clientele really distinguishes them.

House of Tattoo!, noon-9 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday; noon-6 p.m., Sunday; closed Monday, 2703 6th Ave., Tacoma, 253.274.8282, facebook.com/HouseOfTattooTacoma

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