Artists At The Shop Own Their Own Businesses, Rent Booths

What this means for gift certificates, refunds, deposits, payments, scheduling and more.

All of the artists that tattoo in our facility actually own their own businesses. They aren’t subcontractors and they aren’t employees. They actually just rent booths in our facility. On our end, we ensure that all medical waste is taken care of and the shop is clean. Also, we only maintain booth rental agreements with artists that comply with state law. Sharing work space helps create a community, encourages growth, and cuts down on supply costs, but many people don’t realize that our artists are actually just renting a booth, so it can cause confusion in some areas.

Payments

Artists are able to process their own payments if they have chosen a flat booth rental rate, so while some use normal credit cards, others also use additional apps like Paypal, Stripe, or Venmo. Sometimes artists go cash only. This is entirely up to them and there’s nothing I can do about it. Artists who choose a proportional booth rental rate will process deposits through their own payment systems, but will process payments for the actual tattoo work through The Shop’s point of sale.

Gift Cards & Gift Certificates

Because artists are independent contractors and are free to tattoo at other shops, any gift card that you purchase is only valid for the artist named on the gift certificate or gift card only. If you are purchasing a gift certificate for a loved one, please be sure you know which artist they prefer to use.

Deposits

Given that each artist is only renting a space at out shop and own their own businesses, each artist has their own rules about deposits. Some artists may allow you to move your appointment due to illness once, others consider all deposits non-refundable. Additionally, some artists require half down upfront, while another may require $20, another require no deposits, and still another might require $100 deposits. This is up to the artist and there’s nothing I can do about it. Likewise, deposits are processed by the individual artist.

The Shop recommends to artists who work in the facility that they practice the following payment schedule for tattoo deposits:

• Apprentices: $20 deposit
• Featured artists: $50 deposit
• Cover up work: $100 deposit
• Guest artists: $50 deposit

Schedule Availability

Our artists set their own availability. We don’t tell them when they have to come in. They are allowed to do late after hours tattoos and they are allowed to take three weeks off if they feel like it. They simply rent booths from us. I have no control over their availability.

Refunds

If you are entitled to a refund for some reason, you will need to contact your artist. If there is a problem and your artist won’t issue you a refund, but you are entitled to one, please message The Shop, because Darl is generally willing to do free tattoo work in order to make sure that no client that gets tattooed in our facility feels ripped off on a case-by-case basis.

Warrantying Work

If there is something wrong with your tattoo and you need a touch up or someone to fix a tattoo that you got at your shop, this is where The Shop has you covered. We ask that you first seek out your touch up or warranty work from the artist that tattooed you. If you aren’t satisfied, Darl, the owner of The Shop will warranty any work that comes out of The Shop except work that is done on hands or feet or tattoos that are solid white.