What do you make of this please?

[Mazzy]

It's no problem.

InkMarked - quality of the tattoos are extremely poor imo
I Am Ink - Adam: Quality is all over the place, some look good whilst others seem poor. I don't think he'd be great at the kind of stuff you're into Nikki: Average quality imo
Rose and Dagger - Matt: Good with old school, bold lines/colour. Realism not so much imo. Nicole: Okay with some colour/cartoon work, seems to be a bit hit/miss.

The studio I go to is one room and it has one door that goes onto the main road. However, they are private/by appt only so you can't just walk in. Plus the room is huge.

I'll look to see what else I can find for you.

Thank you for letting me know. You are really lucky about people not just walking in all of the time when you are being tattooed and it is more private. The rooms around here are often small and near the road and no privacy. What do you think of Unix Tattoo (Kettering) please? I think he is only on Facebook now-a-days. Pure Class (Wellingborough) isn't bad but, I have tried in the past to contact him many times and you can never get through. E-mail is the same.

Fatfugu has won awards for the last couple of years. (I'm going to find out more if they are upstairs and if they will tattoo me as I'm already tattooed).

[Mazzy]

Just rang Fatfugu and they have got rid of down stairs Tattooing and are on the first and second floor. The downstairs is now a coffee shop. I know in Rushden the Council have recently had someone approach them for planning permission for a new Tattooist's (on the ground floor) but they are still awaiting their decision.

[Boo]

Damn it, what a shame about Fat Fugu!!

As for people not walking in at Crown of Thorns, they can't, door is locked. I've never heard of a tattoo artist not tattooing someone because they already have tattoos, that would be odd.

Unix: Hard to say, is there just the one artist or more? Can't find any info. Photos seem very mixed and a bit hit/miss. Portrait style realism is poor. Basic black/grey is ok.
Pure Class: Think it's just the one artist, seems to specialize in black/grey, seems pretty good, bit mixed.

I'll keep looking.

[Boo]

RedMoon Collective - Ben seems suited to you, some really good artists there. Says 1st floor but worth a shot at asking if they have access to ground in certain cases.
Bella Tattoo Emporio - New artist Sebastian joining soon he looks good and the kind of stuff you like. They have a list of artists on their FB page, probably have to cross ref to IG as that's where most artists show their work these days. FB is pretty dead for tattoo stuff.
Dynamite Tattoos (Far Cotton) - Worth some more research into portfolios/work I reckon
That Studio - Flossy seems good at bold/cartoon style work. Kirsty really good at delicate Japanese animals/florals etc

I'm not doing major in-depth research btw just quick looks at galleries.

[Mazzy]

Many thanks for your help Boo! I will reply in stages because sometimes I take so long it has deleted my reply before now. lol... Yes, it is a shame about Fat Fugu. It says somewhere in the reviews that they don't like it if you are already tattooed. (It is a bit discriminative IMO - they may have changed their ideas now-a-days). I think it is because they would like to start from scratch and that you would always have the same artist. The trouble is people were tattooed way before Fat Fugu came a long and people (Artists) do leave. I think they have done really well for themselves.

I like the idea where you are tattooed the door is locked.

[Mazzy]

Unix tattoo - Don't know what has gone on here. There used to also be a lady Tattooist there as well. Looks like she has disappeared along with the nice web-site they had lol.... I agree that you cannot find much out about them now.

Pure Class - Sadly on his own and never able to contact.

Red Moon - I tried a good while ago and manged to speak to Ben on the phone. Sadly, the only access is a fire escape and quite a few stairs. It is on top of a Tesco's Express. (Their work is amazing).

Bella - IMO one of the best in Kettering. Sadly, up stairs. I know who Seb is lol...

That Studio - A bit too far away as it is in Corby.

Dynamite - A bit out of the way but, not impossible! They can accommodate disabled people and everything is downstairs. They said they could rework my Tiger tattoo for me. I was thinking of going here last year when my Tattooist left but, loyalty kept us at the same place. So, it looks like Dynamite Tattoo's.

Oh, yes - everyone is going on to Instagram now-a-days.

[Boo]

For the artists you like ask if they would if they plan to guest at another local shop that is accessible to you. Many good artists are friends with one another and would guest happily but it's just finding the right combo!

[Mazzy]

Many thanks for your suggestion Boo. I will ask around.