A+ Plus Tattoo Studio

This place is awesome. Super laid back atmosphere, and the guys are awesome. Ask for Kevin. He will give you the tattoo you want or help you bring your idea to life. Worth every penny.

A plus is great. I’ve had multiple tattoos done by Bill. Richard and Gilly have also done work on me as well. They all do a great job and really work with you to make sure it’s exactly what you want. I recommend this tattoo shop over any other in the city.

I came in for a very small tattoo around a year ago. The artist who greeted me was really rude. He basically scoffed at me when I told him what I wanted done, didn’t write anything down, told me to make an appointment and come back. Whatever, people have bad days.
When I came back for my appointment the same artist was there but decided he was too busy (drawing up some pretty cool looking double bass tattoo-​wish he would have showed mine the same attention) for my tattoo and shlepped me off to some other tattoo artist. They hadn’t drawn anything up for me and quickly had to do something last minute.
I’ve been to probably around 7 different tattoo shops for my tattoos, and I’ve never been treated with such a lack of interest before. (Not like I wanted any grandiose gestures, but it would have been great if the guy was cordial at a bare minimum).
This tattoo was really important to me and this guy made me feel like a stupid asshole.

I recently got my first tattoo at A+ Plus and I am extremely happy with the way it came out. My artist was Bill Bumps who came highly recommended by family member who has had multiple pieces done by Bill. I had an idea of what I wanted but didn’t have a design drawn out. I met with Bill and explained my idea and asked if he could design something for me. I got an email a few weeks later with his design and was blown away. It was actually better then what I was envisioning. Bill is an amazing artist and I wold definitely recommend him to anyone planning on getting a tattoo!

Awesome shop with a great laid back vibe, the guys are super nice.
Gilly killed it as usual. My boyfriend and I both got tattooed today, and he did an excellent job on both. His line work is always consistent, And the colors are always poppin.
A++

I just had my first tattoo done by Kevin Starai, and let me say this guy is amazing! His work is amazing. I love that he mixes all of his own colors. The depth and detail of my tattoo is fantastic. I will be recommending this shop to any of my friends looking to have work done. Made me feel comfortable and welcome all day. Such a laid back guy, and his shop has the same environment. I am so glad that I have a Starai tattoo, and I highly recommend A+ Studios!

Gilly Smash is the dude to see. Clean crisp lines and great shading. Strong background in traditional work but took on some culex Celtic knot work and nailed it. Laid back unpretentious vibe. No pressure, there to coach you through the process so you love the end result. High quality work at very fair prices!

I can only leave feedback for the tattoo artist who tattooed me, Billy Bumps, who was absolutely amazing! I had been waiting a few years to get a tattoo with really intricate detail work, fine lines, and I wanted to be sure it would have great shading and look exactly how I wanted it to. I spent a week trying to find the tattoo artist I thought would be perfect for what I wanted, and then I stumbled onto the gallery of Billy and I said «yup, this is the guy!» His black and grey and fine-​line work is utterly stunning! He is really, very, very good. I was already thinking about what tattoo I would get next!

Over last winter, i got 2 tattoos done here over the course of a week. Nothing huge by any means, but i liked their artists and the location is super close. The tattoos turned out great, and much of the previous tattoos I’ve seen from here are amazing.
the one thing that killed it for me was the fact that I was not able to get one of the tattoos touched up from here, no matter how hard i tried. I needed a small dot and a couple lines of black touched up, and I must have called 15 or so times to check if it’d be possible to come in for a quick touch up. Every time I was met with «Oh, the artist who did that is out of town for a week.» «oh the artist is out of town for 2 weeks» «we’re not sure when the artist will be back in, but we’ll take your number» «can we take your number down again, I can’t find it anywhere around here»
That’s a pretty poor business practice for a tattoo shop. A generous 2 stars

The best of the best! Kevin is the man! This is the place the tattoo artists go to get their tattoos! Starai did my right sleeve. Enough said!

I lucked into finding this place based on Unilocal reviews 2 years back. I consulted with Bill (Billiam) and had a sketch I’d made a decade earlier and was blown away how impeccable it turned out. Bill took his time to get to know me, what my vision for the tattoo was and then made it happen. What was planned to be one and done has now turned to 3 tattoos and counting. Bill is an amazing artist and has taken my original artwork each time and created something that exceeded my wildest expectations! The shop is relaxed, everyone is friendly, and just a great space. I’d never consider going anywhere else and have referred multiple and very satisfied friends.

Love this place. I have been going to billy bumps for a while now and have had a great experience. All the other artist are great and super nice. Everything is custom and the pricing is great. And the shop itself is clean organized and comfortable. Not stuffy like some other shops

I was hit with some devastating news over this past summer — my tattoo guy was moving out of state! Horror of horror’s, what am I to do now? I was so super bummed. That’s my hunt for a new artist began. I was grilling all of my decorated friends, acquaintances, hell — even strangers on the street! After a couple of months, and a few creeped out looks, I decided on Rich Dean of A+.
I gave Rich a really generic idea of what I wanted and told him to have at it. All but one of my pieces were designed by the artist. I really want them to create something that they’re invested in and give it there own style. I mean, they’re artists, let them do what they do best. Rich’s execution of my idea is better than I could’ve imagined. The color is so bright and vivid, the lines are clean — the piece is just awesome. I will definitely be back (much to my mother’s chagrin). The vibe at this joint is super laid back. None of that pretentious, I’m so cool ’cause I have a tattoo on my neck, bullshit going on here. Don’t you hate those places?! Also, the price is totally right. I’m not saying that they’re cheap — because tattoos should never be cheap. If that’s how you pick your artist, you probably shouldn’t have tattoos. Just sayin’. What I mean is that the money spent here is well worth the piece of art that you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life.
From what I can tell (reviews and portfolios), Rich isn’t the only dude slinging some serious ink in here. There is legit talent in this place, so I’m sure you’d be well served getting work done by any of the artists here.
Two side notes:
1. I kinda feel like I’m cheating on Bridgeport Tattoo Company.
2. They don’t do piercing here. Go to Insight for that.
That reminds me — I need to review Insight.

Amazing work! Rich did work on both me & my husband, he did an incredible job turning our ideas into exactly what we were looking for. After having such great work done I sent my sister in who got tattooed by Billy (bumps) he did a large piece on her side and it looks beautiful. The detail is stunning! Kevin (the owner) also fixed a tattoo for my husband that he got done years ago that was blown out and looked pretty helpless… we honestly though it may have to be lasered. Kevin fixed it so well I couldn’t believe that it was the same tattoo.
Please don’t waste your time going anywhere else. I’ve made my mistakes going to places when I was younger because they were super cheap or on a whim (where you can only get the shit tattoos on the wall) These artists actually know what they are doing and have a passion for the art. You will not be let down.

As a fellow tattoo artist myself, I’ve had amazing and not so amazing work done here. The first time I came in, I designed an elephant in a tree design to be placed on my hand, and the outcome was amazing. The detail was amazing, as well as the shading and juxtaposition of colors. The second time I came in, there was a new artist, who took quite some time attempting to do a hindu type design on my hand. He told me to call him back later in the week to reschedule a second appointment to finish the tattoo. He failed to call me back and ripped me off sixty dollars.

Everytime I travel I try to find a great local shop to get tattooed at. In Chicago I got my tattoo at A+ Studio. I chose Steve as my artist after reading the many glowing reviews and checking out his art. He was fantastic! What a nice, friendly guy who was very accommodating. In many ways I wish I had gotten something more ornate done that Steve had designed himself instead of coming in with my own artwork. You can tell this guy is a true artist with a passion for it. The next time I’m in Chicago I will definitely have Steve do something custom for me.
Note: I would give Steve 5 stars but the shop only gets 4 because I’ve not expreienced anyone else’s art there.

This shop is jam packed with amazing artists. I’ve been going to Steve for several years and each time I end up getting something bigger and better. The man is a true artist with immaculate attention to detail. He created a piece for my whole arm of poppies and birds that I get compliments on everywhere I go.
I’ve been tattooed by many artists and Steve is hands down my favorite. Not only is he amazingly talented, but super friendly. He often has me laughing about some ridiculous story when he’s tattooing a painful spot to help me forget the pain.
If you’re looking for an awesome custom detailed piece no need to look further, A+ is your place.
FYI– They don’t do piercing.

I came to Steve on the recommendation of friends who he’s worked on. The place has a really relaxed vibe, everyone’s easy to talk to and friendly, and the work is impeccable. I had three smaller symbols added to my arm and the attention to detail was second to none — these were originally hand-​drawn, and they were faithful down to the cross-​hatching.
I’ll be back for my next planned tattoo, as well as seeing what Steve can do with something original.

OMG I got the best tattoo by Kevin. It’s of an apache helicopter and it takes up my whole back! The detail that is involved in it is absolutely magnificent. Kevin is so talented and I love that he knew so much about the apache helicopter and how it operated in order to get the full details I needed to make this tattoo come alive. I highly recommend this place and Kevin with his talents in details to apache helicopter’s.
:D

A very cool shop.
Whether inked or pierced,
A+ Plus makes the grade.