Sailor’s Grave Tattoo

Went in with a very specific tattoo in mind, John was very helpful with his estimate and scheduled me for the very next day. The cleanliness was second to none and I will be going back to get more work done on this same piece.

Henry is the BIZ-​NESS!!! 100% professional, all around good kid! Stayed late to do my FIRST n I Luh Luh Luh LOVE it!!! Couldn’t have asked for a better experience, I’ll be back fer sure!!!

Went in over two years ago now for a tattoo on my forearm. Made an appointment with Rob, who came off egotistical and almost rude. During the entire appointment i almost felt like i was being looked down upon, as if he was better than me simply because he knows how to draw. As much as i love the artwork, it came out just how i like it, it was extremely painful for such a low pain area. Going home, my tattoo was bleeding so bad it was dripping from the gauze pad. I knew that wasnt right. Being my first tattoo, i thought it was my pain tolerance. However tattoos to come after that in areas of higher pain proved me wrong. He TORE up my skin. Felt as if i was being colored on by a small child with a sharp magic marker. it is constantly raised and scarred, even after two years. Beautiful as it is, my body was NOT taken care of.

I just got my first ink here and I will never go anywhere else. First, I picked this place because the pictures showed a bright and clean environment. I am from out of the area so I relied on this first impression. I talked to Rob Gribbin about my idea for a memorial tattoo for my dad, who was killed in Vietnam. I sent Rob an email of my inspiration piece a few days before my appt. He said he would have a sketch ready for me when I showed up. It was amazing. So much better than the inspiration piece. I have gotten so many compliments, even from those who don’t agree with tattoos. I would recommend Rob to anyone wanting a beautiful piece of art on their body. And I am sure I will be back for more!

I have no idea about the quality of art these people produce so this review has nothing to do with quality.
No, see, instead I was driving up the coast this morning and decided that I wanted to get some ink. That’s how it happens for me. It’s pretty sudden, but never have I once regretted my decisions.
So, I walk into this place at 11am sharp with a quick and easy request. I was greeted by some guy in his early 30’s. Well, let me back that up. «Greeted» would be a huge overstatement. I was stared at and approached by some dude lacking any expression on his face at all who basically was like «what!?». Me, already not feeling the vibe of this shop I’ve never been to, told him what I wanted. I’m getting married in March, so, in small cursive I wanted her nickname on my ring finger as a band. Also, I told him, that I wanted some work in the small area between my forefinger and thumb for my mom RIP.
His reply? He says, «roll up your sleeves.» I did. And because I wasn’t completely covered in ink, he refused my request.
Oh but wait, it’s gets better! He tells me he would do the ring finger, but not the other one… wait for it… wait for it… because the other one isn’t covered in their insurance policy… what’s that smell, you say? Ahhhh… Bullshit!
So you have an insurance policy that has some kind of clause stating that hand tattoos are not covered in your liability (bullshit) insurance, UNLESS it’s a wedding band tattoo, are completely tattooed from head to toe, work in the circus, or are a violent felon that has no chance of getting a job anywhere. Whatever man.
Instead of feeding somebody a mouthful of lies so you don’t have to deal with the repercussion of someone having tattoo remorse, be a f@&$?ing man OR woman and talk to me face to face and express your concerns and hear my ideas, and let me choose for my 33 year old self. Don’t feed me crap. The ink culture holds itself back from being socially acceptable inside the workplace and out. If an artist who… ehhh…I’m tired of babbling. You get the picture. Just my experience. He didn’t even let me tell him that it was going to be done in white ink on my white skin.

Ive been going here since Henry first opened up the shop. Although he is my artist (and I get compliments everywhere I go on all my tats) every artist in the shop is up to snuff. And the shop is one of the nicest I have ever been in. If you are ever up in Humboldt and want a tattoo… this IS the spot. Hell… I travel all the way from Indiana just to let Henry tattoo me. They do take walkups but appt are always a good thing. Happy tattooing!

there okay but primate is better!

I just had a panicked conversation with a distraught friend who received a tattoo from Rob Gribbins today.
She showed me the source art that she brought with her and wanted duplicated precisely on her arm and she showed me the final result. She mentioned a long argument with Gribbins and how she reluctantly, in stages, relented to let him do it his way, or rather, to fix each of his mistakes in his previous stages, rather than just transfering her design onto her arm the way she wanted.
She moaned about how stupid she felt for allowing him to muscle his way onto her arm.
She lamented about how dumb she felt giving him a deposit and making an appointment weeks in advance and how it made her feel trapped into bargaining with him.
Long story short, her version would have looked a billion times better than the pure crap he put on her arm. I get that it’s subjective, but what isn’t subjective is that it is HER F@CKING ARM!
Douchebags like Rob Gribbins are the reason why tattoo shop culture can go f@ck itself.
BUYER BEWARE. DO NOT let douchebag tattoo «artists» talk you into anything you don’t want. If they try, just walk away. You are not a CANVAS. You are a human being.
well, some of you.
here is a picture of his disaster slash unintentional masterpiece of «WTF???»

Horrible service. Smelled strongly of cigarettes and body odor. So perhaps they were rated as clean when they first opened up because the space was brand new. They were rude as soon as we walked in the door. There terrible customer service probably saved me from even worse work.

Amazing! Stacy and Henry are both awesome — haven’t had any work done by Henry yet but considering his portfolio and the fact that he’s booked for the next two months solid I’d say that I’d be in very good hands… Stacy has been working carefully on a messy tattoo I got in Thailand; she has great attention to detail, symmetry, and is transforming my tattoo into exactly what I want! Great communication, super kind and fun to chat with. Shop is impeccable, spacious, and covered in art. I will definitely be coming back!

I just got a tattoo at Sailor’s Grave (my 3^rd tattoo, first from the shop), and boy howdy, am I impressed!!! The shop is exceptionally clean, and the artists are friendly. I came in with an idea and desire, and left with my mind blown. Not only did the artist –STACEY– translate my idea into something better than I could have imagined, but she wasn’t a «digger» and a mere one day later my tattoo is already healing up nicely.
Also, I feel like I got a great deal — this place is where high-​end design and bargains collide in a magnificent wet dream for your skin.
I’m not too into monogamy, but at this point I’m looking to put a ring on STACEY of Sailor’s Grave. I don’t even live in the area, and I’m down to marry her services.
Background — Before deciding on Sailor’s grave I went over to Primal Décor and had their artist, Dan, draw me up a sketch… he misspelled the words, and didn’t really hear my vision.
Stacey is my gal… I’m already planning my next tattoo.

Super clean, large, open and professional tattoo shop! We spoke to two tattoo artists (a girl and a guy) and they were both so fabulous and friendly. They were telling us the history of the town and showing us some really cool old tattoo guns they had in the shop.
We didn’t end up staying in town long enough to get a tattoo, but we looked through their portfolios and were impressed by their work. Maybe next time!

I was extremely impressed with this tattoo shop. First off this place is super clean, I’m talking eat off the floor clean. Second, the setup can’t be beat– each artist has their own large booth with diplays of their own artwork– they also have a HUGE gallery of tat’s covering every inch of wall space (including some of Sailor Jerry’s designs!). Also interesting was their tattoo history glass case display with old and new tattoo instruments…
I went in for a touch-​up on a wrist tattoo that I had gotten somewhere else & wasn’t happy with. I saw Max Ireland to get it fixed & it was like he was reading my mind… He pointed out everything I hated about it before I had even opened my mouth! He made me feel extremely comfortable and he was pretty gentle with his needle– esp. compared to the guy I originally got the tat from.
They do mostly custom work & Max was kind enough to show me some pieces he was working on since I had expressed a desire to have a large side piece done. After seeing what he was working on for custom clients I knew this was where I HAD to get my custom work done…
GREAT EXPERIENCE & HIGHLY RECOMMENDED