Mermaids Tattoo

Zeph just finished up my new piece, and I couldn’t be happier with it! I was fortunate enough to have already had the image, but she did a phenomenal job getting it inked. It was quick and painless. (Only an hour for some detailed calligraphy in Sanskrit.) The shop itself was awesome– very welcoming. Loved the vibes there! I’ll definitely be going back later for some of my other pieces.

Zeph is awesome! This was my second tattoo and she made me feel so comfortable. Zeph was genuinely interested in my ideas and the symbolism behind my tattoo. Would go back in a heartbeat!

Kim is amazing to work with and an excellent artist. Last August She designed my floral tattoo to perfection. She gave me my first and only tattoo and was very sweet during the process.

Kim was awesome. I went with two of my friends and Kim was super supportive. It was our one friend’s first time and she was freaking out and Kim had the best bedside manner and made her feel totally at ease. My other friend and I had general ideas of our tattoos and Kim knew exactly what we were talking about and was able to sketch what we had in mind perfectly. Would definitely recommend!

I followed Zeph Fish to Mermaids Tattoo, and I am so glad I did. Mermaids is a wonderful environment. I felt completely comfortable in the studio, which is bright, beautiful, and friendly. Kim was also there when I was in the studio and she is welcoming and funny; she and Zeph made me completely at ease. Zeph is absolutely great – incredibly talented and very kind. She has a tremendous sense of how things will look on the body, and how tattoos will age, which I think is so important, and she creates simply amazing works of art. I am proud to now have three Zeph Fish tattoos. My 100-​mile drive to see her at Mermaids is COMPLETELY worth it. Thank you, Mermaids! Thank you, Zeph!

I had an absolutely awesome experience getting tattooed by the talented Anne Williams. I came in with some vague, chaotic ideas of sacred geometry and floral pastels, and Anne pulled it all together into a wonderfully beautiful design that was much better than anything I would have thought of on my own. I was looking for a very light and delicate style to my tattoo with no harsh lines, and Anne hit the mark. On the day of my tattoo, Anne was so sweet and funny and talked me through the whole process. Despite my fidgeting, Anne was very patient with my first time tattoo jitters. There was so much care for detail and elegance in my tattoo that Anne’s artistic talent really shines. The studio itself is fresh, clean, and relaxing to be in, and the soft music in the background definitely kept me grounded through the whole process.
This tattoo was very personal to me and being my first tattoo, I was very nervous. However, Mermaids delivered above and beyond anything I could have expected or asked for. I am still getting tons of compliments on my tattoo and I couldn’t be happier with it. Thank you Anne, for this beautiful piece of art.

I came in off of a terrible week where I needed to do something for myself. I had a pic of what I wanted and Zeph found me in the lobby and said she had time right then. I’d done enough research to think she was awesome. She was so attentive to detail, very thoughtful, very thorough. I love my tattoo so much. It took an hour, which I thought was fast for the detail and yet you cannot tell the original from what she inked. Cannot recommend highly enough. Queer, woman owned, and in the not quite yet terribly annoying gentrified part of the Mission. All of the tattooists are legit artists, many of them from Black & Blue in the heyday. GO HERE. You will not regret it.

After spending some time in Italy, I wanted to get a tattoo to commemorate my time there and decided on the Florentine fleur de lys. I spent some time looking at different shops but ultimately chose Mermaid’s Tattoo and had such an awesome experience with Kim.
Kim is sweet, personable, down-​to-​earth and beyond easy to work with. I initially sent her an email, met with her for a consultation, and a couple weeks later walked away with a tattoo that I absolutely love. She made the whole experience fun and easy-​going (getting a tattoo behind your ear is not the most comfortable!).
The shop is extremely clean and everyone is so welcoming and kind; there are absolutely no pretentious vibes here.
Mermaid’s Tattoo is about 3 blocks away from the 24^th & Mission BART station and the 49 and 14 lines stop just up the block so, it’s easily accessible from anywhere in the city.
Thank you again Kim and Mermaid’s Tattoo! I couldn’t be happier with my tattoo.

Long overdue but had the best experience getting my first tattoo. I did a lot of research prior to going so I could find the best place where my visit would feel most comfortable and I felt completely at ease here. Not at all rushed, felt completely comforted even though I was really nervous. Despite my constant fidgeting, no complaints were made and it was easily the best experience I could have possibly imagined. Thank you sooo much for my fabulous tattoo! Even though I paid $ 100 for a very small piece, it was well worth it to ease my nerves.

I love this tattoo spot! Good location on Mission and Cesar Chavez. Very clean and the people who work there are welcoming and wonderful. I had Kim do my tattoo, and I would go back to her in a heartbeat. I also was going with my friend who was being tattooed by Anne and she does really nice work too. I love the energy in this space. I know it’s mostly women that work there, and I feel like it’s got a pretty positive vibe.

I’d been wanting to get my first tattoo for many many months, and I finally mustered the courage to put a list together of six places in SF that had great Unilocal reviews. Mermaids Tattoo was the first shop I walked into and I was sold.
The shop happened to be officially closed the day I walked in, but two of the artists were there organizing and happily chatted to me about my design, and were warm, professional, welcoming, and enthusiastic. I scheduled a consultation the following week with Kim Thomas, and I showed up with a vague, confusing, scattered idea of what I wanted. She was nothing but creative and positive and loved my idea. We narrowed down what I wanted, I listened to her advice, and she said she’d have a drawing ready by the next week.
Unfortunately I went camping just before my scheduled appointment and got sunburned! I emailed her asking if it was still okay to get tattooed, and she moved the appointment later because apparently sunburns pulse out the ink with the extra blood.
When it was finally the day of my appointment, Kim was very honest about her abilities and concerns about my piece (it involved a lot of parallel lines) and never pressured me to be comfortable with something if it wasn’t truly what I wanted. I went ahead with the tattoo, and she was hilarious throughout my 2 hour stenciling and 3 hour tattoo sitting. I felt completely comfortable and she checked in on how I was feeling regularly. The shop uses disposables and everything was sterile.
I’m thrilled with my piece, and Kim wants me to come back to the shop when it’s fully healed just to check in and see it, and make sure it doesn’t need any touch ups (which are free for the first few months)! I can’t recommend this place enough. Full of kind, professional, creative, passionate artists. I’ll definitely come back for another tattoo here.

I wouldn’t give this shop anything less than the five stars it deserves. If I could give it 10 I would. Nothing but good things to say where do I even start…
The shop is so friendly, it’s comfortable and professional at the same time.
Today, I got done with a piece that probably was worked on for over 15 hours and it was time I write a review.
All I have to say is Micah is an amazing artist, she’s so sweet & makes you feel comfortable while getting tattooed. Her work is absolutely amazing and I have never been disappointed, EVER. I first went to her back in 2011 at a previous shop and then continued with her about a year and a half later at this shop. Last year, I came in needing a cover up but wanted it to blend with what she had previously put on my body. I gave her some of my thoughts but I really just left it up to her artist eye and let her do the designing;) I trusted her and knew I was in good hands. The time and the money put into my piece was so worth it and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. And I want to thank her to devoting so much of her time working on my body!
Totally recommend Micah. I can promise, you will not be disappointed.
The shop is overall is great, cool vibes, cool people.
:)

Kim did an incredible job with lettering on my wrists. She spent a lot of time customizing the font I had chosen so that it won’t be one big smudge years down the road. I’m a perfectionist and she did an unbelievably great job. Micah worked on my friend with a custom piece that required a lot of attention to detail. These women are incredible. The place is spotless, light, and inspiring. Not like any other tattoo studio I’ve seen. I’ve already recommended them to another friend who is getting a very elaborate piece done. Thank you for the wonderful service, incredible art, and a truly meaningful experience.

I had the best experience with Kim and Micah one could ever ask for at Mermaids! I was lucky enough to get a drop-​in, and came in with just the sentence I wanted tattooed. Kim understood exactly how I wanted it, and I would have trusted her without seeing the stencil beforehand. The three of us discussed the tattoo back and forth, and something very simple turned into a beautiful piece of work.
Kim is very easy to talk to and the conversations float in all directions. Although I had my butt flashing all over the place, with twitches going crazy — I could still not be more comfortable. She has this admirable ability of creating an amazing atmosphere, and if I ever return to SF to get some ink — I know exactly where to head.
This world definitely needs more of these female powerhouses, and Mermaids is a prime example.
I could not have been more grateful, Kim! Thank you!

Just spent my Birthday weekend getting tattooed with my wife and friend!
Kim was awesome! She was easy to communicate with and super helpful with customizing our artwork! I am in love with my new tattoo! The shop was friendly, clean and easy to find! Thanks Kim!

I love, love Micah’s work! She’s a skilled and creative artist. She listened to my ideas (as sort of underdeveloped as they were) and then took ‘em and designed something totally beautiful and unique. I have two tattoos by her and can’t wait for a third!
Bonus: she’s really sweet.

This little establishment is by far, the most ambient, comfortable and cleanest place I’ve ever had the pleasure of being tattooed.
I’m just another devoted admirer, follower and client of Micah… so if you’re growing bored of all the well-​deserved raves and praise, move along, because this is just another one of those.
She’s magical. A perfectionist, an artist, a chemist, a mind-​reader.
Awesome as ever and getting even better!
Love that girl.

Micah Riot is AH-​MAZING!!! After hours of internet research reviewing SF & East Bay tattoo artist’s portfolios and philosophies… I narrowed down my search to Micah and a couple other artists. Micah was by far the most talented of my picks. I emailed my concept and got a response very quickly. I wanted a watercolor tattoo and Micah explained that my ideas were different but would be doable if I trusted in the creative process required to pull it off. I am beyond thrilled with the results. THANK YOU MICAH!!! I also highly recommend the shop in general. The establishment is clean and organized and most importantly I felt safe & supported the entire time I was there.

Normally I’d wait until my art was done before posting a review of a tattoo shop, but I want to get the word out and the ratings up for Mermaids Tattoo and Micah!
I followed Micah from her previous shop to here, as she’s working on a back piece for me. I went in this past weekend for what we were both expecting to be my last session on my back, but decided that it was the second last as I needed a bit more touched up than planned.
The shop is located at the far ass-​end of the Mission District. The inside is huge, wide open, bright, and clean. I was actually floored by how nice the shop is. The place seems to be centred around an open concept idea, even with the tattoo locations being open and not in hidden back rooms. This is actually nice and avoids the small room, stuffy, crowded feeling. If you’re a bit shy and not comfortable with being worked on out in the open, make an appointment for a weekend when there’s no one in. That being said, when I say «open», I mean the back area. There’s a ¾ wall that blocks it off from the front room and window so you have some measure of privacy from random looky-​loos who wander into the shop.
I really liked this new shop, the layout, the artwork, design and decoration. It has a good feel to it. I also adore Micah to bits and between the comfortable gorgeous shop and her talent, I had a great session that was over too quickly.
I can’t recommend Micah and this new location enough. I’m looking forward to my next appointment with her in November!

My tattoo artist, Micah Riot, has moved from Black & Blue to Mermaid Tattoo. I was there over the weekend to get some new ink and had a great time! They have an awesome water themed art show in the waiting area! The space is bright and comfortable.
Micah is a great tattoo artist. She’s very talented and easy to work with. She did a fire horse on my left pec and a water dragon on my right a few years ago. Over the weekend she tied them together for me, bringing the water and the fire together in a beautiful way.
Pics to come but the horse in my profile pic is the fire horse she did a few years ago.