Tattoo Mafia opened in May of 2004, with a goal to make people look at tattoos and tattoo artists in a different light.  Our experiences working in many different tattoo studios; showed us that the public wanted and needed a change.

We started working together about 9 years ago and since then have been an unstoppable team.  The first and most important issue for us which is not usually seen in local studios, was cleanliness.  From cleaning the establishment on a regular basis to just knowing proper technique when tattooing.  So many artists we worked with knew how to do a nice tattoo. But, did not understand that there has to be a protective barrier that can not be crossed while working with blood and body fluids.  They where not educated in the prevention of spreading disease and some just did not care at all.  Lisa had the advantage of having worked in Animal Medicine as a Manager, Assistant Tech and even assisting in Surgery for 8 years prior to starting her apprenticeship in 2001.  This made a overwhelming difference in our knowledge of proper sterilization and coverage of equipment while working with blood and body fluids

Another unique advantage we had was Chris, having been in the industry since 1994. He knew that custom art was the only way to go.  No one wants the same design they have seen on someone else.  Being able to draw a custom design instead of coping a piece of art off the wall is so much more personal and meaningful to the customer.  After 6 years of business we rarely tattoo anything off the wall in our studio.  Almost every tattoo we design starts with a consultation and is then hand drawn and approved by the client prior to setting a date to do the tattoo.  This allows us to get to know the client, the client to get to know us and most of all for the client to feel comfortable in our studio when they walk in the day of the appointment.

Customer Service was always an issue in other studio’s we worked in.  Most artists had an arrogant attitude that was so overwhelming that the customer would feel intimidated or so uncomfortable that they would just leave.  The idea that just because your a tattoo artist means you have to be a thug or a hard ass makes us all look bad .  The truth is, without customers to tattoo - your nobody!  Why not actually put forth a little effort to stand up smile and greet the person when they walk through the door?  When we worked in studios that were run by people with that thug mentality we worked on the worse clients in the world.  Everything from having no money, to screaming children, to smelling of cigarettes and alcohol from the night before and then they wanted a deal.

Thank god those days are over for us!  We’ve changed the way people look at our studio so much that whole families come in to get tattooed together.  We work on such a variety of different people from all different backgrounds.  The oldest person to ever get a tattoo in our studio was 77 years old.  The best part is most of these clients would have never considered getting a tattoo but, because of another friend or family members experience at our studio they’re part of the family now.

We would like to take this chance to thank the clients who have made our studio what it is.  To all our our clients, Thank You for the wonderful ideas and tattoos you’ve brought to us over the past years.  We are looking forward to many more years to come and truly appreciate each and every one of you!

Sincerely,

Chris & Lisa DeLauder

Owners & Artists of TATTOO MAFIA, INC.