Whatever Tattoo

This place is so affordable. It’s a great small tattoo and pricing parlor. My friend got a tattoo with Herman (Asian samurai guy) and he was so informative and personable. If I ever grew the balls to get a tattoo I would totally go to HERMAN a.k. a. «The Asian Samurai» …

Went in a few weeks ago to get a spontaneous tattoo after work. I’d always seen this place around, especially during my time at NYU as a student. I was hesitant to do a walk in at a tattoo shop on st marks, but my overall experience was positive, so I wouldn’t shoot down another chance to drop by again.
I hadn’t called to make an appointment, so when I arrived I was told there was an hour wait. I read a book at a café nearby until I got a call that they were ready for me.
Very simple, breezy process. All I wanted was some lineart, nothing fancy. They were professional and kind, not overly friendly but we had some small talk and laughs, and I finished up within an hour.
If you’re looking for something quick and easy, Whatever does really efficient work and would be a great option!

When it comes to putting piece of art on my body, I’m very certain and know what suits me as an individual artist. In other words, I’m very much about how I state myself through delicate and understated art works. It has to be done by someone who is very knowledgeable as well as great artist. I asked for Linda since I have read and heard many good reviews about her. It was about 1hr session ($ 140 for quote work ((6“x2″)). I enjoyed conversation with her while she was performing her gifted talent on my forearm. End result? I am very happy with it! It was pleasure to have her tattooing on my body. Thank you Linda. I’m looking forward to see her amazing work on another lucky customer.

I wanted to give Whatever a better rating as they’ve been my go-​to walk in shop for a couple years now. I’ve had tattoos done by Craig, Herman, X, Linda, and a guy with blue hair and a Russian girl whose name escapes me atm. Overall I do like my tattoos. My older ones have healed nicely for the most part. Unfortunately I’m very disappointed in the way Herman’s work has turned out (I feel bad because he is a really nice guy!). The shaded parts of the pieces by him are okay, but the outlining is terrible. It’s all raised scar tissue that you can feel the border/​outline when you run your fingers over it. I gave him a second chance figuring the first one he did was just me not being diligent with healing. Not the case. I’ve sat for ~40hrs or so of tattooing work around NYC and and St Louis and have NEVER had a tattoo that healed like the ones Herman did :/​Sorry, Whatever, but you’ve lost a customer.
Slightly related but I did have my eyebrow pieced here in 2009 and septum in 2013 or so. The piecing experience was pretty typical of your generic shop. The jewelry options are realllllly bad, poor quality, externally threaded pieces that should be no where near a new piercing. Do yourself a favor and buy something quality at Jewels 32 a few doors down.

My sister, mother and I have been going to this place for years. We have gotten every ear piercing imaginable, the navel, tongue, septum, nose, both nipples and the VCH piercing. The prices are great and the piercer’s are quick and very professional. They are very sensitive to your comfort and although I don’t enjoy the step my step conversation they give you while getting the piercing for those who do you will know exactly what’s happening as it happens. I Will always recommend this place.

I went to Whatever Tattoo to get a triple helix piercing, unfortunately I permitted a less than experience «confident» piercer loose on my ear and I was left with improper placed piercings (as a result my ear was quite swollen and painful to the touch). I returned to the store 2 days later to get them corrected, and this is when I met Tino, my savior, he instantly saw the errors, and removed the piercings and set about helping me correct them. He was adamant that when he repierced me, he would only place in hoops and not bars to ensure proper healing. Its taken a few months to correct this process but i’ve been in the safe hands of Tino.
I just decided I finally wanted to get my VCH piercing done and of course knew that I would go to Tino. He always uses brand new needles and sterilizes the jewelry. He gave me various jewelry options and we agreed on the positioning before he started. I have the utmost confidence in Tino, so I was relaxed (well as much as I could be)…and it didnt hurt too much!
If you are really considering getting a piercing, please do not get pierced by anyone other than Tino. Its not worth it otherwise.

I got my Tragus pierced by zeta Saturday, it was a spontaneous moment. The price was great and the experience was fast. I moved like twice BC she just did it without warning but I’m not complaining the piercing looks like it’s healing perfectly. I will be back soon for my rook piercing!!!
My advice: Buy the saline solution, I’m currently making my own every time I clean it which is pretty inconvenient.

Giving another piercing review… got my septum and a fourth cartilage on my left ear done at the same time, was cheap and clean as ever. The septum hurt a lot more than I had expected, but the piercer was so sweet and made it as painless as possible. I will happily be coming back for all of my piercings, I absolutely adore them here!

Kind and friendly people who answer any questions.
Piercings were done with proper procedures, such as showing new needles, marking the piercing spot with a dot (for you to approve the spot) and cleaning the area before piercing.
Reasonable prices.
A total of four ear piercings done here.
Small space, space and people seem intimidating (but aren’t).
Would recommend for people who are getting their first piercings!

I decided to come here to get my belly button piercing after seeing the Unilocal rating.
It was $ 30 plus tax (it would’ve been $ 20 for the basic barbell with no jewel). First I was marked while standing up. The piercer showed me the clean, unused needle as he unwrapped it. It hurt when the needle & barbell went through, but it was over within 5 seconds.
It was done quick and clean, so I’m happy with my service. There was one guy getting a septum piercing and one getting a tongue piercing right after me (thank god I didn’t have to see this lol).
In terms of care, the little paper was good enough for me (he underlined antibacterial soap for emphasis). I’d already done my research for piercing care beforehand. It was perfectly fine that the piercer doesn’t waste time «babying» me through the steps. I guess they assume that anyone over 18 who decides to get a piercing has the capacity to follow aftercare instructions written on a piece of paper…

Can I give Whatever Tattoo a bajillion stars? Tatum (the amazing gal at the front) is patient, super helpful and I got a kick every time she answered the phone and said «Hello, Whatever.» L O L! Ok, let me paint the picture for you. A bunch of us went to get tattoos after our company holiday party and we were pretty lit. Like Christmas tree lit. We were loud, obnoxious and annoying. But the Whatever Tattoo crew tolerated us. I mean, let’s be real… they’re on St. Marks… they see this stuff all the time. I had a coworker design a crown for my wrist (because I’m a Queen, and I slay all day every day.) Herman took the design to the next level. Can we give a slow clap to Herman? I’m inked up, so I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be too bad. He was gentle, quick and we had a real heart-​to-​heart about our lives. Ok, not really. But at the moment, I felt like we were having something special going on there. Needless to say, despite St. Mark’s janky reputation, Whatever Tattoo slays. My Queen tattoo slays. Herman slays. Tatum slays. And I will now start answering all my calls by saying «Hello, Whatever.»

Rundown: horrible piercers/​lack of experience. Unfortunately got my nipples pierced here 8 months ago & have been having complications ever since. Piercer was extremely unpleasant & couldn’t answer my general questions correctly. Recently pain and discomfort has appeared as well as a minor infection;showed a different piercer upon realizing that the piercing wasn’t even in the RIGHT PLACE. Behind the nipple versus actually through it; because of
wrong alignment the piercing will never heal and eventually must be redone. Extremely disappointed and called the shop; the piercer unexpectedly left. Will never return nor recommend this place. Please be weary and remember you get what you pay for.

Pretty much the only place I’ll ever get tattoos in the city. The artists are all straightforward, friendly, and the process is seamless. The $ 80 minimum is super reasonable as well. Going back for another this week!

Overall a pretty good experience– me and 3 of my friends got spur of the moment piercings and didn’t have to wait too long for 11 pm on a friday so that was good, but i thought it was a little pricey. I got my 2^nd lobe piercings at $ 25 an ear which was more than my first piercings, and that piercing shop was much better. The guy doing it did a good job, they’re symmetrical and didn’t hurt too much but the earrings they gave me were terrible! Way too tight with no room for swelling, so my ears swelled up like crazy and didn’t heal for a long time because I just couldn’t get them to clean or drain until i got creative and started wearing dangly earrings to stop suffocating them. Like I said– overall fine but be wary of the earrings you get and if your ears seem like they’re healing funny, fix it asap.

Well, I’m giving it three stars due to the service as in my piercer’s general demeanor and attitude. He was very distant and not very kind to my needs, at one point it took me asking him more than once since he countered me the first time, for a tissue to wipe my eyes after getting my septum pierced.
In terms of the piercing, the price was reasonable, the experience smooth and swift. I got it done in May so I can’t remember how much it cost but did shop around before going and based on reviews on Unilocal and the price, chose Whatever Tattoo. Despite my experience with this piercer, I will actually be going back for a second ear piercing. That experience didn’t cloud things for me as he in terms of his service, knew what he was doing and did it very well and my septum piercing is just fine and is fully healed.

Horrible customer service! They have a huge ego and are very rude. I was with 2 of my friends and we all wanted tattoos and they were so stand offish as if they had business. No one was in their and they still weren’t welcoming.
Will never go in there again.

My friend and I got auricle (mid-​ear) piercings here, fairly late at night. My friend also had her lip ring changed and I was fitted with seamless rings in my second lobe piercing.
We didn’t have to wait very long at all and the whole process took maybe 15 minutes. Zeta pierced us and the piercing itself was very quick and relatively painless. However, Zeta didn’t talk us through the after care process at all; instead she wordlessly gave us a piece of paper with short instructions. I had to ask her how long I need to leave the piercing in before I can switch it out for a ring. When I got my last piercing, the piercer talked me through the care of it before even doing it and I appreciated his level of detail.
Overall, this was a good experience and the piercing looks good. Their prices were super reasonable, too.

5 stars for the badass Asian lady working the front. Unfortunately our piercer never showed up after we paid and filled out all of our forms, but we had a BLAST talking to the lady and sharing stories. She gladly refunded the money and sent us on our way. This place is also a lot cheaper than others, charging $ 25 for a cartilage piercing over $ 35.

The only place I’ll get my tattoos.
I came here for my first tattoo after specifically researching a Chinese tattoo artist because I wanted my custom tat in Chinese and didn’t want someone who didn’t speak to fu** it up. Not only did they have an amazing tattoo artist who spoke the language, checked the grammar for me (it’s only my 3^rd language) but also distracted me by telling me stories of growing up in China while I was trying to ignore the pain hahaha.
Great place ! Seriously, I wait to come here before I get a tat.

I’m not sure who the first person was that did my piercing but Tino was friendly, outgoing, and super chill. The first person kind of just pierced my nose, gave me the receipt, and called it a day (he didn’t really give me an instructions as to how to clean it or anything) but then my nose formed one of those bumps you get after a piercing and it looked so gross I tried everything to remove it (which makes it bigger. Don’t touch it!!). Long story short, I ended up taking the ring out and it all went downhill from there.
So I went back and Tino was there. He re-​pierced it and gave me a sea-​salt water solution to clean it with (I think you should just buy sea salt and mix it with water on your own. It’s cheaper and probably more effective) and was just really nice. You know he’s been doing it for a while and he’s great at what he does. A nose piercing is only $ 25 and it only hurts while you’re having the needle put in but afterwards you’re good to go :)
Definitely go to Whatever Tattoo because they’re clean and cheap.

Il né me restait que 2 semaines à NY, je voulais me faire tatouer avant de rentrer en France et avoir un rendez vous rapidement. J’ai fait le tour des tatoueurs sur Unilocal,et je me suis donc tourné vers ce quartier.
D’extérieur, Whatever Tattoos né faisait pas réellement envie. Une fois à l’intérieur, l’accueil est chaleureux et amical. La petite dame de l’accueil (une asiatique) me propose de me faire tatouer «right away sir !». Elle me demande ce que je voulais faire, et me fait payer (130 $ avec les taxes, pour quelque chose d’assez petit).
Le tatoueur arrive (il revient de sa pause déjeuner avec son sac et ses courses), et me demande ce que je veux faire. Il m’aide à bien le positionner, me donne des conseils, prends le temps de peaufiner le dessin.
A la vu du matériel, aucun souci à signaler. Matériel neuf, jetable, tout me parait ultra propre, et le tatoueur même semble assez maniac.
Après la séance, je discute un peu avec le tatoueur, qui me demande d’où je viens, qui me dit que j’avais pas l’air de souffrir. Très sympathique.
Je n’ai pas pu voir si les dessins sont de qualité, car je demandais des simples lettrages. Mais en tout cas le tatoueur apporte conseil, semble assez stricte sur l’hygièné.
Je pense très facilement y retourner la prochaine fois que je suis à NY.