A friend recommended Ben Perez, whom I believe is called Catfish, a wickedly talented artist who was donating half the proceeds of Houston-born tattoos to Hurricane Harvey victims. While my tattoo design was not the same one he was offering as part of his donation fund, when I contacted him about requesting the tattoo I wanted (an ekg heart line that phased into the Houston skyline, that then phased back into an ekg line), he was happily gracious about including my tattoo in the ones he was donating funds for Harvey.
I would definitely recommend him again. His artwork is beautiful and his hand is steady. He's a true Houstonian that cares about our city, and a small business owner that needs lots of love and support. I have recommended that my husband get his sleeve finished from Ben, and my next tattoo will definately be from him!
I came in with a very "simple" request - a solid straight line down my back. Anyone that knows tattoos know this is no simple task. I met up with Catfish and we talked through thickness, placement, length.. it took easily an hour to get things where we had agreement from basically everyone in the shop.
Two. Hours. He was thorough, careful and picked up quickly if I was getting too tense. Tattooing your spine is pretty painful and he was great about it. In that moment - little things like stretching or asking for 20 seconds makes all the difference between holding your breath and breathing.
I got a small tattoo done here today by Jay. He was super nice and professional and he did a really great job. I'm very happy with my new ink and I will be back for more :)
After Hurricane Harvey, I really wanted a tattoo that celebrated Houston. I am Houston born and proud. I put a call out to my facebook friends, asking if anyone knew of a tattoo parlor that might have been suffering in the wake of Harvey, that I could give my business to.
My wife went to get a tattoo and we both love it. Catfish, the tattoo artist, was very professional and the tattoo turned out exactly as we had hoped for. Definitely call before coming over to see if they have time. Also, don't expect a bigger project to be taken care off the same day, Catfish will take time to draw a draft and everything, which is totally worth the wait!
I gave him a small deposit so that he could design my tattoo, which would have to be created from scratch. He made the design and we set a date.
My tattoo was only one single continuous line, but it was right across my ribs. The entire time he worked on me, Ben encouraged me, complimented me, and paused to ask me how I was doing and if I needed to stop. His hand was always steady, but he never hesitated to pause and check in on my pain level. I always felt in good hands with him, from start to finish. He would take a breather to ask how I was doing; to make a joke; to tell a story. He even shared his own experiences being tattooed. I was so grateful with his patience. I was able to forget the pain because Ben was so careful abd considerate with me. I was so grateful!
My tattoo from him healed beautifully. It was only red for a few hours. There was no scabbing. It only itched a tiny bit. It retained all of the ink. He did an excellent job. Despite it not being my first tattoo, he still went over the caretaking steps with me, and offered any support I might have needed. And, he donated half of the proceeds of my tattoo to Hurricane Harvey survivors. He's a true hero.
He laid me down in the chair and began. I had forgotten how painful a flank tattoo was! I already had one that was years old on my other flank, and I guess I had forgotten the pain of that one.
So, here's my experience with The Flying Squid:
I have gotten two tattoos from them and they both exceeded my expectations! (Dustin is amazing)
The result is bad ass. I freaking love it. The bonus - he told me I can come back any time to have it touched up! Catfish is the dang man!!
Finally, the day of my inking came. I was so excited!! I showed up early to his studio, and was nervous (I love tattoos but hate needles), so I went outside to have a smoke. He came outside and showed me his design for me. It was everything I wanted!!! It was the right size and width. He had taken some liberties on a few of the distences between several buildings, making them further apart so that the skyline was more pronounced, which I LOVED. It was perfect. I WAS SO EXCITED!
Flying Squid Tattoo is a US Art Gallery based in Houston, Texas. Flying Squid Tattoo is located at 1507 N Durham Dr, Houston, TX 77008, USA.
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