Custom tattoos
for people who
know what they want.
Four resident artists, each working only in their own style, and no flash-only appointments. Every piece is drawn for one person, by the artist who will tattoo it.
A tattoo is a twenty-year object. We work like the next twenty years are watching.
Four artists, four waitlists.
Every Ironwood artist works only on their own portfolio: what they're best at, and only that. We'll route you to the right hand on the consult, or you can pick from the room. Full profiles are on the artists page.
- Fine Line
- Single Needle
- Script
"Small, deliberate, almost invisible. The work is in the restraint."
- Blackwork
- Ornamental
- Sleeve
"Pure black, deep saturation, big surfaces. I do one piece per session, one session per day."
- Geometric
- Sacred
- Mandala
"Mandalas, sacred geometry, dotwork. Books a year out. The list reopens in spring."
- Illustrative
- Neo-traditional
- Cover-up
"I draw scenes: multi-figure compositions, full backs, half sleeves. We talk for an hour before I sketch."
Six recent sessions, each one one-of-one.
Every Ironwood piece is custom, drawn for one skin only. These six are from the last quarter, photographed once they had healed and settled.
From brief to session in six to ten weeks.
No same-day work. You meet the artist before any money moves, and there are three points along the way where you can still walk away.
The brief.
Submit a written brief through the consult form: references, placement, scale, and your timeline. We respond within five business days.
The consult.
Sixty minutes in the studio. Sizing, refinement, placement test, and a deposit if we're moving forward.
The drawing.
Three to five weeks while your artist sketches. One round of revisions before session day; you see the final the morning of.
The session.
Two to eight hours, depending on scale. We block the booth for the day. No double-booking, no rushing, no music you didn't approve.
Six things we don't bend on.
Most clients learn these on the consult. We're listing them up front so we can spend the chair time talking about your piece, not our policies.
No flash-only.
We do not run flash days. Every piece is consulted and drawn for the person, even when the design started as a flash sheet.
No walk-ins.
Consults by appointment only. Our door is locked between sessions. We open for the artist and the client, no one else.
Deposits required.
$200 at consult, applied to your final session. Non‑refundable. Cannot be transferred to another artist or person. 72‑hour notice to reschedule, once. Under that, or a second reschedule, the deposit is forfeit.
No finger or hand work.
Aging is unkind to those placements and we'd rather you look back in twenty years and like the work. Wrist and inner forearm are fine.
No cover-up in one session.
Cover-ups are a two-session minimum, with a four-week heal in between. Hana and Marek lead all cover-up consults.
Aftercare included.
Every session ends with a sealed care kit, written instructions, and a 30-day text-line for any healing questions. Use it.
Words from the booth.
"Sloane drew the piece five times before we sat down. The result is the most precise tattoo I own. And I have eleven."
"Marek booked me ten weeks out, drew for three of those, and finished a half-sleeve over two day sessions. Pure black still looks black after eighteen months."
"Hana told me the piece I came in for wouldn't age well, and proposed something better. Glad I listened. Six years and the lines are still sharp."
Twelve years on Alberta.
Ironwood opened in 2014 in a 1,200-square-foot space on Northeast Alberta. The original idea, and the only idea, was that a tattoo is a twenty-year object: the artist sets the schedule, the client gets the consult, and the work is built to outlast both of them.
Twelve years later we have four resident artists, four booths, and zero flash-only days. No second location. No conventions. No guest spots. More about the shop.
Ready to start the brief?
Submit a written brief through the consult form. We respond within five business days, and most pieces are on skin six to ten weeks after the brief. We'll match you to the right artist, on the right timeline.
Send an inquiryThis is what Yeti can build for a tattoo studio in seven days.