Firefly Tattoo Collective LLC

Reviews 5

C.

C.J. Haldeman

I first contacted Laura back in mid-June of 2013 with the tattoo idea Id had mulling around in my head for a few years but just couldnt get designed on my own. She said it sounded like a fun tattoo but had a waiting list of about six months. Having seen her portfolio and deciding she was the perfect artist for the style of tattoo that I wanted, I went onto the waiting list. Finally, she contacted me in early December and we had our consultation where I again went over my idea. She took notes on everything I wanted and said shed have a sketch for me a few days ahead of our session. When my plans for our session date had to be changed because of unforeseen circumstances on my end, she let me know that shed had a weekend cancellation that was the Saturday after Christmas, so I jumped on it! She sent me a sketch idea for the tattoo on Christmas night, surprisingly and was almost bang on exactly what I wanted already. With a few really minor tweaks, I was all set for my appointment which was today. Firefly Tattoo is in an historic old building and its very clean, very well-lit and believe it or not, very peaceful! Not at all what you expect out of a tattoo place when you think of all the shady storefronts you see in whatever city you live in. They only take appointments, so theres no rabble just wandering in and theres no phones either, so when youre there for your tattoo, youre getting all the attention of your artist. And believe me, theyre all artists. My tattoo is exactly what I wanted and Ive already got another appointment set up with Laura to fix up an older tattoo that I have. I dont plan on a lot more tattoos, but anytime I decide I need another one, Laura is definitely who Im going to and shes going to be who I suggest people go visit! Thank you, Laura, I couldnt be happier with my custom one-of-a-kind tattoo!

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Danelle Smart

I was looking to get a tattoo of my own design that I had had in my head for a long time (almost a decade). I have other tattoos but theyre all on my back so I can cover them up if I ever end up not liking them, but this one was going to be big and on my arm so I wanted the best. After seeing all their great reviews and their portfolio, I chose Firefly. I originally wanted Laura but the wait was almost 4 months and I was moving so I couldnt wait that long, so I went with Dina based on her portfolio. I did all my research and printed out several reference photos, plus drew a picture of what I wanted. She made a copy of everything during our consultation and said she was going to draw something up and email it to me for approval. I never got an email but went ahead and went to my appointment after about another month thinking shed have it then. Instead, she drew the design straight on my arm without any reference photo or stencil. I know I shouldve stopped her there, but I thought "shes an artist, its just her creative process" so I let her start. Big mistake. I had stressed to her how important this was, but she disregarded all the research photos and just redid my drawing in her own personal style basically. This was the first tattoo Ive ever cried after getting. I went back for a touch up in about another month and she tried to fix some stuff but its still not what I wanted. And Im always scared with tattoos and haircuts if you tell the artist they did a bad job they will get mad and purposely mess it up more, so I just lied and said it was fine and went on my way. When I get the money again I will go to another local artist and have it fixed. I did like the atmosphere and location of the shop though, and she was nice, thats about it.

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Craig Hueston

I never submit reviews, but after my experience with Gerrit and Firefly Tattoo, I just have to submit one. I came to Gerrit with a horror story of a bad tattoo (first tattoo of all things too). Original tattoo from a tattoo party, NOT by Gerrit, was horribly painful, bled for 2 weeks, scarred, 45 minutes of hell and regret, and on and on and on.... Came to Gerrit 3 months later to get it fixed. He turned this horrible/shameful thing into an absolute awesome realistic piece of artwork. 3 hours in his chair was extremely less painful, no bleeding AT ALL, just an outstanding wonderful job. The tattoo was a tribute to my kids and I am so relieved and proud to show it to my kids it is great. I couldnt be happier. They smiled so big seeing it look "realistic" that it made me proud to show it to them. Dont make my original mistake and rush into a tattoo with a guy that said hes been doing it for 25 years, Gerrits talent at making a tattoo realistic and attention to detail is INCREDIBLE and so worth the wait. You get what you pay for and it was worth every penny and more. The shop was very professional, quiet, relaxing, non-disruptive. It resembles nothing of the seedy tattoo shops around town. I enjoyed every minute being there to hang out and get tattooed. I could speak volumes around this place, but not to bore everyone, simply put, it was well worth the wait and I will NEVER go to anyone else put Firefly Tattoo and Gerrit for a realistic tattoo. Cant wait to figure out what I want next! Thank you so much Gerrit!

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RC

RCT

I was a recent customer of Firefly, never had a tattoo in my life. I was nervous and anxious and a little stressed (a picture on my body thats there for life!). The Firefly artists were extremely at ease, understanding, and even made things humorous to calm my nerves. The place looks very professional - you could say its the Mercedes Benz of Tattooing. But thats only to describe the professional and sleek look of the location. The artists and the atmosphere are more like.....well....the Google office in CA. If you can picture it. Everyone there really does love their job and takes pride in everything they do - putting ink to skin. Gerrit was my artist and he tattooed my family crest. It came out better than expected and he was gracious as ever. He did not rush anything. Actually, he worked on it well into the night because I could tell he really wanted the tattoo to be perfect. The lines were super straight and sharp. I rarely do review anything online, a little too busy, but I had to write something up. Firefly left me a very satisfied customer, especially since their product is on my body for life - it better be darn good. And it was! They are very booked, so be patient. Would you wait 2-4 months to get a tattoo that looks amazing and is perfect to your imagination or would you want the tattoo within days after having an impulse of getting it? Since it is a life decision, I wanted to wait and it was well worth it.

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Elizabeth Barnett

I did not get my first tattoo until I was 35 years old so it was obviously something I didnt do lightly. I did extensive research to pick my artist and was willing to drive a significant way to get the best possible art. I chose Dina and have not regretted it for even a second. I sent her MANY pictures and ideas of what I wanted and I am pretty picky about things. Dina created an original piece of art that has far exceeded my expectations. My husband had several tattoos from a variety of other artists but he is now also loyal only to the amazing folks at Firefly. Dina created a tree of life cover for his 90s barbed wire that is unbelievable. Each time we visit Dina, we leave excited for what we want next. She is very kind and patient. She is so creative and her art is beautiful. When people ask why I drive all the way to Indy, I tell them its because Dina is the type of person Id be friends with, not a a creepy stereotype of what a tattoo artist is like. Firefly is the kind of place that has an easy comfort (despite the pain involved in the process). Each of the artists has a unique style but the quality of each is superb. I would trust any of them to create a tattoo for me without question. I couldnt give a higher recommendation!

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