Broken Lantern Tattoo

Reviews 5

TO

Tom Fernandez

AS ONE who never had a tattoo, I wanted to ensure that I did my research of local artists and studios prior to selecting one. After reading the reviews of Broken Lantern on Google compared to other artist studios, I decided to go with them. Setting up the appointment and getting consultation was as easy as walking in and speaking to the kind girl at the front desk. I setup my appointment a week in advance, paid a deposit, and was back a week later for the work. JOE PEREZ, one of the artists, performed the work on the half-sleeve tribal I got on my left shoulder. Joe, a former Marine/EOD vet and a new father, was perhaps the best person I could have gotten to get my first (and probably last) tattoo. I will admit: I have a low pain tolerance but he managed to keep my attention off of the sensitive areas during the entire 4 hour job. He was very conversational and we even shared a good number of laughs. I even joked with him that in a few years, his personal studio wall of art will be replaced with crayon drawings from his kid. =) JOES WORK on my half-sleeve tribal was phenomenal; I could not have asked for anything better. I gave him a general idea of what I wanted, he rendered the concept art on my shoulder, I looked it over in the mirror, and liked it. After outlining it with a ballpoint pen, he again asked me to double-check the design to make sure I was absolutely sure. I took a deep breath and 4 hours later I was thoroughly in love with the work he performed. AS AN ARTIST, Joe is easily among the top in the area, perhaps the state. He is very thorough, clean, and even discussed measures on proper care and safety. As a person, I couldn’t have asked for someone better. As a facility, Broken Lantern is unequivocally superior to other studies I’ve witnessed from afar. The moment you walk in, you are met with a lobby touting a floor that was probably clean enough to eat off of. All of the equipment was well maintained from the ink guns down to the bathroom to the chair I sat in. They even have a pool table out front for waiting guests. I NEVER THOUGHT I would get a tattoo but now that I did, I question why I waited so long. I had a lot of anxiety before entering a tattoo studio; I admittedly even held some misperceptions. Broken Lantern, however, shattered them all. I am a 35 year old father/step-father of 6 girls, a full-time law student, and I consider myself a moral person. If I can do it, you can. And if you so choose to do so, go nowhere else than Broken Lantern.

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wozwood2009

I am from Chicago. I had emailed these people over a month before my vacation to SC, in an attempt to get some sort of a gauge on a price for a specific armband that I attached to my email. The remote customer service stellar! The issue of price was initially explained to me as a $150 hourly rate, and I would be booked for 3 hours. Well, I’m relatively new to the tattoo addiction but I know that a potential $450 bill for a friggin armband was a little steep! I replied requesting a flat rate and, I mentioned that I could not see that armband costing any more than $250. I was granted a flat rate in their email reply and from there I made the appointment. I had ASSumed that $250 was the agreed upon price. Fast forward to my visit to the shop- I spoke to a different lad who worked up front. He took my design to Joe who told him to tell me $350. Wrong! I declined. Then I regretted declining later in the day- I called them and asked the guy if he could ask Joe (God forbid I speak to the artist directly) to meet me half way at $300. I was told I’d get a call back. Took over 24 hours to get that call and the call was actually to confirm my appointment time- not even about the negotiation! But, I was told that Joe could widen the gaps in my design and basically fudge it to make the $300 work to his advantage. Yeah, garbage service! Maybe Joe didnt want to do my particular tattoo, and THAT is why he quoted such an astronomical price?! Who knows. I took my business to a different place in Charleston and got my armband at nearly HALF OFF of what Joe quoted!! It looks awesome too! It was smart business to shop elsewhere.

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Stephanie Prine

For the last five years I have researched and dedicated lots of time to finding the tattoo and parlor that I wanted. Especially since it was going to be my first. I went into Broken Lantern several times to watch my friends get tattoos there and each time my expectations were not only met but exceeded. Yesterday I finally went in to get mine. The staff was very professional but also personable. Everyone came up and greeted me. Erica who did my tattoo looked at 10 pictures I brought in and drew something up for me. And it only took one time because it came out perfect! She took me back, and was very reassuring. (I was nervous and am a wuss with pain!) My tattoo was not large, but small and had intricate details. Yet Erica was a pro and the tattoo is better than I every imagined it could be. The tat is small but its so important to me because it represents all the hard work I have put in the last five years of my life! Do not go anywhere else! I went into many other shops and did not trust their services at all! Broken Lantern was 110 % perfect from beginning to end. I WILL BE GOING BACK FOR MORE!!! Erica if you read this. I am so excited to take a little piece of you with me for the rest of my life!

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holly herron

I was on a cross country road trip and one thing that I had planned on doing was fixing and finishing a half sleeve that had been started by another artist a year and a half ago. I had plans on staying in Charleston for a few days to hopefully do so....I had been doing research and came across The Broken Lantern. It was easy to find and very close to where I was staying. From the moment I walked in I saw how clean the shop was and immediately got greeted by Glenn. He was very friendly and professional. I explained my situation with my sleeve and some of my general thoughts on how to complete it. I was able to get in THAT afternoon! I was super excited. With a general description I let Glenn create an AMAZING and colorful piece of art. Over a 2 day period Glenn Collins created a completely unique and BEAUTIFUL creation that I am SUPER happy with! I get TONS of compliments on it. Thanks for bringing me up to WARRIOR STATUS Glenn motherf@*king Collins!! My time there was an awesome memory for my adventure and I shall return!

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Marika Aadland

For my first tattoo, I decided to do my research and look up the tattoo shops in Charleston that were the most loved (and look at the tattoos done by their artists of course). After some time and a bit of asking around, I chose Broken Lantern. I am so glad that I did! Joe Perez made my dream come true. The first time I walked in, we immediately got to talking about the tattoo. He came up with a drawing by Thursday, and the whole thing was done on Friday. He was so professional, and he had great ideas on how to make my original plan for the tattoo really pop and look beautiful. I was amazed at how fast he was on coming up with the drawing and final design. He is an amazing artist, and I could not have gone to a better place. I went through the whole six hours just chatting and laughing. It was super awesome. YOU GO JOE

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