Three chairs, one autoclave, no waiting room.
A first-floor room with two windows onto the street, opened in 2019. Small enough that we know everyone who comes in and quiet enough that you can hear the machine, which some people like and some very much do not.
Hourly, published, and quoted before you commit
We charge by the hour, at each artist's rate. Before anything is booked you get a total in writing — a number, not a range with a shrug attached — and we do not go past it without stopping to ask you first.
The studio minimum is €80. That covers a new needle, a new cartridge, fresh drapes, the setup and the strip-down afterwards. A two-centimetre design has the same twenty minutes of preparation behind it as a two-hour one, which is why very small tattoos look expensive per square centimetre and are not.
What a session usually comes to
- Small piece, 2 hours — €150 to €250
- Forearm session, 4 hours — €400 to €550
- Full day, 7 hours — €800 to €950
- Consultation, 30 minutes — free, and free means free
Deposits
€50, €80 or €150 depending on the session length. It comes off the final price. Reschedule more than 72 hours ahead and it moves with you as many times as you need. Inside 72 hours, or a no-show, and it stays here — at that notice the slot cannot be filled and somebody's day is gone.
Touch-ups
Free within three months, once, for anything that healed unevenly through no fault of yours. Not free if you picked at it, sunbathed on it, or went swimming in week one — we will still fix it, at the hourly rate, without a lecture.
Paying
Card or MB WAY on the day. Cash if you prefer, with a receipt either way — everything goes through the till, which should not be worth mentioning and in this industry still is.
The part you are entitled to ask about
Ask any studio these questions. A good one will answer without getting defensive, and will show you the room if you want to see it. If yours will not, that is your answer.
- 01
Everything that touches you is single-use
Needles, cartridges, tubes, grips, razors, ink caps, gloves. Opened in front of you, sharps into the yellow bin at the end. Nothing that has been in contact with skin is used twice, on anyone, ever.
- 02
The autoclave is tested, and the tests are kept
Class B autoclave for the few reusable metal parts, with a spore test every month. The results are in a folder by the door and you are welcome to read it — nobody ever has, and the offer stands anyway.
- 03
Ink is EU-compliant and batch-logged
Pigments meeting the REACH restrictions that came into force in 2022. We record the brand and batch number of every ink used on you, in your file, so that if there is ever a recall we can tell you rather than you finding out from the news.
- 04
Patch tests on request
Red pigments cause more reactions than any other colour. If you have reacted to a tattoo, a hair dye or costume jewellery before, ask for a patch test at the consultation. It takes two minutes and costs nothing.
- 05
We will refuse to tattoo you, sometimes
If you have been drinking, if you are on blood thinners without having mentioned it, if the skin is sunburnt, broken or has a mole in the way. Rescheduling is annoying. The alternative is worse.
Licensing: the studio is registered with the local health authority and both the licence and the last inspection report are on the wall by the sink, where they are supposed to be. TODO(client) — real deployment should name the authority and the licence number here.
There is no sign. Look for the blue door.
Rua do Poço dos Negros 71, first floor, between the hardware shop and the place that sells one kind of sandwich. Ring the middle bell. The stairs are steep and there is no lift — tell us in advance if that is a problem and we will sort something out.
1200-337 Lisboa
By metro
Cais do Sodré (green line) then eight minutes uphill, or Rato (yellow) and ten minutes down. Downhill is the better direction to arrive from if it is August.
By tram
The 28 stops at Calçada do Combro, three minutes away. It is also full of people photographing it, so factor that in.
Parking
Do not. There is a paid garage on Rua da Boavista, seven minutes away, and street parking here is a competitive sport with no prize.
Before you come
- Eat properly, within two hours of the session
- No alcohol the night before, none at all on the day
- Bring photo ID, every time, even if we know you
- Wear something that gets to the area without you having to undress in a room with two windows
- Headphones, a book, a film — a full day is a long time
One guest, one chair. The room is small and a crowd changes how the session goes.
Come and look at the room first
The consultation is free and half of what it is for is you deciding whether you want to spend seven hours here. That is a completely reasonable thing to want to check.