Chapter I
Why are we here?
Manhattan Tattoos is a small business opened and operated by husband and wife, Nick and Shakira Jones — both tattoo artists at the studio, both native New Yorkers, kinda. Shakira raised in the Bronx.
And Nick, having moved around a lot, born in New York, considers himself a nomad — from beaches in Staten Island, to playgrounds in the Bronx in the 90s, to streams and forests in Connecticut as a kid, going to a private school on top of a mountain with an observatory and planetarium (a decommissioned military base turned into the best school he's ever seen), to playing manhunt on the streets of Harlem as a teenager while living in homeless shelters and beginning his tattoo journey in the middle of the projects in Harlem, dropping out of high school and disappearing into the Bronx to start his tattoo journey, leading to a career in a Hell's Kitchen tattoo shop and then a Times Square tattoo shop before opening up his own — Manhattan Tattoos.
An out-of-the-blue bound towards freedom.
Chapter II
How the shop came to be.
The shop was originally opened as an out-of-the-blue bound towards freedom for Nick, who simply wanted a space he could tattoo people in peace. With the help and support of Shakira, clients, and friends, he went from having no plans to open a tattoo shop — to opening one within three months of first getting the idea.
Within a week, Shakira fell in love with tattooing herself. And the rest is history.
Chapter III
A small studio in a big city.
235 West 18th Street — between 7th and 8th Avenue, in the bones of Chelsea. A room that grew into itself rather than one that was decorated. Money was tight at first, time was even more limited. With the help of friends, they took a blank space and turned it into their own little place — originally painting the walls black and white with flowing hand-drawn designs by Shakira, with colorful lights and plans to hang large photos honoring the history of tattooing. They opened up.
Over the years, the shop evolved with them. Different layouts, stations added and removed, seating arrangements here and there. It's now a beautiful mix of where they find themselves — called to a rainforest, but still functioning within the society the shop finds itself in.
Plants occupy more space than you would assume a tattoo shop to ever have. Hand-drawn evolutions of the original black-on-white designs flow across the emerald walls, now much larger and in shades of green — a nod to the beauty of nature. Blue splashes of spraypaint subtly cling to the black walls covered in these same designs but in gold — a nod to the infinite energy of the cosmos. Hand-made work stations hold the tools of their trade. Even a professional racing simulator lives within the shop — showing the duality Nick feels: a pull to climb through rainforests and the call to the roar of a downshifting car.
Chapter IV
The way we work.
Pricing here works a little differently. While the other artists still offer flat rates and hourly pricing, Shakira and Nick offer Dynamic pricing — a weekday price that changes month by month.
The more people who book in a month, the lower the price drops, for everyone. You're not competing with anyone for the lowest rate. You're sharing it. Book early in the month and you push the price down for the next person. Book later in the month and someone else has already pushed it down for you, and you lower the price for whoever booked before you.
It's a small experiment in running a shop where nobody's trying to extract the maximum out of every client. The current month's price is always live on The Drop page for the artists who take part in this.
Modern times; ancient craft.
The shop motto, since day one.
Chapter V
The artists.
Nick and Shakira lead. Joined by Brik, Emily, Alex, and Brandon — each with their own hand. Browse each portfolio to find your match.
Thank you for reading.