Book or contact
Begin a session
Booking with us is an inquiry, not a checkout. Tell us what you're thinking and when you're hoping to come in — a real reply from an actual artist within 48 hours. No managers, no middlemen, so nothing gets lost or miscommunicated on the way to your artist.
General inquiryOr by artist · dynamic pricing
A long lineage
A history of tattooing
Older than scripture. Older than borders. The oldest preserved tattoos are 5,300 years old — and the practice surfaces independently across every continent. No one tradition can claim it. A short essay on what we know about a near-universal human act.
Read the history235 W 18th · Chelsea
Find us
235 West 18th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenue. Closest trains are the 1 to 18th Street and the A/C/E to 14th. We work by appointment primarily, but take walk-ins when we have availability.
Hours & directionsFounded by Shakira & Nick
About · Artists & Portfolios
Manhattan Tattoos was founded by Shakira and Nick Jones to be a positive, creative space — a place where people get tattooed in peace and where artists love what they do. We've since opened the studio to independent artists who share that standard. Browse the portfolios to find your match.
Yes, that's actually Nick's car · his graffiti
Racing Simulator
The 350Z in the scene is real — hand spray-canned over peelable paint, Nick's own work. The racing-simulator side of the studio is now running free sim racing tournaments — best lap wins a free tattoo session.
Sim racing tournamentTattoo questions & everything else
Q&A and Other
Tattoo Q&A: sterile (single-use needles, sharps containers, medical waste pickup), licensed by the NYC Department of Health, walk-ins sometimes, pricing depends on the piece. Other inquiries — job applications, mural commissions, partnerships, press, anything that isn't a tattoo booking — also welcome here.