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 — drop us a note before you come, and we'll get the door for you.
Hours & directionsHusband & wife · native New Yorkers
About · Artists & Portfolios
Manhattan Tattoos is Nick & Shakira Jones — husband and wife, both artists, both from here. Nick mostly Harlem, Shakira raised in the Bronx. The shop opened in 2019 as a quiet place to tattoo people in peace. We're joined now by Brik, Emily, Alex, and Brandon. Browse each artist's portfolio 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 a quieter project still taking shape. More to come.
Learn moreTattoo 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.