Print this story |
E-mail story |
iPod friendly | Bookmark this
What is this?
New tattoo shop opens
Published 12:41 p.m., August 10, 2009
The couple behind a new tattoo shop in Underwood say they’re out to run a parlor that’s clean, safe and friendly.
Anthony Hogy and Marion Nickolauson run Take It To Your Grave Tattoo, a shop they opened off of State Highway 210 about a week ago. Hogy, who has tattooed for 13 years, is the principal artist; Nickolauson, a Clitherall native, is his apprentice.
Hogy grew up in New England and got his first tattoo, an image of Mickey Mouse, at age 18. By then he’d already been experimenting with homemade guns, and his first professional piece only made him more interested in tattoos.
“The guy who gave it to me actually taught me a lot of what I know,” Hogy said.
In the years since, Hogy has worked at several tattoo parlors on the East Coast, where shops are known for their cleanliness and safety, he said. Many of those shops are “hospital-extreme” in their standards, Hogy said, a practice he tries to replicate in Underwood. He uses disposable needles and tips so that every customer has new supplies.
Nickolauson has been tattooing for about six months, working on tattoo practice skin, Hogy and family members. Her father, who owns A1 Wayne’s Towing, encouraged the couple to open a shop and offered to back the effort financially.
“He came up to me on Father’s Day and said, ‘Let’s go into a business venture together,’” Nickolauson said.
The couple say they’ve been to plenty of tattoo shops where staff are less than friendly. They’d like the atmosphere to be different at Take It To Your Grave Tattoo. Other shops have been associated with drugs and crime, things Hogy and Nickolauson say they won’t allow.
In fact, Nickolauson said her father has a tattoo that went unfinished when a shop owner was accused of drug crimes years ago. She hopes to finish it for him in the future.
Hogy, who has up to 50 tattoos, has books of his work for customers to page through. Those books show how his work has evolved over the years.
“Tattooing is a constant learning experience,” he said.
Take It To Your Grave Tattoo is located in the same building as A1 Wayne’s Towing off of State Highway 210, west of the intersection with County Road 35. Hours are 12 p.m. to 1 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Appointments can be made by calling 218-826-6882 and are available outside of business hours.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THIS STORY?
