Honestly, yes! It does hurt! But if it were really that bad, nobody would do it. The best way to describe it is like scratching a sunburn; it doesn’t feel good, but its more of an irritation than a constant pain. Some areas of the body are more sensitive than others, and as you could imagine, these areas typically hurt a little more to get tattooed. BUT, the bottom line is that it’s certainly not unbearable, and if you really want the tattoo, then you will be totally fine and get through it no problem (like most people, you’ll probably come back for more!)

Make sure you are well rested, hydrated, and have eaten recently. Don’t be hung-over, and don’t drink alcohol or take Advil before your appointment because it will thin your blood. Wear comfortable clothing, and make sure that whatever body part you are getting tattooed will be easily accessible.

We charge $180 per hour of tattooing plus tax, so the larger and more complicated the design, the more it will cost you. Quotes are available in person, during a consultation with an artist.

Sorry, but no. It’s impossible to guess how long it will take without ALL the appropriate information. This includes actual size of the tattoo, the type of imagery, the style it’ll be tattooed in, colour or black and grey, what kind of background, any other existing tattoos that need to be worked around, the part of the body it will be on, your skin type, and so on. Even a “simple” tattoo, can only be properly quoted for in person by the artist doing it.

$90 plus tax. This covers any tattoo that takes a half hour or less.

When we have time, yes! But, we do give priority to booked appointments. If you would like to walk in, please call our front desk the day of, and see if there are any openings.

18 with valid photo ID.

Technically yes. Any underage client MUST book a consultation with an artist to talk about what they want to get tattooed and where. Their parent or legal guardian must be present at this consultation. Both the underage client AND their parent or legal guardian MUST present valid photo ID and proof of guardianship. The signing parent also has to be at the tattoo appointment. We highly discourage (and may outright deny) tattooing minors in highly visible areas (ie: hands, neck, fingers, wrists, collar bone, chest, etc). We typically discourage anyone who hasn’t had a lot of work done already from getting high visibility tattoos, so it’s not even so much of an age thing.

Yes, but be forewarned that they don’t look Pinterest ready forever. Your hands exfoliate at a super fast rate, and on top of that they also age fast… they’re out in the elements all the time, they’re subjected to more washing, scraping, and burning than typically anywhere else on your body. So tattoos just don’t stay quite the same as they do on other body parts. Tattoos on the sides of the fingers and inside the palm are pretty unpredictable in terms of how they will look in 3 months, 1 year, 5 years, 30 years or however long you plan on living for. They fade out, may look patchy, may completely disappear over time, or just go really faded and blotchy looking. Hell, they may look great forever! They’re just unpredictable. So with that, we do not offer any guarantees on their longevity, nor do we offer free touch ups on them. They are completely at your own risk!

No. Putting your body through a forced adrenaline rush and then subsequent healing is definitely not something anyone who’s pregnant should be doing. It’s too risky. If you’re post-pregnancy but are breast-feeding, we recommend you treat it like drinking (ie: pump and dump). For more specific questions please feel free to contact us or your doctor to see if it’s a good idea, or if you should wait.

Yes. No exceptions. All tattoo appointments require a minimum $80 deposit. This amount comes off the final cost of your tattoo. However, if you don’t show up for your appointment, or cancel last minute, we keep your deposit for loss of time.

Yes! Just give us at least 24 hours notice! Call us, email us, drop by, or message us on facebook. If we’re closed, leave a message.

We keep your deposit. You will need to come in and put down a new one if you want to reschedule.

Please don’t be! Try to be ON TIME! If you’re late, either it will throw off the artists schedule for the day, OR you wont actually have enough time to get all the work done that you wanted. If you are running late because you can’t find parking, or traffic, or babysitters or whatever, PLEASE give us a call as soon as you can to let us know that you’re still coming. That way our artists know they should still set up for you.

We are a small shop, and there just isn’t room for a gang of friends and family. Also, it’s really boring to watch. You’ll have the tattoo forever, so everyone else can just see it some other time.

That depends. If you're popping by to ask a few questions or book an appointment, sure. But remember, it’s a small shop, so there isn’t a lot of room for a whole family gang. If you’re coming in for a tattoo appointment? No, please don’t. You’ll be too busy getting tattooed to watch over the little ones (and that’s not our staffs job!). Same goes for piercing appointments.

Yes! Cover-ups definitely require a consultation with an artist, so they can see what you have and come up with a plan for how to change it into something you love! Make sure you have an idea of what you would like to cover it with, but be open to suggestions as to how they can make that happen. It doesn’t necessarily have to be dark and big. So think of what you’d rather have there, then talk to our artists about how they could make that work for you!

Always appreciated, never expected.

16 with valid photo ID (government issued, your student card won't cut it). For any piercings below-the-belt you must be 18+.

You shouldn't. We are a small shop, so there really isn't space for a bunch of extra people. If you're underage, you will need to have 1 parent or legal guardian with you in the piercing room. If multiple people are getting pierced at the same appointment, we will fit you all in together.

Yes! We will accommodate last-minute appointments and walk-ins when we can, but we highly recommend you call ahead and book a time with Captain Matt. Just call the shop directly 604-510-5095 to book your appointment over the phone.

YES! You will need to show valid government issued photo ID to verify your age. Sorry, but your school card wont cover it. Even if you have a parent to sign for you, you still need ID so that we can verify that you are who you say you are, and that the adult with you is actually your parent and has the right to sign for you. If you still have questions about this, please call us directly!

Maybe. Cartilage piercings bleed more often than others, but it’s possible to see some bleeding on any piercing any time within the first week or so. If you see a bit of blood, don’t be alarmed, just clean it off and give your piercing time to heal.

This depends on the piercing… most piercings take on average about 3 months to fully heal, but this also depends on how well you take care of it. The more irritation it sees, the longer it takes to heal. Navels take on average about 6 months or longer to heal, tongues usually about 2 ½ months. When your piercing is healed, you will no longer see any lymph discharge, there will be no more dry/discoloured skin around it, and it will look like regular skin all around the jewelry.

Probably not. Most people mistake an irritated piercing for an infected one. Infection is when you have bacteria growing in your piercing and you need to go get antibiotics to kill said infection. Infections usually have 5 signs: swelling, redness, heat, pus, and constant pain. If your piercing is just a little red and sore, odds are it’s just irritated. If you think your piercing is actually infected, come in and see our piercer, or go to a doctor!

Yes! If you do not want to buy saline, you can also make it at home. Though store-bought saline is a much better option, you can mix ¼ teaspoon non-iodized sea salt with 1 cup warm water and use it to rinse your piercing. Another option for cleaning is to put saline in a cup or shot-glass, warm it up, and clamp it over your piercing allowing it to soak for 5-10 minutes a couple times a day. This is also a great way to sooth irritated piercings!

Yes! We charge a flat $10 for jewelry changes. You can purchase jewelry from us, or bring in your own from elsewhere. Just give us a call to book an appointment with Captain Matt.

No. All of our jewelry for piercing is made of high quality implant grade steel, and is professionally sterilized in house so that you have the cleanest and safest piercing experience. Once your new piercing is fully healed, you can wear whatever kind of jewelry you like in it.