Cloud 9 Tattoo & Piercing STUDIO (by appointment only) - Tattoos, Piercings, Fine Body Jewelry

Got my conch pierced here yesterday. The piercer, Karri, was friendly but jewelry and service prices were high (I got titanium jewelry and it was overall about $110). Karri also didn’t show me the mark she made for where the piercing would go before she did the piercing. It’s definitely lower down on my ear than I wanted. I tried to tell her this when she showed me the finish piercing but she didn’t seem to understand. Unfortunately this may have been a waste of money since I might end up taking this piercing out and getting it re-pierced where I want it.

Great customer service better than any head shop around Birmingham hands down. Don't forget they moved to that shopping center

Tattoos turned out great. But the artist was a real... I'll just say not a nice guy. Signs everywhere warning you not to do this or that. Prices were very high, but you pay for good work. Won't go back, simply because I didn't like the attitudes. Plenty of good artists out there. Just do your research.

My tattoo is fine but the attitude there was just so negative. I took a friend to get her first there and they were very judgmental of her tattoo (a religious symbol) and mine (GPS coordinates). I had to fight hard to get my tattoo the way I wanted it because the front desk person seemed to have this whole other idea of how my tattoo should look, despite it being a really simple tattoo. The artist was extremely unfriendly and didn't do anything to help reassure my clearly nervous friend... until she took her shirt off. Then suddenly he had cute little flirty remarks and laughs. I honestly wouldn't have thought anything of his harried attitude because these guys are artists, not customer service reps, until he got all friendly for my topless friend. Super creepy. My first Birmingham tattoo. Definitely going somewhere else next time.

Let me state up front, I have only visited this place once, but I am not here about the establishment. As far as establishments go, it was a tat shop with retail. Been in better, been in worse. I am here to throw a compliment out to one of their young artists, Taylor. I'm a Taylor fan, so wherever he is currently working, is my shop of choice.

I have plenty of tats, mostly done by different artist, and I have yet to meet one, that did not have some sort of attitude, or quirk. I am not sure I have ever seen an artist at any shop, for more than 6 to 8 months, unless they own the place. All artist are different, and they all move around. For fully involved tats, back pieces, sleeves, find an artist that is stable in the community and just keep track of where he/she is currently working.

All of that said, Taylor has a true artistic vision when it comes to ink. I worked with a different artist on an idea for a full back piece. The design took weeks to finalize. After 4 ink sessions, my artist moved out of state. I'm a Karma/Destiny guy, so I figured it was meant to be. Keep in mind, its a back piece, I really can't see the design and detail. I get feed back from friends and such, but I can't really see the product. It has to be a trust thing, when you cannot actually verify the work, with your own eyes.

Long story short, I stumbled across Taylor, while he was employed at a different shop. (imagine that) He looked at the previous work, cringed, grinned, laughed a little, then threw out the worst thing you want to hear, wow, that ink is ****** up. While most artist shy away from working on another artists work, Taylor took it as a challenge, and went about finding a way to not only fix it, but turn it into a true piece of memorial art. It was a combo finish/cover up job, and he nailed it. Trust me, this piece was in really bad shape, but now, I drop the shirt at any given chance, to display the finished product. If I am looking for outside the box ink, with outstanding results, I'll probably be looking for Taylor.

I have always said, if you go into any tat shop, with zero flexibility, you are probably going to be disappointed. Give the artist your idea, and work with them on the final design. Give them the flexibility to use their talent, and you will probably not be disappointed. Lastly, IMO, if you come across someone that claims to be a true artist, and they do not have an attitude, or quirks, they might be misrepresenting themselves.

I felt very uncomfortable in there. The front staff was very friendly. However, the tattoo artist, Donovan, put me on edge. He wanted to do the (simple) tattoo his way and wasn’t the nicest or patient of people when discussing what I wanted. The tattoo turned out great though, so he does good work but his bedside manner was mediocre at best. He actually told me not to talk at one point. I was honestly scared at what was going to come out of the session because he didn’t seem to care at all what the end goal was - just get me in and out as fast as possible. I feel like a tattoo is an experience as much as the art, and my experience was poor.

The guys there are very professional but also very laid back. They make you feel welcome and safe and totally at ease. John has done amazing work for my friends with quotes, mariners' compasses, birds, etc. Bryan did my tattoo which was a celtic cross and it's absolutely beautiful. You really can't go wrong with either man. They'll take your designs and clean them up and give you their own much improved version or you can pick from the many choices they offer in their shop.

This was my first tattoo experience but it certainly won't be my last. There's a tattoo shop closer to my home but I'll be making the longer trip to Cloud Nine just for another great experience when I get my next 2.

Donovan is absolutely the best. He's done 4 of my tattoos and I love them all. The shading and detail he put into my tattoos are impeccable. The staff at Cloud 9 are amazing and very helpful. I'm definitely going back to them for any future tattoos. Donovan is amazing tattoo artist and you WILL NOT be disappointed.

Service is hit or miss here. I have been there when there have been extremely cocky, rude individuals working at the counter. Most of the piercers and artists are nice. Aaron is super nice. They used to offer for the piercers to put jewelry in that you purchased; however, last time I was there, the guy at the counter just handed me the baggy with soap in it to clean the jewelry and told me I could put it in myself in the bathroom. I didn't ask for a piercer because the guy didn't seem too interested in helping beyond making the sale.

Great artist did a great job on my tattoo but was not friendly at all and was very rude to my wife about her cross tattoo. If you want to be able to converse with the artist while getting a tattoo this is not your place. I will not be back because mainly he was rude to my wife, but also because the guy is not friendly at all.