Category Archives: Shop News & Events

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Steve in Inked Magazine, and a Few BTC Pics!

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It's officially October, which means Salem is becoming busier by the day. Our weekends in particular are filling up fast, and our schedules are full of wonderful clients traveling to Salem for the Halloween festivities — we even have some returning from previous years of visits, which makes us feel pretty damn special. If you'd like to be tattooed by one of our lovely artists this month, we recommend giving us a call to book your appointment as soon as possible! 978.744.9393

In other news, we recently had the October 2012 issue of Inked Magazine delivered to the shop. We opened it up to find none other than our own Mr. Gillespie. Note: This piece has since been finished, and had color added.

We've also been going through a ton of photos from the Boston Tattoo Convention recently, and have found some of our artists and clients! You can see more photos from the show right here


Jenny during a quiet moment at one of our booths.
Photo by Iggy Barskov.


Jenny in another moment of focus! By the way, have you checked out her work yet?
Photo by Tong Mangklarat.


Natan with the winner of the Miss Boston Ink Beauty Contest.
Photo by Iggy Barskov.


We were very fortunate to have a lot of our clients at the show. John is the proud owner of this back piece by Sharonn.
Photo by Arthur Newberg.

Lastly, Sharonn has been fancying up the shop window for the holiday. Here's a peek! Fun fact: She painted this skull herself!

2nd Annual Fidelco Dog Walk Recap!

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The 2nd Annual Fidelco Dog Walk has come and gone, having taken place yesterday, Sunday the 10th. Salem was filled with even more adorable pups than usual, with dog owners/lovers and businesses coming together to raise funds for the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation. They not only raise and train guide dogs, but they ease the animals into their new homes with a 2-3 week training process for both the dog and owner.

The event raised over $12,000, and we are proud of Fidelco and glad to have taken a part! You may have noticed signs and balloons outside of the shop if you wandered by, and if you were in the Salem Common (the home base for the walk), you may have even entered a raffle for a Witch City Ink gift certificate and t-shirts. Later in the day, we were told that a very happy 60 year old lady won the raffle, and will be using her gift certificate to go towards her very first tattoo (how cool is that!).

And just because the walk is over, doesn’t mean that you can’t still donate! Click here to see info and options for donating to the foundation.

Sunday: 2nd Annual Fidelco Dog Walk

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The 2012 Fidelco Dog Walk to benefit the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, takes place Sunday, June 10th at the Salem Commons in Salem, MA. Walkers and their dogs will be raising funds and volunteering their time to help Fidelco continue to provide the highest quality German Shepherd guide dogs to individuals who are blind.

It’s not just the walk — all sorts of good stuff will be set up in the Salem Common until 3pm as well, including fun little events for dogs and their owners, a pet psychic, and various raffles, whose proceeds also go towards the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation.

We here at Witch City Ink are huge animal lovers, and all of us have pets ourselves, so when we were asked if we would be a sponsor for the walk, of course we said yes! We also donated some shirts and a $100 gift certificate as a raffle prize, so go check it out! If you’re not in Salem or just can’t make the event, you can also donate to Fidelco right here.

Important New Work from PJ

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We picked up a Salem Gazette and discovered a very familiar face.. our very own PJ!

A closer look at the text..

That’s right, the man is not just a phenomenal tattooer, but he has eggs in all sorts of baskets. Some of these baskets, like 3 Potato 4, are downright delicious.

Now, we’re not just saying this because we love PJ, but these potatoes are seriously addictive. Everyone at the shop has tried them and has since been blessed/cursed with random cravings since. We all have favorite sauces (I personally recommend the curry mayo, and Natan is a big fan of the chipolte mayo).

Check out 3 Potato 4’s menu, and if that doesn’t make you want to run right over (they’re right around the corner from Salem’s Ben & Jerry’s!), check out this pic.

Witch City Ink Seeking Experienced Tattooer

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Witch City Ink is searching for a tattoo artist with a minimum of 5 years experience along a solid portfolio that includes original artwork as well as custom tattoos. A positive attitude is also a must, as is being drug and drama free. Please note that we are NOT seeking apprentices.

Submit letter of interest and a link to your portfolio to witchcityink@gmail.com.

Google > Yelp, and How Much We Love You

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We love it when people leave us reviews on Yelp and Google. Truly. Sure, any business loves a good review, but for us it’s something a little more personal. When we sit down with a client, often multiple times (consults, then tattoos that require multiple sessions..), we get to know them a bit and they also get to know us. Getting a tattoo is by far a more personal and lengthy experience than say, going into a store and buying a product off the shelf and interacting with the cashier or floor salesperson. So when a person leaves us a review, good or bad, we take it to heart a bit more than other businesses might.

These days, we’re favoring Google over Yelp when it comes to customer reviews, and we’re trying to direct people there. Why? Because Yelp automatically filters 99% of our reviews, and in doing so, all of the kind words from our clients become hidden from us and the rest of the world. Plus, it’s unfair that our clients take the time to write about us, only for it to become filtered within a day or two! Here are a couple of our recent favorite reviews, now hiding behind Yelp’s filter (note: you can read filtered reviews by scrolling down to the bottom of our page and clicking the “# filtered” link).

“I am wicked glad I did NOT real the reviews before we went in! We had Steve, sure he is quiet but that allowed for my friend and I, getting matching tattoos, to chat! He was EXCELLENT at his job, which IS tattooing and not small talk and the front of store woman was spot on, polite, friendly and did her job excellently! My ex husband and I OWNED a tattoo shop and I think this one is lovely, clean, and in a great location!” -Gypsy

Gypsy also included this photo in her Yelp profile!:

“I recently got work done at witch city ink and I couldn’t be more satisfied! I was tattooed by Natan Alexander who did an amazing portrait of my son. The atmosphere of the shop was very serene and helped relax me before game time. By far the best parlor I’ve been to in New England. I’ll be going back real soon.” -Kyle

And those are just two of eighty-two filtered reviews! We’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating — we have the BEST clients.

So while we encourage you to leave us reviews over on Google rather than Yelp, we’d like to give a little thank you to for taking time out of your busy schedules to leave us kind words — if you leave or have left us a positive review, we would love to give you a t-shirt the next time you stop by the shop. Or hugs*. Giant ones.

*Hugs will be dispensed by Steve, the official Witch City Ink hug-giver.

Seeking: Tattoo Artist, & Part-Time Shop Assistant

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We’re seeking two people to be a part of our shop, and Lightwave!

Firstly, Witch City Ink is searching for a tattoo artist with a minimum of 5 years experience along a solid portfolio that includes original artwork as well as custom tattoos. A positive attitude is also a must, as is being drug and drama free. Please note that we are NOT seeking apprentices.

Please submit letter of interest and a link to your portfolio to witchcityink@gmail.com.

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We are also looking for a competent, motivated, and reliable person for a part-time shop assistant position at Witch City Ink in Salem, MA and our sister shop, Lightwave Tattoo in Saugus, MA. Should be skilled/knowledgeable in web/computer/graphic design work, customer service, and general cleaning/organization. Familiarity with tattoos and art is a plus. Applicant MUST have access to a vehicle, as this position will be split between the Salem and Saugus shops.

Duties will include general shop maintenance/cleaning, website work/updates, appointment management, customer service, equipment sterilization, stencil making, and general office management.

Requisite skills: Mac OS X, Photoshop, WordPress/basic internet and html knowledge, social networking (utilizing facebook, twitter, etc.), strong customer relations, professional and business composition/typing.

Please submit resumes and cover letters to the above email address, or:

Witch City Ink
186-3 Essex St.
Salem, MA 01970

Squirrel by Sharonn

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I suppose if someone were to say the words “squirrel tattoo,” you would probably imagine something on the ridiculous side. But, Sharonn is the queen of all things whimsical, and this piece is just that. Along with colorful and let’s face it.. adorable. The client was fascinating, having such an affinity for the little creatures that she and her husband actually run a squirrel rescue organization. Unfortunately, they were unable to bring any baby squirrels by the shop, which might be a positive thing as we probably would have died from the cuteness.

While we have you, here’s a bit of shop news: We are officially back on our summer schedule, opening the shop at 11am and closing at 8pm. We always recommend making an appointment if you can, and lately our artists have been busier than ever. We are doing our best to accommodate walk-ins, but with the exception of a few open gaps in the schedule, all of our artists are booked out anywhere from one week to a month+ in advance. We welcome you to stop by and chat, email us at witchcityink@gmail.com, or give us a call at 978.744.9393 to set up your next tattoo!

Natan in Stuff Magazine Boston

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For the past four years, Boston’s Stuff Magazine has put out an annual body issue. This year, they did a feature on tattooed folk, and who better to speak to about body art than our very own Natan Alexander? As most Witch City Ink clients know, he is one of New England’s most prominent tattooers, currently owning two shops while also being the brains and the love behind the Boston Tattoo Convention. Oh, and did you know that he was one of the people who pushed to legalize tattooing in Massachusetts? This is a man who is passionate about what he does, and we’re proud to have him representing us in Stuff.

Pick up your copy now all over the Boston area, or check out Natan’s feature right here on the Stuff Mag website. You can see the Boston, Ink feature in it’s entirety online here.

Natan Still has Openings for the Philadelphia Tattoo Convention!

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Natan still has openings at the Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention, taking place February 10th-12th at the Philadelphia Convention Center. If you’re interested in getting tattooed at the show, give us a call at 978.744.9393, or send an email over to witchcityink@gmail.com.

Below is some of Natan’s work, which has won multiple awards at various conventions!

And although New England has lucked out with a mild winter thus far, who doesn’t need a vacation by the time February rolls around? This is a really good excuse to get away and get tattooed. If you’ve never been, Philadelphia is a beautiful city, full of history, art, and good food. If you prefer not to drive, their public transit system is easy to figure out. So even if you choose not to spend all of your time at the convention, you’ll have plenty of things to do! We’d be more than happy to give you some recommendations.