Best Tattoo Artist

Maybe you’re looking for a sleeve, an ornate web of images covering your entire arm. Perhaps it’s a Japanese styled piece: flowers, dragons, demons or a geisha. Or the Americana stuff, Christian icons, anchors, eagles, tall ships. Andy Ferrier can do it all, and more, with a skill and precision that keeps people coming to see him at Utility all year around. “I pretty much do a bit of everything,” says Ferrier, who has seen his business grow with the mainstreaming of tattoos in the culture. “The past couple of years there hasn’t been a slow point in the year.” Utility Tattoo & Body Piercing Studio, 5224 Blowers, 420-1348

1st Runner-up: Amber Thorpe, Adept Tattoos, 6267 Quinpool, 405-4009

2nd Runner-up: Kyle LeBlanc, Sin on Skin, 5239 Blowers, 446-6600