Gold Winner Utility
Silver Winner Adept Tattoos
Bronze Winner Kara’s Urban Day Spa
There are two aspects to a tattoo business, the art side and the shop side. The art has obvious importance, as you can see winners of the Best Tattoo Artist category work at the places that come out on top of this Tattoo/Piercing Joint category. But the shop---what it looks like and how the artists act---matters too. “You don’t want to walk into a shop and feel like you’re bugging someone,” says Utility co-owner Mike Power. “We’ve got good, laidback people. Not dicks.” Utility is evolving both sides of the business, with new artist Matt Owens joining the team in September, and a relocation in late 2010 from Blowers Street to Quinpool Road. November 2 is the first anniversary in the new location. “One year down of many, many years in the space,” says Power. “We love it.”
