Dark Star Tattoo

What a great experience! We had 5 ladies and were able to everyone in and done in a few hours.

I absolutely love my tattoo from Eric! He did exactly what I asked for and it looks perfect! I cant wait to continue getting more work done by him!

I got my jellyfish finished/revamped by Cilla recently and I seriously CANT RECCOMMEND her enough! I have a continuous blood glucose reader on my arm and she took such good care and empathy while working on the arm and is just an all around amazing soul who does excellent work with a caring touch! I cant wait to go back to this beautiful shop to see this beautiful person again!

Aaron is amazing! He spent the entire day with me on a piece that was challenging to transform into a tattoo. He asked me multiple questions about my preferences for the design, has an incredible eye for color, and took the extra time to make it STUNNING. Hes also a great conversationalist👍 10/10

Love coming her! Erik is my artist, but Ryan is awesome too! Definitely a fun place, and they have amazing talent.

Great place to get an excellent tattoo from talented and personable artists......Erik and Ryan are great artists that can really bring your vision to life. Erik did an amazing job on my lively wifes dragon tatoo with geisha. These guys are great and the prices are amazing.

Been getting work done here since the first day they opened, have been impressed ever since and wont go anywhere else. I wont let any other artist but Ryan touch my skin, it was only Randy as well until he retired 😫😁.

Erik was amazing giving me excatly what I wanted! Artist n awesome! Ill be going back!

These guys are amazing!!We were planning to be in from out of town, these guys fit us into their schedule, Ryan even coming in on his day off to fit in my husband.The professionalism, cleanliness, talent and fun of these guys have is top notch.We would highly recommend this shop!!

I personally havent got work done here myself yet. But have been coming with my boyfriend who is getting a cover-up job. Eric is doing a phenomenal job. Inside the shop is very spacious and professional and comfortable. Everyone I met has been very nice and sociable. Cant wait to come up with my next tattoo to get it done here also.

Ryan has tattooed myself and my husband a few times now, and he is excellent. Trust his opinions and design. He may suggest changing something up a bit. He is really clean and probably goes through a box of gloves each session.

Great experience with Ben today! He was patient, kind, and very detail oriented. I hope to work with him again soon.

Love this place! Been seeing Ryan for my tattoos since 2007 and wouldnt go anywhere else. Very clean place and nothing high quality work. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 10 stars from me

Erik is absolutely the best. He did my wifes tattoo which was a hand sketched tree from her great grandma and a little note written buy her on a birthday card looked identical couldnt recommend him more!!!

Ive got 1 tattoo from Ryan about 12 yrs ago and Im getting another March 11th. This guys skills are KILLER!! 1-16-22 Fast forward a few months and I went back and got my third tattoo from Ryan !

My husbands tattoo artist was closed for two days. So we came to Dark star Tattoo. So glad we did. Eric was Fantastic and so professional. He did a great job and was super patient with the hubs.

I cant say enough good stuff about this place. These guys are *awesome*. Ive had a few tattoos before, but Ill never go anywhere else after this place!

Im very picky about the types of tattoos that I put on my body. Usually, my tattoos have some type of personal significance and I agonize over them for a long time before I actually get tattooed on my body.My idea for the Joker came from a old t-shirt I had in the late 80s early 90s; I wore that t-shirt so much that it was a shell of its self when I finally out grew it. I never really out grew the image though.It took me two years after my last tattoo to finally feel ready to get the Joker. After some timely advice and lots of searching I found my placement and my artist. I was lucky enough to reconnect with an old friend of mine Erik who I was happy to learn had been tattooing at Dark Star for the last six years! When I went to meet with Erik I was impressed with how clean and professional Dark Star was; lots of open space with semi private stations for each artist. The unassuming exterior hides a very modern, relaxing tattoo shop that tugs on my pop culture heart strings.Dealing with Erik was one of the easiest parts of getting the Joker tattoo. Erik was friendly and confident that he could give me the tattoo I wanted at a fair price. I gave Erik the Joker image, we discussed the placement, and scheduled my appointment. Erik was very accommodating to my schedule he was willing to work weekends and evenings to finish my tattoo.The end result is nothing short of amazing. Erik took his time to make sure he had every aspect of the Joker tattoo spot on. The detail in the face, hair, playing card, pistol, and even the HA HAs come together to create a colorful, scary, and perfect rendition of the original image I came to Erik with. Erik has always been an artist for as long as Ive known him but the Joker tattoo he did for me surpassed any expatiation I had. If you want a bad ass tattoo by a experienced, creative, detail oriented artist then go make your appointment with Erik at Dark Star; you wont be disappointed.

As good as the best places in Portland. Check each artists portfolio to see who is the strongest in the type of tattoo you want. I wanted realism, and therefore chose Tim. I couldnt be happier with the result. Incredible work.

Eric is awesome he takes his time am makes sure everything is just righ! He even said hed touch up my tattoo he did almost three teats ago along with finishing my new one! Best place ever! !!

This shop is amazing. The people are great and the shop is clean. I will go here for as much work as I can and recommend everyone here to see if its a good for their tattoo vision. 10/10 will allways recommend.

Amazing artists and a welcoming atmosphere! I have had multiple pieces done at Dark Star and I am never disappointed! Fair pricing, high quality work and a comfortable environment. I highly recommend this shop!

Several weeks ago I went in to get a somewhat basic piece down by Nate. I gave him exactly what I was wanting and told him I didn’t want it to be very big since it was going to be on the back of my neck. He seemed pretty chill and like he understood what I wanted and said it would be easy to do and take about an hour. However, the day I went in for my appointment it was a very different story. After he finished smoking his cigarette we went inside and he showed me the outline. It was really big and I told him I didn’t want it that big. He said because of the detail it needed to be. Since I have several tattoos and one of them being the Sublime 40oz to freedom sun which is way more detailed (and smaller than what he was trying to push) I knew that wasn’t true. He said he can make it a little smaller but it wouldn’t look good. That’s not what I wanted to hear and so I told him that if he doesn’t think he can do it I can go to a different artist. Then he said that he was the only one in town who would be able to do this. I try to get my pieces by different artists and knew he is a fan of Tool which is what my piece is of so that’s why I went to him. After he made the stencil a bit smaller we went back to his area where he took a good 30 minutes to set up. After two hours my neck was becoming sore and I was anxious to get it finished. I asked him how much longer and he kind of laughed and said he wasn’t even half way done and he would do a little more but then I would need to come back for another session. I was annoyed with that but didn’t want him to mess it up so I continued to sit still and let him work for another hour and a half. When he was finally done I looked at it and was shocked how big it was and even made a comment which he didn’t respond to. Once he cleaned me up I asked him when I can get it finished and he told me to wait a week and see. I didn’t say much and was clearly unhappy when I left. After a week I contacted him and made an appointment to get it finished. I showed up a few minutes early and again he was outside smoking so I told him I would wait inside. After he got done smoking we went to his station where he took about 20 minutes to set up again. We didn’t talk much and it took him about an hour and a half and then was done. Towards the end two girls came over to talk to him. After I stood up I turned around and told him I wanted to let him know that this was my worst tattoo experience and he needs to be aware of how he acted. I told him I didn’t like how he said he can make it any size I want but then made it bigger like he wanted, it was not at all like the picture he was using as a reference, and that he shouldn’t have stretched it out into two sessions. I said I wasn’t trying to be bitchy but he needs to be careful because if he is tattooing someone for their first time they may not want to get another tattoo. He didn’t say a single word and just stood there with a confused almost mad look on his face. One of the girls tried to get involved and back him up but I told her sorry but I am not discussing this with you. Feeling like talking was go nowhere I told him thank you for finishing it and put my hand out to shake and he just shook his head no. I waited a sec and then said ok well peace out and left. I am still not thrilled about the final project but as time goes by it should lighten up and not be as bad but knowing its nothing like I wanted is a horrible feeling. For the first time I have a tattoo, which is pretty noticeable, that I’m not stoked about. I do not recommend him to anyone I know and want to caution anyone who considers going to him or any other artist in general. If they seem difficult or pushy don’t let them touch you.

The people here are so awesome. The artist are amazing at what they do and I dont think there is a better place in Salem. its sanitary and the environment is friendly and homey. I wouldnt want to go anywhere else.

Eric is doing some AMAZING work on my side and ribs. Difficult coverup. He took it on and its killing it! I have to go back for one more session. I will recommend him to everyone. Ill post pics when its done

1 star stopped in was told to look on pinterest at there work said I research them already was handed 3 business cards and asked to call for appointment I did still no call back from anyone to schedule appointment 3 weeks now. No way I will give you my business so un perfestional not to call back or hand a customer business cards and tell them to call for appointment

What do I say...Nice clean shop...fantastic diverse artists...Ryan is a top notch human and amazing artist...I am sad it took me so long to get inked and due to unfortunate events I have moved north so I cannot just run down...anyone near Dark star I highly recommend you give them a look...😁🤘

Tim is not only an excellent tattoo artist, he is an extraordinary person. We travel 300 miles for our Tats and it is always worth it.

We drove from Medford just to get tattoos at Dark Star. The art is fantastic and the artists there are amazing. I highly recommend making an appointment to see these guys.

Got tattoos from Ryan and Randy.Both excellent Artists. And theyll give you a fair price.I refuse to go anywhere else.Darkstar 4 Life!

Cool staff and talented artists. For sure planning on being a regular. Bri is Amazing!!

Eric did a fix for me. He did an excellent job. Something The Lucky Squirrel screwed up really bad. LUCKY SQUIRREL BAD!!!

Love my tattoo that Ryan did for me.Clean tattoo parlor. Friendly artists. Good work

I really dig these guys. Awesome artists and amazing work.

Randys work is awesome and Ive taken many first timers to him!

First tattoo and I will highly recommend Ryan.... I will go back there for my 2nd, 3rd and 4th tattoo..

Great place extremely clean professional work with you to make sure you get what you want killer tats

Called Im asked him to make an appointment and never return my phone call they must be pretty busy so

Eric is a great artist, love his work.😊

Good place. My tattoo from 15-16 yrs ago is still going strong on my foot.🙂

Love this place. Everyone is very nice and professional. Great art and atmosphere.

Nice place and top notch artists.

Great place! Very welcoming and had a ton of knowledge.

So happy with my new piece! Than you Ryan!

Great place.. Ryan does amazing work!!

Tim is the man. Hes always trying to Big League me though.

Amazing tattoo artist. Did an awesome job fixing my tattoo

Great artist, nice clean place.

Most personal experience Ive had yet!! Ty Ryan

Ryan is a true artist! Thanks man!!!

Very good artists and friendly

I would prefer not to say

A lot of tallent in the shop.

Awesome!

A+

Great place

Love this place

Disrespectful to customers