Family Business

My first tattoo in London, and I made the right choice!
It took 2 months from my first consultation to the actual inking day (due to the clash of the artist’s and my schedules). There was a young guy at the front desk when the first time I got there, he was ok, not the friendliest. But when on the day I reviewed my tattoo design and the actual day, there was a bit more mature guy (I believe his name was Paul or John), who was very friendly and helpful.
I always drew my own tattoos, but this time I decided to let the artist to design for me. I reviewed the tattoo a day before the actual day. It was 60−70% ready, the artist and I discussed a bit more and I was a bit uncertain (cos’ I didn’t know what was it gonna be like the next day).
On the actual day, the artist showed me the design of the tattoo. I was please and I knew I could trust him. He did his research on the subject/​concept and finalised the design.
The artist asked how was I feeling from time to time, and checked if I needed a break. The cost wasn’t cheap, but I think it worth the price.

What a strange place. a parlour !! but it smell the high quality art work !!!
The gentleman at the front desk, David, a rockabilly fan as it seems, Go Stray Cats go ! is very welcoming, the typical british kind of guy to me ! no doubt i was in London !
The studio, beautiful, ok the decoration is all about religious things… wich for an anti-​thist as i am is an offense lol but no one forced me to stay lol but it was interesting and typical. ask David about the decoration. this studio is hyper clean. i felt very comfortable there. i had a small tattoo compare to the one i already have, it wasn’t done by one of their artist but a guest, and the result is pretty good. the price? well, cmon we are in London, in a «famous» place, clean and serious. so … if you don’t have money, don’t get inked. a cheap tattoo is a strange thing, except if the tattoist is your best friend. Ok, if it was like 600£ /​hour i would ask them if they feel ok ?? but to me prices were normal for this level and location. You can go there eyes closed. The pizzeria in front of the studio is pretty good for a pizza.

I went to The Family Business after first moving to London and wanting my latest piece — a nautical style anchor and roses design on my left forearm.
I’d already decided that Francisco Rocha would be my best bet for the style I wanted, and when I first went to the shop I had another quick look at his work before booking my tattoo in. Francisco was incredibly helpful — from my idea, he’d created a great design and was happy to add or tweak any aspects. Luckily, he didn’t need to, as I loved it.
The quality of the work is absolutely wonderful — clean lines and vibrant colours. The shop space itself is very hygienic and welcoming, paired with amazing décor throughout. Although, if you’re the type who needs your hand held when you’re being inked, they don’t let companions come back into the main studio area with you.
The only slight downside is that it’s very pricey — as a big tattoo fan who has almost ten including large pieces, I’m very aware that paying for quality is important. However, I’ve had other work done that has the same excellent quality for slightly less, pricewise. Having said that, I love my tattoo from The Family Business and would certainly recommend it as a central London studio that prides itself on great customer service and fantastic artwork.

Quick, friendly and clean!
Did my first tattoo here and no doubts I’ll be back!
LOVE IT!

Great tattoo from Chris Hewish. Clean, friendly, quick… Excellent product and Chris was awesome. I would come back here again, without a doubt. 100% recommended.

i came in a few days ago, as a complete first timer with no idea what i was doing, and the lady on reception was super helpful and really nice, recommended me an artist and answered all my questions. came in today to get it done and was told that diletta would be a bit late, so i sat down and killed time. i waited about 90 minutes, but the place is really nice and there was plenty of room for me to sit down inside out of the sun.
whatever worries i might have had from the delay were assuaged as soon as i set down — diletta was friendly and professional, and made my first tattoo and absolute breeze. they are pricey — but from my experience you get what you pay for — so bring in cash! but it was absolutely worth it, and i’m so happy with it!

An amazing collection of artists in a great shop. I’ve been here three times to have three pieces done by one of the resident artists Michele. Despite its kitche-​y outward appearance the place is pretty expansive with stations downstairs and rooms in the back to house all of the artists (plus a few guest artists), very clean and with more modern sections. The guys at front of house are friendly and pretty funny, it does get busy so often there’s not a load of time to chat — so it’s always good to go having done your research and with an idea of what you’re looking for. Consultations with an artist are free and then you put down a deposit when you make an appointment for the work to be done.

Since my review I have been back a number of times and got 2 more done by Ricky.
Have been recommending the place to everyone who will listen. Great team, excellent quality, they take care of their customers! Cannot recommend it highly enougg

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of working with Gianluca Fusco at The Family Business Tattoo Shop. I’ve been collecting tattoos from around the world for nearly 30 years and was looking for the right person to connect up several disparate pieces on my back. Gianluca was the perfect tattooist for the job. He has an excellent sense of composition, a rock solid line, superb color palette and overall bold style. He can do it all.
I highly recommend The Family Business and Gianluca Fusco.

Exactly a year on from my last tattoo, I was officially allowed to get another one (a self-​imposed limit, in place to stop me becoming a full-​blown artwork) and I turned, again, to Unilocal to help me out.
Exmouth Market is one of my favourite parts of the city, so the fact that TFB is on the street was a massive plus. Couple that with it being one of the most famous and well-​respected in London, availability on the right date, and welcoming (i.e. not-​intimidating) staff, and I was sold.
I have to admit that I was slightly put off by the dismissive artist when I first went in, but he turned out to be incredibly open and friendly when I actually returned for the tattoo itself, and was very encouraging about my ability to deal with pain (!).
It took half the time he expected, and so he charged half the expected price, which was a very nice surprise. I love the tattoo, and love what he did with the design.
I’d definitely recommend it — just be careful, it’s addictive.

I had been looking for a new tattoo shop for a while when I read about The Family Business in a tattoo publication. I decided to go in, talk to them about what I wanted and take it from there.
Boy am I glad I did! I can now see why they’ve got a reputation for being one of the best tattoo shops in London. From the lovely gentleman on reception (David) to the artist who did my tattoo (Francisco), everyone here is very pleasant and they really put you at your ease.
I wanted some flowers to frame a pre-​existing tattoo. I was told this was Francisco’s speciality so I talked to him about it. After looking through his portfolio, I decided he was definitely the right artist for the job so I made an appointment to get it done.
As part of the tattoo goes onto my back, I was nervous about (but not put off by) the pain. I needn’t have worried; Francisco’s touch is lighter than most. He kept asking if I was ok, which I thought was nice of him.
As others have said, make sure you have cash on you as they don’t take cards/​cheques etc. In my experience, this is pretty standard in tattoo shops. I understand they do walk-​ins but this obviously depends on how busy they are.
Overall, I’m very impressed with The Family Business and I’ll definitely be back for more!

I came here to get a «souvenir» tattoo while I was visiting the UK. Michele was my artist and he did a fantastic job. The tattoo looks great and its exactly what I wanted. He was very nice and professional.
The place looked very clean and homey.
This place is very expensive (at least compared to high-​end American tattoo shops) but I knew it would be worth it to have a great tattoo.

OK, first things first:
**DONT TELL MY MUM ABOUT THIS!!**
Yes, I finally bit the bullet and got myself tattooed.
*gasp*
I’d been meaning to do it for ages but kept sissying out, even on the day as you’re walking to the shop, ‘maybe it’s closed today’, ‘maybe they forgot to confirm my appointment’, ‘maybe I dreamed that I paid a 50% deposit yesterday’!
Luckily, I had met my artist the day before and really liked him, so when I’m sitting on the sofa (feels like that wait before a rollercoaster), hearing that buzzing sound and smelling the Dettol, and my hands go cold and legs feel really jittery and energetic, I remember meeting Chris, his friendly and funny demeanor, and decide not to ‘flight/​fight’, but remain.
The experience was good, and some of the work being done was truly amazing there; mine was simple and only took 75mins incl placement test, and applying the dressing after.
Yes, it was painful, no I wasnt in agony, and despite at the time saying I wouldnt ever, I might get another :-O
Everything is very professional and clean; they give you after-​care advice and I shall be recommending The Family Business to any of my friends who want some work done.
TIPS: They ONLY accept Cash, so bring some. They don’t really do walk-​ins unless youre lucky.

Great service, personal opinions, good shit really. Went in for my quick fix of a tattoo while visiting London and soon found out they are tip top. If you’re in the area def give it a go & look through their huge book!

In 2008, while working on my masters in Oxford I researched the tattoo parlours in London and fully believe this is the best shop in London. The staff was extremely friendly (front door guy was Lee at the time — good taste in music too) and I eventually picked Dom Holmes to do my sleeve. She was a blast. Stunning, opinionated, and a great artist. I enjoyed the sessions a lot and wish I could have stayed longer. Actually had a follow up appointment which I couldn’t attend as I was stuck doing field research in Costa Rica (not sure if I ever cancelled it… hmmm).
Anyway, go to Dom, she is one in a million and you’ll love your tattoo

The reviews don’t lie. Ever. This really is one of the best in London! From the moment you walk in the door you can tell that they take great pride in their work and the way they run things. You can feel that everyone loves being there and it’s, well, a family business!
This was my very first (and my last) tattoo, which I have been thinking about and planning for about a year now. I lost my Mum about a year & half a go and wanted to get something in her honor, so as you can imagine the design, the artist, the shop and the emotion involved were all very key factors in finding a place. After months of research and visiting a few places around London, I decided to go with this place. It’s highly regarded in the tattoo community, but also because they listed State of Grace in San Jose, CA on their site. That’s where I would have gotten it done had I waited till Nov when i would have been there visiting — I use to live in the Bay Area!
I walked in one day and met with David, showed him the artwork i had for what i wanted done. He instantly gave me 2 artists who he thought would be most appropriate for the type of work i wanted and gave me their portfolios to look through. After some flicking through, i went with Miles as we had done some work similar to what i wanted and we set up a free consultation. A week later, i was in talking to Miles about the design i had and how i wanted it to be adapted. He was really great! He worked with understanding what I wanted and gave insight about what he thought would make it look better and such.
Today, when I went in for the tattoo to be done, I sat down with Miles to go over the design he had drawn. He was incredibly patient with what i wanted and did some quick edits for me, to ensure i was happy with the design. He was understanding and didn’t rush me at all, his overall approach just really helped to calm my nerves.
I honestly couldn’t be happier with the finished result! I definitely recommend this place for first timers, as well as those looking for large pieces being done. The talent in that shop is just incredible!

Of all the work and various pieces I’ve had done, the one I get the most compliments on and I’m most pleased with is my piece by Mo Coppoletta.
The Family Business were recommended to me by a friend who had some incredible work herself done by Mo.
I was after something which was adapted from an Art Deco painting, and not just flash. I had a consultation with Mo and provided him with several reference images and detail as to what I wanted.
When a rough copy of the adaptation was completed the staff at the Family Business called to let me know so I could pop in to have a look and talk with Mo about it.
I came back in, was very happy with the design, appointments were made and away we went.
The staff at the Family Business were fantastic — very professional and friendly. I received reminder calls when I had an appointment approaching, and they were helpful in changing a session for me due to a conflict with school (always give notice though! I cannot emphasis this enough!)
The shop itself was gorgeous and not too far from Angel Tube station. Clean, easy to find, aesthetically pleasing. The overall standard of work being done by artists other then Mo Coppoletta was also very high, and while I was there saw some amazing pieces being done.
My piece took 3 sessions, in total 9 hours, and this was over the course of about 10 months. If you’re after a large piece you’re in for a wait because Mo does get pretty booked up. It is, by all means well worth it though and I can’t recommend the Family Business enough.
While there you should also pick up some of the Mama Haze’s Miracle Tattoo Oil — that stuff is divine! Best post care product I’ve ever used to help heal a tattoo and smells amazing.

Excuse me… I’m hyper-​ventilating. If you’re a tattoo fan like myself you should know that The Family Business is the Don King of the London tattoo ring. Owned by heavyweight inker and world renowned tattoo artist Mo Coppoletta this studio is far and away the best in London. If you’re going on quality of ink, atmosphere and service then it is truly top dog.
Tucked away in Exmouth Market you can be forgiven for mistaking the shop front as some niche shop for Catholic kitsch. But hidden away behind the Venetian screens is where one of the most impressive tattoo artist rosters buzz away.
Unlike many studios the atmosphere is calm, quiet and cosy which makes it ideal for putting first timers at ease.
The drawbacks? With such high quality comes big prices and extremely long waiting lists. Though they do their best to accommodate walk-​in appointments, fair-​weather tattoo fans looking for fads are gently shown the door. If you’re serious about getting inked up and adorning your body with some real art you won’t be disappointed by these guys.

For years and years I wanted to get a tattoo, but being unique, just like everybody else; I wanted something that was for me. Not just another warrior tattoo, or something out of a catalogue that hundreds before have had.
Some time ago I narrowed what I wanted down to either a Griffin or a Dragon, both mythical creatures carrying a lot of symbolism for me. Then I sort of did nothing, I wanted a bespoke design, by a good tattooist; and had no idea where to start.
So there I am wondering along Exmouth Market and saw this rather interesting shop front. Turns out to be a Tattoo Parlour. Wonder in and chat with Dave, the retro looking front of house man, about what I am looking for. He invites me to look at some pictures of the work the different artists do to try and choose a style of artist I like. This is tough, they all look really good. Eventually I settle with a Japanese artist called Mie Sato, not because she has loads of Dragons or Griffins in her portfolio, in fact I do not remember seeing any. But, because I like her work.
Have a chat with Mie about the design and make an appointment to come back in about a month to review. Book a series of 3 hour sessions around three months from the date I am in the shop! That is how busy they are.
Anyway Mie comes up with a wonderful design, her work is brilliant, and now I have an excellent tattoo I love to bits.
A nice relaxed place, that create brilliant bespoke art.