Golden Age Tattoo

What’s the best way to help get over a break up? A tattoo! No, not really. But kind of.
I’d been wanting to get a tattoo for a while but I really didn’t know what I wanted. Then a few Saturdays ago, I decided to put in some time to figure out what I wanted. I settled on a rough idea of a lion with a quote that I really dig. After searching around Unilocal a bit, Golden Age popped up and they looked pretty solid so I stopped by. I wasn’t sure who I wanted to do the work, but after flipping through the portfolios Darryl Hanna was the obvious choice based on his style. He took a break from tattooing to come and sit with me and to get an idea of what I wanted. We set the appointment for 3 days later, and when I showed up he was putting the finishing touches on the sketch he had drawn up. I really had zero idea of where I wanted the placement of the quote, but he had it laid out in such a way that it would turn out to be a quarter sleeve. In my head it wasn’t going to be as big, but when he laid it out on my arm I really dug it. He worked on it for 4 straight hours and knocked the entire sketch out. He was extremely considerate and kept asking me to make sure I was comfortable and if he could keep going.
Once we were done, we set another appointment 2 weeks out so that he could bolden up the script and make it pop a little more once it had healed up.
Went back last night and he put 2 more hours into it and finished. Ermahgherrrrrd. I LOVE it. I would have sat for another 10 hours if that’s what it would have taken to get the same result. He was light handed and quick, but extremely detail oriented. The line work on the lion is absolutely beautiful and I’ve been stopped left and right and received so many compliments on it.
Work aside, Darryl is just a decent ass human. So chill and easy to talk to. I will literally NEVER go anywhere else aside from him for any work in the future. I’m already brainstorming my next piece. I’d love to post a pic and show it off, but being so fresh and not healed it does not do justice to how fantastic it is. Darryl is the man. Thank you for giving me a much needed boost after a tough month!

ANNIE– It’s really disappointing to want to get tattooed by someone for a few years and then the opportunity presents its self and the experience turns into a nightmare. I read some reviews about how Annie was bad with responding and thought maybe that wasn’t so bad, seems to have been bad in my case with trying to communicate with her. First session went well. She worked fast, she ended the session after two hours even though she told me we could go as long as I wanted. I waited about 3 months before my first appointment with her. Went over the things I was interested in getting and was really excited to see what she came up with for me. I get there and it turns out she didn’t have any of her own concepts and didn’t come up with anything personal for me. She just used a few of the exact pictures I sent her. I was bummed because it was my day to get tattooed and felt like I didn’t really have time to change anything. Pretty much in the moment of time I thought it would be ok. After that session I kept thinking about all the things I would change. Session 2 was horrible, I could tell she was in an angry mood, she was working really hard on my arm in an uncomfortable way, she tells me again that session we can go as long as I wanted to but then ends my session again after 2 hours. I was uncomfortable asking her if we could finish or keep going because she was in a noticeably bad mood. I felt like she was prolonging my tattoo after that session and she didn’t seem to care about me as a client or didn’t seem to put as much work into my tattoo compared to how great her other work is. I’m really disappointed with my unprofessional experience with her and bummed with what she left me with and she decided to not finish her tattoo with me because of the questions i asked I guess, I never said I didn’t want her to finish but I guess she got offended. I’ve heard from other people that she is rude as well. I went to speak to another tattoo artist about helping me with my arm and they also have worked around Annie and also says she is mean and that from what they can see she did not do as good of a job on my tattoo as her others. Honestly I wouldn’t recommend her. There’s many other things that upset me with working with her as well. I regret going to her and even starting my arm with her. Now I’m left with this disappointing tattoo that I have to find someone else to finish and maybe fix in some ways. Also have scars in a few spots now.

Got my first tattoo ever here spontaneously just by looking through the Unilocal reviews for a few places, and I’m glad I chose Golden Age Tattoo. I walked in without an appointment, was helped right away, filled out paper work, had my design drawn out, and before you know it I was being tattooed. It took 30 – 45 minutes and the healing as been superb. I highly recommend Josh and Golden Age Tattoo.

I never write Unilocal reviews (this is my first), but this place was AMAZING so I wanted to spread the word!
I got my first ever tattoo at Golden Age, and I can’t express enough what I great experience it was. The shop itself is very clean and welcoming. Darryl was the artist who did my tattoo, and he is seriously wonderful. I was incredibly nervous beforehand, and he was very encouraging and reassuring throughout the process. He talked me through everything and I never once felt judged for being so freaked out. The pain was super minimal, and I’m absolutely in love with the end result. My tattoo has some lettering in it, and he absolutely nailed it. It legitimately looks like it could have been directly typed onto my arm.
I really can’t rave enough about Golden Age and Darryl. I am 10,000% satisfied with my tattoo, I can’t stop staring at it like a weirdo, and if I do get another one (which after the positive experience of this one is feeling more likely) I will definitely be coming back to this shop and artist.

I went to Golden Age Tattoo yesterday and had the absolute BEST experience. Golden Age has a sign on the door that clearly states they’re open Tues-​Sun, I missed it and walked in anyway. Chris Sparks was working and so super helpful even though I’m sure I interrupted him on something he was doing, since the shop wasn’t supposed to be open! I had just come from another tattoo place where they were rude and condescending to me. I showed Chris what I wanted to have done, which was a finger tattoo. He explained to me why some artists don’t want to do finger tattoos, what the risks are, etc etc. He ended up having a cancellation and was able to do the tattoo that day. It came out great, I love it. I would definitely recommend him to anyone else looking to get a tattoo!

I’ve seen two different artists here, Annie and David, and my sister and her girlfriend used to go to Cara who moved back to Beaumont. I LOVE this tattoo shop, it’s extremely clean and very welcoming, and the artists are crazy talented and precise. You can find literally any style you want at this shop and it will all come out beautiful. Whenever I consider a new tattoo, this the first place I think of. Much love and appreciation for everything done here!

Jordan Mitchell was a pure gem! My work only took an hour, the pain was minimal, it is healing up nicely, and he was jovial the entire time and made me feel at ease… which was great since I was a newbie! I highly, highly recommend

I’ve seen two of the artists here for script tattoos, Darryl and Josh, and I have been nothing short of very happy with both of my experiences here. The shop is hip, very clean, and has a great vibe.
Darryl gave me my first ever tattoo and was very friendly and clear about what was going to happen. After I called in and asked for him by name per referral of a friend, he worked me into his schedule that same day. It was extremely easy to work with him on ideas and the whole process was quick and easy. The end result was perfect — very clean lines and the healing process was painless with no fallout ink.
Josh did my second script tattoo. He was very thorough in making sure my Arabic text was completely accurate and his light hand and attention to detail made the session worry-​free. Again, so crisp and clean, the healing process was easy and he was also very easy to work with.
Both their prices were fair as well. I’d trust any of the artists here to do a good job or direct you to someone who can do the job better. Very professional and high quality!

I received my first tattoo, albeit small, by Darryl Hanna and I haven’t been able to stop chatting about the experience since. His portfolio is impressive and extensive, and the level of care and attention to detail he gives is fantastic. I plan on bringing my father in sometime to get a tattoo of his covered up. I can’t recommend Darryl enough; feel privileged just to sit in a chair at Golden Age!

This is my 3^rd Unilocal review ever and I’ve been using Unilocal for years. That should be enough to tell you to go to DARRYL HANNA because that guy is pure talent.
This is the largest tattoo I’ve gotten to date and yet somehow it hurt the least.
Upon meeting Darryl he measured out my shoulder so that when I saw him on the appointment day he would be able to have the right size and position to my liking and to fit in between my other tattoos.
The art and detail he put into my tattoo are incredible. And he allowed me to pester him with questions and learn about his life while he tattooed me so I wouldn’t focus on the pain. However, as stated above, Darryl has a very gentle hand.
I am 100% satisfied with my tattoo and I enjoyed talking and getting to know Darryl while he tattooed me.
He’s a down to earth guy that can tattoo in many different styles. My preference is blackwork, line work, and dot work, and he really delivered on my tattoo.
As an added bonus, the tattoo was done quickly yet carefully and was therefore a lot cheaper than I thought it was going to be.
Thanks Darryl!

I just got my very first tattoo today with Cara! Let me tell you, I was nervous from two hours before and basically was a total wuss while actually getting the tattoo. However, Cara was not only understanding, but accomodating! She gave me a little break, medicine, water, candy, and was not rude about my low pain tolerance at all. It took two hours and absolutely love it! Even though it hurt like hell, I feel confident that I could get another tattoo thanks to this great experience with her (who by the way showed up extremely fashion forward) I am sad to hear she will be moving soon, but glad I got this great tattoo from her! Obviously, great time, tattoo, artist, and parlor!

Josh Paul did a great job on my tattoo, made it look better than I ever expected. Thank you.

Annie mess is wonderful!
She’s incredibly professional, understanding, talented and just overall extremely impressive. She didn’t miss a single detail in an embarrassingly long list of requests I gave her. She had so many great suggestions/​ideas that were spot on and resulted in such a gorgeous tattoo.
Something that should definitely be mentioned too: my tattoos by her healed faster/​easier than any other tattooing experience.
She absolutely has a waiting period because she so sought out, but I promise she’s worth the wait!

Josh Paul at Golden Age is Awesome!
I decided I wanted to get a new tattoo on an upcoming trip to Austin. Through some online research I was brought to Josh at Golden Age and man I could not be happier with my new tattoo! We emailed back and forth about what I had in mind. I sent Josh some links with some images that were somewhat in line with what I was thinking. Josh asked me for some additional symbolism I wanted him to include for his sketch. When I showed up a few days later for my new tattoo Josh showed me a sketch that was beyond my wildest dreams. He took my suggestions and came up with something that was more creative and spectacular than I knew I wanted. This is my fourth tattoo and possibly my last and Josh has given me a lasting gift that I will cherish forever. He’s also a sweet, charming guy who was a pleasure to be with for my session. Josh rocks.

First let me say … I currently have no tattoos. That is right zero. Why am I writing this review you ask? My fiancé has a ton of tattoos, and I usually opt out and do not go to the tattoo parlor, but he really wanted me to experience the Golden Age Cara tattoo. So I agreed and sat in for the 3 hour tattoo.
Cara has done many of his tattoos and all the pieces she has done are gorgeous! But first the shop is not set up like your typical tattoo shop. There are no garbage/​flash tattoos on the wall. When you first walk in the front door it actually looks more like a spa. Each artist has a section of the store and their area is decorated to their taste. I also noticed the chairs that the clients sit in … they were nice — padded and plush like. I also noticed the cleanliness of the entire store. I watched Cara carefully and I could tell she has a particular routine to ensure everything is just so = perfect.
Cara is absolutely an artist and a brilliant one at that. My fiancé just tells her what he wants and she does all the drawing. When he shows up she shows him what she has come up with and it is always so awesome! Then as she starts the tattooing it is amazing to watch it all come together and develop into a piece or beautiful art. One of Cara’s favorite things is the coloring and choosing the palettes. If I had one recommendation it would be to trust her judgement on the coloring — she knows what she is doing and literally studies color palettes.
One more thing I noticed during my sit in tattoo session was her gun was way less loud than the other artists and I asked her about it. She told me she has a special type of gun (she gave me more specifics but I forgot). Basically the gun is quieter.
Anyway, I have heard a lot of other great things about the other tattoo artists at Golden Age too. If you go here that is your first correct step in my opinion. I give the highest recommendation for Cara — she is the best! And who knows I just might find myself in her chair sometime soon.

I’m not a tattoo newbie. I have many (try 17). But for my first serious color piece, I wanted a talented artist, because it’s in a very visible location (my shoulder), and because I wanted a watercolor tattoo, which requires a particular style of tattoo artist. And, let’s be honest — I have some shit tattoos from back when I was too young to know better. LESSON LEARNED.
After extensive research and several word-​of-​mouth recommendations, I reached out to Annie. Her portfolio was incredible, and I was especially intrigued by the fact that she is a fine art trained artist.
We discussed my idea over several emails, and it was something she jived with. If you’re new to tattoos you should know this: not every idea is a good fit for the artist’s style or their abilities. You wouldn’t want an artist to take your commission just because it’s a big piece and they can make a lot of money off it or whatever. You want to know that they are going to love doing it and they have the skill to pull it off. You need a tattoo artist that will level with you, and Annie will.
I made an appointment with her, the nearest opening being about 3 months out, which is what I would expect for any good tattoo artist. With most talented tattoo artists, be prepared to get in line and wait for your appointment. Annie books out in advance, so don’t expect to walk-​in and get inked that day. Like a quickie Vegas wedding or DIY hair color, anything you feel like you need to do RIGHT MEOW is probably not a good idea. This will be on your body for the rest of your life, so drink some tea and hold your horses.
The day of my appointment, I came in and Annie had done a beautiful watercolor painting of my tattoo to show me what she was envisioning. It was perfect — exactly what I wanted. I had never had a female tattoo artist before, so I was stoked to spend the day with Annie — my tattoo took around 4 or so hours to complete. She’s got great stories, is fun to talk to, and answered all my curious questions, but I also get kind of quiet when I’m being tattooed, so she just let me do my thing.
I get compliments on my tattoo all of the time. On more than one occasion, a salesperson at Whole Foods has pulled out a sheet of paper for me to write down Annie’s name and studio so they could call her up. I literally have people stop me on the street to talk to me about it. It’s a showstopper, without a doubt, and I’m so grateful that I got a true artist to do this piece, rather than just some person with an ink gun and neon sign.

Annie did an incredible job on a piece I’d been thinking about getting, but decided to on a bit of a whim. She replied promptly to my emails to schedule, and when she showed me the work (promptly at the time of my appointment) it was EXACTLY what I wanted. She also got it done more quickly than I expected, but the quality didn’t suffer AT ALL. It’s still healing & scaley, but I get stopped by strangers multiple times a day about it. It’s gorgeous & I couldn’t be happier with it– definitely recommend & I can’t wait to be back home in Austin to go see her again!

The problem with Sera O. and Mom J’s reviews, is that they seem to think that tattoo artists have time for idle chitchat with strangers over the phone. I don’t know any hard working/​insanely talented tattoo artists, especially ones who have families and run their own business, who have time to sit down and talk to anyone. These were very ignorant reviews and I hope no one takes them into account. I have been tattooed by Annie, she is professional, fast, friendly and amazing at what she does. The problem with being so talented is that a lot of people want to be tattooed by her, which means she receives a lot of emails, which also means she might not be able to respond at the very instant you demand it.
Annie, is absolutely worth being tattooed by, and it shows through her work, and she is a wonderful person which you can see by how many people adore her.

If you want to be treated as if you’re lucky to be crawling to God’s gift to the tattoo industry, look no further. I’ve written articles before about the ups and downs of tattoo culture (and all the changes its going through) and unfortunately this place seems to fall under the dreaded egotism category.
So many places will absolutely feel that they are too good to contact you or too good to tattoo your idea. In some cases, this can be warrented, however when I contacted Annie with a request to contact me by phone about (a tremendous amount) of tattoo work I wanted to discuss with her… instead of taking the two minutes to call me, she emailed back insisting that I email her with references.
Which is FINE, but I like to at least speak to an artist over the phone first to see if we click (because being in someones grill for several hours is torture if you don’t), if they feel comfortable with the project, what their availibility is, and if its even something they are marginally enthusiastic about. ALL of which I explained to Annie, and never received a response back.
I make my living with a client base not at all unsimilar as a tattooist or other body-​oriented industry professionals; if I treated my clients like this, I would have spiderwebs in my books! Unbelievable.
Annie does look very talented and it seems some people have success with her, I just couldn’t get past being snubbed. Apparently she’s just too talented and too successful to take my money.

I can’t say enough good things about this shop and the artists here. I recently got a half sleeve done by Annie Mess, the owner, and I’m SO happy and impressed with the tattoo. She is a truly phenomenal artist and does exquisite work.
First off, Annie was really honest with what she thought would look best, which I personally find helpful. It’s easy for a client to have an idea of what they want their tattoo to look like, but it’s not always what will actually look best. It’s important to work with an artist who will be upfront about what will look good and hold up over time rather than just doing what is requested.
Next, Annie put up with me constantly changing things about my tattoo… my idea went from a small forearm tattoo to a half sleeve… I added and took things out… I asked for this, I asked for that… she just rolled with it and created a beautiful tattoo that evolved from one appointment to the next. I don’t suggest creating a half sleeve tattoo like this, but it’s how mine happened and Annie used her artistic vision to make it work. I appreciated this so so much.
The atmosphere in this shop is great and the artists are amazing. I’m hoping to get more tattoos from Annie and some others that work out of Golden Age. It’s clean, professional and full of exceptional artists. I HIGHLY recommend this shop and any of the talented people who work there… especially Annie.