Studio Zee Tattooing & Piercing

Let me start by saying I would NEVER recommend or come back to this tattoo shop. The quality of Zee’s work is very high but his business practices and attitude is completely unacceptable. I started a sleeve tattoo at studio zee November of 2013, the day of my first appt there was already a red flag I should have picked up on but I was so excited to get my tattoo I ignored it. Zee triple booked himself for the same date and time, so Zee myself and 2 other parties spent 30 minutes in the waiting area deciding who would get their tattoo and who would have to reschedule. Because my tattoo was the most time consuming and expensive I ended up keeping my appt. We did a 4 hour session and the work came out very good. I paid Zee 300 dollars for the tattoo that day and a separate 100 dollars which he said was a «deposit» which would count toward the finished tattoo. He gave me a receipt and I left. Unfortunately things in my life came up and finishing my tattoo was put on the back burner until last month, exactly 2 years after we started. I went to the studio this November to make a new appointment, when I mentioned the $ 100 deposit he was still holding he looked at me like I was crazy. He told me it’s the customers responsibility to keep records of things like that not his and if I didn’t have my receipt I would not be able to use my 100 dollar deposit, and he even had the nerve to question me saying why did I wait so long to come back. One would say maybe I’m partially at fault for losing my receipt but in 2 years any normal person could easily lose a piece of paper. What’s even more strange is that this business apparently keeps no records of the tattoos /​transactions they do. His wife who works at the shop even said to me how she conveniently shredded some paperwork the week prior which is bs because you should not be shredding papers that are as recent as 2 years. Pretty much if you leave money in limbo at this shop get the receipt tattooed on yourself because if you don’t have it you can guarantee he doesn’t have it. I will never come back to this shop or recommend it to someone else, Darkside, Hope Gallery and Keys on Kites do just as good if not better work and you don’t have to worry about your money «going missing» God for bid you lose your receipt or don’t come back right away. Very disappointing for me I have to link up with a new artist now but my lesson is learned and I will make sure it’s an honest trustworthy artist.

My husband and I decided to get matching tattoos out of nowhere but there were no places accepting walk ins until we called Studio Zee and they happen to have a person who didn’t come for there appointment so they took us last minute! Highly recommend this place! Very comfortable waiting area also. We will definitely come back for future tattoos because we’re not done here :)

Zee is absolutely amazing! I can’t even comprehend how he draws a straight line so flawlessly. I ended up getting 3 tattoos in 3 months because I loved the first one so much. I highly recommend him. Plus the staff is so friendly.

Zee is an amazing tattoo artist, but this review is for his piercing skills. He did my helix in December, so it’s fully healed now. The environment was sterile (hence more than one star), but the piercing is extremely crooked. Also, when I had him remove the hoop & replace it with a stud (I play a contact sport and can’t wear a hoop in-​season), he fit the stud extremely poorly, it’s obviously loose and looks like it’s a bar for a lip piercing instead. The first time I got hit in a practice, I feared it would rip out like a hoop would. I told him when he put it in that I needed something that wouldn’t be easily tugged on. Judging by the fit and the sexist remarks he made about my feminine-​leaning gender presentation and women in sports, he didn’t take me seriously. I wouldn’t recommend him for a piercing, the work seems pretty amateur. I would have called to ask him to fix it, but his bedside manner is awful, as shown by previous reviews. Impeccable line work for tattoos, but I’d never get a piercing here again.

I just saw your comment, Andrew, and I wanted to say thank you for reinforcing my critique of your shop and helping prove my point that customers shouldn’t be patronized by employees, let alone a business owner like yourself.

Was completely floored this afternoon when Zee fixed my college-​age daughter’s nose piercing. (I happened to be along to provide transportation.) Sterile technique was questionable. Zee was as unprofessional as anyone I have ever seen. He was rough inserting the stud, and he insulted her when she didn’t intuit how he wanted her to position her head, and because her cell phone rang. My daughter nearly passed out at the shop and had to lie down — due to a combination of pain and the hostile treatment she received. (She has a high pain threshold, and this had never happened to her before.) We almost walked out in the middle, and I’m really sorry we didn’t. Won’t ever be going back.

I got my first tattoo done here about 9 years ago. It is literally about a 2 inch simple black «D». It was to get over a fear of needles. It cost me a $ 100. I didn’t know much about tattooing back then and paid the price. 7 years and 12 tattoos later I can honestly say now I was ripped off. On a more recent trip I went in with a friend who was here visiting and we wanted to get a tattoo together. My 2 normal shops were booked solid and I knew this was the only clean shop around that would probably have an opening. I got 5 words around an existing tattoo and it took all of 20 minutes and with a tip cost me $ 175. It was a total rip off but my friend and I really wanted it done. Clean shop, nice artist but way too expensive.

Yesterday I went to Studio Zee to get a cartilage piercing (helix) in my ear and it was a smooth and wonderful experience. I’ve never been to a tattoo/​piercing place before (my ear lobes were pierced at a mall) and I didn’t want to go anywhere sketchy. I had searched up Studio Zee before I went and they had favorable reviews so I took a cab from main campus (I’m a college student) to get there.
Studio Zee is very clean and sterile and the entire setup of the place was quaint and welcoming. The receptionist was very nice and helpful, and the wait was not too long (around 15 minutes). They are very professional and required a state-​issued ID and consent forms. The woman who pierced me was very nice and talked me through the entire process. She explained everything that she was going to do (sterilization, marking my ear, etc) and did it in a nice, calm and friendly manner. She must have sterilized my ear 3 times, which was a good thing. The needle she used was new and was opened from a sterile package. The entire process took about 15 mins, though the piercing of the ear didn’t hurt much at all and was over in 10 seconds (and I have a very low pain tolerance). I advise taking some advil or tynenol or ibuprofen before going in if you are afraid of the pain– I did that and it helped quite a bit. Finally, she explained how aftercare worked.
The fee was a little high ($ 50 for all cartilage piercing) but I was willing to pay that much since my ears are prone to infection and I thought that it was worth paying a bit more for the professionalism and the sterility. (I also met Zee while I was waiting, and though he specializes in tattoos, he seemed quite nice.)
All in all, I was quite relieved to find such a professional, clean and friendly tattoo/​piercing place in New Haven. I am very satisfied with my new piercing, and it’s been less than 24 hours and it doesn’t even hurt anymore, which is such a relief because my earlobes ached for 2 weeks afterwards when they were pierced. I wholeheartedly recommend them!

I love Studio Zee and it’s the only tattoo artist/​piercer I will go to. Now, with that being said I had to give it 4-​stars (Yay! I’m a fan) because the 5-​star (Woohoo! As good as it gets) doesn’t really work for me as I haven’t been anyplace else and can’t say they are the best.
Anyway, moving on. I had my first experience with Studio Zee a couple weeks into my freshman year of college, 2003. My roommate and I decided it would be a good idea to get our belly buttons pierced… and I cannot tell you how or why we chose Studio Zee, but we did. From what I remember about that experience it was great. The woman at the front window was very nice and accommodating, gave us the paperwork to fill out and we had a seat. We went in, got pierced, and left.
The following year, my new roommates and I decided we all wanted to go get piercings or tattoos… as I was the only one that had gotten anything done in the area I suggested Zee. We arrived later on at night, 6pm or so… it seemed as though they didn’t want to take on so many people at once, but most of our group were for piercings so they agreed. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I had Zee do my tattoo which is located on the right side of my back. I posted a picture as reference. He suggested the size (as what I wanted was a little too small for the area). I absolutely love it and have zero complaints about the experience.
My next tattoo was a few years later which I created myself. It’s the Empire State Building with a breast cancer ribbon around the top and initials underneath. I wanted to meet with Zee to go over it so I didn’t just stop in one day and say «here, draw this on me» So I scheduled a consultation, which they take a deposit for the tattoo… I was fine with this and I scheduled my appointment for a few weeks away. Again, the size of the tattoo I wanted was a little smaller than Zee thought it should be so he enlarged it and convinced me that it would be perfect. The tattoo is black, with a lot of line work (picture posted) and again, I absolutely think it’s spectacular work.
Aside from my work, I have a co-​worker with about 13 – 14 tattoos and has gotten most of them directly from Zee. I think this place is fantastic. Are there better places around? Of course, but I have not found any. I do know of some bad places in the area and have seen terrible piercing and tattoo jobs from them. Not Belly button piercings that are literally crooked, not minor crooked, VERY crooked. Obviously enter any tattoo shop at your own risk, get to know the person and feel comfortable. Don’t walk in with a big project and expect miracles.
Another co-​worker of mine recently got her first tattoo at Studio Zee. She walked in to consult with a tattoo artist (3 small stars on her foot) and they said «hey do you want this right now» they caught her off guard and she ended up getting it that same night. She is very happy with the facility, artist and ink.
Happy inking.
Sorry, price wise I haven’t a CLUE how much I spent for any of my jobs. I think my stars were maybe around $ 75 and my Empire maybe $ 160? Not sure why those amounts stick in my head… so won’t quote me on it.

I trust my skin to no one else. My first tattoo at age 18 was a full back piece, and Zee designed and applied it expertly. He made me feel completely at ease– Who could have imagined that endless conversations about medieval torture could be so relaxing? Those three-​hour sessions were never boring, at least. A year later, I made the terrible mistake of getting a tiny wrist tattoo elsewhere while on vacation, which was predictably weak. Although simple and all black, the tone was shaky and the edges rough. Zee came to the rescue and fixed it up better than I could have hoped for. I’ll never go elsewhere for a tattoo again.

I went to Studio Zee January 2012. After initial consultation, Zee designed my tattoo. I love it! It is unique, and exactly what I wanted. He was fun to talk with, which was helpful since it took 3 hours :) Highly recommend this studio.

I went to get my nose pierced the other day at Studio Zee and would HIGHLY recommend this place to anyone. As soon as you walk in you can just smell and see how clean the place is. The staff is very professional and friendly. My piercer, Alyson, was phenomenal. She was very knowledgeable, funny and friendly. I felt very at ease in her studio area. Anyone would be a fool to go anywhere else than Studio Zee to get a piercing.

I’ve had two makeover/​cover ups and two «designed from scratch» pieces done by Zee over the last five or so years. His work has been meticulous.
Zee has been in the business for over 20 years and aside from working with some other incredibly talented artists, he’s an incredibly talented artist /​designer himself. I have no reservations whatsoever about recommending his work.
My advice would be to stop by, talk to him about what you’re looking for, give him a couple of weeks to design/​create/​draw it up then book some time and get it done. You won’t be disappointed.
I have no experience with any of the other artists there other than they’ve always be nice to me when I stopped by.
I’ve had ink for over 30 years and my advice is to take your time and plan carefully — it don’t wash off :)
Enjoy

Very unfriendly to customers with disablities. Unwilling to work with the deaf, hard of hearing community. Thumbs down. Stay away from a place that is not willing to accomidate people with hidden disabilities.

I will start by saying I have not gotten anything pierced here. I showed up one day, making the long walk from campus to deep State Street only to be greeted with an apology to the effect that the piercing person was on vacation for the next two weeks. An apology is all good, but you know, it won’t rip another hole in my ear when I’m feeling impulsive and channeling an unhealthy amount of emotional distress into a symbolic piercing. Not that I would ever do that.
I went back recently to replace a cartilage ring that I had wantonly removed when it was behaving itself in my ear, losing a vital piece in the process. (Am I going to a piercing parlor when I should really be seeing a therapist?) My experience was resoundingly positive. I walked in around 3 on a Friday and was helped within minutes. The place is set up like a family doctor’s office, with a small waiting room, a reception window, and a door opening into a hallway lined on both sides with individual stations. Though fairly decorated, the space looks and feels absolutely sterile. The lady helping me was professional throughout the whole process, though not coldly so. She helped me pick out a new ring, answered my silly questions about how one might take out and reinsert said ring without breaking it like a fool, and shoved that sucker in my ear with gloved and dexterous hands. The whole errand cost me $ 11.60 and less than ten minutes.
I would hesitate to get anything pierced here when I make such frequent trips to New York. Zee charges $ 50 per ear piercing, as opposed to the $ 25 I paid in New York, and I imagine the other rates are similarly higher. Still, the facilities are squeaky clean and the staff seems to know what it’s doing. If you don’t have the luxury of skipping this town to get a hole in your head (I’ll pass on the suicide jokes this time, though it is rather gray outside), Zee is a stellar option.

I’m completely baffled that there are no Studio Zee reviews on here yet!
This place came highly recommended to me, so when I decided to get an industrial piercing in my left ear, I went straight here. Anatar did my piercing, and she was great. I can see how she might be a little intimidating if you’ve never gotten a piercing done before (or if you’ve never been in a piercing/​tattoo parlor). The whole place is extremely professional, though. Extremely clean, with private rooms for all the work to be done.
Anatar is very knowledgeable about piercings, and discussed with me my gauge options, and how they related to the specific anatomy of my own cartilage. She was also very open to follow up phone calls for questions after the fact.
The only thing I would want to mention — if you are nervous about getting pierced, you should know that they do not allow friends to come back to the piercing room with you. It’s considered a clean room, and they won’t let additional people in just to hold your hand.