Hidden Hand Tattoo

I checked out Hidden Hand for my first ink today and had a great experience. I called ahead to see if they could do a walk in and Brain was super helpful. Jamie was my tattoo artist and he was awesome. Very chill and totally put me at ease. He was able to scale up the image I brought in and it turned out exactly as I wanted it. The shop has a relaxed vibe, but the artists clearly take their work seriously. I definitely recommend HH.

Super professional, welcome to walk-​ins, and careful with design! I got my first tattoo here by a guest artist and i had an awesome experience. the minimum is $ 80 but that’s pretty typical for a Seattle tattoo place. I would definitely go back!

I highly recommend Mike Tidwell to ANY and ALL of my friends. He has done 5 out of 6 of my tattoos and I won’t go to anyone else. He gets every idea I have and makes it unique to me and then some. I have never once been disappointed with my visits and he always makes sure I get exactly what I want.
I get stopped almost once a day by people asking who did my work and how much they love it. The colors have lasted and still pop even 10 years later.
He has always been friendly and sociable and even checks to make sure I am doing okay during the process. He truly cares about his clients!!!

I’ll be honest, this was a VERY tough review for me to write. My husband and I were referred here by a friend who has gotten work done here before. When I first contacted the shop, I was communicating with Bryan who was very helpful and responded quickly. My husband even changed his mind about his tattoo after we had made the appt. (which I realize is very annoying) and they were still kind and accommodating. We flew in to Seattle and took a cab straight to Hidden Hand, luggage in tow. We LOVED the location of the shop, not to mention the smell of the dumplings coming from the venue right outside their shop. Yum! Anyhow, when we arrived, there was Bryan, albeit totally smile-​less. When we told him our names, he immediately told us that what we had requested to get done was not going to be done. Meaning, I was only «allowed» to get one of the two pieces I wanted (both pieces were not large at all) and what my husband wanted was only half conveyed to the artist. Needless to say, were completely caught off guard and very offended by the manner in which we were told we were not getting what we wanted. Mind you, I responded to all of emails from Hidden Hand within minutes and was very clear and specific with what exactly we wanted. We were never once told our pieces would not be able to get done and it was truly, truly disappointing when we were informed of this so rudely and abruptly. All that said, I was able to get the piece I wanted most, done by Asher, and it turned out simply AMAZING. After a bit of a struggle with having to re-​explain what my husband wanted to Mike, Mike did an OUTSTANDING job on his piece as well and we are still both beaming with joy at our new additions. I would have easily given Hidden Hand 5 stars, more if I could, because of our experiences with Asher and Mike, but having to deal with Bryan and his horrible customer service brought it to a three. I would HIGHLY recommend Hidden Hand for the fine work these artists do, and take pride in, but I would be prepared if you have to go through Bryan to do so.

I got my first tattoo here with Mike Tidwell. I checked out all the artist’s portfolios and decided I liked his the best for what I wanted. I read the Unilocal reviews pretty thoroughly and the only issues I read about Mike were people saying he wasn’t «sociable» enough.
He’s a great tattoo artist. Period. He’s also very friendly, and nonchalant yes. He isn’t very talkative, but personally I didn’t want him to be. I liked feeling like he was 100% focused on my tattoo, and had absolutely no desire to chat at him during the process. I’m there for the art… not a conversation. So, his personality type actually meshed really well with mine.
He works fast, and relaxed, and gave me exactly what I wanted. Human xerox. What I wanted to my arm. No complaints.
Other details:
When I arrived I think there was some confusion with what I had wanted due to the art I sent in the e-​mail (two many options). He took his time and re-​drew the a stencil of what I wanted (a windrose). I had to wait a bit, but I thought it was fine. Mostly because we needed to clarify what I wanted. This is permanent art. We should take our time. He gave a little bit of feedback, but pretty much was open to draw exactly what I showed him I wanted.
He’s an expert in portraits. They call him the human xerox. I chose him even though I didn’t have a portrait because I really wanted someone I felt confident could give me strong straight lines and something very close/​exact to the windrose I presented to him. I wasn’t looking for much variation.
He didn’t seem to offer much in the way of creative feedback or suggestions which I’ve heard (I’m inexperienced in the tattoo world) some tattoo artists tend to. He said he needed «nouns not adjectives.» I think that’s fair though and is his particular style. If you’re not sure what you want and only have adjectives, and are looking for someone to come up with something based on that alone, you may want to consult with an artist before hand, or a different artist who likes to be creative from a concept.
In any case, if you have something exact that you want, he will get it 100% perfect and right.

Mike did a fantastic job on my forearm tattoo. The color has stayed bright and I get mega compliments on the daily. The shop is clean and staff is accommodating. Highly recommended!

Would have given 5 stars if I hadn’t had to wait for 40 minutes to be seen by the artist. While waiting, I texted a friend who is a tattoo artist to ask if having clients wait for so long is normal. He replied, «No. You should leave. He’s obviously unprepared and you’ll probably end up having a negative tattooing experience». Once I was able to get over my initial frustration of being scheduled to see an artist who was totally unprepared (I.e. Began the drawing when I arrived at the time I was supposed to see him) I had very pleasant experience. Eric was incredibly patient, grounded, and kind. He worked with me for almost 40 minutes (and drew 6 stencils) to ensure that I was happy with the placement. His work is beautiful and clean. Despite my initial annoyance, I would definitely have more work done at Hidden Hand!

I came here for my first tattoo after a terrible experience at another place, and I’m so glad I did! Ashley did a beautiful job, she was patient and professional and had a relaxing, calm energy. Really a nice experience.

i went here for my 2^nd tattoo and Marco was fabulous! I brought in two potential designs for my forearm but they were both really just too big for the area. Marco talked to me about what it was that I was hoping to achieve with my tattoo – in this case, showing my love of literature and paying homage to my favorite writer. He worked up a design for me that was just over the top wonderful.
He did such an amazing job and I cannot recommend him highly enough. He listens, he’s creative, and he loves what he does!
There will probably be more tattoos and I will absolutely go back to him again.

I highly recommend Hidden Hand to anyone in the area who is considering getting a tattoo. The entire staff is clean, friendly, gracious, flexible, understanding, patient, and most importantly, immensely talented.
I frequently receive compliments for the intricate design that April Cornell completed for me four years ago. I have been recently considering getting a new tattoo, and I have communicated extensively with April for advice and feedback. She is a consummate professional!

I am absolutely enamored with both tattoos by April Cornell, off Hidden Hand. What an amazing, intuitive artist. She created two memorial tattoos for me which I cherish. The level of professionalism, compassion, and personalization in addition to detail speaks not only to her art, but her listening skills. I have two more appointments booked at Hidden Hand, and would recommend them to everyone.

This place is great. They directed me to a font website before my appointment so I could print out what I wanted. Asher got the tattoo done really quickly and was super pleasant and honest. Thanks guys! I’m very happy with my new tattoo!

I went here for my 2^nd/​3^rd tattoos and April is a total gem. She’s friendly, makes you feel welcome, and is a total professional. The whole experience was pretty painless, even when she went over the bone, and I very nearly fell asleep.
I was really happy with how the tattoos turned out and loved that she was a perfectionist for the straight lines my design required. April is awesome and also provides great after-​care instructions. I’d recommend this place to any friends looking for new ink.

April Cornell is one of the most talented people I’ve ever met! I had been wanting to get a tattoo from her for years and I am so happy I was able to see her! I got a little mermaid tattoo and the work is so beautiful and original. Shop is clean and in an awesome part of freemont. Parking available. Overall most incredible experience!

I had a consult with Marco about a month ago for a cover-​up and I had chose him based upon his previous work I had saw on Hidden Hand’s Instagram. I had my appointment yesterday, I arrived about 10 minutes earlier because luckily I found some decent street parking just up the way. I got to signing initial paperwork and Bryan at the front desk offered me some water while I waited for Marco to set up. Once I was able to go back, Marco had his stencils ready, showed me how it was going to be set up on my chest, shoulder, & arm area and I was very happy with what it was going to be. Since this was a cover-​up, I knew that 1 session may not be enough to get everything gone like I wanted. Once we were underway with my work, Marco was very professional, personable and awesome to work with. He even warned me when he was going to be working on the area with scar tissue from the old tattoo, thankfully. My session ended up going slightly over 2 hours, so the price was what I was expecting. The prices are very decent for the caliber of work that was done. I do have to come back for another appointment for more shading and the coloring, and Marco actually had them roll the $ 40 deposit over for the next time and then it will be applied then. Marco is an amazing artist who’s friendly and I’m glad I was able to find someone I can trust and who does really great work. The other guys at the shop were all doing amazing work, too, so I’m pretty sure whomever you choose to go with, you won’t be disappointed. I’m very happy to be able to come back soon! Thanks, Hidden Hand!

Recently went here once for myself and today for my husband first five stars goes to Jamie king he was nice and understanding to my very indecisive unsure husband whose tattoo came out amazing and I’m so happy!!! 3 stars for mike Tidwell he originally had a meeting with my husband but didn’t want to talk or think out ideas or draw anything up… Made my husband not want to do a tattoo so we switched to a more creative idea oriented artist plus he said he couldn’t do the idea he had… But Jamie said he could and did it… So whatever
I had a pretty easy tattoo and I will say it came out kinda poorly and now I’m paying more to another artist to essentially fix it I can see mike Tidwell does good work but my tattoo is not what I wanted at all and his lack of drawing up anything actually unusual for an artist but Jamie king did amazing work on my husband and I am grateful for that!!!

I had a fantastic experience with Marco. He listened to what I wanted, made helpful suggestions about placement and other logistics, and was very focused and meticulous in his work. I also really appreciate that he blocked off a big chunk of time for me and did not rush– the last thing I want is some hurried, dashed-​off tattoos!
My husband went to Jamie and also had a very positive experience.
Everyone we encountered at HH is friendly and professional, and the work spaces are clean and safe. Highly recommended!

These guys literally saved my image and body. I went to another shop and was getting bird silhouettes tattooed. My artist there squeezed me into his busy schedule it took weeks to get in. I got there and he hadn’t even looked over my design so I showed it to him on Pintrest. He has me lay down not look and he does this terrible rendition of birds that looked like blobs, seagulls, and kites. He didn’t talk much and was pretty stiff. He told me to keep them bandaged for 24 hours and then to see it the next morning. I got home and was mortified just utterly mortified with what happened.
I work in TV, media, I write books, I have a cooking show, I used to model (before my daughters were born). I rely a lot on my appearance. I have 5000 Facebook friends with over 600 followers and a page with thousands of likes. My show is viewed by over 30,000 Youtube views on my channels combined. I also appear on Seattle’s Comcast Channel 77 with my cooking shows. And all I could think of was how I was maimed and I’d never show my face again. I hid myself with long sleeves and hair; thank goodness for the hair!
I started immediately thinking of cover ups. I thought of a feather and I was recommended a rose by two of the artists in the shop due to the placement of the birds. I was down with that and ok with a rose. My daughter’s middle name is Rosalina so it worked perfectly. I went in and got a rose done and it is beautiful. It has changed my life. I lived for 2 weeks just feeling disgusting with the blobs and kites I had on my shoulder. I was so upset. Marco at Hidden Hand is so talented and he took his time and he did a great job. Please see HH and any of their artists. I’d never ever ever go anywhere else if I ever wanted another tattoo. Everyone was friendly and nice. Shop is clean and the dumpling shop next door is to drool over! Get some dumplings and a tattoo; great deal if you ask me!
THANK YOU!

New to the area and wanted to get a small wrist tattoo with a friend while she was in town. Looked around and liked the reviews for hidden hand– they took us as walk-​ins (2 hr wait, which was fine since we hadn’t called ahead and gave us time to explore the area and get lunch).
Marco did our work and he’s new to the area too– nice guy and friendly. Was very specific in getting our ideas just right and gave us good advice on sizing and placement. Love my new home in Seattle, but really love my VA tattoo to remind me of home.
Hidden Hand was very clean, fun to hang out in, staff was very friendly, and Marco– everything healed up perfectly!

I really enjoyed everything about Hidden Hand. I went there for my second tattoo and had heard about them through a friend.
Another friend and I were going to get tattoos at the same time. We went for a consultation — I brought my ideas to Roni and when we came back for the tattoo session she made sure that we both liked what she had drawn up for us. Mine was color — so we picked out colors and she got to work (after putting it place, etc.)
Roni was efficient but not too fast that she messed up. It didn’t take her long and I love the end result!
I really enjoyed the work she did and I hope to be back in the future. I have one more tattoo planned and am hoping to have Roni do it.