Tattoo You

Diablo Magazine
December 26, 2008

Hip soccer moms can satisfy all their tattoo needs now that Zebra Tattoo, a mainstay on Berkeley’s uberfunky Telegraph Avenue, has opened a second location in downtown Walnut Creek. We checked out both stores to compare the urban versus suburban body-art experiences.

Walnut Creek

Vibe: Can you say spa? Tattoo-getters are segregated from the body pierce-ees. Check out the sitting area, where you can linger over portfolios of tattoo designs.

Soundtrack: Lou Reed, using his indoor voice.

Neighborhood pros: Validated parking.

Neighborhood cons: Proximity to Pottery Barn may kill your ink jones.

Average tattoo age: All over the place: a daughter, mother, and grandmother got matching bumblebee tattoos on their ankles.

Tattoo stations: Three private rooms, with reclining leather chairs and flat-screen TVs.

Popular tattoos: Family crests, kids’ names, butterflies, skull and crossbones (with a polka-dot hair bow).

One-stop shopping: Everything from handbags and jewelry to Zippos.

Berkeley

Vibe: The deli-style method of calling numbers for customers and a small, narrow interior make for a hectic atmosphere.

Soundtrack: It’s headbanger heaven in here.

Neighborhood pros: Wide variety of Mohawks. The Holy Grail for music geeks, Amoeba, is next door.

Neighborhood cons: Tourists with maps, Street Sheet vendors, acres of tie-dye.

Average tattoo age: It looked like 20 to us;college kids, kids with their parents.

Tattoo stations: One room with two tattoo chairs means the murals on the wall, and possibly another customer, are your entertainment.

Popular tattoos: Old-school pinup girls, Japanese-themed designs (dragons and koi fish), portraits, punk insignia.

One-stop shopping: Same as Walnut Creek’s; plus stun guns and samurai swords.

This article appears in the December 2008 issue of Diablo Magazine.