Mall tattoo studio finds acceptance

Tattoos used to be an act of defiance, a way to tell the world you didn't play by the $!#• Getting a little ink etched into the dermis layer of the skin has become so mainstream that Pittsburghers can now get a tattoo at one of the most homogenized of American venues: the mall. In the Flesh, a 1,500-square-foot tattoo and body piercing studio, opened its doors a few steps from Macy's in the Mall at Robinson. Vegoda reports with a smile, they got a call from a woman who wanted to buy her mother her first tattoo. "Tattoos have gone from something you cover up to something you expect," says Ms. This isn't the first tattoo studio in a suburban shopping center: Tattoo Nation paved the way in 2006 when it opened a studio near Bloomingdales in the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, N.J. There are also a pair of tattoo and piercing studios in malls in Florida, with two more in the works. A lot of people are intimidated by a traditional tattoo parlor, says Ms. "We're trying to open up a new community to the art of tattoos in a place they feel comfortable. Recognizing that many first-timers don't know what they want -- 90 percent of its customers are walk-ins -- Get Inked encourages them to page through large books of tattoo flash, or illustrations, at the front of the store. But it's always best, says Mr. Anderson, to work with the artist to create a custom tattoo that has special meaning. Six years ago, the Brownsville native started a company that provides face art, henna and airbrush tattoos for amusement parks across the country. "We're trying to change the mind of the public that a tattoo is a beautiful piece of artwork," Ms.