Each tattoo shop in town has their own set of styles, artists and atmosphere. Walking into Moscow Tattoo Company, clients know they are in the right place because of the friendly artists they know they can trust, and art hung across the store setting the scene.
Located on 6th Street, Moscow Tattoo has been a part of the community for a short period of time but creates a significant impact. Opening its doors in July 2018, Moscow Tattoo has seen many people, leaving them with grins on their face after adding unique arts of work that will stick with them for years.
I let community members of the Palouse pick what tattoo shop to get a septum piercing from. After Moscow Tattoo won the best tattoo shop section, I knew I was in good hands.
Walking into the shop, I was greeted with artwork hanging on the walls of the shop and a friendly artist checked me in. After tediously cleaning the workstation, I was ready to get some body jewelry.
It will only hurt for a second, three, two, one and the septum ring went in.
“Watering eyes is okay, but if you start crying, I’m going to start crying too,” Niko Carter, piercer at Moscow Tattoo, said. “If you start crying, soon enough the entire shop is going to start crying with you.”
Leaving the store with saline solution, the appointment was quick and thorough, only taking about 15 minutes. Walking back to my apartment, I grinned ear to ear behind my mask only to take many Snapchat photos and update my profile on Tinder.
Carter, one of a handful of artists at Moscow Tattoo, pierces many parts of the body. Matt Johnson, owner of the shop, says that he is one of the best piercers in town.
Along with piercings, tattoos and art Moscow Tattoo curates, the company fundraises and gives back to the community. Their most recent fundraiser is donating to the scholarship fund for the Palouse Youth Hockey Association. Starting an operation called pennies from pockets, people bring their change and drop it into a water bottle in the shop.
“I’ve been a part of the Moscow community for the majority of my life, and I’m one of very few Moscow High School grad business owners in this town… This town has always taken very very good care of me,” Johnson said. “So, we can get the more under privileged kids in town playing hockey, it’s kind of always been an expensive sport to play and I played most of my life and my daughter plays. I thought it would be really cool to get some kids playing, otherwise.”
Other fundraisers the shop has been involved with is donating to local food banks and food drives, back to school drives that donate school supplies and a toy drive run with the High Woman Motorcycle Club every year for Christmas.
“We’re more than just a tattoo shop really, we do so much for the community around here through fundraising and donating to certain things,” Johnson said. “Over the course of the year, I’ve really turned this shop into more of a philanthropic project than just your normal tattoo studio. And beyond that, the years of years of experience that we have here is pretty high.”
Emily Pearce can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce