Fu’s Custom Tattoos / Joey Vernon

Joey Vernon
Fu’s Custom Tattoos

I first met Joey Vernon when he was tattooing at his father’s shop, Shaper’s Quest, on South Boulevard. It was the mid ‘90’s and I was a walk-in. I wanted my first tattoo. I came through those doors as an unknown young adult, with some stationary depicting the art I wanted. I was greeted with a smirk and a handshake from a sturdy Vernon wearing a three-foot-long ponytail of bright, red hair. He poked fun at me for my tattoo choice, but delivered exactly what I wanted. I appreciated his quick wit and sharp tongue and followed him from location to location for decades, getting him to adorn my body with more than a handful of black and grey tattoos.

Consultations with tattoo artists isn’t always required, but it is highly recommended. I remember at one of those meetings, I, again, walked in clutching a greeting card with what I thought I wanted. He promptly suggested some very insightful tweaks to it and I couldn’t have been more pleased with his changes. Would he still let me come in with another generic greeting card and insist he do it exactly like the image shows? Absolutely. But is that what I would really want from my tattoo artist? No.

Having been in the new location, just down the street from the old one, for a year, he has scaled back the number of artists in the shop, but you are still going to get quality work from all of the residents. Having been in the game since 1992, he has seen a lot of trends come and go, but not much has changed with Vernon, sans his hair color (now grey and short) and his relationship status (now happily married). His favourite style of tattoo is still Japanese, but he can do practically anything that the client wants. Do you want to touch up a faded tattoo? He can do that. Do you want a portrait of your late loved one or pet? No problem. What you’re not going to see at Fu’s is a line of walk-ins selecting “whatever hits them” from a flash book with pictures of roses and butterflies. But if a rose or a butterfly is what you want, he will do that. He just prefers, and is better suited, to do custom work that you will be proud to wear for the rest of your life.

Around the corner from Crown Station in NoDa, Fu’s Tattoos is a warm studio that can become your favourite place to get hurt. Just make an appointment with Joey, Stephanie, Travis or Andrew today and tell them My City Magazine sent ‘cha. You won’t get a discount for the mention, but you will have a professional give you a beautiful piece of forever art. Thank us later.

3536 N. Davidson St., 28205, 704-376-4556
Tuesday-Saturday 12-8pm
appointment only
[email protected]
Instagram: FusCustomTattoo
www.FusTattoos.com

– words & photos: Ellen Gurley

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