Primeval Ink Tattoo (Olympia)
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Primeval Ink was founded in 1997 by Suzanne Shepherd and Andi Lineweaver. At the time it was one of the very few women-owed tattoo shops in the state. We wanted to create a place with a pleasant atmosphere, where we could not only work, but also feel comfortable and know that our clients felt comfortable and reassured.
We have often heard our clients say that our shop is the cleanest, nicest or most relaxing tattoo shop they have ever been in. We have often said that we are not geniuses. We just really care about the clients. They can tell, and that's what works for us.
Primeval Ink first opened its doors for business in our original location in White Center ("Rat City") in West Seattle on March 1, 1997. It was a cold, rainy day, the furnace wasn’t working, but Suzanne and Andi were tattooing... the first tattoo done in our shop was a small heart with a name. We soon became known as "The Ladies". As we lived in the neighborhood, clients would come up to us in the grocery store or the local Mexican restaurant, and want to show off their tattoos. We repaired and covered up an awful lot of gang tattoos and home-made tattoos and met people from many different nationalities and cultures.
We moved from Seattle to open our shop in Monroe, in November of 2001. We were the first tattoo studio in Monroe that lasted for more than a season. We weren't’ sure at first how well we would do in a small town like Monroe, but soon were reassured that our decision had been right.
We expanded to Olympia to open our shop at Steamboat Island on April 1st 2005. Olympia was a home-coming for Suzanne who was raised here. April 1st was both a happy day of new beginnings and a sad day because our old faithful dog Cody passed on that same morning. Currently the move to downtown Olympia is also a kind of home-coming which allows us to become more an active part of the local arts community. A very happy transition but we will miss our friends at Steamboat.
Andi is available both for tattooing and for piercing. Suzanne is available both for tattooing and for permanent cosmetics by appointment.
Andi and Suzanne were trained in the traditional manner by apprenticeship, coming into the business in 1994-1995. Andi came from a 20 year career in social work. Suzanne has a Masters Degree in Social Work. At Primeval Ink, it seems we can combine the best of both worlds.