Zulu Tattoo

10/02/2008 Posted by RachelanneG

I am no novice to tattoos. I have about 20% of my body covered in beautiful pieces, all done by two artists that I trust very highly. Neither of them are in LA, and when my beloved cat of 21 years passed away on my wedding night I knew I needed to honor him with the most important tattoo of my life. The problem....where to find the perfect artist to properly honor my little one? Upon seeing the History Channel piece on tattoo history, I was impressed by the Zulu Tattoo shop and wanted to check it out more. I had already met with four other artists who I knew immediately were not right for me, and had perused countless artist books. I emailed Catherine and she responded right away with her suggestion for my particular needs. I made the consult appointment with Lantz as per her suggestion. The shop is beautiful,VERY clean, but warm, none of that "stark" feel. Catherine is lovely and helpful and Lantz was right on time for our appointment. Two minutes with him and I knew he was the perfect person, just as it was suggested he would be. We discussed the piece and they went out of their way to fit me in before I left the country for a long business trip. It has been 12 years or so since my last piece, and I was admittedly a bit nervous. Lantz made me feel at ease and talked to me to keep me distracted through the toughest parts. He finished it in a very short time considering the great detail (did not milk the clock like some artists will) and the results? INCREDIBLE. The colors are so vibrant, the detail so beautiful, and he captured the essence of my little beast so perfectly it seems like he is a photograph. Needless to say, I am ecstatic with the whole experience, beginning to end. I even chatted a little with Mischa, who is really lovely, and got a sample of both hers and King Afa's work while i was there and was very impressed...If this is your first, or 21st piece, this is your place!

Pros: Friendly, Clean, Highly skilled.

Cons: Parking - but they have very reasonable valet on certain days!

07/09/2008 Posted by SMRTMNKY1

I was visiting LA from Canada and while I was there I wanted to get a tattoo and one of the more "popular" tattoo shops that is on TV right now. I called and emailed them twice and never heard a response and boy and I glad. I started researching tattoo shops in LA and found Zulu. After reading many reviews on this site an others I was very impressed so I thought I would give it a try, and after my first expeience I wasn't expecting much. Boy was I wrong. Zulu had to be the most organized, professional and comfortable tattoo shop. I was very impressed with the quick response from Catherine for booking the tattoo (within 24 hours of my initial email). I had a very origianl idea and was worried if it would come out looking like I wanted to. I had selected Lance to do the tattoo based on Zulu's website and looking at his work. Lance was awesome. We did the consultation via email before I got to LA. To be honest when he sent me the original sample of the tattoo I was a little worried because it was only an outline and didn't really show the detail (Lance explained it would happen in the filling in). I had a few small changes and when I got to my appointment Lance had taken them into consideration and we wer ready to go. Lance was awesome. He was so easy to talk to, it was like talking to a friend. The tattoo is amazing, better than I could have ever imagined. Everyone that has seen it has had nothing but good things to say about how awesome and life-like it looks (it is an orangu-tan). Thank You Thank You Thank You. I am so happy that other place didn't call me back because I got the best tattoo ever. If you are in LA and looking for somewher to go for a tattoo go to Zulu. You won't regret it. And to Lance - go LA Kings (I'll be rooting for the Toronto Maple Leafs)!

Pros: The atmosphere, the tattoo artist, everything

Cons: Nothing