Offering cleanliness, great customer service, and a unique tattooing experience, 805 Ink hopes to make a permanent mark on the Santa Barbara community.
“The name says it all,” said general manager and former City College student J.J. Ortiz. “We are an 805 tattoo shop and we represent the community that we live in.”
805 is also the area code for Santa Barbara.
Ortiz is also the head tattoo artist at 805 Ink located at 1228 State Street in downtown Santa Barbara.
“I think CC [City College] has opened so many doors for me that I couldn’t even count them,” Ortiz said. “Before CC, my life was just stagnant. It could have easily gone down hill.”
Although Ortiz has been doing tattooing professionally for more than five years, he said he “started tattooing on a crude homemade tattoo machine as early as junior high.”
“Tattooing kind of chooses the person,” he said. “You don’t choose tattooing. It chose me, so I became a tattoo artist.
Ortiz transferred from City College to Cal State Northridge to pursue a teaching degree, but his love for tattooing sent him the way of becoming a business-owner instead.
“There are a lot of good things about being a tattoo artist. You get to express yourself artistically and put out your work. I make my own hours and I’m surrounded by great people,” Ortiz said.
According to Ortiz, 805 Ink puts heavy emphasis on customer service, providing a friendly and sterile environment for its customers.
One person who is facing customers every day is front desk clerk Roy Sarabia.
“There’s so many cool things about working here,” Sarabia said. “The environment and the people you get to interact with on a daily basis and you get to see some really weird tattoos.”
Tattoo prices start at $80 and vary based on project. 805 also does piercing, starting at $50.
Ortiz says that 805 Ink is not like other tattoo shops that are “looking to pump out tattoos and make a quick buck.”
“We want to give you more than your money’s worth,” said Ortiz. “Just because you might not have as much money as the next person, doesn’t mean you don’t deserve an equally good tattoo as someone who has a lot more money to spend on themselves.”
Ortiz has tattooed people from all walks of life, including tourists, the elderly, and even first-timers.
“It’s not as easy of a job as people may think,” Ortiz said. “Because you have to design artwork that people are going to be happy with for the rest of their lives.”
805 Ink strives to be a super clean shop and an environment open to everyone.
“Everybody’s welcome here, because we are just a fun shop to be in. We don’t give anyone attitude. We are cool with everybody.”
Ortiz would advise anyone who’s getting his or her first tattoo to put a lot of thought into it and make sure it’s what he or she wants.
“There are songs that change people’s lives, so why not a tattoo?” Ortiz said.
