Tattoo shop in Menomonee Falls Wisconsin
Decades behind the machine, one of the Midwest's largest flash libraries, and sterile procedure approved by the Wisconsin State Health Department.
Approved by the Wisconsin State Health Department Sterile procedure is the part of this job nobody should have to ask about.
A working shop, run by people who have done this a long time
Absolute Tattooing is a professional tattoo and body piercing studio in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. The shop is approved by the Wisconsin State Health Department and practises the highest levels of sterile procedure. Our first concern is that you are safe, and our second is that you are comfortable from the moment you walk in until the moment the bandage goes on.
Absolute has operated in Menomonee Falls for a long time. There were once shops in Milwaukee, Waukesha and Sheboygan as well. Menomonee Falls is the only location today, and it is the one that has always been here.
The atmosphere is laid back on purpose. Most people are nervous before a tattoo, and the crew here is good at loosening that up without ever loosening the standards. People tell us the experience was more fun than they expected. That is deliberate, and it is the part of the job you cannot see in a portfolio.
We do not talk about other shops. There are talented artists elsewhere in Wisconsin and we get along with most of them. What we would say to anyone choosing a shop, here or anywhere, is this: shop around, and ask to look through each artist's personal album of their own work. Reputation matters in this trade, and a wall of photographs tells you more in five minutes than any amount of talk. For the same money you can have a tattoo you love instead of one that is merely fine.
What we tattoo
Every artist here has their own style, and between them the shop covers most of what walks through the door. Custom work is drawn at no additional cost.
The crew
Four artists, four different sets of instincts. Ask to see anyone's personal album when you come in.
Eddie
Portraits, new school, and everything between.
Tattooing since 1997
Scott Friedrich
Tattooing since 1984. Every style, every scale.
Tattooing since 1984
Paul
Tattooing and body piercing. High energy, no attitude.
Tattooing since 2000
Mandy
New school, black and grey, and lettering.
Tattooing since 2003
Before you sit down
A little preparation makes a long session easier. Eat a real meal beforehand, drink water, and wear something that gives the artist access to the area without you having to sit awkwardly for three hours.
If needles genuinely worry you, plenty of people ask about the best numbing spray for tattoos before booking a long piece. Bring it up with your artist first rather than applying something on the way in, because some products change how skin takes ink and your artist needs to know what is on your arm.
Pick the work
Browse the flash walls, or bring reference images for something custom. Custom drawing costs nothing extra here.
Talk it through
Size, placement and how it will age. This is the conversation that decides whether you love the piece in fifteen years.
Check the stencil
You see it on your skin, in a mirror, before any needle work. Speak up here if anything is off by a degree.
Heal it properly
The first two weeks decide how the piece settles. Follow the aftercare instructions, not the internet.
One of the largest flash selections in the Midwest.
Thousands of designs on the walls and in the books, and we promise there is something in there for everyone. If nothing on the wall is quite it, every artist here draws original work at no additional charge. Come in and take your time with the sheets.
Body piercing
Absolute pierces under the same sterile procedure the state health department approves the shop for. Paul handles piercing here and has been doing it slightly longer than he has been tattooing.
The piercing itself takes seconds. Everything that decides whether it heals cleanly happens before that: the angle chosen for your anatomy, jewellery long enough to allow for swelling, and a material that belongs against healing tissue. Most piercings that never settle were doomed by jewellery that was wrong on day one, not by the piercing.
Travelling, or reading this from somewhere else entirely? The same three questions apply wherever you go. Ask about sterilisation, ask what the jewellery is made of, and ask for a realistic healing time. Anyone worth their licence answers all three without pausing. Readers on Florida's Atlantic coast can find a Melbourne piercing studio serving the Treasure Coast.
Walk in to look through the flash and meet whoever is working. Call ahead if you want a specific artist or you are planning something large, since bigger work needs a consultation before any needle time gets booked.
You must be 18 or older to be tattooed or pierced. Bring photo identification.