NEWS — Tattoo Shop

Anyone who is exposed to social media these days is aware of the powers of the various review sites that are available to us. Most of us are familiar with Yelp, Google, Trip Advisor, etc. These reviews enable many of us to find great restaurants, hotels, museums, tourist destinations and a host of other services. People will use these sites as an opportunity to let others know about their experiences. It’s fun to share information with others when we find something interesting or special! Particularly when we travel. As a traveler it’s great to have these sources of info to help guide us along the way. So cool to be able to find small businesses in a town we are not familiar with. These sites offer us insight in to goods and services we otherwise would not be privy to.

In the past, most small businesses relied on “word of mouth” if there was not enough in the budget to advertise. Before the smart phone this was a very effective way to spread the news about a family business such as ours. In a world where everything is moving faster than ever, it can be a great benefit to have people talking about us on their various devices. 

As owners of a small family business we feel fortunate to have  so many faithful followers helping us every day by referring new clientele to our studio conveniently located near the Las Vegas Strip. We know with about two hundred tattoo shops in Las Vegas that the competition is extremely tough in our city. Making sure that customers leave our studio happy is priority one! We also strive to make sure their experience is a great one!

It’s not uncommon to have guests from around the world visit our shop. They literally come from everywhere! A tattoo makes a wonderful souvenir that lasts a lifetime. Our highly skilled artists all work extremely hard to keep our visitors coming back for more. Maybe that’s why we are the most reviewed tattoo business in the entire state of Nevada!

Many thanks to all those who have taken the time out of their busy day to write a review. All of us here at Studio 21 Tattoo appreciate this type of participation  from our customers. We feel this is a major part of our continued success as a small family owned business. Keep those reviews coming folks!

Thanks Again,

Charlie Spencer

Owner/Artist

Studio 21 Tattoo Gallery, Inc.

It’s already been ten years since J “Swarm” Wood joined the Studio 21 Tattoo family as an artist and all around mood director!  We at the studio really are excited to celebrate this exciting milestone with J. Austin and Charlie have known Swarm since the late 90’s when we all started tattooing at local shops here in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s hard to believe this much time has passed since the beginning of our tattoo careers together. Time flies when you’re having fun! Yes, it has been fun for sure.

We’ve watched J get married, have two beautiful little girls, Mikayla and Emma who are just about all grown up by now. A great dad, Swarm really is proud of these two and really should be! Sweet as they can be! The girls almost always attend the Studio 21 Tattoo events and add to the family spirit we all enjoy here. It’s always great to have them visit the studio. Could it be that one of these two will be groomed as an artist thanks to the influence of dad? Whatever they choose to do, they will know that they are loved by their dad, that’s for sure. 

During his time here at the studio, Swarm started a project that really influenced his art style and capability. One day J walked in and started installing these empty picture frames on the walls in his booth here at the studio. His idea was to design a tattoo flash sheet for each of these frames. Not a small task as there are a total of fifty-nine of these!

Fifty-nine sheets of movie and video game themed flash sheets! These are amazing art pieces and he’s almost finished! Wow! It’s always fun to just stand around in his booth an admire these works of art. So cool.  This is quite an accomplishment for someone who is juggling the duties of fatherhood, maintaining his sanity and consistently showing up and tattooing hard day in and day out for all these years. That is admirable! We at the studio are very proud to have Swarm on our team. 

In recent years, J Swarm has taken up a new addiction. Running. Running his ass off!

He’s participated in numerous marathons and successfully completed them all. He qualified for the last two years for sponsorship by Michelob Ultra to run in the New York Marathon. They pay all his expenses including airline, a hotel at Central Park and meals. How cool is that? We wish him luck in the upcoming New York Marathon.

J Swarm is a guy you can always depend on to help with charity work here at the studio as well. He has done many tattoos over the years and donated the proceeds to various local charities. He hung in there with us to help do the over three hundred tattoos we did for the victims of the Las Vegas shooting on October 1st, 2017. In very difficult times, he was here, doing what he does with no complaint. For that we are all very appreciative!

From all of us here at Studio 21 Tattoo, love ya J Swarm!! We look forward to what the next ten years brings. Pretty sure it will be a lot of fun. Thanks for being the studio “mood director”!

-By Charlie Spencer

The second Taco Tuesday at Studio 21 Tattoo is just around the corner. As you know we have this event the last Tuesday of June, July and August, so if you missed June, you still have a chance to get that taco tattoo or maybe two. Two street tacos are a bonus with your $50 Tattoo and there’s lots of designs available to choose from so there is no excuse not to head our way. Cheap date, why not? Maybe bring a friend or two. Hope to see you there. Summer wouldn’t be summer without Taco Tuesday.

Back in February of 2017, I had a shot at tattooing Whiskey Emerson. Interesting name, right? Well, it”s actually a pen name for a very talented young writer from Portland, Oregon. She was visiting a close friend her in Las Vegas when they decided it might be a good idea to get a friends tattoo at Studio 21 Tattoo. As luck would have it, I was chosen to tattoo Whiskey!

I feel fortunate to be able to sit with interesting people from all walks of life. Sometimes you meet someone and right away realize this individual is special! This is the way I felt when I met Whiskey Emerson. One can always find common ground with others if you just take the time to show interest in what they have to offer. Whiskey enjoys motorcycling, which used to be one of my passions. If I were her age, I would still be enjoying the sport. Whiskey also shared some of her stories about her love for the great outdoors, something that I also enjoy immensely!

Our conversation eventually led to the fact that Whiskey was working on a book publishing deal. She told me she had done a kickstarter to finance this deal and was close to being published on Mascot Books, a publisher out of Herndon, Virginia. Whiskey had mentioned at some point in our conversations she was a history buff. “West of Hell”, is a historical fiction that takes place in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City in the late 1800’s. I wished her the best of luck with the publishing deal, finished her tattoo and said goodbye.

A few weeks later, I received an email from Whiskey. She wanted to know what I thought of the illustrations someone had sold her to use at the beginning of each chapter. A quick look at what she had was just some crappy clip art someone had sold her, I felt she had been taken advantage of so I told her I’d be glad to do illustrations for her that would be more presentable. Knowing that Whiskey had put a tremendous amount of effort into writing theis novel, I knew West of Hell deserved some quality illustrations to adorn the pages.

This was the beginning of a relationship that will now lead to my being able to help her with illustrations for her next novel, “East of Hell”, which is currently in the works.

Here we are, a little more than a year has passed since the first time tattooing Whiskey. “West of Hell” was published and is now for sale just about everywhere books are sold! She sent me a signed copy which I am very proud of. I have read my copy and have to say, it’s a really amazing story and a joy to read. Whiskey hooks you in right from the start and created some fascinating characters. The best part is, there’s more to come as West of Hell is to be the first part of a trilogy.

“West of Hell” Book Signing at Studio 21 Tattoo Gallery will take place April 7th, 2018, 6pm – 9pm, Author, Whiskey Emerson…writer, adventurer, renegade.

If you are interested learning a little more about Whiskey Emerson visit her website https://www.whiskeyemerson.com

Charles Spencer – Co-Owner/Tattoo Artist at Studio 21 Tattoo Gallery https://studio21tattoo.com

Schedule of other book signings for “West Of Hell”

March 25, 2018

Vroman’s Bookstore (Just outside Los Angelos,CA)

April 7, 2018

Studio 21 Tattoo Gallery (2 miles west of the Strip, Las Vegas, NV)

May 12, 2018

Barnes and Noble (Just outside Portland, OR)

J “Swarm”, a resident tattoo artist at Studio 21 Tattoo Gallery in Las Vegas, Nevada since 2008, is an accomplished traditional artist and proud father of two beautiful girls. In December, 2015, Swarm decided to make some life changing decisions. He decided to start running to improve his physical and mental outlook. Swarm began running two miles three times a week. As time passed his running distance increased as did his goals. For 2016 Swarm aspired to run 1,000 miles and complete 6 races for the year. Not only did he accomplish ambitious goal, he dropped over 50 lbs. in the process and exceeded the original 1,000 mile distance by 200 extra miles.

As a benefit for outdoor enthusiasts, Las Vegas offers ideal weather and beautiful scenic areas to train for races. Whether its early morning runs through the 17 mile loop in Red Rock State Park or conquering the 20 mi. round trip trek to the 11,056 ft. elevation of Griffith Peak summit in the Spring Mountains of Southern NV. There is no shortage of breathtaking scenery to benefit those training endurance runs.

The year 2016 marked a significant time period of great accomplishments for J Swarm and his excitement and enthusiasm carried forward to 2017, leaving his old habits behind him. Swarm’s new intentions were designed to go beyond his dream to achieve even bigger goals, including 2000 running miles, drop additional weight and complete 10 races ending the year with a marathon in Hawaii.

Among the many races completed his 5th race of 2017, the St Jude’s Rock & Roll Marathon, really tugged at Swarm’s heart strings. In 1993 his younger brother passed away from Leukemia. With the help and generosity of friends and family he raised $1500 to benefit the St. Jude’s Hospital and Research for Childhood Cancer to help those families with expenses as they go through such a difficult time.

In July of 2017, J. Swarm was notified that Michelob Ultra was giving out 100 bibs (running numbers) to the New York City Marathon. In order to win a bib, one must share your name, email and a written story about running. With nothing to lose, he decided to take the challenge. He began relaying the details of his tremendous weight (now down 80 lb) and how his passion for running developed into an obsession for his personal achievement. J Swarm won his bib to run in the New York City Marathon. on November 5th, 2017
as a winner of the team Ultra contest. Needless to say he is honored, humbled to be among the chosen candidates and extremely excited to win the opportunity to experience to this historic marathon. The NYC is right around the corner and the Michelob Ultra Team has supplied Swarm with all the right gear to hit the ground running.

The entire Studio 21 Tattoo family wish him luck accomplishing this great running event.
These are the races completed by J Swarm:

2016:
Lake Mead 10K
Hot Chocolate 15k
Recycled Run 10K
Pumpkin Man 10k
St. Jude’s Rock & Roll Marathon, San Diego, Half Marathon (raised $1500)
Turkey Trot 12k
1200 miles outdoors

2017:
Lake Mead 10K
Hot Chocolate 15k
Revel Mt. Charleston Half Marathon
Running With the Devil Half Marathon
Dam Ruck & Run Trail Race Half Marathon
Pumpkin Man 10k
St. Jude’s Rock & Roll Marathon, Las Vegas (raised $1450)

Upcoming:
New York City Marathon 11/05/17
Turkey Trot 12k
Hawaii 12/10 Full Marathon

https://studio21tattoo.com/

https://www.tcsnycmarathon.org/