B.Inked: Custom Tattoo Art

New Customer Info

Important information and questions answered about getting a tattoo.

Who is Ben Krefta?

I’ve been working as a professional artist and illustrator since 2002, having produced art and designs for advertising, video games, the publishing industry and authoring several best-selling how-to-draw books, with close to a million combined copies sold globally and translated in to multiple languages.

I began tattooing in 2010 and have completed hundreds of tattoo sessions over the years since. I’m able to draw from my decades of artistic experience to provide customers with a custom design and tattoo that always meets and often exceeds expectations. It’s for this reason that most of my work comes from recommendations and word-of-mouth and I’ve never needed to advertise.

Your Tattoo:

You are unique, and that’s what your tattoos should be. I always aim to create original artwork and custom pieces which your local tattoo shop can’t do. No matter if it’s a small wrist tattoo, or a full back piece, every design is handled with great care and consideration. No shortcuts taken.

Cost:

I typically provide a quote per design rather than an hourly rate so there are no price shocks if a design takes a little longer than expected. In order to give a quote, I need to know:

The sort of think you like
How big you want the design
Where you want it tattooed

This gives a ball-park guide to how much a tattoo might cost:

As a general rule, something reasonably detailed, the size of a coaster might cost £150-£200. This could take me 1-3 hours to create the design and I would then book you in for a 3 - 6 hour appointment to tattoo.

For something the size of a full arm / sleeve, this might take up around the same area as 15 coasters, and so could cost around £2500. It might take 50-80 hours to complete. This would be spread over 10 or more sessions at a cost of around £250 for a day.

In the event of touch-up sessions, extending designs, extra bits that need adding to the design or tattoos taking significantly longer than predicted, I charge an hourly rate of £50.

Sure, if the design is simpler to create and quicker to tattoo, it won't cost as much. Most customers typically come to me because they specifically want something more detailed or to a higher standard which they can’t get in a typical, mediocre walk-in tattoo shop. A minimum fee of £30 is charged for any size tattoo.

10 steps to Getting a tattoo overview:

Discuss design and requirements over the internet
Optionally meet to further discuss requirements and measure body/area
Deposit given to book and secure tattoo appointment + a signal to start the design
Design sent over for approval
If a sketch sent, and approved, a final is then sent for inspection
Arrive for appointment
An hour or so to check sizing, prepare stencil and set up
Time spent getting tattooed
Tattoo finished, cleaned and wrapped, and then paid for
If necessary, second appointment booked along with another deposit given

The Studio:

Sessions are by appointment only and carried out in a clean and hygienic private studio. It’s quiet, relaxed with Chillout tracks being the background music of choice.

Having worked in other tattoo shops previously, I can assure you my hygiene practices are above par- every item used in the tattoo process is bagged with surfaces and equipment disinfected after every tattoo.

All equipment used is professional, top-grade (and expensive!) kit. No cheap Chinese knock-offs bought via ebay!

If there’s anything I can do during the tattooing process to make things more comfortable, just let me know. Always happy to chat to pass the time, and if you’d like to watch movies or bring headphones and amuse yourself on your phone, go for it.

Working together:

My goal is always to create an awesome design, considering things like placement, directional flow, composition, contrast, style, colour balance and other artistic principles I’ve learned during my art career. There is usually a reason why I chose certain design elements or compositions over others and I ask you to have faith in my expertise here.

I offer a service and high standard which is reasonably priced compared to local shops, managing to cut overheads by working in a private studio opposed to a walk-in shop.

I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so like being given the opportunity to create the best tattoo I can. Although this can mean sessions lasting longer.

Weekday appointments are preferable as I only have limited availability for weekends.

Session start times are typically from 10:30am.

If we’re working on a big project like a sleeve, it’ll take multiple sittings to complete. Maybe a dozen. Consider how quickly you’d like to have It finished. We could do a session a week for 3 months or once a month could take a year.

You’ll need a 5 week wait between appointments in the event the tattoo needs healing time before the next session (if working over or next to tattooed skin).

I’ve worked with many great customers over the years, but there’s always the odd one or two that make things harder than it needs to be. And so, to make things better for all concerned, I ask new customers to:

Describe what you want and have faith in me to create it
In the event you’re not 100% happy at the design stage, no problem, but please let me know any issues or potential amendments you’d like to make as early as possible
Make sure you can afford the tattoo
Make sure you can get the time off and otherwise are able to attend your appointment before making it
Attend all booked appointments and not be late

Deposits:

As previously mentioned, these are required to secure an appointment. Until a deposit is received, the appointment date/time is potentially available to other customers.

A Deposit also shows you’re happy for me to proceed with creating a design/artwork to be tattooed. Designs might take an hour to prepare, or as much as 50 hours, and so deposits help to cover some of this design time while showing me you’re a genuine customer committed to proceed.

Deposit costs vary from £10 for small tattoos to £200 for larger tattoos.

The cost of the deposit is deducted from the cost of the tattoo. E.g. if a £10 deposit is given for a £50 tattoo, then a balance of £40 remains to pay on your tattoo session date.

A new deposit is required for each session. If you have a large tattoo which requires multiple sessions, you’ll be expected to pay another deposit to secure the next session. This is to help reduce the now all-too common cancelations.

In the event the tattoo appointment needs to be cancelled within 72 hours (3 days) notice or a customer does not show up for an appointment, the deposit is forfeit, no longer deducted from the cost of the tattoo and a new deposit will need to be paid to secure a new appointment.

In the event a customer cancels appointment repeatedly albeit not within 72 hours, the deposit may be forfeit. Please be 100% certain about your availability before arranging an appointment for a tattoo.

Payments:

Deposits and payments for tattoos can be paid in:

Cash- either in person, or pop an envelope through the post box containing payment.

Bank Transfer- details will be supplied

Credit or Debit card- Incurs a 2% transaction fee.