Portland, Maine

[gougetheeyes]

Myself and the lovely @MrsGougeTheEyes visited Maine over the summer and we're heading back this month.

And possibly this spring.. possibly full time.

So: tattoo shops in Portland?! What goes on up there? I popped into one (the name of which I can't even remember) and the work looked prettaaay prettayyy... prettayy.. not good. So get at me about Portland and also Maine in general if you know anything!

[Graeme]

According to Google, Portsmouth NH is less than a hour's drive from Portland and you have Jason Scott and Hobo's and Congress Street. Jason Scott rules, Jeb Riley tattoos there and he rules, and Chad Koeplinger guests there regularly. Portsmouth is a really nice town too.

[gougetheeyes]

Thanks dude, heard nothing but good things about Portsmouth!

[hogg]

My buddies from California moved there a few years ago and opened this place: https://www.facebook.com/hellagoodtacos

SUPER nice people: a couple with four (!) kids. I wish I could go sample their food, so let me live vicariously.

[Fala]

I have a friend who is an AMAZING massage therapist up that way, check him out: About

[Joe Shit]

Instagram

Made-Rite Tattoo | Portland, Maine

TSUNAMI TATTOO - PORTLAND, MAINE Phuc started out at Rising Dragon on 23rd St.many years ago.He's a good tattooer,and a good dude.

[suburbanxcore]

Made-Rite Tattoo | Portland, Maine

A good friend of mine lives about 30-40 min from Portland and has a bunch of tattoos from John Biswell that are rock solid.

He also has tattoos from a girl named Gemma who used to work there and now opened a shop called Gemstone Tattoo. Don't know as much about that.

[tatB]

I recommend this place: https://www.facebook.com/ElRayoTaqueria

and i have memories of eating a gigantic delicious pork chop at this place: The Grill Room & Bar | Steakhouse-Seafood-Pizza | Portland, Maine

[MrsGougeTheEyes]

Five star dinner to anyone that can land us a job! ;)

Thanks for the rec's everyone!

[Fala]

Full time @gougetheeyes and @MrsGougeTheEyes?! ;(

[MrsGougeTheEyes]

Full time!

[beez]

@gougetheeyes @MrsGougeTheEyes I regularly have fantasies of moving to smaller, isolated towns. And maybe I like "murder she wrote" and "haven" and other shows based in small town maine. ;p

So I am excited to hear what happens when/if you move!

[MrsGougeTheEyes]

It will probably be something like, "We ate too many lobster rolls that we don't even care for them anymore and are freezing our asses off" hahahaha

[Graeme]

It will probably be something like, "We ate too many lobster rolls that we don't even care for them anymore and are freezing our asses off" hahahaha

Oh you should totally go to the Maine Diner in Wells and eat yourselves sick on lobster rolls and lobster mac n cheese.

[MrsGougeTheEyes]

mmmm mac n cheese! It's cold there so I'm allowed to get fat right? Natural insulation?

[hogg]

@gougetheeyes @MrsGougeTheEyes I regularly have fantasies of moving to smaller, isolated towns. And maybe I like "murder she wrote" and "haven" and other shows based in small town maine. ;p

So I am excited to hear what happens when/if you move!

Ha! Murder She Wrote was filmed in Mendocino, CA. Which has kind of a Maine vibe, minus the feet of snow.

[gougetheeyes]

A good friend of mine lives about 30-40 min from Portland and has a bunch of tattoos from John Biswell that are rock solid.

John Biswell/Made Rite looks pretty good! Also @Joe Shit -- do we know how to pronounce Phuc's name? Fook?

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@Fala also, please keep it under wraps in case you and Jason are out at, say... that bar I work at! @beez one of the things we like about it is that while it's much smaller than NYC it doesn't feel isolated. Close to Boston, Portsmouth, a 45 minute flight to NYC.. and seems to have a really great community for small businesses.

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Oh you should totally go to the Maine Diner in Wells and eat yourselves sick on lobster rolls and lobster mac n cheese.

I don't think we had a single lobster roll last time we were there hahaha. Too busy with fried chicken and steamers and 'gansett tall boys.

[Joe Shit]

John Biswell/Made Rite looks pretty good! Also @Joe Shit -- do we know how to pronounce Phuc's name? Fook?

That's correct...Phuc does a lot of Asian work,but Cyndi Lou & Mike do more traditional work.Cyndi used to own a shop in Portland with Hannah,who works at Dark Age Tattoo in Seattle.Will Self also does real nice work at Made Rite.

[gougetheeyes]

@Joe Shit thanks man. And wow, Tsunami looks like a beautiful shop.

[Fala]

Of course I will @gougetheeyes!!!

[Joe Shit]

@Joe Shit thanks man. And wow, Tsunami looks like a beautiful shop.

Yeah,it sure does...Looks like a comfortable and warm place to get tattooed.I was there years ago and it wasn't as refined.And was checking out Cyndi's work,and it's real nice.

[polliwog]

For a small place it has a lot of great food. I'm partial to Hot Suppa! (idiotic name, good breakfast) and Schulte & Herr. Speckled Ax makes delicious wood-roasted coffee. There's also fancier/trendier stuff that's out of my price range. My favorite aunt, uncle and cousins all live in Portland; I'll ask them about other things they like. The beaches are beautiful and it's easy to make a day trip to Portsmouth or Boston. Rents seem pretty reasonable; I think my cousin's about to pay $400/month for an apartment she'll be sharing with one other person. I've always dreamed of living in the top floor of one of the old houses on Munjoy Hill that overlooks the ocean. Would move there in a heartbeat. And proximity to Congress St. is a major, major plus. (Actually, have you checked out Portsmouth at all? I'm not sure how it compares cost-of-living wise, though - I think you may need to get further away from the center of town to find something affordable.)

I love smaller, isolated New England towns. There's a lot that could put folks off about them, but as a lifer I find them to be pretty cozy places.

[MrsGougeTheEyes]

I want to be around as little people as possible.

[OutOfIdeas]

I want to be around as little people as possible.

Just left Wal-Mart... so i know exactly what you mean.

[herewego]

I thought there was a Just Good Tattoo shop (Marcus Kuhn) in Portland. Looks like he may have closed it, but that would have been the tits. Check out Tsunami Tattoo and Wicked Good Ink, they look better than decent.