Purple Panther Tattoo

Today I got my first (and only) tattoo done by Graham. He’s a really good tattooist, nice person, makes sure you’re not in pain. If I decide to get another one, I’ll make sure it’s done by him again.

Natalie did an awesome job! I will definitely be back with her… She was pretty cool, patience and easy to speak to…
Thanks Natalie.

This is my third tattoo at Purple Panther, I got my first one from Koko and a second one from Ace. No problems with them. Lucky me then I finally got the owner, Graham– NOT! What a pretentious bitter old man! He was very rude!
First, I took my cousin and this was only her second tattoo she was a little indecisive. I guess that’s a no no in a a «cool» tatto shop. This man had no personality, I should of checked him for a pulse. I got one tattoo with no problems. My cousin got two and one is fading. We asked if fading was common, he pointed us towards another no life for personality artist who showed us her tattoo fading. Then Graham told us we could return for a touch up. The man actually said out loud «imagine my excitement» like a robot. I feel a tattoo artist should make you feel welcome and not be snobby. Maybe I wasn’t the right skin color, because when another white chick came in… I saw SOME life in Graham. Don’t go to this pretentious, out of date tattoo shop! You will be sorry!

I come here at least once or twice a year to get beautiful artwork inked on my skin by the owner, Graham. He is a very talented artist with an art degree as well. I really appreciate his patience when working on me, especially for touch-​ups. I always recommend this shop whenever people ask about my work. Thanks again Graham, see you soon!

I was visiting some friends in L.A. back in mid 2001, it was my next to last day there and one of them suggested getting tattooed as a «souvenir» of sorts to remember the trip. I was just 18, only had two very small tattoos, but thought what the hell, let’s do it!
We showed up around 8pm, the artists were busy so we hung around for a bit. Around 9pm, we were finally meeting our artists, Graham and Ace, I got Graham, I showed him what I wanted and he said «No problem» he took off, made a stencil and we were in business. I had decided on a rather large dragon design for my calf. We were done around midnight, maybe a little later, poor Graham had been tattooing all day and was so tired but I appreciated the fact that he powered through and got it done. The colors are great, after 14 years they’re still pretty bright and vibrant. Every summer I get compliments and comments on the brightness of the colors.
Everyone was really nice. Their work is good quality. I’d definitely recommend Purple Panther Tattoo.

Graham greeted me and was friendly and informative. Natalie worked on my design till it was just what I wanted. Barely hurt, great price and I love how it turned out. I’ll be back for sure!

ANOTHER 5 star review for Graham. Patient, talented, kind… No better person to get a tattoo from. I had a vision and he made it beautiful reality.

The most welcoming feeling I have felt when I stepped into this place. I went to other places and they had an attitude. ThIs was my first tattoo and you know I asked a lot of dumb questions but they were all answered. My brother got his tattoo here about 8 yrs ago and he recommend this place. So we get there, and Andrew greets us. I began to look through the books and I see a tattoo that I think is awesome as shit! So he began to set things up for me. We started at 11pm something and finished around 2am. Through the process Andrew does start conversation with me so I won’t focus on the pain so much which is what I think was chill. He was a mellow guy and an awesome artist. At this point we were both tired. He did said sorry for taking so long, but to be honest I was completely fine. We both did agree on that its better to take time and not rush it. Overall the atmosphere there was great! Love the tattoo and if I get another one Andrew is the man I will for sure go to!

Graham is the man! I emailed him last year about getting in for a tattoo appointment, then within a week I was there discussing the details of it. Then got it done the same day. He’s very professional, very kind, and makes sure you’re satisfied with his work. He even offers for you to come back within a month for any touch ups. I’m definitely sticking with him for all future tattoos, the quality is worth the drive if you don’t live in Hollywood.

Ace did my tattoo a few months ago and I still love it. Very kind man and has a very light touch which made the pain very tolerable and the healing process nice and easy. Definitely recommend asking for Ace.

Graham Chaffee is the best tattoo guy in Los Angeles. He’s an amazing artist, everything he draws looks great and he’s quick at rendering whatever you might have on your mind. The tattoo itself proceeds quickly, the lines are clean, well-​shaped, and he’s a really mellow, friendly personality. Affordable too. He’s done several pieces for me in the last year and I wouldn’t go to anyone else. He can do black-​work, folk art, woodcut, old school, bold or delicate lines, etc. He’s humble enough to simply give you what you’re asking for, but experienced enough to help if you have questions.
Look no further for an awesome tattoo shop.

Emily was amazing! I babbled on about different things I liked, and she managed to synthesize it all into a gorgeous design that was everything I didn’t know I wanted.
And then she really dedicated herself to executing it carefully and solidly. Light hand, pretty lines, the whole 9!
I absolutely would recommend Purple Panther and especially Emily.

I am visiting from San Francisco and am celebrating an anniversary this week (yesterday), so I messaged several tattoo parlors in Los Angeles and Graham was the first to answer! Not only brief, precise, and to the point in his reply, he seemed like he knew what he is talking about especially when I read the amazing reviews about him on here! I showed up after the store opened and noticed him outside smoking a cigarette reading a book while dressed with tattoos and I knew that this is the type of guy I want to give me my first tattoo.
Graham is patient, understanding, professional, and very empathetic that not only did I feel that for the price, the great work he did, he is just someone that I was able to bond with being a stranger in Los Angeles visiting from San Francisco.
I highly recommend Graham as your next tattoo artist because he can connect with you to learn what you want, make it happen in a reasonable amount of time and have a great outcome, but most of all make you feel like you just made a new friend.

Got my astrolabe inspired tat with Graham. A friend recommended him to me since he did his bird tat a few yrs back and liked it. he was nice and patient, and tried his best to tell me what size should my tat be in order to look good since i had a pretty complicated design. with lots of geometric shapes. anyway, got lots of compliments after that! happy with my tat :)

I got my first (and only) tattoo here, about 6 – 7 years ago by Koko… I wanted a simple «lucky 13» tattoo on my ankle. I looked through the font samples and chose letters and numbers of my liking…
I should have known when she started cutting out letters from a copy of the font sample book, that this tattoo was going to take a turn for the worse…
She started piecing letters and numbers together to read «lucky 13»… The spacing between the letters was very off… I kept working with her to make it flow a little better and to make the letters not look too far away from each other… I decided to add a small star in between lucky and 13 because there was still a large gap in between the two…
Koko was very sweet, and in the end, I got the tattoo with her because I felt bad and didn’t want to hurt her feelings… I should have taken more time and not have rush in to it with her…
It’s been so long and I still hate looking at my ankle… I usually wear clothes and shoes that will hide the tattoo…
I am finally ready to revisit my tattoo and to make it something I am proud of and not something I want to hide from the world…
The take home message is — to make sure you get something that is «you»… Don’t feel like you need to get something you don’t like… It’s going to be on you forever…

I’ve been a few times and plan to keep coming back to Purple Panther. It’s clean, bright and Emily is the best.
Everyone there is friendly and professional and there’s no attitude that you’ll find at some of the celebrity tattoo parlors in LA. The prices at Purple Panther are reasonable and honestly, you should never price shop a tattoo. Why would you want a cheap tattoo?
Go here, get a great tattoo.

Graham is just incredible. I first came to him about a year ago with my mom, a good friend, and a sketch in hand. He was able to take my pencil drawing of a duck and translate it into a tattoo with such amazing skill. I am always getting compliments on the quality of my tattoo, the delicacy of the line work, and the way he was able to capture the pencil sketch style.
A few days ago, I returned to get touch-​ups to this tattoo and a couple small other ones. He remembered me right away, and was able to pull up a photo of the original tattoo quickly on his iPad.
As an artist myself, I really appreciate his ability to translate my work into a beautiful tattoo. It’s exactly what I wanted and more!

Coming back again for another Tattoo by Graham.
It’s like hair stylist, dentist and doctor. Finding a great Tattoo artist is not easy, so glad I have found the best guy in LA.
The shop location is convenient, there is parking lot in the back of the shop.
Graham is very professional, not pushy at all, patient and easy to talk to.
Compare to other shops in Hollywood, his rate is very reasonable. He is also very clear about the pricing before he starts his work.
Highly recommended.

I fly to LA from SF just for tattoos; totally worth the trip when youre getting work from this shop.
I’ve been tattooed by Graham Chaffee for years now. Each piece of artwork is dramatically different in style, all are impeccable and I am 100% pleased with them. I highly recommend listening to his opinions on placment and allowing him creative liscense with your piece. He always draws up something cooler than what I pictured.
That being said he will give you exactly what you want.
Graham is exactly what you want in a tattooist. Go to him. You’ll be done looking for your guy.
The shop is mellow, friendly and professional. All of the artists are good and I wouldnt hesitate to get work from any of them.
I won’t go anywhere else.

I really did like the tattooers as people. They were great. Me and my husband went in together a few months back. He wanted a pizza alluminati, I just wanted some simple charms and filler. Our experience was great… but. My husband’s tattoo turned out great. Mine… not so much. So many blow outs and amateur mistakes. THIS IS ON ME FOR LIFE. I dont really know how to fix this.