Acme Ink

This is the only place I’ll go for any tattoo work. Amazing talented staff and nice people here. I stopped in to get a consultation on a touch up on an older tattoo.
They were amazing and worked me in for immediate results! I forgot the fine line between pleasure and pain but was reminded quickly as the process began.
I am so happy with the results and in about two weeks, I’ll be healed up and rocking it!

Acme Ink is the only place my family will go to get their tattoos. I, personally don’t have a tattoo but my husband has three. All were done by Jay Fish and we highly recommend him. He is a true artist.

My husband and I will not go anywhere else for a tattoo in Louisville. Jay Fish is a super nice guy, as well as amazingly talented. He has completed two sleeves for my husband, as well as a full back piece for me. He’s incredibly artistic, very skilled, and makes the experience as pain-​free as possible. The shop is super clean, and the artists are incredibly talented and friendly as well. You’re really just wasting money if you go anywhere else in town.

Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Of all the places I visited in the area I enjoyed their work the most. I got the swallow tattoo that is uploaded from Ben.

The team at Acme Ink is the only team I would trust to put a lasting mark on my body I’ll be taking to my grave. They’ve been in business a long time, WAAAAY before all those tattoo shows on TV popped up and every dumbass decided they could do tattoos too. This is a team of dedicated, experienced, artistically gifted individuals. They have earned my utmost respect for the treatment received, the quality of work, and their desire to only do the best work.
Be sure to brush up on your tattoo shop etiquette and there will never be an issue. i.e. Personal hygiene, respect, flexibility in the artwork, also having a good idea of what you want helps too, and TIP WELL. These guys bust their ass to put a lasting mark you will have forever and honestly, it’s hard to put a dollar sign on the gifted minds and creative output I’ve witnessed here.
Chances are, if you got ink work at one of the many inferior shops around Louisville, you’ll wind up here where the true artists are to perform a coverup of that hideous ink you got «because your buddy did it for $ 30» it’s cheaper to do it right than do it over.

Acme ink is a JOKE! If you would like to pick a cliché stencil from the wall, they will be happy to color it in for you, but do not ask for any ideas. Jay Fish is a rude and arrogant TATTOOIST at best… But a Tattoo ARTIST??? Hell no. There is not a single dot of creativity in that whole shack. When I scheduled a consultation, (and waited an entire week) with the legendary Jay Fish, I was very hopeful and excited. When I got there however, I was so taken back and offended by his lack of interest in a potential client who was going to spend hundreds of dollars. I went to get ideas for a large cover up, and he referred me to the WALL. He even had the nerve to say «If we did it the first time, it wouldn’t be messed up.» I wanted to turn around and hit him. I can’t say much for the rest of the staff. But don’t you dare bother Jay Fish, especially if you have an appointment.

After reading positive reviews and hearing good word of mouth about this shop, I stopped in to get a piece I’d been wanting for a long time. The place is clean, and the people were friendly. However, that’s about where the positives end.
I was never asked for ID, nor asked to sign any paperwork. The two customers before me didn’t fill out anything before being called back either. I was not informed of risks or anything of that nature. It had been years since I’d been tattooed or pierced, and coupled with my nerves, it never even occurred to me that I should have been signing papers and such until well after I got home. As such, there is no record of my ever having been in the shop, which is unfortunate, because…
My tattoo came out TERRIBLE. What should have been a simple, clean script tattoo ended up as a blown out mess. It was not what I asked for at all. I specifically asked the artist to work lightly and it was heavy and awful.
I chose this shop because of its good reputation, and the artist who tattooed me supposedly has several years of experience. You’d never know it to look at my tattoo.
Since I can’t afford the grand plus that it would cost for a laser removal, I’m stuck with pain and scarring from having to burn the skin off myself. Yes, you read that right — I would rather burn off my own skin and be stuck with a huge scar than live every day looking at the work I received at Acme. And burn I did.
Now, most people would say at this point, «You should have gone back and talked to the artist!» I chose not to, because first of all, if he couldn’t or wouldn’t do a good job the first time, I would never trust him to try and fix it. I suppose they could have offered my money back, but I’d rather take the loss than have to deal with the person who destroyed my skin and my dream of a a nice tattoo.
C’est la vie, though. Lesson learned. I just wish it wasn’t such an expensive and painful lesson.

Acme is the best tattoo shop in Louisville and so far the best tattoo shop I’ve been in. All the artists who work there have immense talent. Acme is also the only shop I’ve been in where the artists will tell you if an idea won’t work, like the detail is too small to tattoo, then provide a suggestion to work around the problem. Other shops would gladly tattoo you, take your money, and then let you deal with blurred detail.
If you’re in Louisville and you’re thinking of getting a tattoo just look at their portfolios. You’ll see for yourself the quality of work they churn out. Old school sailor tattoos — check. Vibrant color saturated tattoos — check. Portraits — check. The list goes on and on.
The shop is an old doctor’s office and what used to be examination rooms are now private studios. True story: my mother found out she was pregnant with me when this location was still a doctor’s office. Thirty years latter my dad and I are getting tattooed at the same time in the very same office. Circle of life, dude.

The best. Beautiful work — Adam designed for me an old-​school inspired owl in flight. The colors were great, and the design was better than what I had imagined.
This place is superclean, and these folks are definitely artists.

I LOVE the new Bonnycastle location!!! I’ve been living in NYC for 6 years and Acme is as good as any of the places I have visited there or in SoCal. I just got tattooed by Dennis Pase. He’s new to Louisville, but not to tattooing. I got a gingerbread man with a bite taken out of it tattooed on the back of my upper arm. Dennis drew a better design than I could have pictured in my head! He incorporated a lot of vibrant colors and shading.
Dennis was clean, efficient, professional and SO MUCH FUN! The time flew by and I barely noticed the pain because I was laughing so much.
I plan on seeing Dennis again very soon.
Everyone at Acme is amazing. I love the new location, I prefer the private rooms. (Looks like it was maybe a doctor’s office or something the way the little tattoo rooms are laid out).