Birdhouse Tattoo Collective - San Luis Obispo, California

John O.

This place is amazing. I’d been looking for the right artist and design to have this cover-up done for a couple years, and it wasn’t until I randomly walked in here and talked with Wes that things finally stated to come together. The place is very welcoming and unintimidating. Wes was very responsive and reasonable as I was planning my return to the area to have the piece completed. In the two days I spent having the work done, I was also fortunate to learn about the environment and overall mission of what he is trying to cultivate and grow with the artists here. I also got to see some of the other artists complete their work, and would recommend any of them here for the work you may be looking for. Just as an aside, it is very impressive how well prepared and professional these artists are when conducting such personal and permanent work. Highly recommend, and the tunes were enjoyable all weekend too.

Angel A.

Hands-down, the best shop that I’ve ever been to! I couldn’t have asked for a better experience or a better artist to take care of me. Wesley owner @Birdhouse did a beautiful piece on my forearm.. i’m in love and I’m screaming thank you thank you thank you and I recommend him and his shop 100% the vibe was amazing. The music was amazing. The conversation was amazing. Everything was clean good products I can’t rave enough about this shop! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tori L.

I recommend Birdhouse to anyone looking for a tattoo! I contacted Obed/Lucky and got a response with an accurate cost estimate quickly. The facility was clean and inviting, and everyone I spoke to was incredibly kind. I was able to get the exact design I wanted from Obed, and it looks and has healed beautifully in the month I’ve had it!

Radhika S.

The service was shockingly unprofessional. I live in DC and found Blue through social media and had liked his previous pieces since it aligned with what I was wanting. We set up a phone consultation two weeks before the scheduled appointment. Our first call was on December 8 and the appointment scheduled for December 23. I was surprised to find out that he charges a drawing fee ON TOP of the total cost. Ultimately, I had to pay a drawing fee, deposit, and for the time spent receiving the tattoo and the several breaks. During the call he also said he is blocking off three hours for the tattoo but he estimates he can finish in two hours. After our first phone consultation he’d said he would send over a sketch of the tattoo at our follow up call to see if it’s to my liking. A week later we talked on the phone for our second consultation and he sent over an unfinished sketch. I had two minor comments on how I wanted it tuned up a bit. Five days before my appointment he texts me asking to move my appointment from a start time of 12pm to 10am. I said that’s fine, but emphasized this piece is really important to me and I don’t want him to feel rushed or this be an afterthought. If this day doesn’t work for him please let me know!

He responded saying he promises he never rushes tattoos or lets any of them be afterthoughts. He specified that he moved it to 10am so he doesn’t have to worry about rushing as his train departure is around 3pm.

Then the day before the tattoo he messages me at 7pm saying he’s been busy and hasn’t gotten a chance to work on my tattoo and will send it to me that night. I didn’t receive a completed tattoo design until 4:30am the next morning of the session and it did not include the changes I had requested.

I get to the studio at 9:45am trying to be considerate of his time and the door is locked. I message Blue at 9:58am informing him I’m at the studio. I receive a response from him at 10:05am saying he’ll be there shortly. He doesn’t get to the studio until 10:55am. We start at 11:20am because he has to get set up, which I understand but now we are almost an hour and a half delayed. During the session he asks me if we could turn my tattoo into two sessions. I said no because I am traveling from DC and am only here for the holidays. Bear in mind, in the initial intake he was confident it would take him less than the quoted 3 hours to complete. I asked him why he couldn’t come at 10am (which he requested) and he said he overslept. On top of that he took four breaks during the session: two bathroom breaks which is fine and twice to help other customers that came in even though there was another colleague of his there available to help and not tattooing someone. He would also stop to take vape breaks during the session. I was overcharged and my time not respected. This butterfly cost me $650. The service was abysmal. I would rate it a 2/10.

Tattoo 7/10. Even though the tattoo is decent I don’t know what the drawing fee was for when it was copied to a T to the reference pic I sent. I thought the drawing fee got me some sort of creative ideas but it seemed traced. The placement is not what I would like, it’s not centered and it’s crooked. I did not feel like I could speak up to say request repositioning since Blue had made it clear he wanted to cut the session short and wanted to catch a train. Towards the end of the session I felt that it was rushed and I am not entirely happy with the shading. Again, this was my original concern when he requested the time change and he reassured me he would not rush and would make sure I was a priority. Which was clearly untrue.

I already know this tattoo is permanent and I’m not getting my money back. I’m writing this review so hopefully no one else in the future is treated the way I was.

Lola S.

Would definitely recommend river for a piercing! She made me feel so welcome and comfortable and I couldn’t feel the conch peircing at all going in! Lucky hat tattoo is also an amazing artist and made sure to go over everything I needed to know before getting my first tattoo. He was efficient and the tattoo barely hurt at all!

Kennedy V.

Can’t recommend Wes enough! He’s such an affirming artist and has an incredibly gentle hand and calm presence. He did a freehand cover up on my inner wrist and the way he added depth instead of just blacking it out was so innovative. Blew my mind. Thank you Wes! He also dreamed up an addition for it a few days later and it’s the most perfect piece I didn’t know I needed until it happened 😂😍 can’t wait to come get tattooed by everyone at birdhouse!

astra

I came here to guest on a weekend and I’m happy to share that my experience was great. The team and the clients were so pleasant to be around. This shop is unlike most. A great shop for someone’s first tattoo and especially great for someone to get a large piece and not feel like they’ve been sitting uncomfortably in the dark for hours upon hours. Very clean and beautiful, thank you Wesley, Blue, Ava, and Obed! ✨

Shannon M.

I honestly can't say enough great things about Birdhouse Tattoo! Wesley did an extraordinary, amazing, beautiful portrait of my baby girl, Bella! He worked with my thoughts and ideas, so my gut told me to just trust his work. He came up with pure magic for me. 🥲 Thank you so much, Wes, for my Furever tattoo!
Also, a HUGE thanks to all the artists and staff for providing such a welcoming, warm, clean, fun place to hang out for a few hours+
Coolest tattoo salon I have ever been in. I'll be back next week! 😂