Who is Solana Tattoo Company?

New here? Or just wondering a little more about our Fort Collins tattoo and piercing shop? As we proudly celebrate our fourth year in Campus West, it has us thinking about Solana's impact -- and roots.

A look inside Solana Tattoo Company's lobby.

When we opened Solana Tattoo Company, we wanted to challenge some of the stereotypes surrounding tattoo shops. Instead of a dark, intimidating space, we created a studio that is bright, airy, exceptionally clean and welcoming. We wanted people to feel comfortable the moment they walk through the door, whether they’re getting their first tattoo or their fiftieth piercing.

We also designed Solana around choice and comfort. Our studio has private rooms for clients who prefer more privacy, whether they’re getting tattooed in a more intimate area, simply don’t want an audience or feel more comfortable in their own space. At the same time, our main areas are designed to feel social and connected. People can hang out, play video games, meet our fish, browse locally made art and jewelry, listen to music and get to know the people who make up the Solana community. Even our music is intentionally varied, because we want the environment to feel comfortable for as many people as possible.

Friendship tattoos at Solana Tattoo Company in Fort Collins

That sense of connection extends online, too. We share a lot of our actual work on Instagram, not just a carefully curated handful of heavily edited images. We want people to see who we really are, what our artists actually create and the incredible variety of tattoos and piercings happening here every day. We’re real people, we’re deeply connected to Northern Colorado, and we want Solana to feel like a place where people can genuinely connect with one another.

We’re intentional about the artists we bring onto our team. We look for experienced artists with a wide range of specialties and styles so that clients can find the right artist for what they want, rather than trying to make every artist fit the same mold.

Sabrina tattooing at Solana Tattoo.

Cleanliness and safety are equally important to us. We want Solana to be one of the cleanest, safest places you can get tattooed or pierced, and we hold our artists to rigorous standards for blood-borne pathogen safety and infection control.

But supporting artists goes beyond creating a clean and beautiful workplace. When we opened Solana, we wanted to build a shop where talented artists could actually thrive. As an artist-run business, we believed from the beginning that artists deserved better compensation, more respect and a stronger voice in the businesses where they work. We changed the traditional local artist split to 60/40 in favor of the artist, and we’ve been proud to see the industry continue moving toward better opportunities and treatment for artists.

We’re also proud of what has happened with Flash Friday. Solana was the original home of our Flash Friday event, which was created to celebrate the history and tradition of American tattooing while giving artists a chance to create from the heart and making tattoos more accessible. Other shops have since adopted the concept, and we genuinely see that as a compliment. When an idea spreads and benefits artists and clients throughout the community, that’s a win for everyone.

Ultimately, we believe leadership in this industry should be about lifting other people up. We want our artists to feel valued, respected and inspired, and we’re incredibly proud of the culture we’ve built. Many of our artists have been with us for years, and our team has become a close-knit family. We’ve even had artists who first came to Solana as clients eventually become artists on our team.