Humble Beginnings Tattoo Studio
- Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Parking: Street, Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- By Appointment Only: Yes
32 reviews
San Jose, CA
"Players Ink is my new favorite spot... Although I didnt have one to begin with, I do have to say that everyone here makes awesome tats.…" read more »
17 Reviews for Humble Beginnings Tattoo Studio
Orly came highly recommended to me by a few friends and after going there and talking to him in person. I set up an appt for a consultation and than another appt after to start doing some work. I already had my first session last week and the piece came out beautiful! looking forward to my 2nd session in a few weeks. I can't stress how awesome Humble Beginnings is! The crew of artists there seem very down to earth and very approachable. The new location is clean with great decor and a comfy environment. This lets you know this isn't some random cheap bad skilled shop. You get what you pay for!
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
My tattoo as pictured was done by the one and only, Orly. I go back soon to finish the rest of it on my right shoulder down to my elbow, but as you can see for the start its already as good as it gets. Getting in touch with Orly is hard, but thats because he's busy as hell. I mean if you do work as good as this, I can only imagine how many requests he'd get. Anyhow, go to him and you wont regret it at all.
I know a couple of people who have gotten work here & have been pretty happy with it, so I decided to try this place out for my first tattoo. So I went into the shop for a consultation and I was fine with either Tobias or Corey. None of them were in, so I left a generic picture of what I wanted & my contact info and within about 45 minutes, Cory called me back. We discussed a time frame and he was booked out until mid-June. BOO! Thennn...he called me back and told me he had just gotten a cancellation and there was a spot for me the following week...
So I went in yesterday, showed him a few more pictures of what I had in mind while he set up shoppe. I told him I was open to any suggestions or modifications. I completely trusted him & put the final results in his hands as he proceeded to freehand a sketch on me. It was a lot bigger than I had initially expected, but I kept an open mind and the idea really started to grow on me. He used the curves of my body to keep the flow of the tattoo going.
Then came the actual tattooing itself. Everyone told me the most painful place to get one is along the ribcage. Of course I was a little nervous going into it, but Cory made sure I was comfortable. I can't lie, there were parts (not so fleshy areas/near bone) where I had to bite my lip because it did hurt, but it wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be.
After sitting there for about 3 hours, I was left with the outline and shading of my cherry blossoms that go from right under my bra to my hip bone and I couldn't be any happier with the outcome. I am excited to go back for color and possibly a 2nd tattoo!
That was the ultimate first ink experience!
5 stars & highly recommended.
------EDIT
I just came back (to the new location - next door, 2nd floor) for color and I'm diggin' the new space. It's more open; kind of like one huge room with different stations. At first I was a little hesitant, because I was laying there in all that openness with my pants rolled down and my shirt scrunched up. But I got over it. Again, impressed with Cory's work. This session was a little harder to endure, but I sucked it up. The first time was cookies next to this! So far, I like what I see with the end result. I'm sure I'll love it even more once it's settled in and I'm not so swollen.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
If you're looking for tribal tattoo work in northern california then you must seek and find ORLY. I went to several shops around the bay area and described what type of tribal work I wanted but soon discovered they did not know or understand the tribal work I want done. They told me to select a piece from one of their flash tribal artwork albums. I did my research and discovered ORLY. It took awhile to finally get hold of him but it was worth the wait. I called his shop several times to make an appointment but was told that the only way to get hold of ORLY is to come down to the shop and hope that he's there that day. I got lucky one day and found him at the shop so I immediately made an appointment. Make sure to check out his artwork via his albums at the shop and various tattoo websites like apat na alon. I had my first session and it looks amazing. I described what i wanted and he immediately drew out this amazing piece of artwork that reflects my heritage and family. I will be back in a few weeks to complete the shading.
I've waited for a long time to get ink on my body. I have always wanted it to be timeless and thought provoking. Instead of choosing a design, I went the route of choosing style, artist, and studio. I finally found Orly at Humble Beginnings. I decided to just go and hang around the shop and get a feel for the place. I went several times with nobody wondering what this strange person was doing. The vibe was nice, (better than many others). The artists all seemed happy and the clients were sincerely pleased.
Another criteria was trust. I wanted the artist to free hand my ink. No templates. Orly not only free handed but just flowed. By my third visit to complete the piece, he drew and without looking I said, " Go ahead, do it." Trust. I feel that I now have a piece of art on my body that will transcend time and trends. I not only recommend Orly for his Polynesian style, but also Cory and Toby for their attitudes and work that I have witnessed. Much success to these guys!!!!
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Cool (2)
I found this place by word of mouth. I got my first tattoo here from Jack last summer. He was very helpful and professional. I received many nice compliments. I would recommend this place to anyone looking to get some ink done. :-)
(It hurt like hell because I got it on my left hip, but hey what did I expect!?)
We were referred to Humble Beginnings by my boyfriend's cousin because of their great tribal artwork, especially Orly's because of the training he has undergone...
However, I got my first tattoo done here by Corey...and it's not his fault it didnt come out exactly what I wanted....i was too anxious to have it...it's cool though, when I came back to get my second tattoo he said I could make an appt to fix it no problem...yayyy! [btw, still havent made that appt but that's my fault]
Anyways, I got my second tatto done by Orly and I love love love it!! This time, I described what i wanted, he drew a few pictures, and i picked elements that i liked from the pictures, and he drew the final sketch. I just got a tribal turtle between my shoulder blades so it took about an hour and he was pretty reasonable for the work that he did. Of course, I would highly recommend him!! He also did my boyfriend's big calf tribal that took two sessions or so and my boyfriend alwayssss gets complimented on the work.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Cool (1)
I only have two tattoos (for now), and this is where I got my first.
It was great experience... I had three of friends with me which probably added to the experience.
I like how they drew my cherry blossoms by hand without having to trace a stencil. I know, I know.. You're probably thinking "They're cherry blossoms - how hard can it be to draw?" I say.. it's not easy as it looks. I've tried. They look terrible. But then again I'm not an artist.
Sorry, I don't remember the name of the guy that did my tattoo. But he was really helpful. I just basically told him I wanted to get cherry blossoms on my shoulder. All he asked was - did I want them to be perfectly geometric or be a little bit flowy and how many flowers did I want. He drew me an example and I picked the one that I preferred, but I wasn't sure how many I wanted - I was feeling a little overwhelmed since it was my first, but he made it easy by suggesting what he thought would be good. My friends and I left to have a smoke, and by the time I got back he had a stencil and even added a petal here and there. The artist asked about color, but thank goodness for his suggestions (again)... because there were soo many choices and variety of ways on how to color it. All in all, I love how my tattoo came out. I think the size and color is perfect..
Anyhow.. everyone at the shop is really nice. They're a bunch of guys.. so they like to have fun. I've been here a few times with my friends. Mainly because they think all the guys here are hot.. haha. But also because they always turn out great tattoos. Every time my friends and I go here, they're packed with customers and/or appointments.
- Ann Leslie V.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
HB does really nice work. They are extremely meticulous and professional. Cory did my tattoo as well as my sister's full back. He kept me totally at ease the whole time and did a free touch up a few months later.
I got my first tattoo here, last night. Tobias is a freaking nice ass guy. Seriously, what a nice guy! When I get my tattoo finished up I'll bring cookies or something.
Everyone I know has gotten a tattoo here, so I'm not just speaking for me. I'm speaking for like 40 other people.
Edit 8/15/07: This isn't a tacky point and pick tattoo shop. What you get here is one of a kind. Notice how Orly freehands his tattoos? That's so no one else IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD will have the same tattoo as you. But really, if you prefer to have the same barbwire dragon as the guy sitting next to you in Quizno's, go crazy with that!
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
Cool (1)
ORly is great. Got a tattoo from him a few years back when he was on santa clara street. 5 years later and the ink is still as dark as when i first got it on. He specializes in tribal and polynesian art. Why goto Hawaii when you got Orly right here in the bay. The rest of the crew seems nice.
HB has recently moved their studio over to san carlos street - a few mins away from their old location on santa clara street .orly's name comes up quite a bit for tribal and filipino pieces. probably one of the better ones to go to for folks researching ancient alibata or filipino script.
strentgh of this studio is grey and black as well as tribals. ALSO, if youre looking for script whether its filipino, chinese or kanji HB is a good place to start selecting an artist.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
special thanks to greg for recommending HB. tobias did a good job on my ink - i'm happy with how it turned out. all the artists were friendly & made you feel @ home.
be sure to check out their portfolios both online & in the shop if you're looking for ideas. 5+ stars for HB & toby. check out their site for more info.
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
got 2 big tattoos and 2 small tattoos here...and i will be coming back for MANY more!
my first tattoo was done by a special artist. the rest of my tats were done by cory ---who is very nice and down to earth!
the place is very cozy, the staff is very friendly and makes you feel comfy, they have a few special artists come in every month...
overall, they're just great and they DO NOT JUST specialize in asian poly designs!! that's one of their specialties, but they do others as well.
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
Cool (3)
my friend told me about humble beginnings. told me that they do a good job but just say i was very disappointed in Orly's work. the picture i picked from his portfolio and the actual tattoo did not even look the same.to top it off he did a quick job and over charged for his service. this sure was the worst tattoo i have ever had. on a scale of one to 10 i wouldn't even give him a 1.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
finally got a hold of the legend 3 months ago.....Orly. told him what i wanted. he wasn't seein' it. i wanted to have 2 seperate genre's in one tattoo design. he was havin' trouble puttin' it together. he even had to push back my appt. it was all gravy. i didn't want anything that wasn't right, feel me? then couldn't get a hold of him for weeks. turned out he was on vacation. i was like, HOT DAMN! ah well...i guess ya gotta wait for greatness, nah mean? ha! (wait for greatness? huh?) anyhow, turned out it was well worth the wait!! he finally saw what i wanted when he met up with a fellow artist in Hawaii.
Orly's the $HIT! it's been a week now with my tribal koi and all my boys (cats who appreciate tribal) think it's the $HIT! i mean, it's hard to get a hold of ol' boy and he goes on vacation out of the blue here and there, but it's worth the wait haha!! no pics tho, can't have any biters out there....it's much better to see in person anyhow.....
one love
--d
**side note: Orly and i could be long lost bro's! haha he took a pic of both of us standing next to eachother and he sent to his girl and his friends!! haha they were all trippin' out!! funny $HIT!
Ask for Tobias if you go here. He will hook you up tight.
People thought this was:
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
People Who Viewed This Also Viewed...
Hot and New
- Lucy's Tamale Factory
30 reviews
San Jose, CA
- La Costena Custom Burritos
102 reviews
Mountain View, CA
- Gulzaar Halaal Restaurant &…
51 reviews
San Jose, CA
- Dia de Pesca
143 reviews
San Jose, CA
- Sky High Sports
119 reviews
Santa Clara, CA