The Basics:

Snakes, psychedelic alien murals, blacklights, and badass custom tattooing -- Jeanne’s Tattoo. With an initial foray into tattooing at age 16 in her hometown Tianjin -- using equipment from her mother, no less -- this is Jeanne’s second studio and her fourteenth year in the biz. She studied art and illustration at the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts and honed her craft in Europe before returning to China and Beijing to open her own shop. Now in it’s fifth month of operation, Jeanne’s Tattoo is picking up busisness, attracting a mix of expat and local clientele, usually staggering down the hall from live music bar Temple upstairs.

The Space:

Located in the Gulou area, the studio is nestled beneath Temple Bar and just down the hall from electronic music haven Dada. Simple and cozy, the place consists of a small entry room with a plush purple couch straight out of Blade and then the work area itself. The space is comfortable and clean. It makes you want to hang out, sink into the couch, play X-Box and get lost in the trippy tungsten artwork that stretches floor to ceiling. And... there are also several snakes. In a glass case at the front. A reticulated python, in fact, which, apparently can grow to 9 meters long and is one of the few snakes in the world known to have eaten human beings (though it’s “extremely rare” or something). But Jeanne's is just a baby, so don’t worry. For now. She did some work on a local Beijing guy and he paid in snakes. Yes. So, apparently there's a "snake guy" around the neighborhood in Beijing. Interview forthcoming... And there are tropical frogs too. (!) And the whole places generally just kind of glows. It’s like a space laboratory backed by vampires. Pretty damn cool vibe.

The Procedure:

Straightforward. You stroll in with an idea. You bounce it off Jeanne. It bounces back at you. Lots of bouncing. The amount of bouncing hinges on the amount of tweaking and consultation required. And Jeanne’s is thorough in working together with people, so get your bounce on and be satisfied. So anyway, once both parties are into it, you move forward with a sketch. You check the sketch. If you’re still feeling good about things, you book a time (wait times vary, though the shop is busy, so exercise patience) and then the needle pierces the skin, and the rest is history. Note: the shop hours revolve around the night owl nature of the proprietress. They generally run from 2ish in the afternoon to 3am thereabouts.

The Ethos:

Though they’ll certainly accommodate whatever it is you want to put on your body, Jeanne’s encourages custom interpretations of the concept in question. Regardless of style or content, the tattoos Jeanne creates aim to have three- dimensional depth. She wants her work to be interactive in the sense that you’ll want to reach out and touch, feel, spank, pinch or otherwise engage with the ink. Taking into account the location on the body, her tattoos aren’t meant to be thought of as a sticker but rather as body art incorporated into the people themselves. Shit’s deep.

The Prices:

The payment scheme is simple. Minimum 1000rmb payment and 1000rmb per hour. Pricing is upfront though, so before the needle hits the skin, you've agreed on a price.

The Artists:

The shop’s queen bee is the eponymous Jeanne. She has an apprentice -- Tiger -- who generally takes on smaller, less intricate work. Having started her own studio at 18 in Tianjin (Tianjin’s first tattoo shop in fact), this is now Jeanne’s 14th year wielding the needle. From classic American hearts, roses, and twin Colt .45’s to Japanese coy and dotted abstractions difficult to put words to, Jeanne does it all. And she's won some acclaim overseas and international conventions. You can scope all kinds of previous work and scour the many tattoo industry mags lying around to concoct an idea you dig.

The Bottom Line:

Quality, bona fide original tattooing. Laid back atmosphere. Affable, rad artists. Muted basslines carrying through the walls. Snakes... Aliens... Jeanne Tattoo Studio is at A0103, 206 Gulou Dong dajie. 132 9997 4086. Email Jeanne at Jeannetattoo@hotmail.com. Hours are variable... but usually daily at around 9pm is a safe bet...