Since Dragon”s Ink Tattoo and Body Piercing Studio opened nine weeks ago at the corner of University Drive and Montgomery Street, owner Melissa Burton, 27, hasn”t had a lot of free time.
But that”s OK with her. It”s a sign that business is good.
Dragon”s Ink is one of two tattoo studios now open in Starkville — the other being Bulldawg Tattoos and Body Piercing on Highway 12 — but Burton, also known as “Mrs. Boots,” said she is quickly drawing a following.
Burton is from Oklahoma City, but met her husband, Adam “Boots” Burton, a Choctaw County native, when he was stationed at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. Now, Boots is one of three tattoo artists and two piercing experts working at Dragon”s Ink. He joins fellow artists Chuck Atkins and Donnie “Fuzz” Boswell. Carla Hubbard and Moe Moiser handle the piercings.
How did you get into this business?
Boots. He wanted to do tattoos, and he found an artist he could sit under.
Was that in Oklahoma City or here in Starkville?
Here. It was Fuzz.
Do you do any tattoo work yourself?
No. I”m just the owner.
Does everybody here have different specialties?
Chuck has been in several magazines. He had Bloodline Ink in Alabama and he”s come to join us. Fuzz had a place in Sturgis called Dragon”s Ink for about a year.
Do you get a lot of wild requests in here?
Not really … I don”t know if we get many wild requests. Most of the ideas that are wild are from us. You know, they”ll say “I want the artist to draw me up something.”
Can you go through what all you offer here?
Tattoos, piercings. They all have their own specialty that they do, just in their art in general. Boots glass-etches. All three of them can airbrush. There”s also the woodburning. Chuck does portraits; he”s working with Boots because that”s what Boots wants to do. Chuck is an awesome artist. He does all his own custom work. They all do actually. But what happens when somebody comes in and they want a special piece, which we try to not really talk them into a special piece, but we like to do custom pieces because everybody has what”s on the flash. The flash is really for ideas, so they can look at the flash, see what they like, and then we normally change it up a little bit. We draw it up.
The guys who work here, do they do their own tattooing? Or do they work on each other?
Chuck has several different artists on him. Donnie has had several different people work on him. Most times they both have had an apprentice underneath them and they”d put their leg out there and show them how to do stuff. There”s no schooling or anything for this. You have to sit under somebody for nine months.
That”s what I was going to ask. How does someone go about getting into this?
You just have to find an artist that you can sit under who is willing to train you. Same with piercing. You have to sit under somebody who is licensed.
Is that a state license?
It”s a shop license. Mississippi is different from, well, I wouldn”t say every other state, but there”s different types. Like in Texas, they just give you a license as an individual. Here, they give you a license for the shop. It”s not for anywhere but this shop. If you go somewhere else, you have to get another license for that shop.
Do you find getting tattoos is addictive?
Yeah. If you like art, it”s addicting. A lot of people come in here just to find something they like, then they come on back. And we don”t mind people coming in to look.
Tell me about the lifestyle of a tattoo artist. I know you must work odd hours.
Yeah, we do work odd hours. Very rarely do we have family time. It”s kind of stressful sometimes. As an artist, they get very personal with some of their customers. Every tattoo has a story. They come in and want this, and they”re going to tell you the story. Whether it”s good or bad, it kind of weighs on you when you hear so many stories. They”re kind of like counselors. They get their emotions out there. We can all pretty much relate to everything.
Jason”s in the military and there”s a lot of military guys that come in here and they like him to work on them because he”s been there, done that.
Can you tell a lot about a person by the kind of tattoos they get?
Yeah. Donnie actually has a tattoo on him that is a quote about art being on your body and what a tattoo means. It can be a shield or it can be worn to show who you are. Or it can cover up.
So did they come up with all tattoo designs you see on the wall here and in all those books there?
No. A lot of their custom work is not out on display because not just anybody is going to get that. They have to ask for a particular piece and then we”ll be like, ”I have one in my personal stash.” Chuck has sketchbooks. Boots has sketchbooks. Fuzz has sketchbooks. And actually, Mrs. Carla, Chuck”s wife, she”s an artist and a photographer. She”s writing a book and she”s been in the business for several years too.
Is this the first business you”ve owned?
Yes … I actually helped my mom own a business, a home health company, in Oklahoma and it”s different, but I know the business aspects and everything. But it”s definitely different.
Are you enjoying it so far?
Yeah. It”s a lot of hard work, especially since we just got our feet on the ground.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.