The tattoo artist hunches over his canvas, putting the finishing touches on a piece he has been working on for days. He adds in final notes of color and shadow, standing back to reveal the completed work—a haunting portrait of a gypsy woman, her peacock feather fan rendered in striking detail.

This is a common scene at Stylz Tattoos & Piercings, where tattoo artist Stephen is known for his intricate designs and painstaking attention to detail. The highly trained and certified artist collaborates with clients, turning ideas into stunning designs in an array of styles. Clients have ordered up a grisly black-and-gray skull writhing with tendons, a cartoonish New School flounder, or a color-soaked koi fish. As Stephen works, a staff of highly trained piercers decorate bellybuttons, cheeks, and eyebrows with jewelry made from fine material—from hoops sculpted from gold to earrings carved out of leprechaun baby teeth.