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Welcome to Sean Karn Tattoos Article from Hampton Pilot
New tattoo parlor wants to make its mark on Norfolk
Will Rowe gets a tattoo of his 6-year-old daughter, Maddison, center, from artist Sean Karn on Saturday. DELORES JOHNSON PHOTOS/THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
By DAVE FORSTER, The Virginian-Pilot
© June 3, 2007
NORFOLK - This city's first legally recognized tattoo parlor in more than half a century gave off a decidedly soft vibe Saturday before it opened for business.
The Disney Channel played on two 50-inch plasma TVs in the lobby. A scented candle - Cottage Breeze - burned on the front counter.
And the adults inside yelled "Weee!" like little kids, not because they were about to get a tattoo but because co-owner Tommy Glaser Jr. was giving his young daughter a ride on his grandmother's walker.
"We're trying to change the face of tattooing," said Tommy Glaser Sr., a 48 -year-old former firefighter and contractor who started Fuzion Ink with his son.
Norfolk, once known for its tattoo parlors, banned them in 1950. The City Council voted in September to end the prohibition and allow parlors in certain areas of the city, but not within 1,000 feet of each other or within 100 feet of homes.
The Glasers were the first to receive a city permit. Another parlor, Blue Horseshoe Tattoo, began operating last year near Norfolk Naval Station before the ban was lifted and is in a legal fight with the city to remain open.
On Saturday, a black-and-red sidewalk sign outside Fuzion Ink announced its opening at 729 Granby St. Next door, a large pawn shop remained shuttered behind large metal gates. A quiet bar bordered Fuzion Ink's other side.
The site is half a block north of Brambleton Avenue, just beyond the border of where Granby Street has seen its turnaround in recent years.
The Glasers hope their business will help pull that resurgence northward. On Saturday, their shop drew clusters of people outside with two wooden benches and a metal bucket marked "BUTTS."
As people milled outside, a man with a shaved head and an iPod Shuffle pulled up on a mountain bike.
"Is it OK to get an appointment today?" he asked.
Richard Pultz, Fuzion Ink's manager, called it "an honor" to be on the leading edge of tattoo's return to downtown Norfolk. A native of the area, he was born in 1955 and heard stories of the time when legendary artists such as Cap Coleman left their mark.
"It was one of the largest tattoo areas in the world," he said.
As noon approached Saturday, the business was about to resume in the back room of Fuzion Ink. Rock music blared from a radio as heavily inked artists arranged the new equipment at their stations.
A.J. Reid, a 31-year-old from Virginia Beach with only one tattoo before Saturday, won the right to go first. His name was drawn in a raffle that raised $1,000 for Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters.
Gabe Cece, Norfolk's first city-licensed tattoo artist in more than five decades, put ink to the dragon outline on Reid's skin. The small crowd around them cheered.
"Cool, man," said Tommy Glaser Sr.
Video from Wavy 10 news
Fuzion Ink
729 Granby st. Norfolk Va.
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