High Noon Tattoo owner and artist Mikey Sarratt has opened a new studio on Northern Avenue and 12th Street.
The shop, 1912 Tattoo Studio, offers a change of pace from typical parlors, Sarratt said. And it’s different from High Noon on 16th Street, north of Indian School Road.
That’s exactly how he planned it.
“High Noon is a very busy street shop, there’s always the hustle and bustle and there’s always people in the waiting room,” Sarratt said. “This shop’s a little different...much more family-oriented.”
Inside, a simple white and blue Father’s Day card is propped alongside awards at the top of Sarratt’s supply cabinet. Helena Weaver, Sarratt’s stepdaughter, sits across from him drawing a design for a client.
Weaver started as a shop helper for her stepdad at 18, and is now his apprentice. She quit once, but then came back to help build the new shop. She restarted her apprenticeship at the new shop. But it didn’t come without a price.
Weaver said they spent two months in the summer “tearing [the] place apart” and remodeling before opening in September.
She said Sarratt has shown her the dedication necessary to be a great tattoo artist.
“It’s super high expectations with Mikey,” Weaver said. “He prides himself on clean tattoos and it’s always about getting better, it’s never ending.”
Sarratt said that most people who want to be tattoo artists don’t understand what they’re getting into.
“It’s not just a nine to five job, it’s truly a lifestyle job, you know?”
Now into his 40s, Sarratt is seasoned and confident. But he remembers being a new artist. He cringed describing his first tattoo as a professional.
“This thing was probably only an inch and a half tall, it should have taken me 10 minutes,” Sarratt said, “it took me an hour to do that.”
A well-traveled artist, Sarratt is on to bigger and better pieces now.
One of his longtime clients, Mike Herring, sat stoically while Sarratt worked on an image that covered his upper left arm. “I’m doing an owl,” Herring said, “it’s for my dad who, ironically, hates tattoos.
Sarratt finds inspiration in his father as well. He named High Noon Tattoo with the older man’s love of western movies in mind.
At one point, Sarratt even mentioned that he wouldn’t mind being a cowboy later in life. “That was my calling,” he said, “I’m still waiting.”
Threads of his father’s Western frontier influence are visible in Sarratt’s tattooing style as well.
He specializes in traditional Americana style tattoos, which he believes will stand the test of time. “Those are the ones that are gonna be here forever. All the other stuff...I’ve seen it come and go,” he said.
Sarratt’s tattooing ability has drawn interest from patrons around the world. But he has managed to stay true to his most loyal clients.
“I tattoo people’s kids now,” he said. “Now it’s like ‘Hey, so-and-so turned 18, we want to get him a tattoo,’ and I’m like ‘Oh my God, I remember when you were a kid.’”
All the attention Sarratt gained has helped High Noon Tattoo become a hot spot for tattoo lovers over time, and he looks to do the same for his new parlor.
But no matter how long he’s in business, he hopes to keep family at the forefront.
1912 Tattoo Studio is located at 1247 E. Northern Ave. in Camelback East.
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