Christie Turk and Caleb Pritchett owners of Electric Heart Tattoos and tatoo artist Katie McGowan (seated).
O
utside, the old building is unique and
neatly kept; inside the bold artwork explodes in colors on a back wall and Electric Heart Tattoos owner Caleb Pritchett greets customers with a warm smile from his orderly station. A newcomer to the Hillcrest business community, Caleb is in the process of putting the finishing touches on the shop he and his wife Christie Turk recently opened.
Electric Hearts “We’ve lived in Hillcrest for about 12 years, so we feel like we’re at home,” he says about opening a tattoo shop on Beechwood. Before opening Electric Heart, Caleb apprenticed and worked at 7th Street Tattoos and Piercing for seven years. Whether a tattoo or tat, tramp stamp or ink, the body art revival started in the early 1990s with Grunge. Of course, World War Il sailors who were stationed in Asia discovered the art form some 40 years earlier, but it didn’t go mainstream. Now, 20-plus years after the rediscovery of body art, tattoos continue to be a popular form of selfexpression, Caleb says. This go-round it’s not just for sailors or carnie acts, artists and musicians, he
22 HEIGHTS & HILLCREST • 2011
says, “You’d be surprised at the people who have tattoos, from pastors to surgeons and people in their fifties.” It’s no longer about just being rebellious but Caleb is often asked to design a tattoo to mark a significant life event, such as the birth of a child or the killing of a deer. “A tattoo is extremely personal,” he says. Caleb realized his talent as a youngster and in grade school he gained fame for his ability to draw “cute koalas” on girls’ backpacks. He continues the hand-drawn tradition today. “We’re different because each of our pieces is custom-designed for the customer,” he says. And like his fame in school, people travel from around the state—and it’s not uncommon for a former customer to travel much farther—for a Caleb-inspired tattoo. Unlike the “seedy” tattoo parlors of old, Caleb and the shop’s second tattoo artist Katie McGowan work hard to keep the place clean and appealing. “I’m OCD about clean,” he says. Needles are used once and thrown out, and he and Katie wear gloves when working. And unlike many other shops, the walls aren’t covered with tat choices; instead there are a number of Christie’s original Roll & Tumble letter-press prints on display. Her work is sold around the world. Whether interested in a tat or not, Caleb invites everyone to stop in and look around the shop.