Tattoo Business Plans Canton Location

For the owner of The Beauty Mark, a Waterbury tattoo business that plans to expand to Canton, a client’s skin is a canvas.

“The tattoo studio is an art studio that pays the bills,” said Peter O’Sullivan.

O’Sullivan, who has a degree in painting, said all the technicians he works with pursue many different artistic endeavors.

“If you really want to be a well-rounded artist, you have to be comfortable in several different [media],” he said.

Wednesday night The Canton Zoning Commission granted a personal service business special exception to Peter O’Sullivan, Jessica O’Sullivan and Jason Marcoux to open a tattoo parlor in Canton Commons at 140 Albany Turnpike (Route 44).

O’Sullivan is no stranger to tattooing. His late father opened The Beauty Mark in Waterbury in 1979.

“Basically, I grew up in the studio,” he said.

The business currently has two locations in Waterbury and plans to use the same name in Canton, said Peter O’Sullivan, who works under the professional name of Peter Coinin Jr.

Peter O’Sullivan said he and some other tattoo artists live in Torrington and were initially going to expand there. Since Torrington’s zoning made that a challenging process, Peter O'Sullivan and co. decided to look beyond the city.

Peter O’Sullivan said they liked the high-end retail environment of Route 44 and have been impressed by the Canton business people they have met so far.

“We just felt comfortable and it seemed the right kind of area,” he said.

Peter O’Sullivan said they hope to become involved in the local arts community. Not only do they love art but it’s also a way to reach out to the community and show they are not a fly-by-night operation and combat stereotypes, Peter O’Sullivan added.

“Working with the art community is kind of a way to alleviate any concerns people may have,” he said.

On Wednesday, some of those involved in the business told the commission a little about themselves and the business.

When asked about experience, Peter O'Sullivan said technicians learn the craft through apprenticeships that last from six months to two years.

“It’s a slow process,” he said, adding that people often practice on fruit such as oranges. “The first time you break skin on a person, it’s one of the most nerve-racking things you’ll ever do,” he said. 

Peter O’Sullivan talked a little about the requirement for parlors to have a sponsoring physician and that Connecticut now requires that physician to be in-state. While the physician does not oversee day-to-day operations, some physicians have pulled sponsorhips if they are not comfortable with a business.

While the commission is somewhat familiar with tattooing through the opening of John Squier’s Jon Art Tattoo down the street, some commissioners did have questions about the body piercing The Beauty Mark plans to offer.

O’Sullivan said the business does not do extreme piercings, just ones now considered routine, such as nose and belly buttons.

“The only reason we pierce is because we kind of need to, to stay competitive in the business,” he said.

Town Planner Neil Pade also told zoning commission members that many of their uncertainties could be eased since the Farmington Valley Health District has now drafted salon regulations, which cover many activities including body piercing and tattooing.

On Thursday Director of Health Richard Matheny said the district is working to get information packets and applications to the affected businesses and hopes to have the regulations in effect by March.

The district itself will perform the at least once-a-year inspections for some activities, including piercings and tattooing and tanning and contract many of the others through Brio Academy 

The district is actually a little late in adopting the regulations, partially because the state legislature required them, but never applied any specific standards, Matheny said.

Among the regulations is the requirement of written permission of a parent or legal guardian for anyone under the age of 18 for both tattooing and piercing.

The regulations also contain requirements for sterilization and recommend single-use and disposable needles.

Peter O’Sullivan brought up that issue to commissioners and said the single-use devices make the practice a safe one.

"In order to do something to damage somebody, it would have to be a case of gross negligence,” Peter O’Sullivan said.

The commission also placed a few conditions on the business, such as yearly submission of the physicians' review and a limit of three technicians' stations.

The business plans to start with two and conduct a soft opening in March and an official one on April 15. O’Sullivan said the day happenes to be the one on which his father first opened, the day the business moved and the one that the second studio opened on.

“The timing seemed right,” he said.

Planned hours are limited to be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays.

Learn more about the business at its Web site or facebook page.