Midnight Moon
56 NH Route 25, Meredith
midnightmoontattoo.com
First opened in 1993, Midnight Moon is one of the older shops in New Hampshire. With 30 years in business, married co-owners Michaela and Mathew Clarke have seen plenty of change in how the tattoo industry is perceived. Back when the shop opened, tattooing was seen as extremely niche — and was far less accepted. “The people who were into tattoos were people who were into tattoos,” Mathew says. “Now we tattoo anybody and everybody from all walks of life.”
Right now, Midnight Moon hosts five tattoo artists and one piercer (Michaela), all of whom specialize in different design styles. “That’s intentional,” Mathew says. “It creates a lot of diversity in the shop…and it’s beneficial for the clientele because we can pretty much do whatever somebody’s asking for.”
This is helpful in a less densely populated area. The Clarkes, who were in Concord for about 16 years, came to the Lakes Region to “quiet down and get away from a lot of that,” Mathew says. “But that quietness has kind of gone away. We’re pretty busy.”
One only needs to scroll on the shop’s Instagram (@midnightmoontattoo) for a few seconds to see diverse talent at Midnight Moon. Mathew specializes in brightly colored, highly detailed Japanese traditional work. Amber Quartz does gorgeous neo-traditional and illustrative designs, often using neon and pastel ink. If you’re looking for hyper-realistic portraits, Timm Myers is your guy.
Francis Flores is the shop’s American traditional artist (who is “very popular with the younger crowd right now,” Michaela says), while Robert Blackadar expertly bangs out geometric designs and optical illusions. Michaela also can hook you up with just about any type of piercing your heart desires. (She operates under the name Siren Body Piercing, also located inside Midnight Moon.)
At smaller shops, it’s common for a client to seek out an appointment because of an artist’s particular style. For Midnight Moon, it’s more about the overall reputation, Mathew says. Sometimes a client will reach out for an appointment without knowing anything about their specific artists. You can call the shop with your tattoo idea, and they’ll be able to recommend the best artist for the job.
“We run our shop professionally,” Mathew says. “We have some serious skin in the game.”