The State of the Art in Body Art
Bryan and April Thomas, owners of Born This Way Body Arts at 7419 Middlebrook Pike, know that tattoos, piercings, and body jewelry aren’t new.
“People have always wanted to decorate their bodies,” April says, “whether it’s hair color, painting their nails, or piercing their ears. We love making people feel good about themselves.
“We’re Tennessee’s first body art spa, offering quality body art services in a modern, relaxing salon environment. From the moment you walk into our studio, you’ll see the difference. Our spa-like atmosphere promotes the clean, relaxed environment we strive to maintain. We also have the area’s largest and most exquisite high-quality jewelry collection, exclusively carrying implant-grade titanium and nickel-free gold from the nation’s top vendors and from vendors around the globe.”
For the fourth year in a row, Born This Way Body Arts has been named the best Body Art Studio in both the Piercing and Tattoo categories by Cityview readers.
The Thomases opened shop in Knoxville a little over seven years ago, and business has been good.
“We’re getting ready to open a second location at 6911 Kingston Pike near Markman’s Jewelry,” April said. “Bryan and I will work together running both locations. We’ve got a good team of employees and managers, and we’re really looking forward to expanding. We’re one big family and all our clients are family to us.”
April said they have found that Knoxville residents appreciate quality service.
“Good quality hair salons are commonplace,” she said. “Our good quality service in body art really makes us stand out. We specialize in state-of-the-art methods for both tattooing and piercing from industry professionals who are as passionate about your tattoos and piercings as you are. We are an intimidation-free body art studio that employs the region’s finest tattoo and piercing artists.
“Customers ask for tattoos and piercings equally,” April said. “We also do children’s ear piercings all day long. We are safe, sterile and use qualified technicians. Instead of piercing guns, we use a very gentle, trauma-free procedure.
Born This Way is home to a variety of award-winning, talented tattoo artists, specializing in realistic tattoos that look like a photo on the skin, she said. The crisp linework is as sharp and precise as a computer and the solid bold colors can be seen from a mile away. “White ink tattoos are available that look amazing today and continue to look great as the years progress.” Resident artists work daily to help make tattoo dreams come true. The studio offers tattooing in a super-clean environment with disposable equipment, new for every client. Clients can bring in their own design or have one of the talented artists design something custom for no additional cost.
Born This Way regularly hosts guest tattoo artists from around the country, offering unique styles that can’t be found anywhere else in the area.
“We’re so honored to serve Knoxville and be voted as a trusted business in our field,” April says. “Honestly, we really appreciate that our clients trust us and would vote for us. It’s a lifetime commitment people are making. To think we’re the best for them is really great.”