With those two things in hand, Saratoga Ink aims to give customers a lifelong memory.

Erik A. Pagan, owner of Saratoga Ink, has been a tattoo artist for 19 years and has owned shops in Pittsburgh and New York City.

The reason for opening a shop here - Pagan said he thinks  Saratoga is a traditional town with good values and he wants to bring his craft here.

“I want to be Saratoga’s tattoo shop,” Pagan said. “I want people to think of us when they think of Saratoga.”

Being in the business for 19 years, he’s seen a lot and learned a lot. His two mentors taught him well. Pagan said Big Joe Kaplan in Mount Vernon, New York taught him the artistic side of the business.

“He did tattooing since the ‘50s,” Pagan said of his mentor, who has since passed away. “He taught me there is only one way to tattoo and that is the right way.”

Wes Wood was his other mentor who taught him the business side and money management of the business.

Pagan said Kaplan taught him how to have the right crew around and he thinks he has done that with Saratoga Ink. He has a registered nurse and multiple apprentices on his crew.

The crew includes: Nancy Zandra, Joel Steffen, Jason Robison, Nancy Grennon, Wayne V., Kevin Coffey and Nicole Poulin.

Zadra, general manager of Saratoga Ink, has been in the business for 16 years and is a registered nurse. With Pagan and the other artists, much of Saratoga Ink’s work is custom. A portfolio of work is in the waiting area and some of the photos show the exact size of the tattoo in comparison to a nickel, dime or quarter.

Pagan said they have a wide variety of tattoo magazines to choose from – some specializing in tattoos for men and women.

Zadra said they do have more than 10,000 images on the computer for customers to see, but usually they get an idea from that or already have an idea of what they want.

Knowing what one wants is a key component in choosing a tattoo.

Zadra said the customer will come in and give the artists a basic idea of what they are looking for; then come back for a consultation later to see what the drawings look like.

She said a customer would get at least six different drawings to choose from and pick what they like.

“We recommend putting a lot of thought into your tattoo,” Zadra said. “You have it for the rest of your life. You have to absolutely love it.”

Pagan said having so many apprentices in house, not only do customers get my drawings, but apprentices get hands-on training.

He said each artist has their own view and theme they enjoy to draw. He said he’s had customers pick something from each drawing they liked and incorporate it into one drawing.

Depending on the size of the tattoo and detail, depends on how long a drawing can take too.

Some of the artists can push something out in a half-hour, but Pagan likes to give the artists and customers three days and come back to go over what is drawn.

Pagan said his apprentices are two months in and wants to have all of them be professional artists and get a New York City license by the track season.

Zadra said reality shows have brought tattoos and piercing more to the forefront.

Pagan agrees.

“Reality shows have brought tattooing to mainstream culture,” he said.

He said in today’s society people get tattoos that represent who they are and how tattoos can change people’s lives.

Since Saratoga Ink opened in Nov. 2007, Zadra said most of the customers have been walk-ins.

“We’ve had a lot of couples come in to get the same tattoo,” she said.

Pagan said Saratoga Ink specializes in touch ups, fine line work, cover ups, black and gray work and body modification.

Pagan said one of the newer trends in the craft is black light reflective ink, but they do not do that at his shop. He said they get touched up sooner and there are too many unknowns about the ink.

Saratoga Ink is located at 64 Woodlawn Ave. Suite III. The shops hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday; and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information go to www.myspace.com/SaratogaInkTatoo or call 587-TAT2 (8282).