Booming Business: Smile Ink Tattoo Opens At New Permanent Location | News, Sports, Jobs

With this new residence, owners believe that the business finally has a permanent location that the store will call home for many years to come.

Smile Ink Tattoo recently opened to a new location at 35 E. Main St., Falconer. Owner Justin Dombrowski opened the initial shop location just down the street from the new one. However, Dombrowski stated that the previous locations were not sustainable in the long-term. With this new location, Dombrowski stated that the business is looking to become more permanently established and keep the building for the foreseeable future.

Dombrowski began the journey of tattooing with a job at the Body Shop Tattoo and Piercing in 2018. Dombrowski noted the hard work that had to be put in early on to get to a point of owning the business himself, stating that he would often work six days per week. While it has been an incredible amount of stress to get to this point, Dombrowski stated that it hardly feels like work to him usually. Typically, Dombrowski stated that he goes into the shop each day ready to do what he loves most, and therefore there is so much pleasure in the task for him.

“My biggest passion is just making artwork in general. So being able to put permanent artwork on people that lasts a lifetime, and seeing the joy that it brings them, just gives me pure joy,” said Dombrowski. “To be honest with you, that’s probably why I do what I do.”

Pictured is a view of the renovated interior of Smile Ink Tattoo.
Submitted photo

Part of preparing to open in the new location included an extensive remodel that was done by Dombrowski himself, with help from members of his family. Dowbrowski said that while the building has held many different businesses over the years, it was not publicly operational under the previous ownership. The building has changed from a bar to a thrift shop throughout history, but was most recently used as a storage building before this purchase, said Dombrowski. This meant that the interior needed to be almost completely gutted as part of the renovations. Dombrowski stated that all of the drywall was replaced, floors were refinished, and new lighting was put in throughout the building. Additionally, Dombrowski noted that the ceiling was also redone, as well as a roof patch that was done himself. All of these renovations were able to completely new space, and bring a whole new life to the formerly thriving business location.

Furthermore, the business has taken no time integrating itself as a crucial and supportive member of the village, and local community as a whole. Dombrowski made note of the organization’s recent participation in the Toys For Tots collections, which the business was cleverly advertising as Toys For Tats. As part of the promotion, the business encouraged residents to bring a donation of either a toy worth more than ten dollars, or an equal cash amount. The donations were accepted up until the end of the day on Dec. 14, with two winners of free tattoos being selected on Dec. 15 through a livestream on the company’s Facebook page. The donations that the organization received ended up totaling $1,230, according to Dombrowski. In fact, Dombrowski was so impressed by the donations that two individuals were actually selected to be rewarded, rather than the initial plan of only one.

Pictured are views of the renovated interior of Smile Ink Tattoo.
Submitted photos