Testimonials
Ia Orana James,
Just writing you to thank you for the wonderful palm tattoo you created for me. Pakalolo loves his new place on my right arm. When I returned to the Gauguin ship, many others took pictures of your work. I have several friends that I have passed your link to as well.
Thanks again, and by the way you have have wonderful place in which you live. I look forward to hearing from you.
Mauruuru
Fred
Hi James & Laurel
Margaret and I have been home for a couple of weeks now and are getting settled back into our normal routine. It was really great meeting you guys.
Thank you for the awesome tattoos. As promised, here are some pictures… feel free to use them on your website.
Here’s something funny… it turns out we have a mutual friend… Rick is Margaret’s boss at Volcom. He says hello!
See you again sometime soon!
Thanks again.
Guy
James and Laurel,
I just wanted to follow up with you guys on my tattoo. Everyone back here in Indiana is in total awe over this tattoo. I could not be happier! Feel free to use my email if anyone requests a referral from a former client. I have attached a couple photos of the tattoo after it had time to heal. It was a pleasure to meet you both. Happy Holidays to you and your family. If we ever return to Moorea we are sure to look you up.
Rod & Amy
Hey James!
I’ve been meaning to send you an email for a while now to thank you for the hospitality and great traditional style tattoo you did for me in May. I had booked my trip thru your wife and had a great experience. I wanted to pass along my THANKS and appreciation for a great tattoo that will last a lifetime along with the great adventure on your beautiful island. My tattoo healed up nicely (was traditional style of tiki). I was impressed by your dedication and focus during the process, it was a true artist at work. My wife and I were impressed by the way you just asked the question of what type of art I was looking for in a tattoo and you turned it into a masterpiece. I will forever remember the moment you performed the traditional style art of Tahitian tattoo on my shoulder – it is and will always be a special art that I will carry around for years to come (I hope!). I appreciate all the assistance and hospitality you and Laura showed us in your beautiful place.
Please let me know if I can provide you a kick ass review for both you and you Laurel’s travel website . . ..I’m really glad I found you guys! Take care man!
Mauruuru!
Jason
Hey James,
Just wanted to thank you one last time for the amazing experience Heather and I had with you and your family on Sunday. It really meant a lot to us for you to sacrifice your day to take care of us. We both love our tattoos, but the experience that went along with it will stay with us forever as well. It truly was spiritual for us. We left changed people, for the better of course. You definitely have an amazing talent, especially knowing that you’re carrying on the traditions of your ancestors. I imagine you’ll pass it on to your son. I can tell he has your creative spirit. So please thank everyone else that was involved with us that day. Hopefully we’ll be able to see you again in the near future. I would love to get more work done with you. So until then, safe travels and good health and happiness to you and your family.
Erik
Hi James,
Karen and I wanted to let you know how happy we are with our tattoos. Also wanted to let you know that that afternoon last week ended up being the highlight of our trip. We enjoyed the company and the chance to see an artist at work.
Moorea seems a long way off from here in Adelaide in South Australia but we have our permanent souvenirs to remind us. My shark tattoo is getting a lot of attention and praise but I think I now need a Manta to go on the left shoulder! Next time I’m in your neighbourhood, I hope.
Anyway, thanks again and remember our offer. If you’re ever in Australia, especially southern Australia, we’d be delighted to catch up with you and introduce you to our excellent seafood, even if we don’t dive in our more dangerous waters. We will certainly look you up to book our next dive in Tahitian waters but we need to save up for that one.
See you, mate.
Richard & Karen
James and Laurel, thanks so much, we really enjoyed our experience! It was a real pleasure to meet you both; we will be back as soon as we can, maybe December but not sure. We’ll keep you posted. If there is anything you need from the “states”, please let us know.
Paul and Chris
James and Laurel:
Hello from wintery Chicago! It’s been a little over a year now since we visited you both and had our tattoos done by James. We absolutely love the work and have gotten many compliments about the artwork. Thanks again, and we hope to see you again in the future!
Ray
Hi James and Laurel,
Thank you very much for opening your home and tattoo shop to us today. We really enjoyed the experience and love our tattoos.
All the best,
Amanda and Dan
Amy and Brian
James and Laurel,
Just a note to tell you how much we appreciated your hospitality and friendliness while in Moorea. Derek and I love our new tattoos and it will be a forever memory of a great time and great people that we met. Hopefully one day we can return to Moorea. If we do, we’ll look you two up! And if you ever find yourself in Phoenix, Arizona please call. We have a place for you to stay 😉
Take care and God bless,
Kristina and Derek
Ia orana, James!
I have returned to my home in Virginia after a great visit to Moorea and Bora Bora. I wanted to thank you for the lovely body art that is my first tattoo…I love it! Everyone has admired it for its unique design, and I am very pleased with it. It is healing nicely!
Thanks again for your kindness and great work. I hope to visit you again on my next trip to Moorea, and also, I am happy to refer clients to you.
I have attached some photos for you…I will send a better one when it’s all healed up.
Mauruuru, and blessings to you and Laurel,
Barbi 🙂
Hey,
just wanted to say hello and let you know we made it home safe and sound. I have to say our last 2 days with you guys was one of the top highlights of our trip. Just a reminder that we’re happy to write letters. I know you want them closer to your desired travel dates but feel free to hit us up whenever.
Thanks for a lovely time and we’ll send pics when the tattoos are healed up.
Karyn
James:
Thank you again, after my wife Kathy and I had our Tattoo’s done by you on our 2006 trip to Moorea, I decided to track you down and add to the work you did before. Again I am so happy. For you to create this true work of art on the fly “on a walk-in customer” reinforces the fact that you are a true artist. Attached are the before and after photos, they are reversed due to the mirror “Kathy Just can’t figure out picture taking”. This may end up being a yearly event.
P.S. We sat and had a drink with your wife in Papeete!
You kicked ass buddy.
Thanks,
Gary
Las Vegas, NV USA
James,
I just came back across your site after a couple years, while looking for inspiration for my next tattoo. I don’t remember if I ever sent along pictures from the work you did for me, so I thought I would now. I am still amazed at the number of people who begin talking to me because they are intrigued by the back piece you did for me. Their response is always the same, no matter how many other tattoo’s they have, they are all adamant that they could not sit through a traditional one. I admire the piece of art you did for me every day, and hope that one day I will have the privilege of having another one done.
Thank you,
Amanda
Hello James,
Eaha to’oe huru? It’s Javier. I¹ve got to tell you every single person loves the tatau. My family loves it. My mother thought I was crazy but just loves it and my cousin wants to get tattooed by you — but by machine. He’s not tane like me. I will send you a picture of it soon, but I’m very pleased that I got it done by you, and don’t forget that we’re not done yet my friend.
Mauruuru,
Javier
Dear James,
I just wanted to extend a thank you to you for taking the time out of your evening last week to tattoo me. I really love your work and adore my tattoo. I wish our visit had not been cut short by my impatient mother waiting in the car since Chris, my husband, and I were truly enthralled with your knowledge about the constellations and how they provide direction to Tahitian sailors. You live in such a beautiful area of the world and through your art and your knowledge you really help to create a much more intimate insight to the fascinating culture behind the alluring scenery. Thank you again for everything and we look forward to one day crossing paths with you again.
Sincerely,
Marin, Chris, Mike (the guy with the red tattoo), and Marcia (the lady who wouldn’t get out of the car)
Ia orana Mr. Samuela,
Man, I don’t even know if you remember us….this is Pablo and Amanda. The couple that got a traditional tattoo with you last July. Both of us got a tattoo on our back and we were together with the kiteboarder Chris Murphy.
Anyway, we never had a chance to put on writing how thankful we are for you making us this……piece of art on our body. We are so proud of it! Not only because of the design, but also because all the memories that bring us back when we look at it. I believe that’s the main purpose of a tattoo…to engrave something unforgettable.
Aloha a hui hou.
Pablo & Amanda
Ia Orana James,
We will never forget you James and this special day! We wanted to thank you so much, for the amazing tattoo’s you created for us. Even though, we had very little time because, we had to get back to the ship. You managed to fit us in, so we did not leave Moorea this time without taking home a permanent souvenir. You are not only a fine artist, you’re one terrific guy! We enjoyed our visit with you as well, as Laurel. If you ever come to Southern California, please contact us, we have more friends that would love to have your ink on their bodies.
Mauruuru Roa
Bob and Carol
James,
Well, we are back in Alaska and I just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know how much Bobbi and I love our tattoos. We received so many compliments on them when we returned to the ship and I believe a few of the ships passengers were envious that they did not get theirs.
Your friends in Alaska,
Bob/Bobbi/Sirena
Hey James! This is Ryan. You gave me a tattoo in early May. I just wanted to thank you again for the honor you gave me. The tattoo was seriously, perfect. It healed within about two weeks. I get praise everywhere I go. I love it! Anyways, I hope everything is going well for you and your
family. If you would, please let me know when you are coming back to California. I would love to receive another tat from you. If you would like, I can send you some pictures of the tattoo for your portfolio. Thanks again.
Peace,
Ryan
Iaorana, James!
I got your wonderful tattoo on my left shoulder on April 17, with my husband. I feel happy if you remember us… That was really a great experience. We were overwhelmed with your high concentration. And these tattoos are more graceful than we had expected. The tattoos are really beautiful and powerful. C’est tres, tres magnifique!
We deeply appreciate to you. Mauruuru James!
Junko
We are back home now, and all of our friends are ecstatic about seeing our tattoos. Everyone remarks how “cool” they are and can’t believe they were “hand drawn” as opposed to using the transfer method as they do here in the States. The islands were of course so beautiful, and so interesting but our tattoos “on the beach” were the absolute highlight of our trip. Even my in-laws got a kick out of watching us get them. I have attached two of the many photos we took while visiting with you James. Hope you can find a spot to display them in your shop at the beach, and by the way James, did you get to have that cold beer and hit the surf like you wanted to ? Ha! Ha! Once again, thank you for the wonderful experience we had while visiting you. We certainly hope to make it back there in the future and promise that when we do, we will certainly let you design our next pieces of “art work”.
Butch and Laura
Dear James,
Greetings from Wentzville. I wanted to thank you again for my beautiful piece. My husband has stopped growling, and even finally noticed all the differences in your work and was very impressed. My son has thought it was totally cool from the start. I just wanted to express my sincere appreciation. I love my tat, and I hope you do come back in the spring so I can get another. I’ve got a couple of people lined up for you if you make the trip! Well, I wish you and your family much success with the new JBL Speaker line – they look great! You are a very warm and talented individual, who can see into someone’s soul…what they need to help define themselves with a tattoo. I’m so glad I met you and you could do that for me! It will always be the most special piece I’ll ever see because it truly reflects who I am. Thank you. I would love to come and visit you, but if not, hope to see you here again in the States!
Fondest Regards,
Renee
Hi James,
Attached is the picture of the tattoo you did for me last week. It healed up quite nicely and I think it looks great, very original in the shape. You are my type of tattoo artist — I say what I would like and you make suggestions for how whatever ‘it’ is would look best for where it is to be tattooed. That makes a good tattoo artist great. Next time I am in French Polynesia I will look you up again, maybe even get a traditional tattoo.
Thanks again,
Nicole
Ia orana James,
I didn’t get a chance to come see you on our last afternoon, but just wanted to say thank you for everything. Me and Clare both love our tattoos and everyone here is jealous! Thank Manea for us as well! If you come to the London tattoo convention then book me in and you can do something else on me!!
Thanks again,
Dan and Clare
James,
Here are a couple of pictures of your work. Thank you again for your creation. I am very pleased and enjoy showing it to friends. We loved our trip to Tahiti and look forward to coming again soon.
Mauruuru roa,
Ken
Dear James!
Thank you for a great tattoo!
Greetings from Croatia,
Irena
Hi James,
Thank you for the tattoos you did on our holiday, mine on my foot and my husband got the lizard on his chest. We will be back the same time next year , probably March, we would like to get another one.
See you then,
Kelli & John