East Hampton native Chris Clemence has annouced he is opening Montauk Tattoo, a tattoo studio in the heart of Montauk, this June. Although he originally grew up in East Hampton, it was in Los Angeles, California that Clemence honed his skills.
“I was very fortunate to learn this craft from an iconic tattooer, Greg James. Breaking into the tattoo industry can be pretty daunting, but I think Greg saw I was serious and saw something in my art,” said Clemence.
Greg James is an iconic celebrity tattoo artist, known for tattooing the likes of Ozzy Osborune, Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx, Joan Jett, Charley Sheen, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and many more. Clemence completed a traditional tattoo apprenticeship with James before being asked to join his crew at Tattoos Deluxe in Los Angeles.
“It (Tattoos Deluxe) was a classic street shop. I really cut my teeth there. You have to be able to do whatever tattoo walks in the door and the expectations are high. It was sink or swim,” stated Clemence.
Clemence quickly became a highly in demand tattoo artist. He began to gain a national following and toured to meet his clients’ demands, tattooing in Las Vegas, Scottsdale, New York, Detroit, even inking celebrity clientele. However, he always had it in his mind to come back to his roots.
“I always wanted to come back to East Hampton and bring tattooing here. This is my home. I grew up here and know everyone. Montauk is the perfect place for a tattoo studio. The locals are amazing and there’s nothing like this community. It’s also a great travel destination for my clients that come to me from other cities. What’s cooler than getting tattooed in Montauk right by the water?” said Clemence.
Clemence also plans to bring in some other high level tattoo artists to the location.
“At Montauk Tattoo, the talent level of the artists will always be top-notch and at the highest level. All styles of tattooing will be available. Through my travels around the world, I’ve gotten to work alongside some of the top tattooers in the industry. I’ll be having some of them on board as resident artists and some come out for guest spots throughout the year, so Montauk will constantly be getting the best of the best. We will always be pushing boundries to make this shop a true destination,” he said.
Clemence is also the founder of his stylized shoe line featuring his tattoo art, “Tattshoos.” Customers can have Clemence create a fully custom designed shoe, much like a tattoo, that they can wear. Limited Edition Tattshoos will also be available at Montauk Tattoo. Clemence parterned with ePlay Digital and Howie Mandel, having his Tattshoos featured in the mobile app “Klocked” to help raise awareness for the Howie Mandel Mental Health Challenge. Gamers can wear Tattshoos in the game and also purchase tradeable NFTs in addition to the physical sneakers.
Montauk Tattoo will be located at 94 S. Euclid Avenue. For more information about Montauk Tattoo or to book an appointment, email info@montauktattoo.com.