The Tattoo Shop in Sandy, OR Irie Tribe Glass & Gifts

I used to work at Irie Tribe Glass & Gifts, also known as Irie Ink or Irie Tribe Ink, the only tattoo in Sandy, OR.

I no longer work there. Because I practice Zen, I will not dive into the dirty details of why I left that shop. I wash my hands of that place. I wish the owner, Justin Kruckman, the staff, and the tattoo artists there the best.

For a time I was at Voodoo Tattoo. The shop is a trip, full of New Orleans signs, doors, beads, skulls, and crows. The ambiance cannot be matched. The girls that work the counter are friendly and not hard on the eyes, if you know what I mean. But I was a ship in the stormy seas of Willow Sparrow when I worked there; loud claps of thunder, bright flashes of lightening, sharp rain blasting in the cold wind. Every once in a while, a clear sunny day. But the storms were too much. Never knew when they'd come, how long they'd last, or how severe. Tragic, really. Voodoo Tattoo could be a great shop.

So, far there's only one shop where I would actually work. Graveyard Tattoos in Clackamas, OR. Allan and Bob are solid artists. They could definitely, use a Web site re-design though.

Graveyard Tattoos is clean, well lighted, and offers a safe, interesting tattoo experience. Bob puts flash from his students and his artist on the wall.

In fact, I got my first professional tattoos from Graveyard Tattoos when I was learning the art of tattooing there as a student. Overall, it's a professional environment, but still has the essential elements of real tattoo shop. And it's right across the street from Fantasy Adult Shop (inside joke.)

Are Your Tattoos Ruining the Planet?

Did you know that most plastic DOES NOT degrade? And even plastics that do such as LEXAN take a good long while to blend back into the earth. What does that have to do with your tattoo? A lot. Some shops use disposable tubes, which are thrown away after only ONE USE. Shops couldn't use them again if they tried BECAUSE Oregon only allows SINGLE USE of disposables tubes. These wasteful tubes stack-up fast. Think about it. Most tattoos require at least TWO TUBES: one for lining , the other for shading. That's piles of tubes at the end of the day.

So what's the solution? Unfortunately, in Oregon, some of the plastic waste is inevitable. The Oregon Health Licensing Agency for the most part, requires tattoo artists to dispose of anything that touches the skin during the tattoo procedure. This is, of course is for public safety: to prevent the spread of disease through cross contamination. BUT Oregon ALSO ALLOWS the use of REUSABLE, STAINLESS STEEL TUBES!!! These tubes can be used over and over again BECAUSE they can be STERILIZED with an AUTOCLAVE.

Ask your tattoo artist whether he uses disposable tubes or not. If he uses disposables, DISPOSE of HIM or HER.



Reusable tubes are SAFE and SANITARY. They are sterilized the same way dentists sterilize their mouth mirrors and periodontal probes. Oregon also requires that the tubes be sterilized with Indicator Tape, this tape changes color when the critical temperature has been reached for a prolonged period. The color changing tape ensures that all pathogens, spores, and anything else on or in the tubes has been completely destroyed.