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Local tattoo artist opens own shop on West Main Street, Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

With the encouragement of friends, her father, as well as her fiancée, Lisa Vokes decided start her own business and recently opened House of Kolor at 218 W.Main St., Batavia.

Her own full-service tattoo and piercing job shop seemed like the logical next step in her career, she said.

"I had reached a plateau and I wanted to branch out on my own," she said while creating a cover-up tattoo on the back of Brad Strzelecki.

Vokes worked locally for six years before deciding to strike out on her own, but her father was encouraging her to apply her artistic talent in body art for years before she took up the craft.

"Ever since I was young, my dad wanted me to be a tattoo artist," Vokes said. "He used to tell me he would buy me my own kit and we could sit at the kitchen table and I could tattoo him all day if I wanted to."

Vokes never took Pops up on the offer, but after she finished school, she deciding becoming a tattoo artist would be a good career choice.

"My father couldn't be prouder of me now," Vokes said.

As a young artist she loved drawing dog portraits and that quickly became one of her specialties in body art as well.

Creating meaningful tattoos for people is gratifying, Vokes said.

"It's amazing the connections you make and the people you get to meet," Vokes said.
"It's unreal.

"I love doing tattoos for people when they have meaning," Vokes added. "I've had several people who I've done memorial pieces for and they've actually gotten up and been in tears and given me a hug and said thank you. It's a great thing. People really appreciate it when you do things for them that have meaning. It's awesome."

Vokes said she's grown a lot over the past few years as a tattoo artists and appreciates the chance to do good work for people, especially when given the chance to do something unique, one-of-a-kind.

"Honestly, I really like to freehand on people now," Vokes said. "I don't like using the stencils anymore, so it's more like my art and it's going on their body forever. It's a special thing."

Vokes thinks it's important that no matter where somebody goes for ink, they make sure they like the artist, both as a person and their style, and that the parlor is following proper and safe procedures.

"It's important to find artists you like and are comfortable with and that you look at their portfolio and like their style," Vokes said. "If you're not comfortable with somebody, it's not worth going to them.

"It's going on your body for life and you want to make sure they're doing the right job," she added.

Vokes with her fiancée and business partner, D.J. Snyder.

Doug Yeomans

Hmmm...so if an auto mechanic learns their trade while working at a stealership...errr....dealership, they shouldn't be able to open their own garage and put to use what they learned? I'm not following your logic.

Oct 15, 2013, 1:54pm Permalink
Doug Yeomans

I always thought that competition was good for everyone. I wasn't aware that Top's, Wegman's, Big-M, Shurfine and all the other competition watered down the grocers market. As far as I ever understood things, competition gives people choices. Competition is what drives people and companies to be better, and to keep prices in check.

Oct 15, 2013, 1:59pm Permalink
Mark Brudz

" I am also hearing that sensitive trade info was taken from High Voltage and being applied at your shop "

What possible 'Sensitive Trade Info' could possibly be protected in a Tattoo Shop?

Oct 15, 2013, 2:02pm Permalink
matt burns

they will do fine there. just dont sell the bath salts and that crap.. its an honorable job and business. no sour grapes and useless paper work needed. , just work.

Oct 15, 2013, 2:47pm Permalink
Tami Underhill

I'm glad to see that Lisa is still doing tattoos. She is the artist I always choose, regardless of where she works. I wish you the best of luck, Lisa!! You have a following, that's for sure.

Oct 15, 2013, 2:56pm Permalink
Gary Spencer

Not sure who the Thomas Mooney dude is but sounds like he's afraid of some friendly competition! I wish Lisa the best of luck!

Oct 15, 2013, 5:58pm Permalink
Raymond Patnode_3

I was in High Voltage back when Lisa was just starting and have watched her ink work grow. I think she is a great artist and wish her the best of luck. On the other hand I stopped after High Voltage moved and Lisa did not seem very happy (had a additude) I will stop in her new shop to see if the additude was that she just needed a change. Good Luck Lisa keep it in the up and up.

Oct 15, 2013, 7:17pm Permalink
Kyle Couchman

Thomas Mooney has provided yet another example of some of the trolls posting innuendo or other crap, causing a big ruckus then editing it later for much confusion. Seems that a certain element of troublemakers are learning to play this game. So to the regulars that post here, watch out for your first reactions to threads because of this.

Howard can something be done to eliminate this? In my experience with how often people post and this behavior I think a window of 1 hour to edit a post would be sufficient for edits. I see this pattern eventually being exploited on regular basis. Especially by the troublemakers.

Oct 16, 2013, 8:24am Permalink
John Simmons

It seems like a waste of space & time reading the comments on this story because it makes no sense after the "WINK" comment at the beginning! Why not just suspend all comments posted to this story & start over again??

Oct 16, 2013, 2:30pm Permalink
Kyle Couchman

Gotcha Howard..... maybe baiting with unsubstantiated rumors and innuendo could be made into a rule.

The quote from Thomas' original post ...

I am also hearing that sensitive trade info was taken from High Voltage and being applied at your shop

could qualify as unsubstantiated (unless of course High Voltage confirmed this to be true) rumor, it certainly is accusatory and seems an attack on Lisa's reputation and character.

Oct 16, 2013, 2:31pm Permalink

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