Eight years ago, Jeff Drumm started his journey to create art in what some may consider unconventional. But in his eyes, it was the one thing he wanted to do. 

Drumm began his tattoo apprenticeship at Blood Diamond Ink in Pullman right after they opened in 2013; he has been there ever since, he said.

Blood Diamond Ink opened in September almost nine years ago and has become a staple tattoo shop in the community, shop owner Chris Peltier said.

Peltier has been a tattoo artist for 20 years, celebrating his tattoo-iversary in March, he said. 

“We cater to a lot of college students, about 94% of our clientele are students,” Peltier said. 

Being the only tattoo shop in Pullman, it is conveniently located on northwest Whitman Avenue, right near campus.

“We do get a lot of college students, but even after they graduate, some still come back to our studio,” Peltier said. “I have a student coming to get tattooed for me for a while, and he moved back to Kuwait after graduating. He booked an appointment, booked a flight, got tattooed and flew back to Kuwait.”

Aside from meeting new and interesting people, Peltier said his favorite part of tattooing is doing what he wants to do. 

“I like doing black and gray customs, probably one of my favorite styles of art,” he said. 

Doing art and tattooing are his favorite part of tattooing, Drumm said. 

“The one piece of advice I have for someone who is looking to get their first tattoo done is to do your research,” Drumm said. “Some people shouldn’t be tattooing, and it’s important to look at their portfolios before making a decision.”

Know what you want to get, and find someone who can do that for you, he said. 

Senior neuroscience major Brenna Chargin (she/they) has gotten two tattoos from Blood Diamond Ink.

“I’m pretty sure I just looked up tattoo places near me at first, but I met some people who got pieces from them and liked the way they looked,” Chargin said. 

They got two small and simple pieces and figured she could just do a walk-in appointment; some of the other shops are by appointment only, Chargin said. 

Chagrin saw two different artists at the studio. For their larger piece, they saw Alyx Skyline, who was very nice and did a great job. For the simpler line workpiece, they saw Peltier and got in and out quickly and had a great experience, she said.

“I just loved chatting with the artists while getting tattooed. They seemed nice and were pretty sociable. Plus it was really cool to look at all the art on the walls,” they said. 

Peltier said there is no art hanging on the walls at the moment because they are being repainted. 

“I would rate my experience pretty highly. They gave me great art for a good price and I would go back for a walk-in again,” Chargin said.

Blood Diamond Ink is open from noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. To schedule an appointment, pop into their studio to meet with one of their many artists and get it scheduled with them. Don’t forget to do your research and know what you want beforehand (;