Single-use needles
Needles and cartridges come out of sealed sterile packaging in front of you and never touch a second person. Ask to see the packet opened — you should ask that in every studio you sit in.
04The studio
Oneroom,onechair
Blackstar Tattoo Studio — formerly Livewire Ink. A private studio on the Glen Road in west Belfast, working by appointment only for over 15 years.
“My name is Geoff. I am a Tattoo Artist based in Belfast with over 15 years of experience in the industry. I'm also an Artist and can provide bespoke artwork. I work by appointment only so my studio and time are dedicated to you alone.”
— Geoff, Facebook page intro
That sentence is the whole business model. There is no reception desk, no rota of artists, no walk-in queue. One person books the room for the day, and for that day the room is theirs — which is why a six-hour portrait sitting can take six hours without anyone glancing at the clock.
The work that comes out of it leans heavily black and grey. Portraits and realism make up most of the feed — faces built from ink density rather than outline, where the skin tone itself does the work of the highlight. Alongside that sits heavy illustrative blackwork, blackletter and script lettering, chicano filigree, and cover-ups that treat an old tattoo as a constraint to design around rather than something to bury.
Geoff is an artist outside of tattooing too, and takes bespoke artwork commissions. In practice that means a design can start from a photograph, a verse, a half-formed idea, or nothing at all — and still arrive as something drawn specifically for the body it is going on.
Philosophy
Unique or not at all
The stated goal on the Instagram bio is to give every client a unique design. Nothing gets reused, resized and re-inked on the next person through the door.
The brief outranks the style
The house style is black and grey — but if the idea wants colour, lettering or heavy blackwork, the idea wins.
Honest answers first
If a design will not hold up at that size, in that placement, or over that old tattoo, you get told before the deposit, not halfway through the session.
Placeholder — these are portfolio images standing in for interior shots. No photographs of the studio interior are published on either social page — drop real ones into /public/studio/ and swap them in here.
—History
Howitgothere
c. 2011
Fifteen years back
Geoff starts tattooing. The Facebook page still records it plainly: "over 15 years of experience in the industry."
Livewire Ink
The first name
The studio traded as Livewire Ink — the name the Facebook page and the older portfolio watermarks still carry. Long-standing clients still call it that.
Glen Road
A room of its own
A private studio at 42B Glen Road, west Belfast. Appointment only from the outset, so the room belongs to one client at a time.
2026
Blackstar
The work is rebranded as Blackstar Tattoo Studio — the black star, the gothic wordmark, and a line that doubles as the brief: Art. Precision. Passion. Custom tattoos, built around you.
—Non-negotiable
Hygienestandards
None of this is a selling point. It is the baseline, and you are entitled to see every part of it happen.
Barriers on everything
Machine, grip, clip cord, lamp handle, bottles and the chair itself are covered or wrapped before the session and stripped afterwards. Nothing the gloves touch is left uncovered.
Sharps disposal
Used needles go straight into a sealed sharps container at the end of the session and are collected for clinical waste disposal. Ink caps, razors and tips are single-use and binned.
Clean between clients
Surfaces are cleaned down and the station is rebuilt from scratch for each appointment. Appointment-only working means there is always time to do it properly.
Certification
UnverifiedTattooists in Northern Ireland must be registered with their local council under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (NI) Order 1985, and normally hold current bloodborne pathogens and first aid training.
Blackstar’s specific registration number and certificates are not published on either social page. Add the real registration details here before launch — this is the section clients and search engines both look for.
Recognition
None publishedNo awards or convention placements are listed on the studio’s Instagram or Facebook, so none are claimed here. What the pages do show is a following built the slow way:
- 0+
- Facebook followers
- 0
- Pieces posted
08 — Next step
Bookthechair
Send the idea, a rough size and where it is going. You will get a straight answer about whether it works, what it needs, and when the chair is free.