‘Beyond the Ink’ tattoo, piercing shop now open
Gloria Asmodeus is the full-time piercing specialist at the new Beyond the Ink Tattoo and Piercing studio in South Clinton. (photo:G Chambers Williams III )
The business opened July 24, and Gloria Asmodeus began Aug. 4, doing the piercings.
Beyond the Ink is open from noon-8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and noon-5 p.m. on Sunday.
Appointments are best, but the shop also will take walk-ins as scheduling permits, Shelton said. Custom tattoos require appointments.
Shelton, who is from Central Florida, and her boyfriend Cody Ashley are co-owners of the studio, and Ashley, a Clinton native, is the business manager.
“We opened here because we wanted to bring professional tattoo and piercing services to the area, with better customer service,” said Shelton, who has been doing tattoos for three years.
“Our goal is to make our studio welcome to any person wanting tattoos or piercings,” Shelton said.
She said she is an artist who has been “drawing and painting my whole life,” and she offers original tattoo designs of her own, as well as custom designs customers are seeking.
“I have a passion for art and especially body art,” Shelton said.
Asmodeus, who was born in Gatlinburg, met Shelton seven years ago when the two were working at a Mellow Mushroom pizza restaurant in the Knoxville area.
She said she got into piercings at the urging of a friend, after working for years as a registered nurse.
“It’s good to have a medical background when you’re doing piercings,” Asmodeus said. “I had to go through a year’s apprenticeship in piercing before I started working on my own.”