{"id":390856,"date":"2026-07-08T17:43:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T17:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/390856\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T17:43:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T17:43:13","slug":"tattoo-shop-survival-guide-from-clovis-ink-owner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/390856\/","title":{"rendered":"Tattoo shop survival guide from Clovis Ink owner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clovis Ink Tattoo<\/a> isn\u2019t exactly a foot-traffic kind of place.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tucked in a parking lot just off Shaw Avenue near Villa, in a converted metal warehouse where they used to built custom 4x4s. Save for a faded sign near the entry driveway from the street, the place is barely visible to traffic passing by on the thoroughfare.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s sort of by design.<\/p>\n

After all, this was the first tattoo shop in Clovis, and its opening came after a year of public debate and city council wrangling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to fight against the city to become part of this community,\u201d says Daniel Rudolfo Acosta III, who opened the shop with his late father back in 2007.<\/p>\n

Clovis Ink was originally envisioned as an upscale establishment with \u201ca clientele of doctors and lawyers and professionals as well as cancer survivors and others with permanent makeup needs,\u201d according to a story in The Fresno Bee at the time.<\/p>\n

Acosta was the artist. He\u2019d done painting, drawing and graffiti before taking an interest in tattooing.<\/p>\n

His father, Rudy Acosta Jr., was also a tattooer, but mostly a support system for his son. He took Acosta to his first tattoo convention at the Palladium in Los Angeles and lent him the money to buy his first tattoo machine.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s still on display in the shop.<\/p>\n

It was Acosta Jr. who had the idea to open the shop in Clovis, specifically in Old Town.<\/p>\n

Immediately there were questions whether the business (and those that would follow) would fit with the nostalgic pull of the area and complementary nature of existing businesses. There were also fears it would damage the sense of security in the district. As longtime resident Peg Bos said, in delivering a petition opposing the shop: \u201cIn Old Town we have something unique in the county, perhaps in the state. … That heritage must be protected.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ensuing controversy over whether the shop could even open, and where, left the business $10,000 in debt before it even started, Acosta says.<\/p>\n

They paid nearly $3,000 for Clovis city staff to research tattoo shop ordinances in other municipalities before crafting their own. The city denied Clovis Ink a spot Old Town and then raised the cost of the permit from $1,625 to $5,500 while the shop went looking for a suitable new location, according a story in The Bee.<\/p>\n

Acosta Jr. asked the city to refund the research fees and the permit increase. The council said no.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a battle,\u201d Acosta says.<\/p>\n

In the end, the city did add provisions for body art establishments into its development code.<\/a><\/p>\n

Enacted in October 2006, it remains in place, requiring tattoo shops be in commercial or light manufacturing zones and subject to conditional use permit. While there are no specific buffer zones that would keep a tattoo shop from opening in Old Town Clovis (or near schools) \u201cthese areas are generally zoned for other uses, which do not allow Body Art Establishments,\u201d the city told The Bee this week.<\/p>\n

\"A A Clovis Ink Tattoo sign is painted on the floor at the tattoo parlor on Monday, June 29, 2026. Daniel Rudolfo Acosta III, opened Clovis’ first tattoo parlor with his father 19 years ago. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com Nearly two decades of Clovis Ink Tattoo<\/p>\n

When Clovis Ink opened in May 2007, there were three artists in the building.<\/p>\n

Over 19 years, Acosta estimates at least a dozen artists learned the trade by working at Clovis Ink. Many of them have gone on to open their own shops in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for him, none of us would be tattooing here,\u201d Acosta says, of his father.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the one that opened that door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently, there are six artists at Clovis Ink; four tattooers and two body piercers, each with a small work station cordoned off from the rest of the shop, which Acosta and his father designed and built to look like an old Japanese village. The waiting room out front is filled wall-to-wall with curio cabinets of oddity art, taxidermy, bones and skulls, and memorabilia. In one glass box is a folded pair of jeans and work boots; the clothes that Acosta\u2019s father worn while helping convert the shop.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is 19 year of my tattooing,\u201d Acosta says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is history in this building.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Daniel Daniel Rudolfo Acosta III, who opened Clovis Ink Tattoo, the first tattoo parlor in Clovis, 19 years ago, wrote a book on his experience as a tattoo artist called Kings of Flesh. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com A tattoo shop survival guide<\/p>\n

A few years back, Acosta started putting together the story of his shop. He chronicled, almost journal style, all the things he learned and wished he had learned sooner, writing it all down until it got to be too tedious.<\/p>\n

Then, he started using an AI tool, just telling it his stories. What came out became the basis for \u201cKings of Flesh,\u201d a tattoo shop survival guide.<\/a><\/p>\n

On the desk at his work station are a stack of books \u2014 the versions Acosta had printed up before settling in on the final copy, which is still not quite right. There\u2019s a new version on the way, Acosta says.<\/p>\n

The book is 60 or so pages, broken into nine chapters that outline what it takes to run a success tattoo shop.<\/p>\n

This is not a tattoo how-to, Acosta says. It\u2019s about understanding the industry. Some of it is logistical, technical even. How to deal with filing taxes or what to do when the health department shows up for an inspection. But it\u2019s also about the soft skills, like building relationships and taking advantage of opportunities, without taking advantage of those giving them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about how to become a better person,\u201d Acosta says.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not the only tattoo-related side hustle Acosta has working. He\u2019s also creating a mobile app to connect artists with clients and has developed a line of aftercare products called Simpl Humn.<\/a> Those products are available now and almost ready to start shipping out into tattoo shops.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mind is always trying to come up with things,\u201d Acosta says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just moving forward. Like my father taught me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Daniel Daniel Rudolfo Acosta III, holds up a newer style tattoo gun, or machine, at Clovis Ink Tattoo, the first tattoo parlor to open in Clovis, on Monday, June 29, 2026. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com \"Inks Inks sit on a rack in Daniel Rudolfo Acosta III’s tattoo parlor in Clovis on Monday, June 29, 2026. Acosta, who opened Clovis Ink Tattoo, the first tattoo parlor in Clovis, 19 years ago, wrote a book on his experience as a tattoo artist called Kings of Flesh. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com \"Clovis Clovis Ink Tattoo is located in a warehouse-style building off of Shaw near Minnewawa in Clovis. Daniel Rudolfo Acosta III opened Clovis’ first tattoo parlor with his father 19 years ago. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com \"Daniel Daniel Rudolfo Acosta III, stands in his tattoo parlor at Clovis Ink Tattoo, the first tattoo parlor to open in Clovis, on Monday, June 29, 2026. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com
\n Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Joshua Tehee<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Joshua Tehee covers breaking news for The Fresno Bee, writing on a wide range of topics from police, politics and weather, to arts and entertainment in the Central Valley.\n <\/p>\n