Forever Tattoo Parlour in Cape Coral is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a weekend full of events.
To celebrate the milestone hit in September, the two-decade-old shop will host two free events that celebrate the shop’s artists, clients, and the art of tattooing.
The shop, which opened in 2005 in downtown Cape Coral, specializes in American traditional tattoos, creating works inspired by those done in the 19th and 20th centuries. The style is typically characterized by thick black lines surrounding an old cartoon design. This style sees eagles, snakes, skulls, dragon ships, anchors, and more. The most common colors within this style are red, yellow, and green with black shading.
Forever Tattoo showcases all styles within the American traditional umbrella, with its artists blending their creativity and artistic endeavors to stylize your body.
Saturday’s red carpet event will be at 7:30 p.m. across the street at Nice Guys Pizza, a frequent collaborator of the shop. The event is all about the clients, featuring an award ceremony and a party, which will include karaoke. The bar will have specialized cocktails, and formal attire is required.
The second event will take place at The Ranch Music Hall in Fort Myers on Sunday at noon. This free tattoo convention will have guest artists from all over the country. If you can’t get a tattoo, many artists will be selling t-shirts, prints, and artwork. There will also be vendors and food.
Mark Stewart
Mark Stewart started the shop, and the current manager is Heather Law. The shop’s first apprentice, she has been there since the shop opened and has been tattooing ever since. She also tattoos in Orlando.
To her, camaraderie is what has kept the shop tight in its 20-year span.
“When you’re here, you’re family,” Law said. “We’re not just a business. We are a tattoo shop that upholds moral standards, and I believe that’s why we’ve become a staple in SWFL for American traditional tattoos, earning the respect and trust of the community. So it isn’t just tattooing for us, it’s our entire lives, and we’ve dedicated our whole lives to it.”
Heather Law
She is glad the shop has survived in an industry that relies on clientele.
“We’ve been through a lot of hardships over the past 20 years, and with the economy being the way it has been over the last 20 years, I didn’t know if we would make it. I’m kind of blown away that we’ve made it for 20 years as a tattoo shop, and essentially all the same people still work here,” she said. “There’s always something that happens, but we’ve stayed a family.”
Law said that she hopes the business will continue to grow in the following 20 years.
“I would love to see it grow a little bit more space-wise and continue to serve SWFL for American traditional tattoos and have more of our friends from around the world come and do guest spots. We want to be able to offer more to the community,” she said.
Carl Testi
Law’s tattoos are permanent, along with the memories she has of doing them and working for the shop.
“Looking at all the photos for 20 years takes you back, and my life has been the same since I was 19. I’ve been with this business, helping my best friend build it, keep it alive, and keep the reputation going. I’ve watched clients get their first tattoo at 18, get married, have their first kid, first divorce. I tattooed their parents, their grandparents,” she said.
“We’ve just been a part of so many people’s life stories,” Law said.
The shop hosts numerous community events, including one where they raised money for Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife to reserve land for the owls to have a home to avoid extinction. In the most recent event earlier this year, they raised almost $10,000 for the organization.
For more information on the shop, click here.
The shop is located at 1505 SE 47th Terrace in Cape Coral.