Artist Tony Jackson opens Rice Street Tattoo, Carson City's newest ink parlor and art space

Every tattoo artist dreams of one day opening their own shop, said Tony Jackson, and now he’s done just that.

Rice Street Tattoo, aptly named for its location on Rice Street in Carson City, will officially open Tuesday, Jan. 1.

Jackson is known around Carson City for his unique style of tattoo art, and has previously been working at Flat Black Tattoo in Mound House.

He chose Carson City because it’s a busier environment, and he’s always wanted a location where people could walk in off the street to come and check out the shop and the art.

“We want people to be able to walk in off the street while they’re passing by, and not have to go out in the middle of nowhere or have to walk down some dark alley to get tattooed,” said Jackson. “This location is perfect; it’s centralized, it’s close to downtown. It’s everything we wanted. We don’t plan on leaving any time soon, which is one of the reasons why we’re calling it Rice Street Tattoo.”

Jackson became a full time tattoo artist in the area nearly a decade ago, and has since grown a popular following from both clientele and art enthusiasts alike.

About a year ago, Jackson and his business-and-life partner Lezlee Robinson decided to make the move. They sold their house and put everything into the new shop.

The area around Rice Street is slowly becoming a hub for artistic endeavors, from Play Your Own Music, to Touched by Angels Gift Shop which sells local artisan works, to the Tap Shack which has hosted concerts and patio shows and street fairs.

Rice Street Tattoo wants to join in with their own art shows and events.

“I’m really involved with fundraisers and volunteering,” said Robinson. “If there’s a fundraiser going on, I’ll more than likely be involved in some way. Honestly, if I could volunteer full time I would absolutely do that. We want to create partnerships with businesses and events to help Carson City.”

Together with the Tap Shack they hosted a Toys for Tots drive earlier this month, where all proceeds from the event were donated to the fundraiser.

A grand opening is tentatively planned for Feb. 10, with a big fundraiser in the Spring when it’s a bit warmer and they can shut the street down to have an event for the community.

In addition to partnering with the Tap Shack, they’ve also crafted a partnership with Carson City’s Shoe Tree Brewing Company, with the soon-to-be unveiled “Rice Street Lager,” the label of which was done by Jackson. The beer is scheduled to be unveiled on the same day as the opening, Feb. 10.

"We love that Shoe Tree is so involved in the community, and we're excited to partner with them because we also want to be known for being involved in that way," said Robinson.

"We want to fight the stereotype of what a tattoo shop is, or what people with tattoos are," said Jackson. "We need to take away the stigma and show people that we're a contributing part of the community."

"We're obviously a family oriented company," said Robinson gesturing to her young son Gabe who was in the shop, and who has collaborated with Jackson on art work that hangs in the shop. "We are all about family, friends, community. We want people to realize that we're good people, we're not in gangs or drug addicts or something like that. It's important for us to take away that stigma and that awful stereotype."

When Jackson and Robinson were petitioning for their shop's permit, they were surprised and incredibly grateful for the support that came from people in the community. Some people they never expected, said Robinson, and some people they didn't even know, came to throw in their two-cents to show support for the shop.

Robinson went door to door in the neighborhood and collected letters from residents, as well as administrators of Pioneer High School, to make sure they would be okay with the shop's location before they even applied for the permit.

In the future due to their proximity to Pioneer High School, they would also like to help facilitate an art program for the school.

"We don't want to just be another tattoo shop," said Robinson. "Tattoos are beautiful and amazing but we want to go further. We want to make an impact on our community, and we plan to do exactly that."

Rice Street Tattoo is located at 113 Rice Street in Carson City.

To find out more about Rice Street Tattoo, you can follow them on facebook here or visit their website here.