Woodhaven Tattoo is a Queens-rooted tattoo and piercing studio built around custom work, clear conversations, and the belief that permanent artwork deserves patient planning.
Owner Mateo Rivera grew up around Queens and started drawing long before he thought of art as a career. As a teenager, he filled inexpensive sketchbooks with faces, lettering, subway observations, storefront details, and the houses and streets he passed around Woodhaven. He became particularly interested in the way a few strong shadows or lines could make a familiar face or place immediately recognizable. That interest eventually led him toward tattooing.
After years spent developing his drawing and tattooing skills and learning alongside other artists, Mateo kept coming back to the idea of creating a studio close to the neighborhoods that shaped him. Woodhaven felt right because it was familiar rather than fashionable. He wanted a place where a first-time client could ask basic questions without feeling out of place and where an experienced collector could have a detailed conversation about composition, placement, and style.
Woodhaven Tattoo grew around that idea. Mateo later brought in Lena Park, whose precise drawing style and love of botanical subjects made her a natural fit for fineline and illustrative projects, and Andre Collins, a piercing specialist known around the studio for explaining every step without making the process feel complicated. Their styles and roles differ, but the standard is shared: listen first, be clear about what is realistic, and give permanent work the attention it deserves.
We focus on Black And Grey Tattoos, Portrait Tattoos, Fineline Tattoos, Color Tattoos, Cover Up Tattoos, and Piercing. Each service has its own page so you can see exactly what is involved before you call.
We are based around Woodhaven and serve New York, including Ozone Park, Cypress Hills, Richmond Hill, South Richmond Hill, Lindenwood, and South Ozone Park.
The client knows why the tattoo matters. We start by understanding that before deciding how the artwork should develop.
Sometimes an idea needs more space, fewer details, a different reference, or another approach. We explain those considerations instead of simply saying yes.
Tattooing is not the place to manufacture urgency. We want clients to understand the direction and feel comfortable asking questions.
Woodhaven and the surrounding Queens communities are part of why this studio exists. We aim to provide the kind of personal, straightforward service we would want from a neighborhood business ourselves.
Meet the people who answer the phone and do the work on our Meet the Team page, or see how to join us on our Careers page.
Have references, a sketch, or just an idea? Start the conversation with Woodhaven Tattoo.
Free — no obligations