One Love Tattoos

Brown represents One Love at various Georgetown Chamber of Commerce events and serves on the city's Historic and Architectural Review Commission.

"We are both from this town. We love it and want to be part of it," Brown said. "We've (the tattoo community) been called 'undesirable,' but we're part of the art community."

When Brown and Crow were considering opening their own tattoo shop, they searched for spaces on the downtown square. However, when they supported an effort to bring a tattoo parlor to downtown, the city said tattoo shops were on a list of "undesirable" businesses for the Square, along with bail bonds and check-cashing businesses.

So Brown and Crow set up shop at their current location, and business has been good, they said.

"It's very conservative [in Georgetown], but there's a large demographic into tattoos," Brown said.

A study by beauty website www.totalbeauty.com that in USA Today in 2011 ranked Austin as the sixth most-tattooed city in the nation, but Brown and Crow know not everyone wants to drive to the myriad shops in Austin for good art.

"Everyone just wants to be treated right and get their money's worth," Crow said. "Our main goal is to give them quality work they can trust."

One Love artists offer black-and-gray, color, traditional and portrait-style tattoos, Brown said, in addition to cosmetic tattoos and piercing services.

Crow said the shop's clients include college students, a sprinkling of military personnel and first responders, as well as a number of customers from Sun City.

According to Crow, many Sun City residents come in looking for hobby- or family-oriented tattoos, such as Celtic designs, while others are looking for cosmetic tattoos.

To keep up with the artistic community of Georgetown, the lobby-area of the shop features an art gallery with a rotating array of paintings, photography and sculptures by local artists.

Hanging pieces are displayed on chain-link fencing attached to brightly colored walls, an idea of one of the owners' friends to avoid having to drill into the cement for every new artist's work.

"It was just an idea to fill space that turned into artistic expression," Brown said. "Most [people who tattoo], they draw or paint. They keep busy with their own artwork."

One Love employs two tattoo artists, including Crow, and his brother, Steven, who works as an apprentice, while Brown works on the administrative side. The shop also hosts various visiting tattoo artists Brown and Crow meet mostly at tattoo conventions. Many do not have their own shops but travel to do work throughout the state and nation. Several artists are already scheduled for this summer, Brown said.

Brown said she hopes to see the shop's presence in Georgetown continue to grow.

"A lot of shops either make it after one year or shut down," she said. "Right now, we're just happy with how good we're doing."

One Love Tattoos, 903 Austin Ave., 512-868-1588, Mon.–Thu. 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m., Sun. 2–8 p.m., www.facebook.com/traviscrowdesigns, [email protected]