‘Back to life’
New tattoo parlor aims to revive Washington Street in SoNo
NORWALK — Artist and tattooist Brian Sells, 56, has been in the industry for more than 30 years, and recently became the owner and sole artist of SoNo Tattoo.
SoNo Tattoo, a joint venture between Sells and his business partner Paula Torelli, opened it’s doors about two months ago and experienced a busier-than-usual
December, Torelli said.
“Business has been shockingly good,” Sells said. “December is usually the deadest month in tattooing.”
Torelli, a longtime Norwalk resident, and Sells, who recently moved to Norwalk, met on Facebook when Torelli was looking for a new tattoo artist. Torelli went to the shop where Sells was working at the time, and
the two struck up a friendship.
The duo chose the Washington Street location because of the foot traffic in the area and the lack of competing tattoo parlors, as SoNo Tattoo is the only shop of its kind on the street, Torelli said.
“It was a little scary to start in the middle of the pandemic, but I think it’s going to do well,” he said.
When tattoo shops were allowed to reopen following the height of the coronavirus pandemic last spring, Torelli and Sells began establishing their business.
“Washington Street it is a little dead and empty now, but I’m hoping to bring it back to life and what it needed was a tattoo shop,” Sells said.
At SoNo Tattoo, Torelli handles the business side of the shop while Sells administers the tattoos. Sells is the only tattoo artist at the shop, allowing him full control over the quality of each tattoo, he said.
“With most shops, they do have numerous tattooists,” Sells said. “A lot of time you make an appointment and think you’re making it with someone qualified and get a flunky. I’m the only tattooist here, when you see my tattoos you know what you’re going to get.”
An artist by trade, Sells turned to tattooing fulltime after his career as a sign painter was taken
over by computers. After 15 years full-time as a tattoo artist for other shop owners, Sells decided it was time to open his own.
“I wanted to do my own thing,” Sells said. “A lot of
times you’ll go into a shop and you’ll talk to the owner and, not that always the owner is the most qualified tattooist in the shop, but people like to believe he is. Many times if a shop
has four artists there might be someone a lot better than the actual owner.”
SoNo Tattoo, which also offers piercings, is open Monday through Saturday,
9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The minimum cost for a tattoo is $80, Sells said.