Liv Novotny, cofounder of Unscripted Ink, tattooing a customer.
Photo: Kathryn Sheldon
Have you ever gotten a tattoo in a hotel before? Unscripted Ink is a new tattoo shop on the Lower East Side that has made itself at home inside the Lower East Side’s UNTITLED at 3 Freeman Alley.
The first of its kind, Unscripted Ink is the first tattoo parlor in New York City to have permanent residency in a hotel. Unlike other hotels in the city, tattooing is seen as an amenity for hotel guests to take part in and enjoy.
As the name suggests, the hotel is located in Freeman Alley, and with Freeman Alley being one of the city’s hot spots for street art, having a tattoo parlor in the hotel was a no-brainer.
“The walk through Freeman Alley, which itself is tattooed, and going into such a unique property, we immediately knew we had to break all the rules of what hospitality in a hotel means,” said Gadi Peleg, Founder of GPG Hospitality. “The sort of term that I dubbed for the project is ‘hospitality for the tattoo generation.’ From there, it kind of writes itself when once you kind of come up with that paradigm, we knew we had to do something unique and we never heard of a tattoo amenity in a hotel. We decided that if ever there was a place where that made sense, this is the place.”
Enter, Unscripted Ink. Founded by Liv Novotny, they are not just tattoo artist, but a storyteller who is dedicated to connecting with their clients to give them the best tattooing experience possible.
“We moved in January and we had like a soft open month where I was taking appointments and getting stuff ready for the grand opening,” said Novotny. “We’ve had couples walk in off the street and hotel-goers peeking in and being like, what is this? They’re surprised, they’ve never seen something like this before. And it’s a unique hotel so I think they expect uniqueness with it It’s a beautiful place. The people that are drawn to this place are drawn to it because of like all the cool things that it offers.”
To find Unscripted Ink, you enter through the UNTITLED at 3 Freeman Alley lobby and head straight back past the bar where you’ll find the studio. The team aimed to create a cozy and welcoming atmosphere that would not just appeal to the average tattoo enthusiast, but hotel guests as well.
“I’ve been tattooing for six years. Lots of returning clients come back seeing the space for the first time, their jaws drop, like the thing is so cool,” said Novotny. “I’ve got the word speakeasy a lot, like a private club. They feel like they’re in a private club getting tattooed.”
“Through all of these cool murals on the wall, there’s this little side door that if you just know it about it and you walk through it, then walk through a lobby and walk through this beautiful gallery in the back, there’s a tattoo parlor,” said Peleg. “Even if you’re a New Yorker, you get your tattoo with Liv, it’s just a cool story. If we were to compare it to say doing it in the strip mall somewhere, it’s all valid, but it’s just very different than that, right?
For the guests, Unscripted Ink offers a $50 discount on tattoos during their stay at the hotel. The shop also offers Happy Hour tattoos from 6 to 8 where you get a free drink at the hotel’s rooftop bar as well as priority booking for hotel guests.
Despite being open for a short period of time (the grand opening for Unscripted Ink was in February), the shop has already garnered tons of positive feedback from the hotel world as well as the tattoo world.
“The response has been overwhelmingly positive because I think most folks have never really considered a tattoo as a memento as a thing to take with them after a trip to New York City,” said Peter Drinan, General Manager at UNTITLED at 3 Freeman Alley. “I also have a lot of tattoos, I remember every single tattoo I got, where I was when I got them, the moment of my life I was at, the place I was in. I can say without a doubt that every single person I’ve talked to is overwhelmed with positivity, even the ones who don’t get a tattoo.”
For those who come through Unscripted Ink, the team there hopes that everyone leaves with a really cool story to tell, whether they get a tattoo or not.
“Reimagining the amenities at a hotel where we’re in a new generation where you come to New York City, we’re looking for the discerning traveler who doesn’t want to be in Midtown, who understands that everything is happening downtown on the Lower East side and that they’re not looking for, you know, a minibar and a bathrobe,” said Drinan. “They’re looking for a tattoo and and microphone and t one to record their podcast or something of that nature. The person who comes to get a tattoo or not walks away with the feeling of warm hospitality geared towards them specifically and they feel right at home in the space.”
“People coming in the alley, they’re shocked, they’re surprised they see they’re in this warm, welcoming space that is so comfortable,” said Novotny. “The uniqueness of it all is that is the first tattoo shop in a hotel, how we’re on the cutting edge of this industry as it hits the mainstream as it’s a new generation. It’s a generation where tattooing is not only legal but it is celebrated.”
Unscripted Ink is open daily from 12 to 8 p.m. and by appointment for tattoos and piercings. For more information about Unscripted Ink, visit unscripted.nyc.
