We build the picture into the skin.
South Orange Collective Arts. Six artists, one room, a quiet obsession with realism. Color, black and gray, portraits, cover-ups and piercings, made the slow way so they hold for life.
Pieces that earned their place on the wall.
Every plate here was made in the room. No filters, no borrowed flash. Tap any artist for a consult and we will talk through placement, healing, and how the design sits on you specifically.
“Everybody here performs well on darker tones.”
Chris “Maestro” Chery, co-owner
Plenty of artists can put a line down. Far fewer know how a portrait, a gray wash, or a saturated color will actually heal and read on rich brown and Black skin. That is the room you are walking into. We choose the palette and the depth for the skin you are in, so the piece looks like the reference years from now, not just on day one.
Six artists who would rather get it right than get it done.
S.O.C.A. opened on Martin Luther King Day, 2024, as the first tattoo studio South Orange ever had, and the first Black-owned studio in this part of New Jersey. The name says the rest: South Orange Collective Arts.
Byron “Cashtatts” George has tattooed for seventeen years and built his name on cover-ups, the hardest work there is. Chris “Maestro” Chery spends his other shifts as a South Orange police officer. Around them is a bench deep in realism, color, fine line and custom work. People fly in from across the country, and from the UK, to sit in these chairs.
One room. The full range of the craft.
Color realism, hyper realism, and black and gray. Faces, animals, scenes. The work the studio is built on.
Byron's specialty. Old work or a name you would rather forget, redrawn into something you want to show off. It takes more vision, and we like that.
Bring a reference or just an idea. We design it around your body, your placement, and how it will age, before a needle touches you.
Ears, industrials, and more, with single-use needles and aftercare that actually works. Walk-ins welcome alongside your tattoo.
“We have made tattooing look simple and cool. Now the next generation can come in and take it to the next level.”
Up the stairs at 75 South Orange Square.
Walk-ins and appointments are both welcome. The fastest way in is to book your artist and bring your reference. Look for the door marked Tattoo Artist Dr.
