"It was bow-tie-ish, in the sense that you couldn't miss it," says Close. "No collar could cover it up."

Still, he says, facial tattoos are not something he has seriously considered offering.

"I did have a girl come in who wanted something on her ears," says Close, who declined to do the work. Instead, he asked her how she felt a prospective employer might feel about that kind of tattoo: "I said, is this going to change your life?"

Close himself has tattoos all over his body, though they're covered on this day by a pair of jeans and a big black hoodie. Plainly visible are the silver-dollar-sized disks stretching his ear piercings and a small ring inserted in one nostril.

But tattoos above the neck - that's where he draws the line.

"My wife would divorce me," he says with a smile.

Body artist touts 'different kind of vibe' at new Amesbury studio

AMESBURY — You won't find flash displayed in this tattoo shop.

Instead, it's paintings, photographs and a few plants.

The Inkwell Body Art Studio is not your average tattoo parlor. Owner Todd Close insists upon that. In fact, the word "tattoo" doesn't even appear on the outdoor sign.

"Art's our number one focus," said Close, 36, of Groveland.

The Inkwell, which opened last month on Route 110 next to Napa Auto Parts in Amesbury, is the first licensed and certified tattoo shop in town since tattoo studios were legalized in Massachusetts in 2001.

But his shop won't necessary draw in the "20-something" crowd or motorcycle clubs; his style is geared more toward the 45-to-65 crowd. The studio will have a "different kind of vibe," Close said, and will be more appealing to "high-end" clients or educated customers who come into the shop with a better understanding of the process and what image they want.

"We're not necessarily a skull-and-bones type of place," Close said.

Close is very aware that the image of tattoo shops is "not necessarily a positive one," Close said. The word can conjure up images that are negative — something that television shows like "Miami Ink" and "L.A. Ink" don't help — he added.

"We're anti any of that," Close said.

Over the last two weeks, most of the clients Close has worked on have been seeking more personal tattoos — such as the names of their kids, a memorial to a deceased loved one or an image that shows something from their life. Bringing in one's own design is encouraged at The Inkwell, he said.

Close is the sole artist at The Inkwell. He is looking for an apprentice to work with him — a task that has been difficult so far. He's interviewed about 40 applicants and none have had the right attitude for The Inkwell, he said. While he has "many, many tattoos" on his own body, Close said he didn't get his first until he was 21.

To open the shop and get licensed, Close spent the last several months working with the town's health agent and Board of Health as they drafted regulations for body art and piercing establishments. Amesbury didn't yet have any sanitary or safety health regulations in place for those businesses.

Health Agent Sharon White said she was "very impressed" with the shop, which is different from what the idea of a body art shop may bring to mind, she said.

Close gave the Board of Health a demonstration of his equipment and an overview of his safety procedures before being granted his license by the town, White said. The shop will be visited for a health inspection annually under the town's rules.

"It's been a long process," Close said. In addition to getting approval from the town and all the needed inspections, he also built the entire inside of his shop, including the cabinets and work stations.

"We put this together on a shoe-string budget," he said.