{"id":5967,"date":"2026-07-31T15:49:04","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T15:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/31\/newtype-tattoo-shop-opening-welcomes-comic-style-ink-to-ann-arbor\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T15:49:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T15:49:08","slug":"newtype-tattoo-shop-opening-welcomes-comic-style-ink-to-ann-arbor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/31\/newtype-tattoo-shop-opening-welcomes-comic-style-ink-to-ann-arbor\/","title":{"rendered":"Newtype Tattoo shop opening welcomes comic-style ink to Ann Arbor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Greeted by a set of stairs off the shop\u2019s street-level entrance lies the skylight-lit loft which houses State Street\u2019s newest business, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/newtypetattoos\/\">Newtype Tattoo<\/a>. Led by tattoo artist Thomas Abrams \u2014 who has amassed close to 80,000 followers on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thomasabrams\/\">Instagram<\/a> \u2014 Newtype first opened its doors April 27, and specializes in bright, colorful cartoon and comic-style tattoos.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Abrams said he believes the specialized tattoo style Newtype produces sets it apart from other tattoo shops in the city.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA lot of tattoo shops are more open and varied and do many different styles, this is the opposite,\u201d Abrams said. \u201cWe do one style, and it\u2019s pop culture, video game, anime, which is huge, bright, bold, colorful \u2014 and that\u2019s the theme of the shop.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tattoo chairs line the room, and numerous posters from different animated franchises cover the walls. Abrams said one of the most rewarding aspects of his work is seeing how significant different characters are to his clients.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI have a guy right now who\u2019s flying in from Orlando,\u201d Abrams said. \u201cThis is a 40-year-old man. I\u2019m doing characters on him that he grew up drawing in his notebook, and it sounds goofy \u2014 and people think that\u2019s childish \u2014 but that\u2019s amazing. It\u2019s amazing that I\u2019m gonna draw this cartoon on you, of a character you loved when you were 10 years old.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ann Arbor is home to a lively <a href=\"https:\/\/www.annarbor.org\/things-to-do\/arts-culture\/\">arts scene<\/a> \u2014 enriched by local tattoo artists and shops. In an email to The Daily, Art &amp; Design rising sophomore Nora Hagan wrote tattoo shops such as Newtype provide a unique method for community building through creative expression.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere are many benefits to a creative space like Newtype Tattoo, with the main one being the opportunity to build community through this business,\u201d Hagan wrote. \u201cTattoos, in particular, offer a common ground for people to share their creative interests. Having a creative space so close to a large college campus ensures a steady flow of visitors, which helps grow and sustain this community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Local businesses have continued to face challenges in the city, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/business\/south-university-high-rise-boom-increases-density-displaces-businesses\/\">housing developments<\/a> and high rent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.apartmentlist.com\/renter-life\/cost-of-living-in-ann-arbor#:~:text=In%20Ann%20Arbor%2C%20Michigan%2C%20the%20cost%20of%20living%20is%205.5%%20higher%20than%20the%20national%20average%20and%2015.3%%20higher%20than%20the%20state%20average.\">prices<\/a>. In an email to The Daily, Dana Forrester, owner of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckymonkeytattoo.com\/\">Lucky Monkey Tattoo Parlor<\/a>, expressed excitement towards new creative businesses opening in the downtown area, despite construction obstacles and the rising cost of living.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnn Arbor has always been a hub for high caliber tattoo artists, bombastic musicians and innovators,\u201d Forrester wrote. \u201cAdding an artist based business downtown is refreshing. Ann Arbor has become so expensive (rents are sky high and parking is a challenge) that it is rare for a new \u2018mom and pop\u2019 business to open downtown. Even corporate franchises have struggled with these costs in Ann Arbor\u2013so I wish the new shop the best of luck.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Abrams said he plans on hiring more artists, and one of his main goals for the shop is to become a staple in Ann Arbor\u2019s local business scene.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m still hiring artists because I\u2019m very picky, I\u2019m very specific on who I want working with me,\u201d Abrams said. \u201cI want to have a popular, known downtown establishment. I want Newtype to be \u2014 when people are walking downtown \u2014\u00a0 just one of those names that rolls off the tongue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Daily Staff Reporter Micayla Horwitz can be reached at <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/business\/newtype-tattoo-shop-opening-welcomes-comic-style-ink-to-ann-arbor\/mailto:hmicayla@umich.edu\"><em>hmicayla@umich.edu<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related articles<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Greeted by a set of stairs off the shop\u2019s street-level entrance lies the skylight-lit loft which houses State Street\u2019s newest business, Newtype Tattoo. Led by tattoo artist Thomas Abrams \u2014 who has amassed close to 80,000 followers on Instagram \u2014 Newtype first opened its doors April 27, and specializes in bright, colorful cartoon and comic-style [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5968,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[242,243,5233,5234,5231,729,401,5232,759],"class_list":["post-5967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-ann","tag-arbor","tag-comicstyle","tag-ink","tag-newtype","tag-opening","tag-shop","tag-tattoo","tag-welcomes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5967"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5969,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5967\/revisions\/5969"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}