KNOX — After operating a tattoo parlor in Daytona Beach, Fla. for 30 years, Angelo Renko said it was time to come home.
Renko brought a proposal to the Knox zoning board last month for what he terms a "low-key" tattoo parlor out of his Knox home at 143 Beebe Road in Knox. The next meeting is scheduled for April 26. To operate the business out of his home, Renko needs a special-use permit from the town. Earl Barcomb, who chairs the board, did not return calls to The Enterprise this week.

Renko, a long-time tattoo artist said he has worked all over the world, in Brazil, Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium.
Originally from Peekskill in Manhattan, Renko said he retired in 2002. "I get bored and I miss doing it," he said.

While operating his parlor in Florida, he said he worked long hours, some days spending 15 hours in the store. He often wouldn’t leave his shop, 700 feet from where he lived, until 1, 2, or 3 a.m., he said.
Over the years, he has built a steady clientele, which consists of "higher end," and "serious" customers, Renko said. Many of his customers, he said, have come to him before. Renko said he has traveled overseas solely to tattoo. Some tattoo enthusiasts, he said, have gotten together and paid his airfare.

While in Florida, he said, many of his customers from the Northeast would travel south for his services. Now that he’s closer to those customers, he said, they shouldn’t have a problem making the shorter trip.
Renko said he doesn’t want people in and out of his business at odd hours. Nor does he want intoxicated customers, minors, or people who haven’t thought their decision through. His business, he said, will be "completely separate" from his house and it will be small, possibly with only a sign bearing his first name in his yard. Renko said he plans on doing little or no advertising.

Renko said he has been the featured artist in Tattoo Revue, and his work has appeared in 40 of the magazine’s issues. Renko has written articles, and received first place out of 21 countries in the National Tattoo Society, he said.

He is selective about what tattoos he will draw, he said. At times, he said, he turns potential customers away.
"There are tattoos that I refuse to do," he said.

Customers, he said, have brought him many requests. He said he has tattooed portraits, album covers, and done custom work.

Renko tattooed a man’s entire body, which, he said, took 18 years to complete. A multitude of colors and a plethora of shapes cover his legs, arms, and torso. An eagle about to take flight is stamped to the man’s chest.
"I’ve never been stumped," Renko said, adding that he has also never limited himself as an artist. "I wanted to be able to cover a broad range," he said.
Being honest with his customers, he said, is important to him. Many of his clients have been tattooed before; he will tattoo first-timers, he said, but only after explaining "the pitfalls."
Some people don’t know what they’re getting involved in when choosing a tattoo, he said. They may see someone else’s tattoo, and note its beauty. They may see another and say it’s "hideous."
After getting a tattoo, he said, some feel disappointed and think they have made a mistake. "It’s not a mistake," Renko said, and listed many reasons for some clients’ deflated enthusiasm, which include: getting their tattoo from a poor tattoo artist, choosing the wrong tattoo, and placing a tattoo on the wrong part of the body.
"You see so many terrible tattoos," he said. A lot of tattoo artists, he said, don’t have an art background. Some tattoo artists, he said, may be good with a canvas as a medium, but lack skills with skin. Skin is much different, he said; it sweats, bleeds, and stretches.
"The first tattoo everyone walks into blindly," he said. "I spend a lot of time talking to customers to put their mind at ease."

Appointments will be by invitation only, Renko said. Since many people work during the day, he said, he plans to schedule customers for late afternoons, early evenings, and weekends.

If approved by Knox, Renko said he hopes to open for business in mid-May.