Wyld Chyld: Wild Yet Mild

Don't let the 'Tattoo' sign out front fool you; you can get a cup of coffee here.

Don't let the 'Cafe' sign out front fool you; you can get a tattoo here. 

Heck, you can probably get a tattoo of a cup of coffee here if you choose.  Though unless you were one of the original investors in Starbucks, I don't see the point.

Confused?  Then take a trip to Wyld Chyld in Merrick, and it will start to make sense.

Open since last October, Wyld Chyld is the world's first 'tattoo cafe', according to owner Bill DeLuso.  It's part tattoo parlor, part coffee house.  He came up with the concept to lift the cloud of mystery surrounding the tattoo industry, and those that work inside of it.

"I actually built it for the non-tattoo people.  People who are curious about the tattoo industry, would never walk into a tattoo parlor...because you have no intention of getting one," DeLuso says.  "This gives you an opportunity to come into our world, see all the tattooing going on, talk to the artists."

When he first opened for business, DeLuso said local residents were afraid at first, not knowing what to expect from Wyld Chyld.  DeLuso quickly allayed those fears.

"They see now it's a relaxed atmosphere...it's not the normal atmosphere you'd find in a tattoo parlor," he says.

The Tattoo Underground

DeLuso started out 25 years ago as a freelance tattoo artist in the city.  Tattooing was illegal at the time, so DeLuso operated 'underground', working in the back of barber shops and social clubs.  As the industry became more accepted, he moved on to private, then public parlors.

Still, the world of body art remained a very private, borderline secretive enterprise.  Tattoo parlors largely consisted of a waiting area out front, with a curtain keeping the inner workings hidden from public view.

As time went on, DeLuso decided it was time to lift that curtain.

"It is a world, it is a cult, it is a group of people that don't let outsiders in and never have.  I'm just giving people an opportunity to get a little better opinion of tattooing."

It's been an opinion shaped largely by reality shows such as 'Miami Ink,' which makes tattoo artists out to be 'rock stars', as DeLuso puts it.   He says people are drawn to rock stars, and that's why people run to their nearest parlor and get a tattoo of their own.  DeLuso says a person does not have to get a tattoo to be part of his world.

An Art To The Art

Folks are encouraged to hang out at Wyld Chyld all day if they want.  Artists at the cafe work out in the open, as DeLuso wants people to be able to watch them in action up close.  Perhaps ask questions, and educate themselves, so they can make an informed decision on whether to get their own tattoo or body piercing.

One of the artists is Matt Hagermann.  He has ten years of experience under his belt, and is on board with what his boss is trying to accomplish.

"It's a beautiful thing, people that normally wouldn't see the inside of a tattoo shop, can look through our windows and see professionals do their job," he says.

So what draws someone like Matt to want to become a tattoo artist?  He says it's knowing that his work will be displayed for a lifetime on the original work of art: the human body.

"They get to carry this the rest of their lives, anything else that they buy could be lost, broken, stolen...in a way I'm always with them," Hagermann says.

Imir Leveque of Freeport is one of those that will be carrying Wyld Chyld with him.  Over the buzzing of the tattoo gun, I chat with him as he gets additions to the biblical themed artwork displayed on his arms.

"This is the Garden of Eden, representing the beginning of time," Leveque says, as artist Jay Blondel fills in a flower on his right arm.  "Next year we're going to work on the end of days on the left arm."

"Basically it's the beginning and the end, and his head is in the middle, we'll do his head like Earth," Blondel jokes.

Not everyone gets tattoos representing the dawn of man.  Some go for something a bit less dramatic.  Dawn Poniatowski of Levittown has just gotten her fifth tattoo; a heart on her wrist.

While the design may be simple, there is definitely an art to the art.  Dawn consults with DeLuso about which way the heart should point.  He finds a picture showing the heart pointing toward the recipient, because it was a gift from someone else.  In this case, Dawn is expressing her love for her daughter; the heart will point outward, always towards her child.

"Even if sometimes it's heartache or hardship, they want to be able to express it to people, what [the tattoo] means to them, it's always a different position," DeLuso says.

Tattoo: Decaffeinated

When entering Wyld Chyld, you can pick one of two doors.  The one on the left leads to the brightly lit tattoo parlor.  The one on the right leads to a darker, yet more familiar world - that of the cafe.

Here the buzzing of the tattoo artist's tools is replaced by that of the barista.  Looking for an espresso rather than a nose ring?  Perhaps a cannoli instead of the Italian flag on your chest?  No problem, all are welcome, says DeLuso.

"When I saw how people hung out at Starbucks, and just sat there, I figured that would be great if they offered some kind of entertainment also...a little edgier side to that," he says.

No matter which door one enters, a person can move freely between parlor and cafe.  Check out someone getting a tattoo, then grab a seat on the couch and hear some poetry, play Scrabble, even chess.  They're all theme nights DeLuso is working on bringing to Wyld Chyld.

Tuesdays are when comedians hit the cafe stage.  They come to test their material before heading to the larger venues like Governors.  It's a chance to get feedback from fellow comics, and from those who wander over from the parlor.

"Comedy is a form of art, and I see all the art on the wall here, I think [comedy] fits," says comedian Joe Giarratano, aka 'Joey G.'  "I think this would really thrive in Manhattan."

Merrick And Beyond

Funny he should say that.  A Wyld Chyld expansion to the city is in the works, somewhere down in the village, DeLuso hopes.  He's not planning to stop there.  Talking to industry folks at conventions, there is interest in bringing the Wyld Chyld concept to Vegas, Los Angeles, even abroad in such locales as Athens and Rome.  It all started with the flagship store here in Merrick.

"This is the kind of atmosphere where you feel like you're doing something wrong, you know, 'I'm at the tattoo parlor'...it's morphed into something else, I never expected it to become what it did," DeLuso says.

Unless they start piercing tongues at Starbucks, expect Wyld Chyld's plan of world domination to succeed.  Muffins and all.

Wyld Chyld Tattoo Parlor & Cafe is located at 1708 Sunrise Highway in Merrick and is open seven days a week.  They can be reached at 516-208-9714.  Go to www.wyldchyldstudios.com for more information.

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