Great Lakes Tattoo is a popular tattoo shop in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago. The two-tiered shop houses its studio on the upper level and a collection of Chicago tattoo memorabilia below.
GLT encourages walk-ins and choosing flash off the wall, which makes for an authentic old-school tattoo shop experience. Every single artist at Great Lakes Tattoo produces stellar American traditional pieces.
September 2022 – I decided to head up to GLT for the first time on a Saturday, when the shop takes walk-ins only. Chicago is a three-hour drive, so I got up early to make sure I was there as soon as they opened at 11a.m. I didn’t have to wait in line too long before I got this quick and easy anchor from Mike Dalton to fill in a gap on my forearm, right above my wrist.
August 2023 – This piece was done by Matt Ziolko, a.k.a. Beatdown. My family and I were in the city for a Cubs game, so I decided to stay an extra day and make my way back to GLT. I have wanted a traditional lady head tattoo for a while; I actually had a different design picked out but then found this one in a flash book while I was waiting for Matt, and it looked tough. The wolf was not a design I ever expected to get, but I am trying to opt for larger pieces. I’m super excited with how this one turned out.