With a new tattoo studio now open on Main Street, those looking to decorate their skin no longer have to leave Greenfield.
Business partners Kylee Mason and Kristyn O’Connor opened Moth Hollow Tattoo Studio at 207 Main St. on Aug. 28, and they say it’s a dream come true to own their own shop.
“It’s always been my childhood dream to own my own studio,” Mason said. “It’s unreal. I feel giddy and ecstatic inside.”
Mason has been working in the tattoo industry for about five years, having gone into it immediately after graduating from Franklin County Technical School. O’Connor has been a tattoo apprentice for a little over a year. They met while working at another studio in the region, and decided to “stretch their wings” and open a business together, O’Connor said.
“We came to each other afterward and were like, ‘Hey, if nobody else wants to support us, maybe we’ll just support each other,'” O’Connor said.
Greenfield has been without a tattoo studio since December 2024, when Pygmalion’s Tattoo closed. Great Spirits Tattoo Co. also used to be located in Greenfield but moved to Hadley. With Moth Hollow Tattoo Studio, Mason said she and O’Connor are hoping to bring their creative perspectives to people’s ideas and create special tattoos for each individual.
“We’re custom design artists. We really don’t like to take things from the internet,” Mason said. “We try to make things as unique as we can with our own artistic flair.”
Both have design books for people to look through and pick from, but Mason said people can also come with their own ideas and they will work to create something together.
Both have ink of their own, including work they gave each other and themselves, such as a piece Mason has on her forearm of a mushroom that was done by O’Connor.
Mason described her style as being “on the darker side,” saying she enjoys all things scary and macabre. She added that she does a lot of work with black and gray shading but has been working to incorporate more color. A few ideas in her design book include monsters and lace with flowers. She said she prefers cyber-realism styles, but her portfolio has included a range of styles, themes and content, from birds, cats and monsters to a cartoonish blushing ghost.
O’Connor’s portfolio has included art such as flowers blooming out of broken light bulbs, and simpler outlines of dragonflies and other bugs.
The two both love nature and bug-inspired designs, which played a role in selecting the name and decor of the studio. The pair spent a day at O’Connor’s home in Shutesbury brainstorming and settled on Moth Hollow Tattoo Studio.
“We both love nature a lot, so we tried to incorporate a nature scene,” Mason said.
In setting up the space, they brought in moth-themed decor and other insect- and nature-inspired items, such as a framed Atlas moth and other fun art, like a ghost and a pumpkin. Each artist has set up shop on a side of the one-room studio, bringing their own art to decorate and make the space their own.
The studio will accept both walk-ins and appointments. Consultations are not required; however, people can contact the studio via its email, mothhollowtattoo@gmail.com, or its Facebook page if they would like to set up a time to discuss their vision for a tattoo ahead of committing to the ink. The studio is open from noon to 7 p.m. Friday through Monday.
Deposits are required for appointments: $50 deposits for tattoos that will be smaller than 4 inches and $100 deposits for anything larger than 4 inches.
“We are striving to be affordable,” Mason said. “I want to be able to work with people’s budgets; I don’t want to break the bank for them.”
Mason added that some tattoo studios can seem intimidating, but the goal of Moth Hollow Tattoo Studio is to be welcoming and inviting. Even if someone comes in and doesn’t leave with a tattoo, if they feel a little more comfortable in the space and just want to ask questions, chat and learn more about the process, the studio will be open to them.
“The majority of tattoo studios, you feel kind of scared to approach,” Mason said, “but we don’t want people to feel that way.”
