Urge Studios humble story begins in 1994 at the end of Victoria’s Odeon Ally.

Founded by the “Fantastic Johnny Faulds”, his friend and piercer extraordinaire, Grahame McCuaig and, a band of others with whom John served in the Canadian armed forces, Urge Studios’ roots are in Victoria and our proud military history.

The shop has gone through several re-incarnations over the years and now resides in the third location near the corners of Fort and Cook Streets.

Urge Studios has had very little staff turn over since its inception and the artists that have moved on have for the most part left to work in other countries or to open there own shops such as “Black and Blue Tattoo” and “Wolf Sheep”. Urge Studios has a proud history of honing and producing some of the best tattoo artists on the west coast.

Urge Studios strikes a balance between professionalism and a laid back, fun atmosphere. Adhering to the utmost stringent health and safety standards, Urge is proud to host amazing artists from around Canada and the world.

A professional, award-winning tattoo shop, we’re proud of the legacy we’ve established and continue to build upon every day. Urge is the only Tattoo shop on Vancouver Island to offer Laser Tattoo Removal services. We’re also distinctly proud to offer full group health benefits to all of our fantastic and talented Artists.

After relocating to Edmonton, Alberta, John Faulds opened Urge 2 — the first of two shops to share the Urge name. In 2017 Jeff White, the long-time manager of Urge in Victoria, having relocated to the Okanagan, opened Urge 3 in Penticton, BC. Urge is a family with a steadfast dedication to tattoo quality and safety and nothing speaks to that commitment quite so much as the spread of our name through Western Canada and the accolades of our wonderful customers and patrons.