New tattoo parlor, Stray Cats, opens in Washington

A new tattoo shop has opened in Washington with the promise of bringing culture to the town.

Stray Cats Tattoo Parlor, located at 205 S. Marion Avenue, is a team effort between Tonya Cole and her daughters, Bailey and Savana Cole. Savana is a tattoo artist and Bailey is an artist in training and manages the front of the shop during the day.

The family has lived in Washington for the past nine years and Savana has been an artist for the last eight years. They began thinking about a way they could do something together and allow Savana her own creative outlet to explore her craft when the idea of a tattoo shop came to be.

'I kind of feel like Washington needed something like this just because it is 2019 and it's way more acceptable these days,” Bailey Cole said, adding it's a much closer destination than having to go to Mt. Pleasant or Iowa City.

Having never owned her own shop before, Cole said the experience was one full of mixed emotions.

'It's so exciting and so nerve racking,” she said with a laugh. 'We had to sign a lease so we're like, ‘OK we're doing it. We have to make it work,' and so far it has been so busy.”

The grand opening for the parlor was held on Saturday, Aug. 17, and the team is offering a variety of deals and specials for the week. The name, Stray Cats, was a conglomerative effort but one Bailey came up with in the end. They decided they wanted to provide a place where people who don't feel like they fit in can be.

'We want somewhere for the artsy community, for the people who feel like they are the stray cats out there, we want somewhere they can go and feel comfortable,” she said. 'So if you feel like you're a stray cat, we've got just the place for you.”

For more information, they can be found online on their Facebook at: Stray Cats Tattoo Parlor.