Toledo’s Adams Street district is a warm mix of retailers, ranging from the practical to the hip and eclectic.
It has been only a few months since Toledo resident Mike Klein—along with business partner Shane Gontarz—opened Ink & Iron Tattoo Parlour last September in the Lifetime Building. For Klein, Ink & Iron is a significant addition to the retail landscape.
“My goal is to take tattooing out of the shadows, to get rid of the stereotype that tattoos are relegated to only those of ill repute,” Klein said. “I want to educate clients, to learn and to grow with them, while serving as a reliable, respected part of the community.”
Raised by his single mother and grandparents in Maumee, Klein’s entrepreneurial spirit began as a child, as his days were spent going door-to-door, selling crayon drawings to his neighbors. An adolescence full of drawing and creativity coupled with pop-culture immersion led Klein to two years in a tattoo apprenticeship in Columbus before returning to Toledo to open Ink & Iron. The former thrift-shop space on Adams Street sits in a 2600-sq-ft. building with colorful masonry interior walls and distressed original wood plank floors. And what about that name? Ink & Iron?
“It comes from a Biblical proverb—‘as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another,’” Klein explained. Basically, the company you keep makes you better.”
Career business goals aside, Klein said when people think of Ink & Iron, he wants the shop to be synonymous with choice tattoo work. He said he also wants Ink & Iron’s reputation to be that of a creative, committed arts center.
“I would like to do skate-themed deck paintings for guest artists and people in the city. I see us taking other unpainted skate decks to places like Ronald McDonald House, letting the kids paint them and auction them off,” he said.
Klein’s vision includes art nights at the shop, where artists from around Toledo and surrounding cities can come to create.
“We have plenty of space to collaborate and to share ideas,” he said. “Such a huge part of our business plan is to integrate the community with what we do.”
An affable, dedicated and immensely talented individual, Klein’s tattoo work runs the skin spectrum—from original custom pieces to flash work, to styles ranging from traditional to modern to tribal, and whatever else the client’s imagination can generate. His specialty, however, is cover-up work, taking an existing tattoo that either needs a facelift, overhaul or complete reinvention, and making it a point of pride for the customer. “I love the challenge,” he said.
Klein said his proudest moment in his career to-date was applying a tattoo to his 77-year-old grandfather, a man who, along with Mike’s mom, was instrumental in guiding Mike and his younger brother through childhood. “I didn’t have a father growing up,” Klein said. “I saw how hard my grandfather worked to show us he loved us . . . if I could be half the man [he was].”
Based on his drive, commitment to tattooing and his place in the UpTown community, granddad’s hard work ethic does not have too far to go to find Klein.
Visit Ink & Iron Tattoo Parlour at 1505 Adams Street in Toledo’s uptown neighborhood. Noon-10pm Monday-Friday. 567-316-7433, inkandirontattoo.com.
