Nine years of ink out on Arch Street Pike.
Custom tattooing by James Brassfield Jr., known around central Arkansas as Catfish Jimmy. Come look at the wall, talk through the idea, and book a chair.
The shop, before open
- 130Google reviews
- 9Years in central Arkansas
- Tue to SatAfternoons into evening
- 14021Arch St Pike, Little Rock
The shop sits on Arch Street Pike.
Not a mall storefront and not a booth in somebody else's building. It is a roadside shop on the south side of Little Rock, with parking out front and a door you walk straight through.
Pull in, come inside, and take your time looking before you decide anything. Nobody is going to rush you into a design. If you are driving out from town, call first so you know somebody is in the chair room and not on lunch.
Hours
Tuesday through Saturday, afternoons into the evening.
Closed Sunday and Monday.
What goes on the board
Pick a style and read what it takes.
Five things this shop gets asked for most. Read the one you came for, then bring your references in and we will talk about size, placement and how many sittings it wants.
American Traditional
Heavy outline, a short list of colors, and shapes chosen so the piece still reads from across a room. It is the oldest working style in the trade and it is the oldest for a reason: the bold line holds its edge while everything softer goes fuzzy.
If this is your first tattoo, this is usually the honest recommendation. It sits well on an arm, a calf or a shoulder, and it is forgiving about placement.
- Good forFirst pieces, arms, calves, filling a small gap
- AgesSlowly. Bold line is the whole point
- BringA rough idea and any old flash you like
Neo-Traditional
Traditional bones with deeper shading and a wider color range. More detail goes into every square inch, so it takes longer in the chair and it wants a little more room on the body than a small traditional piece.
Animals, portraits of pets, florals and ornamental frames all live here. If you have been saving a folder of images on your phone, this is usually the style they belong to.
- Good forAnimals, florals, larger single-subject pieces
- SittingsOften more than one on anything sizeable
- BringReference photos, not just a description
Black and Grey
Black ink and grey wash only. No color to fade unevenly, which is part of why it holds up. It reads clearly on every skin tone and it handles realism, script and heavy ornamental work equally well.
Large back and sleeve work most often starts here, because the tonal range gives you depth without needing the surface area that color demands.
- Good forSleeves, backs, realism, memorial pieces
- AgesWell. Grey wash softens rather than shifts
- BringThe photo you want it drawn from
Cover-Ups
Bring the old piece in and let it be looked at in person. Photos on a phone hide the two things that decide a cover-up: how dark the old ink actually sits, and how much it has spread under the skin.
Some cover clean in one go. Some need lightening first and a wait between. Some are better reworked into a new design than buried under one. You will get a straight answer about which one yours is before anything gets booked.
- First stepAn in-person look before anything gets booked
- RealityNew design has to be darker and bigger
- BringThe arm, the leg, the piece itself
Lettering
Script, block, or a line worth carrying around. The work in lettering is not the drawing, it is the sizing and the spacing: letters that sit too tight or too small close up as the ink settles and the words stop reading.
Names, dates and quotes get laid out on the body first, checked against the curve of the muscle, and only then stenciled. Spelling gets confirmed twice, out loud, before the machine comes on.
- Good forNames, dates, quotes, ribs and forearms
- Watch forToo small closes up as it settles
- BringThe exact wording, spelled the way you want it
Recent work, from the needle.
A look at the kind of work that comes out of the shop. Bring your own reference in and it gets drawn for you, not pulled off a page.
More of the day to day goes up on Instagram at @catfishjimmytattoos.
One hundred and thirty people left a review.
Most of what walks through the door on Arch Street Pike got here the same way: somebody sat in the chair, healed up, and told a friend where they went. Nine years of that adds up.
There are 130 reviews on the shop's Google listing, written by people around central Arkansas over those years. None of them are reprinted on this page and none of them are polished up for a website. Go read them in their own words, then come look at the wall in person and decide for yourself.
The name on the sign
Who is Catfish Jimmy?
James Brassfield Jr. He has been tattooing in central Arkansas for nine years and runs the shop out on Arch Street Pike. The nickname arrived a long time before the sign did and it stuck hard enough that most people never learn the other one.
Bring the idea in rough. It gets drawn for you.
The way it usually goes: you come in with references, a rough size and a spot on the body. You talk it through in person, because a description over the phone and a drawing on skin are two different animals. It gets drawn, a stencil goes on, you look at it in a mirror, and it moves until it sits right. Then the machine comes on.
Nobody here is going to talk you into something bigger than you came for. If the idea does not fit the spot you picked, you will hear that before you are in the chair, not after.
Plan your stop.
Walk-ins get taken when the chair is open. If you want a specific day, a specific size or a cover-up looked at, call ahead and set a time.
Find the shop
- Address
- 14021 Arch St Pike
Little Rock, AR 72206 - Phone
- (501) 442-7360
- jmsbfd33@gmail.com
- @catfishjimmytattoos
Hours
- Tuesday to Saturday
- Afternoons into the evening
- Sunday and Monday
- Closed
Hours move around a booked day. One phone call saves you the drive.
Bring with you
- A valid photo ID. No exceptions, no matter who vouches for you.
- Your reference images, saved offline in case the signal drops.
- A real meal beforehand. Sitting on an empty stomach goes badly.
- Clothes that let somebody reach the spot without a wrestling match.
- Patience for the stencil. Getting the placement right is not wasted time.
Aftercare gets explained out loud before you leave, and it is worth listening to. Keep it clean, keep it out of the sun, leave the flaking alone, and call the shop rather than the internet if something looks wrong.