As Metamorphosis Tattoo Studio settles into Longmont from Lyons, the studio wants to provide a welcoming environment for everyone who walks through its doors.

At the beginning of the year, Metamorphosis Tattoo opened at 309 Atwood St. in Longmont. What used to be a vacant building is now a vibrant studio, complete with vintage furniture, butterfly designs and lavender walls.

“We’re really excited to be here,” said Serina “Twiggy” Malec, owner of Metamorphosis Tattoo.

In 2016, Metamorphosis opened its original location next to Lyons Classic Pinball on Main Street. Malec said Metamorphosis was the first and only tattoo studio in Lyons when it opened, though the town has gotten another studio since then. Over the years, Metamorphosis has grown from three artists to the seven it has on staff today.

Malec said the recent wildfires in the Lyons area were the main reason for the move. One fire was so close to the shop that Malec could see the flames from the studio’s doorstep.“We didn’t have any time, really, to collect ourselves,” Malec said. “It was kind of like, ‘stop tattooing, and get out now.’ It just happened so many times that, emotionally, I couldn’t really handle it anymore.”

Metamorphosis Tattoo also had a second location on University Hill in Boulder while the Lyons studio was open, but that shop closed after the Covid-19 pandemic. Malec said the Metamorphosis Tattoo team was hoping to buy its Lyons building, but the high insurance costs as a result of the fires made that unrealistic.

While deciding to leave Lyons was hard, Malec said a lot of Metamorphosis Tattoo’s customers lived outside of the town. Most of its artists live in Longmont, too, so moving to the city was a “no-brainer.”

Metamorphosis is a woman-owned studio, and all of its artists are women, as well. Now, there are a handful of woman-owned tattoo studios in Longmont, including Blackbird Ink and Golden Aura Tattoo. But Malec said she believes Metamorphosis was the only woman-owned tattoo studio in Boulder County when it first opened.

“I think we really try to create a safe and inviting space,” Malec said. “Not every tattoo shop feels that way.”

In the three weeks since the Longmont location opened, it has already gotten more walk-ins than the Lyons studio gets in a month.

“A lot of my clients live locally,” said Shy Vance, a tattoo artist and shop manager at Metamorphosis. “Lyons wasn’t really that far, but now it’s just right around the corner from them. Even during the snow days, people were coming in.”

In the Longmont studio, the tattoo stations are separated by room dividers.

“A lot of shops that I’ve been to didn’t offer that level of privacy,” Vance said. “I think we provide a much more comfortable environment than some of the studios I’ve been in.”

The Longmont studio also has a basement, which might turn into an art gallery or event space. In the spring, Metamorphosis wants to use its outdoor patio for gardening and art markets.

Metamorphosis Tattoo currently has a two-year lease on the property. Like with the Lyons studio, Malec hopes to ultimately buy the building.

“We’ve already invested so much love and time into this space, just in the short time that we’ve been here,” Malec said.

“I’m feeling really positive about it.”