Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.
Issue link: https://loumag.epubxp.com/i/388156
144 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 10.14 STUDIO SHOT hen Amber Bananafsh entered the old Maytag building on State Street in New Albany, she immediately started crying. Not tears of joy. "McMahan's got to be f-----' crazy if he thinks I can use this as a tattoo studio," she remembers saying. Unstable foor, half a ceiling, holes everywhere. But her friend Matt McMahan arrived with a plan. For three months the two and anyone who could help hammered at the place. They replaced drywall with brick, fnished the ceiling, used old pallet wood for fooring. One time, Bananafsh passed out applying 10 coats of polyurethane to the foor. (Luckily her fancé found her, freed her from the fumes.) Bananafsh Tattoo Parlour opened in February, and now the 27-year-old (last name legally changed to Bananafsh, inspired by a J.D. Salinger short story/song by the Cure) is booked three months in advance. Home away from home is full of oddities. Ouija boards, palmistry, mandalas, dreamcatchers, skulls — such as the coyote skull topping a staff. Dead abounds in jars: tarantula, seahorse, snake skin, pinned butterfies and beetles. And on the bookshelf: a big piglet named Günther. He still has nose hairs. Clients gave her most of this stuff. The most recent addition is a bloody Pee-wee Herman serial killer, knife in plastic hand. Bananafish Tattoo Parlour By Arielle Christian Photo by Aaron Kingsbury Inking New Albany. W