On West Lincoln Highway, a new tattoo shop has emerged: DeKalb Tattoo Company, which opened Tuesday.

DeKalb Tattoo Company, 817 W. Lincoln Highway, will join DeKalb’s other two tattoo shops, Out On A Whim and Proton Tattoo. Nick Misitano, owner of DeKalb Tattoo Company, hopes to bring a little something extra to beat out his competition after completing 50 to 60 piercings and more tattoos in five days.

“I try to treat everyone with respect,” Misitano said. “You know, sort of like the golden rule: Treat others as you want to be treated. I’m trying to make this place…cozy and homey. I want to have a good rapport with people.”

Not only does Misitano aim to kill with kindness, he also wants to bring awareness to the stigma some people associate with tattoos.

“I think it’s old fashioned. I mean, times are changing, evolution is taking place,” Misitano said. “I think it’s just an old stigma just like back in the ’50s and ’60s, look at how far we’ve come with civil rights, women’s rights and even gay rights lately. Just because you have a tattoo or piercing, it doesn’t determine who you are as a person.”

According to an April 17 New York Times article, 23 percent of all Americans have tattoos yet 61 percent of human resource managers said a tattoo would hurt a job applicant’s chances.

“It’s really funny when I tell people I’m getting a tattoo or I’m getting a piercing. They’re like, ‘But you’re going into business.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah,’ but by the time I get hired onto a company, I feel like the generation that goes through the company will definitely be more accepting of tattoos,” said Grace Faszczewski, freshman human resource management major. She has already gotten a tattoo and piercing from Misitano and said she would recommend him to anyone.

Faszczewski has three other tattoos, some from Proton Tattoo.

“My piercing, I haven’t had any problems so far,” Faszczewski said. “It’s … clean, straight-through, everything is sanitary, and I know sanitation is really important.”

Not all of Misitano’s customers are new — a friend came to DeKalb from Chicago so his wife could get a tattoo at the new shop.

“I’ve known him throughout high school, and I went away for a little bit in the military and he went down to Florida,” said Barry Haptas, Chicago resident and friend of Misitano. “He’s been tattooing for a long time so once I knew he was opening a shop up, I took my wife out here.”

Misitano’s wife Shannon, who is a massage therapist, will use the DeKalb Tattoo building to perform therapeutic massage a few days of the week. Until then, Misitano has had to make some sacrifices with his family while starting up his latest business venture.

“The most difficult part is dedicating yourself. You have to put a certain amount of dedication into something to make it successful,” Misitano said. “Right now I’m not seeing my wife a lot, not seeing my kids a lot, which is hard because your kids are only going to be young when they’re young. I wish I had more time to be with them. It’s definitely draining, but I know it will pay off.”