Borough Six Gallery
Driving down Post Road diagonal to Dairy Queen, across the street from a small red antique shop, and right next door to Westfair TV/Audio is a new treasure to Fairfield. A small, unassuming tattoo shop with a lot of heart, Borough Six Gallery. Most likely named for its proximity to the five boroughs of NYC, and home to artistic talent typically reserved for city culture, that talent goes by the name Doug Kapareiko, owner and artist at Borough Six Gallery.
Doug will greet you with open, fully sleeved arms, one in black and gray, the other in color, when you arrive. His long dark beard peeks from beneath the mask we’ve all become accustomed to wearing in public, while his eyes reveal a friendly smile as he greets you at the door.
Like most tattoo artists worth bearing your skin to, Doug has paid his dues. He cut his teeth as an apprentice almost 19 years ago. During his apprenticeship, he did a little bit of everything to earn his keep, from drawing to cleaning, painting, running errands, and doing small tattoos. Sometimes, he even had an opportunity to sleep for a moment between attending art school at Paier College of Art, Hamden and apprenticing at a small tattoo shop in Milford. Once Doug finished art school where he was an illustration major, he began working full-time at tattoo shops from New Haven to Greenwich. He also tattooed at many tattoo conventions throughout New England and the tri state area, receiving several awards for his work. In 2016, he opened Borough Six Gallery in Greenwich and spent five years there before relocating to Fairfield in February 2021.
When you pull up to the front of Borough Six (by appointment only), you’re greeted by a crisp vinyl sign adorning the front window with an overhead, beautiful backlit, custom sign. Inside you will notice the front window is tinted for your privacy while in for your appointment. For the time being, you enter and immediately have your temperature taken with what looks like a remote control pointed at your forehead, and sanitize your hands at a wall-mounted Purell station in compliance with all CDC guidelines. The small shop is outfitted with freshly disinfected dark floor tile and two black and chrome client chairs, ready for the next lucky canvas. Everything is sparkling clean and designed for easy, regular cleaning, right down to the stainless steel desk where Doug draws, designs, and books his work. There is no plethora of tattoo flash on the wall like a fast-food menu, not at Borough Six; no tattoo is a cookie-cutter replica of something that’s been done on repeat. Art lives here.
Rock bands layer the atmosphere with music—some of the very bands that had once partially inspired my taste in tattoos and an interest in playing live music as we talk about tattoo styles, Doug’s journey, artistic preferences, life during and before Covid-19, and my next tattoo. Yeah, that’s correct. After a long time, I’m getting back in the chair, this time with my wife’s approval— not just because I’ve worn her down to allow me to get tattooed, but more so because she finds Doug to be a true artist, with a fantastic artistic eye and a beautiful style.
Doug explained, “I wasn’t able to work for three months last year,” when asked how the Covid-19 pandemic affected business at Borough Six Gallery. “But now that things are somewhat returning to normal, clients that couldn’t make appointments for so long are anxious to get tattooed.” — I could relate. I’d been waiting weeks for this appointment and had to reschedule after getting my second Covid vaccine shot, where Moderna had me down for the count for a day or so. Now the day has come to have my consultation and talk about tattoos, but given the reopening of the world as we know it, Doug is booked out over two months from now—and well worth the wait.
Those of you thinking of getting your first tattoo, or adding to your collections, should consider a few things when looking for the right location. The first is that not all tattooers are artists. Some have no artistic background and approach it as a trade more than an art form. They use stencils and follow pre-drawn designs. There’s nothing wrong with that style, and there are many great tattooers, but if you’re looking for something unique, meaningful to you, and special—find an artist like Doug. The second hinges on the same premise, a tattooer, or tattoo artist, should both follow the rules and have gone through the journey of an apprentice and worked their way up through time, blood, sweat, and countless tattoos and drawings. You wouldn’t hire a landscaper or a journalist to install your air conditioning, so don’t go to any character that calls themselves a tattoo artist, either. Look at their work. Find styles and examples that you like, and most important of all—talk to them! If you’re not comfortable hanging out and talking about what you want tattooed on your body, you won’t be comfortable having ink tattooed into your skin while talking to them for several hours at a time either.
Borough Six Gallery is open Tuesday - Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm by appointment. To book your consultation to talk about your next tattoo, call 203-813-3338 or visit 1949 Post Road, Fairfield, CT 06824. You’ll be glad you did.