WESTPORT — Rebel & Rose, the first female-owned tattoo and beauty shop in Fairfield County — and Westport’s first of its kind — celebrated its recent opening with an open house on Sunday afternoon at its second-floor location at 155 Post Road East.

“Everyone who comes in here is kind of shocked,” said owner Amanda Dorin, noting her new place is quite the opposite of the stereotypical dark, dank tattoo parlor people know by association.

Instead, the bright sunlit second-story suite is colorful and inviting. And while all are invited to be clients of the in-house experts in tattoos, piercings, and lash-related work, Rebel & Rose is striving to be a safe place where women especially feel comfortable and welcome.

“They make me feel very comfortable,” said Melanie Emerson of Norwalk, who said a woman-owned shop brings a unique style of acceptance and inclusion to its customers.

“It’s a very inclusive space,” she said.

Having opened on Feb. 22, Dorin said that along with traditional work in tattoos and piercings, the team also specializes in a range of cosmetic work and procedures relevant to health- and medical-related issues, such as scarring and post-mastectomy cosmetics.

“I think my favorite thing about this is we’re changing everyone’s view of tattooing in general,” Dorin said.

For more information, visit their website at this link.