The Double Deuce Tattoo and Art Gallery, which opened on North Harrison Avenue two months ago, wants to add a little ink to the average Caryite, which until recently has been underserved.

"Cary needs a tattoo shop," Double Deuce partner Chris Cline said. "Everybody gets tattoos now. It's not just some weekend biker thing."

And they're buoyed by a robust ink industry, which is holding its own in a brutal economy. At a time when consumers are eschewing unnecessary expenses, customers are still finding a way to get branded.

"Even in bad economic times, tattoos are something people can do for themselves," said Paul Lieberman, who co-owns Double Deuce with Cline. "It's not something anyone can take away."

Forty percent of 26- to 40-year-olds have a tattoo, according to a 2006 study by the Pew Research Center. Meanwhile, just 10 percent for 41- to 64-year-olds had tattoos.

The ubiquitous celebrity tat and multiple reality TV shows dedicated to body art have boosted exposure to tattoos.

That has generated more demand. But it also has created competition.

The number of tattoo businesses in North Carolina spiked 45 percent in 2009.

In Wake County, the number of tattoo permits, which are handed out to qualified artists, jumped 31 percent to 98 during the year.

Indeed, the industry isn't immune to the basics of economics.

"Everybody's seeing a bit of a crunch," said "Sailor" Bill Johnson, vice president of the National Tattoo Association, which has about 1,700 members. "Traditionally, a tattoo is considered an extravagance. Some parts of the country, like rural areas, are doing worse than others."

But Double Deuce benefits from being in one of the state's most affluent towns.

And the shop doesn't have to worry about competition. It's one of the only tattoo parlors -- if not the only parlor -- within Cary's borders.

For now.

The tattoo and piercing field is a fragmented one, made up of independent businesses that show up one year and disappear the next. There's no organizing body to track tattoo establishments nationally.

Business magazine Inc. took a stab at gauging the market in 2007. It estimated that the $2.3 billion industry was made up of 15,000 tattoo shops.

"There are people who see it on TV and think that they can do it at home," said SunShine McCurry, a Bostic tattooist and board member for the Alliance of Professional Tattooists. She also attributed an increase in tattooists to unemployed workers seeking an alternative line of work.

"It's too easy to open a shop in North Carolina," she said.

In North Carolina, every tattoo artist must apply for a permit through their county health department, which each have their own rules.

In Wake, permits must be renewed each year in a process that includes a $300 annual fee.

"There has always been a turnover in this field, except for those shops that are very successful," said Alice Isley, who oversees tattoo inspections and training in 24 counties, including Wake, for the state's Division of Environmental Health.

"And because of different permit fees and rules, there are lots of pockets in the state with many or barely any businesses," she said.

Double Deuce's owners, who cleared all the state and county hurdles, are banking on a lack of competition, location and a novel strategy to succeed.

But they'll also need customers. And despite the tattoo industry's rise, that could be a challenge.

"Cary's just really residential, and there's not enough nightlife to attract crowds," said Kevin Mashburn, the owner of Kevin's Tattoo Zoo, who moved his shop from Cary to Raleigh a year ago. "You need to be somewhere that can bring in walk-ins."

Most parlors in Wake County are in Raleigh, near N.C. State University.

The owners of Double Deuce, who used their savings to open the shop, think their strategy of creating an open atmosphere -- away from Raleigh -- will lure customers.

The store's 1,400 square foot space is brightly lit, with walls adorned with colorful local art and comfortable couches by the entrance.

Each artist has his own work room, and a back room houses county-inspected sterilization equipment.

The goal is to be non-threatening, said Cline, whose body is half-covered in tattoos. "No one wants to go to the scary shops," he said. "All of us are family guys. We know trashy stores or college shops can intimidate people, or make them feel old, and we want to take the edge off."

Indeed Cline, Lieberman and another artist, Scott Russell, are affable guys.

They're eager to listen and discuss ideas with hesitant or indecisive customers.

"We take our art seriously," said Cline, who describes his work as "new school," and is interested in larger, realist inkings. "But we don't mind doing that small butterfly for you."

The business strategy, then, is to build from there. Tattoo some smaller designs and keep the service so welcoming and professional that Cary residents come back to get more, bigger work done.

So far, a loyal clientele and curious visitors to Northwoods shopping center, where the shop is located, have kept the shop busy.

Several Cary police officers have been inked, as well as moms who may be shopping at Food Lion or working out at L.A. Boxing next door, according to Cline.

They've also begun a relationship with nearby Jordan Hall Arts Center.

But they're not naïve about the economy.

The holiday season is slow industry-wide, and the owners are banking on spring time for a rush.

"Getting a tattoo is a chapter of someone's story," Cline said. "For a lot of people, money won't change that, even if they have to keep it small for awhile."