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NILES — Sara Midkiff and Sierra Litka greeted clients both new and old as they filtered in and out of Beyond Ink & Art’s grand opening Tuesday afternoon.

The new business, located at 207 N. Second St., celebrated its grand opening from noon to midnight Tuesday, offering guests a tour of the facility as well as a raffle for a chance to win a free tattoo.

The shop will be open from 1 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Monday starting Sunday, Feb. 13 and will feature tattoo services as well as a custom art studio where works from Midkiff and Litka will be sold.

Midkiff said the business will offer piercing services in the near future and that it is possible the duo may take art commissions at a later date.

“Once a week, we’re gonna try and work for four hours on a piece that we can possibly sell here,” Midkiff said. “I do like to do ceramics. I’m hoping to get back into that soon, but I like classical acrylic paintings, and we do a little bit of pencil drawings and stuff.”

After years of working for local tattoo parlors, Midkiff, of Berrien Springs, and Litka, a Buchanan native, noticed the vacancy at 207 N. Second St. building in October. The building has been popular with tattoo artists in recent years, as the space was the former home of Yours Truly Studio LLC, which closed last year.

After thinking it over, Midkiff and Litka decided the time was right to pursue their own business. Since December, the duo has been hard at work bringing the building to life.

“This was just an opportunity we couldn’t pass up,” Midkiff said.

To make it their own, Midkiff and Litka painted the inside of the building and installed a wall to separate the entrance area from the workspace. According to Midkiff, the duo has overcome every challenge faced so far.

“We haven’t had too many challenges, thankfully,” she said. “We’ve just had minor things here and there, which has been very nice.”

Midkiff and Litka aim to offer the Niles community a friendly, professional experience.

“I’m looking forward to being able to have more control over my work space,” Litka said. “I like things to be clean and very professional, like a doctor’s office. That’s what we’re trying to do. It’s a bit more professional than you see with other places.”

“We’re client-oriented,” Midkiff said. “We like to put the clients first and make them feel comfortable and safe. That’s what we’re going for with our environment here, a comfortable home environment while remaining clean and professional.”