Longtime tattoo artist Richie Vomit and his wife, Heidi, weren’t quite sure what to expect when they took a major leap by moving from Sioux City, Iowa to the Pittsburgh area.
But since settling in Verona in May and opening up a tattoo shop/horror film and pop culture memorabilia store in Oakmont called The Monster Mart, they couldn’t be happier with their decision.
Located on the upper Allegheny River Boulevard in Oakmont, The Monster Mart first served as a home base for Richie’s long-standing tattoo business.
He has been doing ink for more than 20 years and has developed a reputation for creating some of the best character tattoos in the game. He has done that by using his love of movies, music, horror and pop culture to cultivate a portfolio that includes tattoos of everyone from Willy Wonka (the Gene Wilder version) to director John Waters, punk/heavy metal singer Glenn Danzig and the Bride of Frankenstein.
The tattoo shop takes up the bottom floor of Richie and Heidi’s two-story location, while the top floor houses the memorabilia part of the business.
With Halloween just around the corner, Richie carries a wide array of masks of famous Hollywood monsters along with a huge cache of figurines, full-size statues, horror-themed T-shirts, signs and decorations. The birth of the memorabilia shop is the culmination of a four-decade love affair with the horror genre.
“I’ve been collecting horror since before I was tattooing, and I’ve always wanted a store,” Riche said. “I’ve been into horror since the ‘80s. My dad was into horror. My brother, who was 12 years older than me, when VCRs came out, he got one right away and we’d go out and rent movies. We went to Blockbuster once a week, and I would go straight to the horror section.”
In addition, Richie and Heidi also use their immense horror collection to frequent conventions, which provides them with another business opportunity. They can be found at Steel City Con, which starts Dec. 10 at the Monroeville Convention Center.
They also set up a booth at Living Dead Weekend in July in Monroeville and at Hearsemania at the Moundsville, W.Va., Fall Bizarre in September.
They offer online ordering from their website TheMonsterMart.com, with options for shipping or in-store pickup. With the Halloween season underway, Richie and Heidi are putting together a window scene for the storefront based on the movie “Halloween 3”, complete with life-sized figures and music from the movie.
So far, Richie and Heidi have received positive feedback from visitors to the store.
“Everybody’s been so welcoming and supportive,” Richie said. “The first day here, we had customers. Everyone comes in and loves it here. … I just want to thank everyone for their support. This has been a dream come true. I have the coolest job in the world.”
But Richie’s creativity and love of horror doesn’t end with his store. He has much bigger plans. On Oct. 5, he’ll be attending the Tom Savini Special Make-up Effects program in the Pittsburgh area, where he’ll learn to make his own masks and special effects.
“I’d like to start my own business making masks and movie props, and I want to base it out of Pittsburgh,” Richie said. “I also want to make movies and direct.”
Richie and Heidi have already directed and produced two independent horror films: “Farmlands” in 2006 and “Machete Mamas” in 2007, but Richie believes attending the Savini School will help him expand upon his already formidable creative skills. He even has some plans to use what he learns in the courses to eventually open a haunted house that will feature animatronics and a horror-themed ride.
“I’m an artist,” he said, “so I always have a million ideas running through my head at all times.”
For now, though, Richie and Heidi are simply enjoying being in the Pittsburgh area, he said.
“We love Pittsburgh. We’re so happy to be here,” he said. It’s not just the zombie capital of the world (“Night of the Living Dead”); in my opinion, it’s the horror capital.”
Richie and Heidi’s shop is located at 802 Allegheny River Blvd. in Oakmont. Reach them online at TheMonsterMart.com or by phone at 412-912-6825.
Darren Yuvan is a Trib Total Media contributing writer.
