The shop, which opened in 2004 was called 305 Ink (with 305 being a reference to the Miami area code) before the show started. Later changed to Love Hate Tattoo, it is co-owned by tattoo artists Ami James and Chris Núñez, and also features artists Chris Garver, Darren Brass, Luke Wessman, Morgan Pennypacker, Tim Hendricks and Yoji Harada. Kat Von D first joined the shop during the first season while Brass had an injured arm. She then returned as a full-time crew member for three seasons, after which she returned to Los Angeles and landed her own "Miami Ink" spin-off entitled "LA Ink" which premiered in August 2007. The first 6 episodes of "Miami Ink" were directed by David Roma, an influential member of creating the format.