Open since 2010, Shades of Grey is Edmonton's go-to place for geek culture—from tattoos and toys to comic books and art. Founder Shane Turgeon noticed there was a gap in businesses serving this community and decided to take a chance in filling it. “If you go to the traditional tattoo shop, they might not be so receptive to doing a Spideran tattoo,” Shane says. “Geek culture has exploded in recent years and it keeps getting bigger. There is a huge crossover between geek culture and tattoo culture.”
Shades of Grey was the logical next step to Shane’s entrepreneurial career. In 1999, he had started a website dedicated to Star Wars and geek tattoos. Lucasfilm took note and hired Shane to write a book entitled The Force in The Flesh: Star Wars Inspired Body Art. He's also been deeply involved in organizing collector and geek culture expos since 2003. He serves as the general manager for the annual Edmonton Comic & Entertainment Expo, which he co-founded, and he's also the director of the Edmonton Collector Con.
