I know you might not want to travel but if you did not mind the drive Jon Pitcher who works at Dragons Den in Augusta GA, has been a feature Artist in Prick Mag 3 or four times he does really good work i would not go anywhere else. He specializes in custom one of a kind pieces. He is really good and has really good prices. I guess you should think about what style you want before where you should go. Pick a style ie Old school, New school, Traditional, Japanese Traditional, New age. Then once you know that look for an artist not a studio. Custom work is always better than flash and you get more out of it because its yours. I have alot of work by a few different guys and I think that Jon Pitcher is one of the best around.