Help for Nikki Balls Lugo-Rimm

Hello I'm Janis and I'm here to ask for your help for our Amazing Nikki...

A little back story of us...

Nikki and I were destined to be best friends - FAMILY before we were even born. Our parents were best friends (our dads worked together in the phone company) and us being only 6 months apart we grew up being each others sisters.


(us at her 216th st house in Queens Village)

Sleep overs with forts, swimming in the pool as mermaids in the summer, endless bickering- but always end up with love and singing. Then as we grew up, we always stayed in contact.  Maybe it was because our mothers dragged us to be together all the time and Thank God for that!

(us in the college days)

We have been through 42 years of life together and I know I don't have to tell you how amazing she is. 

(my baby shower)

Whether you grew up with Nikki or know her from her tattooing you, or just in passing through mutual friends, you CAN NOT and will NOT  forget this girl EVER.. She is memorable, she's funny, smart, caring, generous, she's tenacious, feisty and just overall good people.

She is someone you WANT to know or be around because she is so full of life. I'm not saying this because I'm biased or anything, but because you know it's TRUE.

WHY SHE NEEDS HELP......

Nikki is not one to ask for help, she didn't ask me to set this up. I WANTED to do it so she wouldn't have to worry... And be able to recover with some peace of mind.

Last night (11/09/20) she was injured in a drive by shooting on her block. She was standing with her husband Andrew,  their dog Ruby and a neighbor friend. They were discussing how in the recent weeks they have been noticing how the neighborhood was starting to get a little worse with the gunfire. As they were standing there, they heard lots of loud popping, they all fell to the ground and as Andrew looked up he saw a guy out the window of a car with a gun.

Nikki was shot in her right arm.. Her tattooing arm.  We won't know the outcome until she gets out of surgery today - she went in at 11am (11/10/20). All she kept telling me when I spoke to her was that she was scared and so worried about NOT being able to tattoo and work again. That it looked really bad.

(Morning of her surgery 11/10/20)

I will always try to be optimistic in every situation I can be, so I KNOW Nikki will fully recover and she'll be better than ever... BUT I know it will take a while for her to do that.

(Nikki and Andrew got married June 2020)

That's where you guys come in and can help..

As you know Covid hit everyone hard in the beginning of the year and Nikki was out of work for about 3-4 months. In that time she used a lot of her savings- all while trying to do commission art work. Then when the tattoo shops were allowed to open back up she was able to get back to work, but during her time in covid- she realized she wanted to make more of a name for herself and open her own little studio... Be her own boss.



That's when the idea of Lucky Duck Tattoo was born! She has such an amazing clientele that she always talks about and if you see her posts you know how much she loves her job.. She is one talented Woman! Tattooing has been her passion since I could remember. I remember going to visit her when she was doing the counter work in China Town and when she started tattooing herself and anyone who would let her in her Astoria NY apartment.