Kitten Flower Boutique Jewelry and Body Piercing — Attraction in Kalamazoo

We had a wonderful experience here with piercing my 11-y/o daughter's ears. I really wanted her to have a good experience because it was such a big day to her (she's been waiting and asking since she was 5!), so I wanted to make sure they were done correctly, with quality jewelry, a knowledgeable piercer, and a sanitized environment.

Zach (owner & piercer) was easy to talk to and communicated VERY clearly with my daughter so she knew she was in charge every step of the way. She never felt pressured and, unlike many people who work with kids, he actually honored his word when he said he wouldn't do anything without telling her exactly when it would happen. He knew a LOT about the body, medically speaking. We got a good education! The place was very clean. The lady at the counter was attentive, greeted us quickly, and helped my girl pick out the perfect set of earrings for her. We were in and out in an hour.

The reasons for 4 star rating is

1. I hate driving into the city and finding parking was a challenge.
2. It took an hour from start to finish, and we were the only ones there. I imagine the wait time can be long if there are others there, since it's walk-in service.
3. My daughter struggled understanding the informed consent paperwork, and when she asked for my help, Zach told her there is nothing on that page that she can't answer herself and that 4 year olds fill it out themselves all the time. I didn't appreciate that, as her parent. He also made it very clear that I had "no ownership" over my daughter and wasn't welcome or involved in the decision making process. I understand the importance of autonomy and I'm grateful he reminded her that it's her decision, but this was a memory we were making together and I don't like how I was pushed to the side. Although he kept insisting and reiterating that she was the boss and she hired him, it was, in fact, me as her mother who brought her in, allowed the procedure, and paid the bill.
4. It was expensive. I assumed there would be budget friendly choices for jewelry, but I'm not sure you'd have an option less than $120? Which is okay, but it would have been nice to see that on the website under the pricing. I was prepared for less when I saw the piercing fee was $40 and I know earrings can be purchased for much less than $80+.

Overall, I'd recommend and go back for all future piercing needs. It was a great experience with no regrets, I know the procedure, supplies, and jewelery were all sterile and high quality, they are approved and monitored by the health dept, and I made a memory with my daughter that we'll both...

As someone who frequents piercing shops and interacts with piercers regularly, I would, without a doubt, say that Zack, the owner of the boutique and the individual who pierced me, is one of the rudest people I have met. I had a group of three people, including me; we were all getting different piercings, some getting multiple.

Whilst browsing jewelry for the piercings, I was about to get Zack comes out from the back of the boutique and starts ranting on about how all his college customers are the same and that “he’s seen it all” in his “years of experience piercing.” He then mocks a friend of mine after she had said she felt empowered after getting pierced.

The experience does not end here.

Due to COVID restrictions, only five customers are allowed in the shop at a time, and there were already 4 of us in the store. Neither Zack nor Trevor (who was quite nice) locked the door after we had entered the store, meaning anyone could walk in. It was about an hour before the boutique closed, and my friends and I were just starting to be pierced. Two customers walk in, increasing the number of customers in the store to 6. Instead of simply asking the individuals to leave due to violation of COVID policies, they hand them their piercing waivers. Irresponsible on the businesses part and dangerous to the rest of the public.

Furthermore, I had gone to this location to get my daith, upper lobes, and nostril pierced. My lobes and nostril piercing went well; however, I can’t say the same for my daith. Firstly, when I initially arrived at the store, Zack had told me he hadn’t done a single daith piercing today and that I would be his first one. I jokingly told him, “I trust you,” to which he laughed at. Skip forward to me on the piercing table, bleeding profusely from my daith from a mispuncture. Zack then blamed the incorrect needle movement on the COVID protective gear (goggles, face mask, etc.) and then BLAMED ME.... he said I preemptively breathed, which rushed him to pierce me. Irresponsible and rushed work, you have the needle, you decide to pierce me. He seemed rushed and annoyed throughout the whole process.

I spent a decent amount of money here; thankfully, most of it was for the jewelry, which is the only reason this review isn’t one star. The jewelry is very nice; just get it installed somewhere else with less arrogant piercers.

I would not recommend this business to anyone and will not...

This is a long one, so hang on to your chairs. You could not pay me to get a piercing here. I don't even think that you could pay me to go into the building at this point.

Honestly, they have a beautiful selection of jewelry, which is the original reason why I went in the first place. The jewelry is a little overpriced in my opinion, but I understand that often the jewelry is only a small markup from the prices that they buy it for. I don't know that this is for sure the case here, but that is the case at most piercing shops.

The issue here is not the quality of the jewelry, the cleanliness of the store, or even necessarily the quality of the piercings offered. The problem is that the owner and the other male working here are absolutely unbearable and despicable people.

Let me start by telling you my experience. I have been told multiple times, but multiple different people, not to go to Kitten Flower. At this point, I have been to multiple stores in Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids to look for specific jewelry that I wanted. I figured that, as a last resort, I would go to Kitten Flower. I walked in and the manager was lounging in a chair, glaring at me. The man behind the case asked me what I was looking for and I expressed exactly what I was interested in and asked that he direct me to the correct case. While I was looking at jewelry, this man proceeded to speak to me as if I had no experience with body jewelry, you could call it "mansplaining." I understand that some people may need to have their piercings explained to them, but I have had over 25 body piercings in my life, most of which were visible to him. He spoke down to me the entire time, telling me that he needed to put my jewelry in for me because I couldn't do it myself. The whole interaction felt very rude, and I was nothing but polite. After about 15 minutes, I made an excuse to not buy anything, and I left. It has been about three months since this has happened.

After this interaction, I mentioned to multiple people that this had happened, and they expressed that I never should have gone in the first place. The owner has allegedly taken advantage of multiple young girls, been quite rude to men who have come to him for piercings, and took a company that was female owned and ran it into the ground.

You could not pay me to communicate with one of these men again.

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