Angelina's Rose — Local services in Hartford

We had to go here because we lost a piercing, and did not have one in the gauge needed to replace it. It was something quick. We didn't have time to go to the studio I normally use. Angelinas is appointment only, but this was maybe a 20 minute ordeal, with autoclaving. No one else was there, and they really didn't seem busy. I've been to MANY reputable studios. Studios like Shaman Modifications, Ancient Adornments (pioneers of modern piercings), Laguna Gold, Spider Bite, Koneko Studio and several others. I'm very very familiar with shops. Not one of them have ever been appointment only, and I've never minded waiting if needed. I've also never been somewhere that they didn't autoclave (I'm very familiar with timing, temps, etc), and where they didn't install a piece of their jewelry because they wanted to ensure the right size of the post needed for placement. He was snarky. He was, as he put it, "just selling [us] a piece of jewelry." Obviously he thought I'm naive. I know more than he thought, and I pay attention. He "steamed" the piece, and put it in a baggie. It was too brief of a cleaning time for it to be autoclaved, and the post was long. I told him it was too long. He said he was doing that to account for swelling. I understand that concept, but it was entirely too long. He didn't even look at my daughter's tissue. He just said wash your hands before you put it in. He never even offed to put it in, and out of respect for his time I would have paid money to get it put in because we were concerned that the hole had possibly closed up a little bit. Many studios charge for placement, and I don't mind because I'm happy to, plus I tip. He was just rude, and completely uninterested. My daughter's piercing is a regular nostril piercing. The post literally touched her septum with the jewelry still not flush to her face. It's not a new piercing. Swelling can happen, but this is ridiculous. She has a small nose. I wanted something plain, but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to spend more for something of quality. He obviously didn't see my 12 piercings, plus I've got other piercings. I would have paid more for white gold or yellow gold only because I don't like the look of titanium. He didn't bother to even ask. He could have made more money off of me. No one else was coming in, and the phone didn't ring. He could have offered to place it. Nope... As he put it he was just selling jewelry, and he didn't do that...

I was refused service due to Dell “disliking my energy and vibe.” As a woman of color in college with generalized anxiety disorder, I was upset by this extreme reaction to my presence in his establishment. I asked on behalf of my friend, who was in the timeslot after mine, if he was the same piercer for the next piercing appointment so that it would be a smooth transition. He not only took offense to that but was unnecessarily rude about the no-shoe policy, which I obeyed, before refusing to pierce me. When I asked for a refund, he said it should be coming into my inbox at any minute now. It has been an hour and there is still no refund.

I will add that he also read through safety protocols extremely quickly, which I found difficult given that my hearing isn’t the best. After he said that it might turn into a cartilage piercing due to there not being room for a second lobe piercing, he was curt and unresponsive to my openly expressed worry and doubt about this potential outcome.

I’ve read through the positive reviews of Angelina’s Rose and the customer demographic is overwhelmingly white. I’m a college student of East Asian descent who has already felt overwhelmed by how my campus and the Upper Valley overall is predominantly white. My friend and I drove several miles to this establishment during a busy part of our school term because we thought the service and outcomes would be worth it, but we were sorely disappointed. I expected some more respect and emotional understanding from a fellow person of color, but maybe a sense of allyship was too much to ask for. Dell could have just had a bad day, but in my personal experience I would absolutely not recommend him, especially to my fellow college students. His aloofness, his quickness to take offense to legitimate questions I asked, and his insulting me as the client not even 5 minutes after we set foot in the space has made me feel uncomfortable and unsafe in the midst of my current academic stress.

update: the refund...

I took my 6 year old for her very first ear lobe piercing. Our in salon experience was great, although a bit longer than expected. My daughter felt comfortable and did well through the entire hour long visit. However, within an hour of leaving one of the backs fell off an earring. I was able to get it back on and we moved on with our day. The next day one of the earrings fell out completely and was lost (she was not touching them)! I immediately called and left a message as well as em. This is very disappointing and we will not be returning to Angelina’s Rose.

Update- the other earring Dell put in just fell out and was lost, 7 days post piercing. Dell doesn’t stand by his work and this was his response 7 days post piercing

“ Aloha, thanks for reaching out!

Apologies for the delayed response as we have been dealing with some emergencies outside of the parlor and are out of state. The day you emailed we were not operating (open Tues-Sat are our days of operation) and the piercing would have closed by the time we would have been able to squeeze you on that following Tuesday.

Giving our small business a one star review when you yourself are a business owner while continuing to email seems a bit much and not acceptable. If you don’t plan on coming back to our establishment that’s fine, but how you are handling this is not. Sorry that the piercing fell out but that’s not something that calls for the way you are trying to have the situation resolved.

Best, A. R.”

To be clear I sent 2 emails in total, one asking for help and one telling him I was not satisfied with the lack of response. I hope others heed my warning and book their...