Studio 28 Piercings, Fine Jewelry, and Custom Tattoos — Local services in New York

I came here last year to have my earlobe piercings re-pierced and had such an awful/strange experience. I did not feel they had a welcoming atmosphere and felt more like they were trying to force things on me that I did not want. It also felt like they were trying to squeeze as much money out of me as they could; I believe 100% in paying artists their fair share, but it just came to a ridiculous point at my appointment.

Over the phone when I made my appointment, I asked if they had simple, plain jewelry I could purchase as I work in healthcare and can’t have something that people might grab at. They assured me they did, but when I came in the girl at the front (and my piercer) insisted I purchase their more flashy earrings at $400-1000 total. They didn’t even show me the simple studs until I asked about them several times.

They also insisted I should get the more expensive jewelry because “even if someone grabs them, they’d have to pull really hard to get them out.” Like what? That sounds awful??

They also heavily insisted I get two lobe piercings on one ear, then come back in a few months when those are healed and get the other two lobe piercings on the other ear. That’s not what I made an appointment for? Why am I suddenly being talked into this other piercing I don’t want? And frankly, who walks around with two lobe piercings on one ear and nothing on the other ear for months.

It was also really frustrating because I had specifically asked over the phone if I could get my two lobe piercings (one on each ear) re-pierced in the same spot they’ve always been, and the person over the phone assured me they could.

Day of the appointment, my piercer rolls her eyes and says she will pierce me where she best sees fit. Fair enough, but why guarantee one thing over the phone just to say another thing in-person? She ended up re-piercing the old piercing spot, but it felt really uncomfortable to have someone say they’ll do something you don’t want to your body without caring how you feel about it.

They also told me that I have to come back in six months to have my lobe piercings sized down to a smaller pair. I ended up going to a different studio for that and the piercer there said he had never heard of sizing down lobe piercings in over 20+ years of being a piercer. He also said he never heard of getting only one lobe pierced at a time.

It’s not a matter of money, just the fact that it was truly such a strange and frustrating experience. I didn’t even write this review for a year because I didn’t want to give the studio an unfair review. But, for a studio that promotes itself as a welcoming and inclusive place, it definitely felt like they were trying to pressure me into things I didn’t want to do. It’s just a strange experience having someone insist they will give you these piercings on your body that you do not want? And it really is so crazy there was all of this drama over a...

ETA: After I posted this review, the owner of the shop very kindly reached out to me to offer a refund. It was so much more than I expected, and I truly appreciate it. I understand one mistake from one tattoo artist that used to work there likely doesn't represent the quality of the shop overall that seems to do good work. Keeping my original review for reference below, but I really appreciate the integrity they have in offering a refund and an apology when they didn't really have to. Ty

I got two tattoos here about 5 years ago. Hesitated to make a review. But they reached out for one recently so 🤷‍♀️ I only have regrets. One of the tattoos was the solar system along my arm. The images I submitted for her design were the planets in the correct order. When I saw the final on her iPad it was correct. Yet somehow when she placed the stencil on my arm, she had mixed up two of the planets which I didn’t notice because why would she do that and I was only double checking the location of the tattoo at this point. Not double checking for her errors. So by the time it was tattooed it was too late. I know mistakes happen but I have had 8 tattoo removals on the planet she messed up (Saturn so very obvious) and it’s still barely gone. It has cost me hundreds of dollars and removal is 500x more painful than tattooing. I know we sign our lives away on release forms so I assumed I wouldn’t get any money back but I did think she might give back the huge tip I left considering the enormous mistake she made that she never apologized for or tried to make right in any way. I’m spending more on removals than on my tattoos at this point and then I’ll still need to get it fixed. It’s been over five years and it’s a miserable situation because it’s taking so many painful treatments to come off. Left 1 star rather than 0 cuz the other tattoo didn’t have issues. Overall sad, frustrated, disappointed, and out a LOT of money trying to fix someone else’s permanent mistake on my body they had no remorse for. If they wanted to make an attempt to make it right I’d be open but I’m not holding my breath given how carelessly this was done. Sorry- but that was...

Got my first tattoo here around 2 years ago and it was a pretty poor experience, mostly because of Jenny. I’m making this review now because I’ve gotten several tattoos since and none of them have been even as close to as bad of an experience as I had with Jenny.

She was super rude and obstinate the entire time. For starters, when I’d walk into the parlor for consultations, she ignored me when I said hello and just gave me a side eye and walked past every visit. I should’ve seen this as a red flag.

When the day before the scheduled tattoo date arrived, she said she had a family emergency and couldn’t do the tattoo the next day. This was totally fine, but I actually went in for a follow-up consultation after that and it was clear she hadn’t even started on the design, so even if there weren’t a family emergency the night before she was not prepared.

When I tried to explain the art I wanted to her she had no patience at all. Here are a couple examples: when I told her I wanted a couple different patterns in the tattoo, she kept saying “pick one”. I kept saying that I wanted a different pattern in each part and she said “which one/pick one”. There was a point where I told her I didn’t like that two parts of the design she proposed were touching and she literally said “no they’re not.” I didn’t know what to say because they were clearly touching (look at the left side of the photo) and she wouldn’t change the design. Overall, it was almost impossible to communicate with her.

The tattoo also took 4+ hours and when I tried to bring my phone/headphones over she told me to leave them on the chair so I just stared at the ceiling the whole time and it was my first tattoo.

The execution was also poor; there are several blowouts in the tattoo and parts where she didn’t color in fully. I’ve had several tattoos since and they’re more intricate than this one and I haven’t had any of these issues. I debated coming back to get touch ups but just didn’t want to deal with her anymore.

I don’t think this is representative of the whole parlor but I would definitely avoid getting a...