I was in town for a 3-day conference and, while getting ready for a formal dinner, I realized my right earring was not getting through my earlobe. I don't wear jewelry everyday because my toddler loves to pull on anything dangling and shiny. The last time I had an earring on my right ear was at least two weeks ago, so it must have closed. I did a quick search in the area for piercing and body art places. Rowan was the only piercing shop that hires nurses which was what I was looking for. Unfortunately, when I went onto their website, they didn't have any appointment times that worked with my schedule. Since I was passing by while running errands, I decided to stop in anyway to see if they could squeeze me in later that day. Surprisingly, it just so happened that their last appointment ended early and the next client was running late. The nurse explained that my issue was a simple fixed and it would not require re-piercing. I was done and out the door in under 15 minutes with a new titanium stud in my right ear. Highly recommended! read more

We decided to take a quick browse inside as we were walking by because the signs caught our attention... come to find out they have registered nurses do the piercings here! My friend and I both came back after lunch and booked appointments to get piercings by the sweetest gal, Tamira - it's because of her we decided to make appointments and come back. She made us feel so at ease (well it's not like we got dramatic piercings but still, we loved her). Too bad they don't have chains in California at all! But they do have them in plenty of other places. Highly recommended, especially if you're looking to take your child to get their first ear piercings! read more

Rowan Michigan Avenue - Tribune Tower - Jewelry Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The BEST!!! Came with my sister and nieces for a family birthday piercing mini party Everything was explained, transparent, and supportive!!! We had 3 device, md 1 needle piercing and every single one of us is DELIGHTED!!!! THANK YOU!!!! read more

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Ariana was perfect! And knowledgeable about explaining the process and after care. The Michigan ave staff was very polite and welcoming. My friend was a bit nervous but Ariana was very nice and patient with her. Lol!! So glad we did this on our Chicago visit!! read more

Rowan Michigan Avenue - Tribune Tower - Jewelry Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I had a HORRIBLE experience at your Michigan Ave location in Chicago. I felt from the moment I walked in that I was being convinced and confused by the sales person and nurse to scam me. I came in with two lobe piercings from a previous piercer that I had gotten done years ago that were half closed. I already did my homework and looked into which piercing studio to come to and decided on Rowan. My boyfriend surprised me with a trip to this particular location. This is not my first rodeo in terms of piercings as I have many but it is my first time at a Rowan. As I mentioned, my existing lobe piercings were half closed and I was ready to get them tapered and have jewelry installed. I have to begin with stating that the sales rep when I walked in was completely uninterested in helping me. She sat behind the front desk and did not even want to get up to show me where the jewelry was that I needed and to explain the difference between device and needle. I had to ask her multiple questions that very obviously annoyed her in assisting and doing her job. She even pointed at the general direction behind me to tell me where something was and I turned around confused, asking her which table then she said let me just get up and show you. Mind you I was the only customer in the shop! When I picked my jewelry and sat down in the room with the nurse, we began the tapering process. I knew going into this that the tapering process potentially may not work and the hole would maybe need to be repierced with a NEEDLE as I stated multiple times to your staff that I did NOT want a new hole via device. I wanted a hallow NEEDLE through the existing hole to be RE-OPENED (if the tapering did not work)!!!! This is the part where the scam comes in. As the taping did not work, we are sitting in the room with the jewelry opened on the tray. The nurse tells me now I need to pay for the jewelry as it was opened, and I need to pay for the device piercing to different jewelry to pierce me. As I stated, I never wanted to re-pierce a new hole. So for her to tell me, I need to pay for the jewelry for the needle and I need to pay now for the device piercing as well completely shocked me!!!! I truly was about to walk out of your studio and leave behind everything, but I then asked her why can she not pierce me with a NEEDLE and use the jewelry that she already opened??? And then she finally said oh yeah, we definitely can and took me back into the room outside of the showcase area by the device jewelry where she was trying to scam me. I hope I am making sense as to how feel manipulated. When I looked at her and told her are you serious I am not paying for the jewelry that you opened before testing that I can be tapered and before trying the needle to jump to device for a new hole. She turned to her coworkers and smirked and rolled their eyes. I'm just shocked at my experience of such poor customer service quality and blatant disrespect to upcharge and confuse clients! Like I mentioned this is not my first rodeo and I cannot believe that this studio has such unethical sales practices. You guys are running a scam operation and you definitely need to better manage your Michigan Avenue location considering this must be one of your flagship locations. I did end up getting my piercing via needle with you guys but truly never again! I WILL NEVER RECOMMEND ROWAN!!!! read more

I am visiting from california and saw this place and was immediately intrigued. I've wanted a hidden helix for a bit so I went in and decided to get it! After picking her brain and asking some questions, I realized I didn't have the anatomy for it. I really appreciated her being honest with me!! So instead I got my 2nd choice which was my 3rd lobes. They weren't my top choice but I was itching for something new. She did a great job making sure she lined them up perfectly for not only my other 2 lobe piercings but also my anatomy and cartilage structure of my ear!! Once I had them in I actually LOVED them more than I was expecting. I loved her AND their jewelry selection. The little stars I picked out go perfectly with most of my other jewelry and look so cute. I'm so happy I went here! Absolutely love them. read more

Rowan Michigan Avenue - Tribune Tower - 3rd lobe piercings done by Rowan! - Jewelry Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I like to visit Rowan's in different cities, so I decided to get a piercing at this location in Chicago. I made an appointment online for a helix piercing. When I arrived, there was no other customers were in shop. I stated my name and once they pulled up my reservation. At that time, they stated they couldn't do a helix piercing, only a lobe. This was disappointing because the website showed a helix piercing as an available piercing. I opted for a lobe piercing since I was already there. The man who pierced my lobe wasn't mean, but also not super nice like I used to at other Rowan locations. I thought it was just me, but two of my friends I was with also made note of that too. The cashier was super nice and friendly which helped the experience. Overall, it was fine, but just not the amazing experience that I'm used to having at other Rowan locations. read more

Really upset with my experience at Rowan. A few months back I got an incredibly expensive double helix cartilage piercing and while the piercer was great, it was the aftercare that has really made me upset. I came in around the time they said I should come in to change my posts but had questions because my ear was in a lot of pain (more than my last cartilage piercing) and it looked like it was infected after only a little over a month. The man working there could not have been more RUDE and dismissive. I asked if someone could look at my ear (since their whole brand is piercings being done by nurses???) and from behind the desk hardly looking at it he goes "honey I can tell you that it takes up to a year to heal and it's fine." He made me feel like I was so stupid to even ask such a question and sent me on my way saying he couldn't help me and I just had to wait it out and that it was "normal". It didn't take an expert to know that my ear was in bad shape and then 3 days later I really couldn't handle the pain anymore and went to urgent care where I was told to take out the piercings immediately and was given antibiotics because both piercings were INFECTED. I'm not sure what happened, I understand I'm not entitled to a refund just because my body did not react well to the piercing, but what happened to my ear is not okay and the way I was shooed away made me very upset. A normal piercing shop would never have this response. It was a little over $400 for both piercings and for the customer service that followed I think that is ridiculous. Sorry if you are squeamish but here is a photo of what my ear looked like! read more

Rowan Michigan Avenue - Tribune Tower - Here is a photo of my ears the day I went to urgent care - Jewelry Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I scheduled an appointment for 4:30PM, I arrived at 4:20PM and was not seen until 5:16PM. The receptionist said I had one piercing in front of me, but that was not true. I watched the nurse pierce a mother and her daughter. The family kept facetiming people (I get that it was her daughters first piercing but the mom had to keep injecting when she was supposed to be getting her piercing which added a lot of time). It was chaotic and wildly unprofessional. Then they try and force you to purchase their cleaning spray- which IMO they should include at their crazy prices. I do not recommend Rowan. The nurse was nice, but at that price I will go to a tattoo shop next time. 1/10. read more

So disappointed! This is a Claire's with better branding. I went in to get a third piercing on my mid/lower earlobe on each ear. I asked for a hand needle piercing three times. Each time she said the "hand pressurized machine" was better. I am susceptible to keloids and know from experience the needle is better. It was bleeding on my walk back home, and I ended up having to remove it 2 days later. It never stopped hurting even following aftercare instructions. When I looked into it further I realized she had pierced it at an angle into the back "conch" part of my ear into my cartilage with the hand machine. Added a pic for reference - note an old healed piercing to the right, and the new hole from Rowan is the small red dot in my cartilage to the left. Extremely painful and careless. I tried reaching out and have not heard back. *Update they reached out and as a "one time curtesy" refunded me $55. read more

Rowan Michigan Avenue - Tribune Tower - Angled piercing through cartilage with "hand pressurized machine". - Jewelry Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is Rowan number three and this is in the Tribune Tower and this is the third location. The second location is in Lincoln Park (see review) on that. The staff and service is spectacular. read more

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Sam was extremely uninviting, rude and unprofessional. I took my 6mo old to get her ears pierced. I regret taking her here. He pierced one lobe high than the other. Very unsymmetrical. He Rudely told not asked, didn't say please but told my 12 year old who was standing behind him to move by the door. We felt as if we did not belong and after leaving and taking a look at my daughter's ears I immediately called West loop location and took her there to get them redone. I will never recommend Sam or this location to anyone and will surely never go back. I don't recommend anyone visit this location Weat Loop is 15 min away and Hailey and Grace took great care of my daughter. Jennifer P.S The Owner/Mgmt lack of care confirms why this location has employees with such terrible skill, personality and lack of professionalism. You more than missed your mark and the dry apology with no effort to resolve is disgusting! No one should visit this location in the future West Loop is a better choice for doing business with. The response from Vivian in my email was poor. The response to this review even more so. Stop contacting me altogether. read more

I walked in today just because I was in the area and was intrigued that it was "all nurses." I asked what they had and an entire section of the store is dedicated to jewelry they use with a PIERCING GUN. I'm positive it's cleaner than Claire's, but nurses who use piercing guns? That HAS to be an oxymoron. The fact that piercing guns are well-known in the professional piercing world as dangerous & terrible for healing means they shouldn't be using it. Professionals who actually know how to pierce would all agree that piercings guns (they called it something like "spring loaded") don't actually pop out a small bit of skin like a hollow needle, but instead force the skin around the wound to spread out, so to speak, causes unnecessary trauma to the skin. It can even shatter cartilage. No reputable piercer would EVER use a spring-loaded tool for piercing. I promise. As someone who has trained with professional piercers. I'm still in shock medical professionals would ever endorse something like that. Ridiculous. read more

Yedira and the Rowan team is the absolute greatest!!! I came in not knowing what I wanted to do and got an awesome recommendation to do a constellation piercing. Piercing was super quick and super painless!!! Definitely recommend to all. read more

The nurse I had was insanely kind and helpful! The location is convenient for walking, but finding a place to park may be tricky. The lady piercing my ears made sure that the earrings were perfect for me and had room to accommodate for swelling. Overall wonderful experience! It is obviously more expensive than a place like Claire's, but the earring quality, expertise, and overall experience are worth it!!! read more