For example, if you wanted to get your ears pierced before 2018, you didn't have many options. You could go to Claire's at the local mall surrounded by little kids trying on headbands, or to a tattoo store, or you might end up next to a guy filling his sleeve with naked women while you were adorned with tiny diamond studs. But in the name of jewelry, we had our work cut out for us.

Recently, however, another option has emerged. Piercing parlors have popped up in New York, Los Angeles, and everywhere in between, taking cues from millennial It brands like Glossier and Warby Parker, offering a one-of-a-kind, personalized experience in both piercing and shopping They offer.

"Whether it's a VC-backed brand like Studs or a boutique-like local spot, it seems like every block in NYC now has a piercer tailored to millennial women," says author of the trend newsletter After School Casey Lewis says.

To name a few, the aforementioned Studs is a chain known for its cheerful yellow brand and trademark ear scapes (aka ear scapes). At Mejuri, a popular fine jewelry brand, you might wait in line to get a piercing. Or you may have driven by Banter (formerly Piercing Pagoda), a chain of kiosks owned by the parent company of Zales and Kay Jewelers.

What they all have in common, aside from the services they offer, is an approach to marketing that seeks to attract millennials and Gen Z's who are looking for an alternative to tattoo parlors or Claire's Dilemma.

"Studs took a page from Glossier's playbook. A lot of startups have tried to do this, but I think Studs has done it best," Lewis said.

In the five years since its launch, the brand has expanded (and continues to expand) to 22 stores. The origin story goes like this: Anna Herman, co-founder of Studs, went to an upscale boutique to get her earrings pierced, but the prices were high and the wait was long. Discouraged, she removed her earrings and went to a tattoo parlor, where they were successfully pierced.

Then it hit them: "Herman's good friend and co-founder of Studs, Lisa Babers, said, "They realized that if they didn't do it on a large scale, they wouldn't be able to do it on a small scale.

They realized that no one was really doing it, at least not on a large scale. Aside from local specialty boutiques like Nine Moons in New York City and 108 Studio in LA and Brooklyn, it was surprisingly difficult to find a safe, comfortable, upscale piercing place. So the two decided to reimagine what piercing looks like for millennials and Zoomers in a way that didn't make them feel out of place in a tattoo store or sitting in a mall window waiting for a piercing gun.

At Studs, customers get their needles pierced in a private room by a piercing expert who "enhances safety, accuracy, and healing." And then there is the space itself, which Lewis feels is half the attraction. "The studios are all very photogenic, and the branding is very unique. If someone uploads a picture of themselves getting pierced at Studs, the average young woman will know it's Studs, even without the location tag," she says, adding that it's a bit like shopping at Glossier, going to Studs is a bit of a whim, because it's a place where you can get your piercing done in a few minutes. Lewis adds, "It's more than getting a new lip gloss or a new pair of earrings, it's about being a part of something."

That's why Maddie Boardman, 34, got her earrings opened at a Studs and Rowan store in New York City: she wanted a fresh experience. She got her first piercing in her early teens at her mother's hair salon. My parents had this funny rule that you could get a piercing when you started your period," Boardman says. 'I had my first piercing when I was 12, and my second piercing when I was 28 or 29.'

She was an early customer of Studs and got her piercing in late 2019, shortly after the first store opened.

"Studs was so cool and I loved their jewelry," she says. But even though she was in her late 20s at the time, she admits she felt a little "uncool" there. So she went to Rowan's next. 'They were targeting mothers,' she says. I don't have kids, but it just felt more my speed."

The third piercing took place at a local tattoo parlor, where she confirmed that she preferred her previous experience. Says she, "They were nice and polite, but it was clear I was not their target." 'If you go to Studs or Rowan, they know you're here to get pierced. If you go to a tattoo parlor, they expect you to sit there for four or five hours."

Lewis says he had a great experience at a recent appointment at Studs in Brooklyn." They were really thorough in explaining the benefits of needle piercing and device piercing as well as the aftercare," she says.

One of the things that these spots do so well is make piercing feel globally accessible, both in terms of friendliness and price; in the tradition of Claire's, their piercings are affordable, so customers happily go back again and again (or even (or lavishly purchase multiple pieces at once). Depending on where you go, the piercings themselves can cost $20 to $30 or even free.

Prices range even further due to the growing demand for high-end piercings. Appointments at the boutiques of celebrity-favorite jeweler Maria Tasch continue to be in demand around the world. Astrid & Miyu in the UK. Transplant, which opened in New York's West Village, has become a hotspot for piercings as well as welded jewelry and tattoos. The Last Line, a Beverly Hills luxury jewelry boutique, will soon reopen in New York, offering diamond and ruby earrings. Meanwhile, celebrity-favorite jeweler Bernard James recently teamed up with Maison Mono to host an earring pop-up at its Brooklyn store. Blake Lively's favorite, Allison Lou, has held earring parties in the Hamptons and Boston, among other locations, and in May opened Fancy Studs, a pop-up concept in New York City featuring 14-karat gold and lab-grown diamonds. Our customers] really want solid gold. They really want diamonds," Babers said.

Don't get me wrong, earrings are big, big business. Fancy Studs is celebrating the brand's one millionth customer, and is expanding to cities like Atlanta and San Diego this year. Rowan, meanwhile, aims to nearly double its stores by the end of 2024. Medjuri currently operates 29 piercing studios in three countries. Banter plans to have 200 needle piercing locations by 2025.

Not everyone is interested in the high-end vibe that permeates the piercing scene, but Ro Bataille, owner and tattoo artist at Cherry Bomb, a tattoo piercing studio in New York City, believes there is room for the old and new guard. (It is also worth noting that most of the newer stores only do ear piercing, whereas the tattoo stores are likely to do body piercing as well.)

"The landscape is definitely changing, but it's nice to have more safe places," Bataille says. 'I feel like the clientele is different. I hope that these stores will show people that they aren't as high-street as they used to be. Both Rowan's and Studs are much better than any place I've ever eaten. As far as places like this go, I'm all for more and more of them."

That won't be a problem this year, as many businesses are on a growth trajectory. That is, as long as there are enough robes, helixes, and contis for piercing.

"With the influx, I'm wondering how often women are getting pierced. Maybe so," says Lewis. 'It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few years.'

The stories are part of the "Piercing Is All Grown Up" package, which explores the trends, artists, and brands shaping piercing today. You can read five stories here.