Nomad Piercing Studio

Blake — absolutely on point. Seems like the naysayers expect some cuddly tender bedside manner. I say shove it. The job was done extremely well, with the confidence and technique of a professional and plenty of communication. If I’m paying you to stab me, you better do it right, feelings be damned. Keep up the good work Blake. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ will return.

Great experience. I got my nose pierced here and the dude was very knowledgable and even has own book about piercings that he wrote.
I would recommend to a friend.

After over 15 years of living with an uncomfortable piercing, I thought it was finally time to get my jewelry switched out to something better. Knowing that the owner, Blake, has an amazingly legit selection, I was very pleased with my new piece. Looking at his wide variety of jewelry made me want more piercings. This gentleman doesn’t carry anything plastic, cheap or what he doesn’t consider quality. He knows his craft better than most piercers around and takes his job very seriously. All of my tattooed and pierced friends in this town know and respect this guy.
Blake also designs and crafts many of the jewelry pieces you’ll see. From rose gold, to stainless steel and bone, he has quite the selection of all sizes, designs and styles at an extremely fair price.
He is known for piercing kids (with adult supervision of course) and does it the right way. Needles only and NO crappy guns. He has three rad kids of his own that I got the pleasure of meeting and you can see he is a great Daddy and truly cares about parents and kids getting a good and safe result.
Although, he might seem serious or a little rough around the edges initially, he is focused, educated and knows what he is doing. If and when my children want to be pierced, I hope this guy is still working.
He does things that old school way, so call ahead for an appointment and bring CASH. No cards. Support your local small businesses people. You won’t regret supporting this one. Don’t forget to tip!
Now I just have to save up for the fancy jewelry I want. Can’t wait to come back here again.

I brought my eight-​year-​old daughter to Nomad to get her ears pierced for the first time. We had a fantastic experience. The owner/​operator is great with kids, and he uses the highest quality materials. He is almost a craftsman with his equipment. What I appreciate as much as anything else is the emphasis his studio places on ear piercing as an important cultural ritual. It felt like a rite of passage for both my daughter and for us as parents.
When it comes time for our youngest daughter to get her ears pierced, we will make the drive again to Nomad.

Blake, the owner and sole piercer at Nomad is the SINGLE WORST PIERCER I’VE EVER DEALT WITH IN MY LIFE. Save yourself the time, energy, and money and have your pediatrician pierce your kids ears instead.
Let’s start this review by saying that I had been trying to get my daughters ears pierced here for over a year (we live out of town) September of 2014 it was an issue of miscommunication after miscommunication on Nomad’s end. Every person I talked to had a different story, from a simple «no, a 2.5 year old shouldn’t get their ears pierced» to «we don’t have the right jewelry». That should have been enough to drive me away, but I wanted to get my daughters ears pierced properly, so I figured I’d try again on our trip to Oregon this year. First, they wouldn’t take my appointment over the phone, even though the voicemail specifically says they work with people from out of town. Then, we successfully made an appointment (over the phone, after talking to someone else) show up, and low and behold Blake isn’t even there because he had an appointment… seriously?! Thanks for the courtesy call to let me know BEFORE I drive 45 minutes across town. So we reschedule for later in the week, but receive a phone call the night before letting us know Blake had family in town so he has to reschedule (again). AT LEAST they called to cancel, I suppose. FINALLY, we go to our appointment. His underage daughter was «working» behind the counter, and barely composed herself enough to get me the papers to sign. The ONE AND ONLY positive thing I can say is Blake was very nice once we got back into the piercing room. My daughter (3 years old) had a hard time, and cried pretty hard. He seemed to be impatient with the amount of time it took her to calm down between ears, telling me «I have a belly button appointment soon, so it’s now or never». So he finished up, walks out to get my Mom (who had my wallet) and who was unknowingly to me, very upset about how my daughter reacted to the piercing. She was outside the shop crying and when she asked him how my daughter was, he replied «just emotionally scarred»…joke or not, that’s not something you say to a hysterical person. She told him she didn’t agree with my choice to pierce my daughters ears, and he COMPLETELY LOST IT. He told her that he will not stand there and be insulted about his career and that she needs to get the fuck away from his shop, then he storms back inside (where I’m waiting totally naïve to what just happened) and says to me in front of my 3yo and I quote «Your mom is out of line, you need to fucking bounce. Now!» — I was completely dumbfounded and said «you haven’t even told me how to clean her ears» and he said «Too bad, you need to leave»
So to summarize everything; FUCK BLAKE AND FUCK NOMAD. You suck more than I could EVER express, and if I lived in Portland still, I would picket your POS shop EVERY DAMN DAY to make sure NO ONE ever has to experience what we did.

AWFUL!!! I delt with who I belive was the owner. I went in to get a new piece of jewelry for my neck piercing. It was a surface piercing that went horizontally across the back of my neck, and the jewelry I had in had fallen out somehow. He said he would have to custom make a piece to fit the piercing. After taking some measurements of the piercing for the new jewlery, I had some questions. These were simple, probably frequently asked questions, about price and how long it would take. He replied with an attitude every time. He was very pushy and demanding. I was going in to look, not necessarily to buy. I had been looking at jewlery at several other studios. I felt pressured to pay for his custom made jewlery. He was able to have it done by the next day. When I went to pick up the jewlery it was nothing like what I wanted and had paid for. I wanted to have little purple jewels instead of plain metal balls on the end, and those were nowhere to be found. Also, the jewlery was not stright, but rather crooked and jagged. It looked like he had taken someone else’s beaten up old body jewlery and said he hand made it. After I mentioned these issues, he came up with excuses as to why the jewels were not avaliable. He said they did not make jewels in this specific gauge size, which is total BS. It was a 14 gauge piece jewlery, one of the most common sizes! He said he made the jewlery crooked and uneven because of the way my skin and neck curved. Since he was refusing me a refund, I was forced to were the jewlery due to not wanting the piercing to close. For aftercare instructions, he said to apply Neosporin multiple times a day. Anyone who has any experience with tattoos and piercings know that you NEVER EVER apply Neosporin to them!!! However, the owner I was dealing with has done nothing but pierce people for many years! So I thought maybe he could be right about the Neosporin. Since he has been in this profession for so long I thought maybe I could trust him with aftercare instructions. So I tried applying Neosporin. On top of that, the jewlery he «custom made» for me did not conture with the curves of my neck like he said it would. The jewlery was sticking out rather far on one end and would get caught on things all the time causing a lot of pain. Thanks to his special aftercare institutions and «custom made» jewlery, I no longer have a piercing on the back of my neck. The Neosporin in combination with the uneven jewlery made my body reject the jewlery. The surface skin tore open and the jewlery fell out. There was no way to fix this because the surface skin had torn so no new jewlery could be held. I made the mistake of trusting this guy because he has been doing nothing but piercings for so long! Do not make the same mistake I made! This is the worst experience I have ever had at any piercing or tattoo studio. I think it is absolutely astonishing that this guy has been in business for so many years. Not only does he not have any clue as to what he is doing, but he is extremely rude.

The gentleman with curly hair is very accommodating and pleasant. Unfortunately, his black-​haired young female co-​worker with cheek piercings was such a b$&@h to me that I will never give this place any business again. She flat out told me it was impossible for my partner to have purchased a16g jewelry here– even when I told her the head piercer (the guy) had sold the piece to her. I’m now waiting to talk to him personally because she didn’t believe me. For a place with such a serene and mellow vibe, this snotty girl does NOT fit in.

Not for children. Owner was rude and short with both of us. When my daughter teared up after the first ear he repeatedly pointed me to his no refunds sign. I was well aware of the policy and was not asking for a refund. He then told my 6 year old it was all in her head and she was making his job harder by crying. Clearly not a place for kids. They should focus on adults only.

I’ve come here for 4 piercings before (tragus, belly button and a double cartilage) and couldn’t be happier with the results. This is quality stuff and if you’re looking for a job well done, great customer care, and authenticity, this is the place to go. The prices are totally reasonable for what he does, and you will to see how incredibly worth it it really is.
I refuse to go anywhere else, and refuse to send my friends anywhere else. Just go and you’ll see what I mean.

Went to Nomad twice and had a great experience both times. Blake, the owner, is professional, knowledgable and quick. If I get another piercing, there’s no other place I’d go.

Cool little shop that is solely for piercing. Granted next door is a tattoo shop, but it’s not part of it. The owner was actually a curator on an exhibit I saw years ago at the Museum of Natural History in New York. It was on the history of tattooing and its origins. Small world.
Jewelry was decently priced and I picked up a hoop for myself. Haven’t worn an earring in over three years. Time to bring it back.
Nice shop and nice to chat up the owner.

I have gotten 7 piercings done at nomads, including my nose, ears, and industrial piercing. blake is by far the best piercer you will find, its true he does have a no-​bullshit policy. if your scared he will wait until you are ready and comfort you in a stern realistic manner. but his piercings are flawless, i barely felt any of my piercings. the first piercing i got from him was my nose, i was so frightened when i went in but he was nice and extremely knowledgeable and he assured me it would be fine. he was right, i did not feel the piercing at all. i had to ask him if he had done it yet!
he also makes custom jewelry and will do piercing projects, so if your doubting you can get a certain piercing or a certain type of jewelry, just go in and tell him what you want. he will find a way to work with you and make sure your getting what you want.
the prices are a bit high but its because he uses the absolute best top of the line jewelry, he only has a $ 10 service charge for most piercings, so what your paying for really is the quality of the jewelry. but what you get is what you pay for, and you really do get quality in every area at nomads.
i have has such good experiences with him that i go in excited instead of nervous every time.
all in all, nomads is your only option if you want quality jewelry and a painless piercing experience!

My 9yo daughter had her ears pierced at Nomad yesterday and it was a great experience for her. As a disclaimer, she is a total ball sack about even the slightest pain. She had been wanting to get them done for a while and I will admit I was very apprehensive about how she would handle it. We were both very surprised at how fast and painless it was, and I was certainly relieved that she handled it like a champ.
Before going in, we watched his videos of piercing other children and we talked extensively about what to expect as far as pain and aftercare. I felt having her as educated and prepared as possible was my responsibility and would only make things easier. Blake was professional and informative with both me and my daughter. He has quite the reputation for working with kids as I understand he has pierced over 15,000 of them which is impossible to find at a piercing studio. I wanted my child to have a quality piercing from a professional as opposed to having some teenager at the mall do it, and I am grateful he provides this service. No it’s not cheap, but that’s what you pay for, quality and experience. Day two and there is no swelling, no redness and no pain.
I can however understand some of the negative reviews from parents who have brought their kids here. This is a no bullshit shop as he is not going to coddle your child or parents who haven’t educated/​prepared their children. For some families and kids holding the teddybear at Claire’s while they get shot with the ear gun, (which I can imagine is never properly sanitized) by a teenager, for $ 20, is just a better fit.
After her ears have healed we will certainly be back for some custom new earrings.

Went in to Nomad for a third time to get a naval piercing. Is gotten my nose pierced over a year ago, and after that healed upgraded to some really awesome bling! I always forget to bring in cash because this place is cash only, but the awesome staff (his adorable daughters) told me there was an ATM at the Plaid Pantry next door, and have me some time to grab some cash while Blake prepped for my piercing. As always, the piercing was done quickly, relatively painlessly, and accurately. Anytime I ever have some cash to spare, I love coming here to get some awesome custom pieces or to get a new piercing. Definitely worth the investment :)

I came here looking for a cartilage ring after having this location recommended to me. I was disappointed by the selection-​almost no colors at all and no range in sizes. The woman was not even able to open the case to get the rings because the person with the key wasn’t there. I told the woman about my difficulties with my current ring given that the ball didn’t pop out, and she assured me that the ball on mine would pop out-​my trip to the next piercing studio confirmed otherwise. Lack of knowledge, selection, service and adequately-​priced rings.

I’ve gotten pierced and purchased jewelry at Nomad. Here’s the deal, the guy can pierce well and he’s an asshole. Don’t come here if you want customer service. He’s pretty aggressive with teenagers and kids. He see’s himself as an artist and if you question his opinions your in for a passive aggressive battle. I paid for a custom nose ring, 50 $ paid ahead of time, when I looked in the mirror and asked if he could loosen it a bit, I got a 15 minute lecture about how «I’ve been doing this for 20 years and that’s how it should look.» I was told I would need to come back another day because he was too busy and I might need to just buy another ring. Yea, I’ll pass. Be careful here guys… I’m not recommending them anymore.

I got the coolest piercing EVER here. Unfortunately, my ear rejected it)=
I so wish I lived closer because I want it back!

I’ve had quite a few piercings over the years, initially at low quality places and then at really high quality shops (all down in California). I needed to find a great shop in Portland so I did some research when it was time to pierce my daughter’s ears (she’s three months old) and Nomad was highly rated.
For reference, I should say that I am a counselor and my husband is a medical doctor. We are picky about not only the cleanliness of the establishment but also what the experience would be like for our little baby. The whole process was wonderful! Yes, she cried but it was very short — much less than when getting shots. Blake encouraged us to relax and hang out for awhile. He and his shop were lovely. I would definitely go back and recommend Nomad to anyone — adult or child.

I had a fabulous experience at Nomad Piercing Studio. Being a medical student, I am a bit picky (germs, anatomy and such), so finding a great piercing studio was important to me.
I was pleased at the knowledge, expertise, cleanliness and also the fact that all this shop does is piercing. There is an old saying «you can’t be good at everything, so pick one thing and become an expert in it» I believe this shop has done just that.
I will definitely come back here for future endeavors, spontaneous impulses, and moments when the need for pain is a must and a pleasure.

I went to a piercing shop on hawthorne, and I tell the piercer I want an industrial. He takes one look at my ear and says its impossible because my ear will never heal correctly because of the shape of my ear.
I come to Nomad Piercing and Blake says the other piercer didn’t know what he was talking about, and that an industrial would work fine on my ear. He also bashed piercers who worked on a popular place like hawthorne. Blake said he relocated so that only people who knew about him and his expertise would come to his shop.
I got my industrial. It started moving. It migrated out of my ear. The migration wasn’t painful, so I didn’t even realize it happening. Now, I have what looks like a tiny chew mark on my ear. The other piercer on hawthorne was right.