Primitive Impressions

Primitive Impressions is the only place I will go for piercings! The owner is extremely knowledgeable and uses top of the line equipment to ensure a safe, comfortable experience. I had my nose pierced here as well as bought jewelry, my boyfriend stretched his ears with the guidance of the owner when going up the different gauge sizes. You should make an appointment as we have tried to walk in before and there was a wait.

I am extremely hesitant to write this review, as I have the utmost respect for Jason and his incomparable knowledge of body piercings and jewelry. I also want to add that I am a business owner myself and I deal daily with how overwhelming it can be to be the sole owner and worker of a popular business, so I can sympathize.
But in the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that I was really, really disappointed with my experience last week.
My appointment was for 2:30. I arrived late, as I had a client myself that ran longer than anticipated. I pulled into Village Gate at 2:36 and raced inside– I stepped in the shop at 2:38. I fully anticipated that I would now have to wait. I was, after all, nearly 10 minutes late and that’s enough to put someone behind when they run on appointments.
What I wasn’t anticipating was the 6 people that were already there. And the 6 people that he took before me.
Now– I understand. Again, I was late. People should’ve been taken before me if they had arrived before me, but I couldn’t help being shocked that he so quickly wrote off my appointment and took so many other people. They also didn’t appear to be people who had an appointment– from what I could see (and of course, I could be wrong) they were all walk ins. He apparently is only booking himself in 15 minute intervals and spending WAY more time with each person. He SHOULD spend time with people… but 15 minutes for 30 minute appointments is no good.
I offered 5 times to reschedule, as it was my fault that I missed my time slot. He insisted that I stay and wait it out and said he guaranteed that someone would be a no show. Okay, fine.
So I waited. And then I waited. I offered again to come back, as 2 girls walked in for their 3:15 and 3:30 appointments. No, he wanted me to stay.
In this wait time, I noticed that the shop (at least from what I remembered from 10 years ago) was in a steady decline in terms of cleanliness and organization. His garbage was overflowing and he seemed to have a difficult time locating pieces of jewelry for several people. I also noticed that his scheduling system was just a notebook with names and times scribbled down. There wasn’t one surface not covered in stuff, including the sink in the piercing room. I stated this in my previous review as a concern. It appeared that all of his sterilization was in place. The phone rang several times and he ignored it (understandable when there were so many customers in the shop) but stated that we weren’t supposed to be hearing the phone ring and the answering machine message and turned off the phone. This would explain why it took me nearly 2 weeks to actually reach him by phone.
At 3:50, after arriving at 2:38, I snuck out of the shop while he was piercing another girls naval without saying goodbye or explaining my departure.
I feel awful for doing that, but I simply couldn’t stay any longer (I had a client arriving at my salon at 5 and I still needed to stop at Wegman’s) and I didn’t know how else to ask to reschedule when I had already asked so many times.
Jason is an undeniably amazing talent. He is smart, charismatic and knowledgeable of his trade… but his business seems to be faltering. He has an amazing reputation and people have nothing but great things to say, but he seems very overwhelmed and his shop seems to be suffering because of this. I mean no disrespect at all with this review– I really hope that he gets with the times and updates how long he schedules his clients for and maybe gets a new scheduling system/​means of communication.

Yes, yes, yes, definitely yes!!! He’s done almost all of my piercings minus one or two. Since discovering him about 5 years ago I refuse to let anyone else do my piercings. He is gentle and knows what he is doing. I like that he jokes around and is very sociable. He talks to you while he’s doing the piercing and makes sure you know what he’s doing. He also explains the process to you before and tells you what you’ll feel «It’s going to be like a bee sting for about 10 seconds.» Him explaining what he’s doing and talking to you totally calms you down if you’re nervous. Which I almost always am.
If you’re not sure what to get he’ll make suggestions or not sure if you want something, he’ll give you the pro’s and con’s. When I got my triple nape done I showed him a picture of what I wanted and instead of making it exactly the same, he changed it slightly so it fit the back of my neck and looked better. It’s still one of my favorite piercings.
He makes sure you know how to take care of the piercing before you leave, even if he’s seen you 8 times, he still tells you just as a refresher and gives you a care sheet with directions on it. I always appreciate that.
The prices are reasonable. He also makes his own jewelry which is for sale there.
Anytime anyone asks me who to go to when they want a piercing, I don’t suggest anyone else but Jason.

Jason is the only person I would ever allow to pierce me, period. He is extremely knowledgeable and is a calming influence. I have been going to him for almost 16 years now and he just keeps getting better. He’s so popular that he is only able to see clients by appointment now, but it’s worth the wait and planning. He has custom made several body jewelry pieces for me and his craftsmanship is just as excellent as his piercing skill. He genuinely cares about his customers and their well being and he will make sure that whatever piercing you want is done correctly and safely. Take the trip to village gate and you won’t be sorry! Just make sure that you call ahead to be sure you can get in.

Really sexy staff and they have great soft hands. I would recommend them very highly. Also the hand puppet hypnosis show before every piercing is the best!

I wouldn’t trust anyone else but Jason at Primitive Impressions to do my body art! He is super friendly and consistently clean. He sterilizes everything right in front of you and is so thorough it takes awhile for him to get prepared, which I don’t mind at all. There is not a single doubt he knows what he’s doing. Easily the best piercing artist in the area, so call ahead because he’s always booked!

When I wanted to get my tongue pierced, I asked my friends where they went for their various piercings and EVERYBODY suggested Jason at Primitive Impressions. He’s located within the Village Gate and fairly easy to locate.
He has an incredible way with people and I felt 100% comfortable getting my piercing there. He is such a wonderful person and my stress melted away. Didn’t even hurt until later… that hurt haha. If I could post the video of my tongue getting pierced you could hear how great Jason was during the entire thing. He even managed to make me laugh with a needle sticking in my tongue, and reassured me that tongue piercings are NOT a sexual thing even though many people have attached that stigma, and showed me his own!
I have never heard of anybody having a problem with their piercing after getting it done at Primitive and I can’t imagine why they would. Jason is very, very careful about keeping things extremely sterile and the shop clean and organized.
⁵⁄₅ all day every day. Look no where else to get your piercings done. Call ahead to secure a time, too.
Professional, clean, kind, he does a variety of piercing services, and the pricing is very fair. Please, don’t forget to tip! :)

This is one of two people I would suggest to get a piercing from in Rochester. He is incredibly knowledgeable about his craft. The environment is super clean and bright. He has a calm about him that helps you calm down and prepare for what you’re about to do. Definitely a plus. The only thing I would recommend is to call and see if he’s there before you head up.

Jason has pierced me so many times I can’t even remember how many times he’s pierced me. He’s super friendly, extremely professional especially when dealing with a sensitive piercing, and just a great dude. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be pierced by. I just wish I had more parts to pierce!

I am so glad I chose Primitive Impressions for my nose piercing. Jason was fantastic in every way. He answered all our questions, was patient, personable and thorough. He explained everything as he did it and even explained how he sterilizes his equipment. I felt completely at home there. I don’t think there’s anything else I need to have pierced, but if I did, I would go back in a heartbeat.

Jason could possibly be my favorite person ever. I would never go to anyone else for piercings.
I’ve been going to him for quite some time now, and he always remembers who I am. On the many occasions when I have had one of my piercings acting funky, and being sore or bumpy he has always helped me for no charge at all. When you get a piercing there he is always helpful and kind. He makes jokes to try to calm you down, and explains everything he is doing. He is very talkative and always has tons of stories to tell you.
Getting a piercing at primitive impressions is more than just getting a new piercing, it’s an experience.

I haven’t lived in Rochester for over 15 years. I have been coming to Jason since I was in my teens. Even living over 400 miles away has not stopped me from coming here. Whenever I was in town, I would stop by and pick up new jewelry or get a new piercing. While unfortunately over the years I have been forced to remove many of them due to my career, I still have my monroe and nose. And probably won’t be taking them out for as long as I live. Jason is amazing. He is a great person who really knows what he is doing. I can always trust him with any piercings or concerns. He is extremely kind and very easy to work with. He is not all about making money, piercing you and bringing in the next person. He genuinely loves what he does. This is the best place to go in the world. I would never go anywhere else again — after being pierced somewhere else and getting a serious infection.
This spot has been around for YEARS. And deserves it.

I’ve been going to Primitive Impressions for my (many) piercings for close to 10 years. The shop is always spotless and has a very calming vibe, which is nice when you’re getting ready to be stuck with needles. The owner, Jason, is amazing — extremely knowledgeable about piercing, healing, etc., always willing to answer questions, explains every step in the process and is meticulously clean. He also has the most calming voice and is always ready to chat with nervous customers. More than once I’ve felt a bit woozy after a piercing, and I’ve never felt like he was trying to rush me out the door to get to the next person. Absolutely the best piercer in Rochester.

This place is great… seriously… I went Thurs to get my labret pierced. I had done a ton of research, and decided to come here. I am so happy I did. I was so nervous, when we went in, the place was nice and small, it felt very personal and not like a «ok next. thanks.bye.» kind of place. It was very eccentric. just like, Jason. He was so awesome, very calming. Very very patient. I was very nervous and I really liked how he kept talking to me. I know the process probably should have taken about 15 minutes shorter, but luckily, he knew I was nervous.
Jason had incredible bedside manor, he was so clean and hygienic. He changed his gloves twice because he realized that I needed a longer bar for my lip. Everything was sprayed, cleaned, etc right in front of me. The tools were in sealed sterilized bags and he also opened them in front of me. He explained everything to me, what he was going to be doing. Because he was so calm and kept talking to me, I started to calm down.
I didn’t feel anything until it went through the front of my lip, thats when I yelled an expletive :(He laughed, said I could have and he has heard 1000x worse haha. Apparently, I lost some color and didn’t look to well, so instead of telling me; he just kept talking to me, gave me water :) Made me laugh. He explained everything soo well.
I was also nervous that my lip would swell very badly and I would be in pain. My friend had gotten hers done back where she lives, and hers wasn’t done as good as mine :(She was asking him questions about hers. He was extremely nice and patient and gave her advice. He didn’t «knock» the guy who did hers.
I highly recommend him. My 2 other friends went this evening and got their rooks pierced, and he was the exact same way with them as he was with me, only exception, they weren’t nearly as nervous and I was, therefore, their process took a bit faster haha.

I honestly don’t know why anyone would ever go anywhere else to get pierced. Jason is the most passionate and knowledgeable individual when it comes to body modification.

I have gone here for every one of my numerous piercings (except the only one I have ever had a problem with…) Jason (the guy there with the ponytail and the chaps?) is such a genuine, wonderful person. He’s very kind and knows how to make you feel comfortable when there’s a needle half through your skin. He knows how to do everything I’ve ever asked him about… he has a LOT of experience. The whole shop is very clean and has a chill vibe to it, always great music playing. I suggest this to everyone that has ever asked me about piercings, and they have all agreed– he’s definitely one of (if not number one) the best piercers in Rochester.

I cannot recommend this place enough! I was actually recommended to go there by my coffee barrista at Spin and I have never been disappointed!
So far I’ve gotten a total of 4 piercings there and every single time, the piercer (whether it be Niki or Jason, the owner) has been completely great explaining everything and talking me through the whole process. The owner makes his own custom jewelry and while I’ve never gotten anything done, the work I’ve seen come out of there has been IMPRESSIVE.
Overall clean, safe, friendly, and DELIGHTFUL!