Paula T.
Yelp
The atmosphere here is clean, with decor standard of most tattoo and piercing shops; The walls are covered in flash (The term for "pre-designed tattoos" that you might also see in books.) The staff is knowledgeable, helpful, and calm. This is KEY, because odds are if you're looking for a piercing or tattoo, your life is going through a major change, or, at the very least, you're nervous, regardless if it's your first tattoo and/or piercing or 90th. Customers come in stressed, on the emotional brink, and don't worry; Your artist and/or piercer has seen plenty of people cry, heard hundreds of stories behind why you're getting that tattoo, that piercing. They are NOT people who ENJOY INFLICTING HARM, they are HEALERS who turn emotional pain into something beautiful, fears and tears into joy and release.
RiverCity uses TITANIUM jewelry (But always be sure to ask, as they do carry some other options that you can buy, but they always pierce with titanium and have mill papers to provide; This is why they're higher priced, but there's a huge upside--your body LOVES titanium, and it does NOT interfere with things like an MRI. Whenever you get an MRI--odds are you'll need one, some day, or surgery, or both--your doctor will ask if you have any metal in your body and to remove it; Not all piercings CAN be removed (Hello, dermals), removed alone (Hello, below the belt), removed easily (Hello, mouth piercings), and the medical establishment is biased to piercings and tattoos. If you say it's titanium, you may be told such a thing doesn't exist. THIS is when and where you want those mill papers, PROVING your gear is 100% titanium metal solid.
As a warning, they also pierce children's' ears--which is WHERE YOU WANT TO BE GETTING THEM DONE--but on weekends, especially, this means a long wait. My advice is to MAKE AN APPOINTMENT. Again--MAKE. AN. APPOINTMENT. Be prepared still to wait--they have to sanitize everything in between clients--be prepared to pay for the jewelry itself, for a handling fee, and news flash; Tattooing and piercing is a TIP BASED INDUSTRY. TIP THEM. TIP THEM WELL.
They also have several locations, so verify where your appointment is at, who it is with. Don't purchase jewelry online. DO NOT CHANGE IT ON YOUR OWN. Follow the steps given to you to care for your new whatever, and if it looks dubious, come in and see someone--most of the time, people mistake the NORMAL HEALING PROCESS for infection, are causing the problem, etc.
Jessica has moved onto the board of tattooing, who opened RiverCity. My personal favorite piercer is Mikey (Assigned female at birth), but she books up fast--the best ones always do!
To make appointments, call or drop in, in person, just to book. They are so busy they may not be able to answer the phone OR take you as a walk in--no matter the time or day.