Abbot Kinney Piercing Studio Open Daily 11 to 7: Studs

Studs on Abbot Kinney pierces ears and nostrils seven days a week from 11 am to 7 pm, and it takes walk-ins on a first-come, first-served basis. The studio is at 1639 Abbot Kinney Blvd B102, Venice, CA 90291, just off Venice Boulevard and around the corner from Erewhon Venice. One piercing costs $40 in service and four in one visit cost $70, with jewelry priced on top. Clients must be at least 10 years old, and the studio does not take cash.

Studs started in New York. A 2019 FashionUnited profile named its founders as chief executive Anna Harman and chief marketing officer Lisa Bubbers, and said the brand launched with a studio in Nolita. Their pitch was a middle ground between mall counters known for quick piercings with guns and tattoo parlors that can feel expensive and intimidating. The company now runs studios across the country, and the brand's locations page lists eight in California.

The Abbot Kinney studio fits that pitch neatly. It shares a stretch of the boulevard with Alfred Coffee and Pressed Juicery, so a piercing here tends to be part of a longer afternoon of browsing rather than a dedicated trip. Every appointment includes a complimentary consultation, in which the piercer advises which placements and earrings suit your ear anatomy before anything is marked.

Be clear about the menu before you go. The studio page lists ear piercings, nostril piercings, jewelry changes, checkups and post downsizes, and that is the whole service list. There are no navel, septum, lip or surface piercings here, so if you are after one of those, this is the wrong address. For a broader menu in the same county, Maria Tash on Melrose Place covers body piercings too.

Within that focus, Studs is careful. Every piercing is done with a single-use sterilized needle, never a piercing gun, and the brand explains that needles cause less tissue trauma and heal faster. Starter jewelry is implant-grade titanium or solid 14K or 18K gold, and every piercing stud comes on a titanium flatback labret. The flat disc on the back sits against the skin, which helps with sleeping on a fresh cartilage piercing.

Studs posts one service menu for every studio. One piercing is $40, two are $55, three are $65 and four are $70. Changing jewelry costs $15 per change, and the help center lists a $10 fee per flatback downsize, with no new jewelry required. Service prices are per person and exclude jewelry. The piercing services page even has a price estimator that lets you pick the number of holes and titanium or 14K gold before you walk in.

Clients 18 and over can get up to four holes at once, at the piercer's discretion. The per-hole price drops as you add more, so a planned stack is cheaper in one visit than spread across several. Our honest take is that four fresh holes on one ear can make sleeping awkward for weeks. Two now and two at your downsize visit is the gentler plan, even if it costs a little more in fees.

Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are recommended if you want a specific time. On a sunny weekend the boulevard fills with shoppers and the wait for a free piercer can stretch, so book ahead for Saturday or Sunday, or come close to the 11 am opening on a weekday when the street is quieter.

Parking takes planning. The studio notes that free and metered street parking nearby is usually limited to two hours, and metered public lots sit between Abbot Kinney Boulevard and Electric Avenue, from Venice Boulevard to Santa Clara Avenue. If you plan to browse, eat and get pierced, feed the meter or use a lot rather than a two-hour street spot.

Half the studio is a shop. The Earbar holds more than 250 earrings priced from $10-160 each, sold as singles and pairs, and made for healed holes and everyday wear. It is the place to try a huggie or a clicker in an old lobe while you wait your turn, or to buy the pieces you will swap in after your downsize.

When the time comes to downsize, Studs' help center explains the swap: the piercer removes the longer starter post and fits a shorter labret that snags less. Lobes are usually ready at two to three months and a helix at three to four. Book that visit rather than waiting, since a long post left in a healed lobe is what catches on sweaters and hair.

Abbot Kinney Boulevard is a long strip of boutiques, cafes and restaurants under palm trees, named after the developer who founded Venice of America in 1905. After your appointment, walk south across Venice Boulevard to the Venice Canals, a quiet grid of footbridges and gardens where you can wander for half an hour without traffic.

Or head west toward the ocean and the Venice Beach Boardwalk, where street performers and skaters fill the afternoons. Keep a new piercing away from sand and salt spray for the first weeks, which means watching the beach from the path rather than lying on it.

Studs Abbot Kinney is at 1639 Abbot Kinney Blvd B102, Venice, CA 90291. Hours are Monday to Sunday, 11 am to 7 pm. Services are ear and nostril piercings, jewelry changes, checkups and downsizes. Prices are $40 for one piercing, $55 for two, $65 for three and $70 for four, plus jewelry, and $15 per jewelry change.

The studio is cashless and accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and contactless payments. Clients must be 10 or older. Ask the Karpo APP for a lunch spot on Abbot Kinney or the quickest walk to the Venice Canals after your appointment.