I went into this place Sunday while visiting Wilmington and got my tragus pierced on my ear. I got my cartilage pierced there a couple years ago and they did an awesome job, so I wanted to go back for this. FIrst the guy that was taking me back says - I have to go out and have a smoke first - which was rude, he stunk as his hands and breath were all over me.
Then I pick out my jewelry, I asked for a stud b/c I liked the look - he says OK and grabs it and takes me back. His hands were so shaky! He said he had a coffee with 3 shots of espresso....not what you want to hear when someone is threading a needle through your ear! He goes on and then loses the jewelry after already putting the needle through...ouch! Then says....uh, well...what do you want to do? Um, I came in for a piercing so I say - do it again. He had to thread it through again, ouch again. Got it in (stinking and shaking the whole time!).
I went about my day and night and came back to Raleigh....my ear was super sore and swollen....the next day as I am cleaning it, the back ball came off. I emailed the owner and asked for my $$ back b/c I figured I would need to take it out now as I couldn't get it back on. NO RESPONSE.
I went to a local tattoo shop and the first thing the lady says was "You got this pierced yesterday?? With THAT jewelry???". She said the ball came off b/c my ear was so swollen (which it should not be) and that b/c he used an earring with "teeth" it probably cut up the inside of my tragus. She said she could re-do it with a hoop (what you SHOULD always use) but it was so big b/c of the swelling I took it out. $40 down the drain and my ear is still swollen and painful! I would NEVER recommend this place.
How refreshing it is to know that once my pregnant ass is no longer with child, I will have a decent studio to get my back-piece finished! I came in here the other day with a girlfriend of mine who was staking out a new shop to get her work done, and was pleasantly surprised with Hardwire.
This shop is huge and everyone that works here, or at least that was working this past Wednesday, is totally f-ing rad. I HATE HATE HATE when you walk into a shop and the artists treat you like you're retarded or invisible. Not here. These guys literally sat and shot the shit and talked tattoos with us for over an hour. They were extremely knowledgeable and professional and answered all the questions we had and more. We browsed through every artists portfolio and we both found ourselves an artist that will suit our styles. They will even draw up your idea at no charge, and seemingly can get you scheduled for a session fairly quickly, sometimes same day. My girlfriend will start her piece next week.
Although I have about 10 months before I will be able to finish the piece my late artist started back in 2002, I have found the man who will do it, who is super psyched about it just as much as I am. I love this and I am so anxious!
I also stopped in here this afternoon for a new nose stud and although I have not personally had anything pieced by their respective piercer, she was very nice in helping me find the perfect stud and let me use her mirror.
Bravo Hardwire, for proving that there are still talented friendly artists out there who aren't complete assholes with a God complex!
My wife and I just dropped in for our first tattoos tonight. We were met at the door by the owner (we found out later) who was very personable. This was nice because we had stopped by Unique Ink in Jacksonville earlier and the people in there seemed a bit off. Justin (the owner) was great helping us figure out the details of the custom artwork my wife wanted. Mine was much simpler. The whole process was quick, easy and enjoyable (seriously). The only issue I might note is that we were asked to use the ATM and not to put it on our credit card. I understand the desire to not pay some percentage to the credit processing house but I also prefer not to use sketchy little ATMs. I could've pushed back but not being a tattoo "parlor" regular was not too inclined to make waves. It also helped that everybody there was extremely cool, to include the FREE adjustment the piercer made on my wife's nose stud (she's not nearly as "alternative" as this all sounds...well maybe a little). Anyway, if you find yourself in Wilmington in need of ink I highly recommend dropping in at Hardwire...just hit a real ATM first.
Review Source:I visited Hardwire in November, 2008 for my tattoo and was so impressed. Â Everyone there was friendly, and the man who worked on me (Phil) was fantastic! Â We hit it off so well, chatted the whole time, and it made the experience go by quickly and made it enjoyable. Â I love my tattoo!
Today, my daughter went to Hardwire and saw Phil and got her tattoo (she just turned 18), and he was great with her. Â She is very happy with his work and their service.
I highly recommend Hardwire.
**UPDATED 5/9/08 - REDUCED TO TWO STARS**
See end of review for actual update.
For only having been inside maybe two other tattoo/piercing places in my life (purely to look around), this one looked about the same. It was a bit smaller than I had thought it would be, but downtown Wilmington is cramped anyway. They warned us they were in the middle of a remodel (or maybe even a move?) so the place was in a little bit of disarray. This was in mid-December 2007.
My friend and I had chosen Hardwire from rave reviews we had heard. The people there were very friendly and upon hearing that both of us were there for nipple piercings, they jokingly announced it through the whole store. It seemed like a fun atmosphere.
Appointments weren't required, but we had called ahead to see when their piercer would be there, because apparently he isn't there all the time. He helped us decide what jewelry we wanted and then took us back to the private room. They let us both be in the room at the same time (we wanted to take pics!) and the guy was great.
Everything was completely sterile (taken from new packages) and well-done (from what I can tell, I mean, this was my first piercing aside from my ears 20 years ago in my aunt's kitchen). The only thing I wasn't thrilled with was the metal music being played VERY loudly throughout the store. I realize metal kinda goes with tattoos and piercings, but I really would have enjoyed some nice calming Enya or James Taylor, LOL.
The process went very smoothly for both of us (but WOW, was that painful - for a few seconds) and they gave us a military discount (small, but a discount nonetheless), sold us the aftercare spray, and we were on our way. Easy peasy.
Oh...note of caution on payment - although they say they take credit cards (I believe they had the Visa/Mastercard stickers on the door), they really don't...they have an ATM in the corner of the lobby where you can USE your credit card to get cash.
Parking is inconvenient. (Well, keep in mind this statement is coming from someone who is used to smaller towns and private parking lots for everything.) There just isn't much street parking downtown. In fact, is there even any? There has to be parking - but I am not from the area, and it was dark when we went, and we parked in the parking garage down the street.
I am not sure why the other person only rated them one-star. The place didn't seem sketchy to me - but then again, maybe a few years ago it was? I also didn't expect an extravagant, spa-like experience. Nor have I been in a multitude of tattoo/piercing places to compare them. But I personally see no reason whatsoever for a one-star rating. That said, I can't give them five-stars because I don't think it was fully a five-star experience. I would do three-and-a-half, but since I can't, I am going to err on the side of caution and go with three, for the insanely loud irritating music (yes, even though that's probably the type of music played at tattoo parlors everywhere) and not actually being able to pay with a credit card.
The big question is...would I go back? And the answer is a definitive yes.
UPDATE 5/9/08 - I am dropping my review to two stars because I have decided I am not happy with how my piercings were done. Meaning, they were not even - one is through the actual nipple and the second is through the skin behind the nipple. I was willing to overlook this at the beginning, because I thought "Well, it's kinda hard to get them exactly even" but the more I talked to people, apparently other places use clamps, to more accurately position the holes...and this guy just did it freehand. Also, the piercing through the nipple has slowly been working its way out, so much so that it's still very sore and I will likely have to remove it permanently so it doesn't rip through the nipple itself. So I will have gone through the pain and five months of recovery for nothing.
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
