Nipple piercings are one of our most popular requests. The mere mention of this may cause you to grip your chest protectively or thrill you with the idea of a sultry surprise. Either way, these piercings are frequently used to help individuals reclaim ownership over and acceptance of their own bodies. Alternatively, they may simply complete visual aesthetic goals using our beautiful array of jewelry options. Like most piercings, nipples are a deeply personal experience- varying from person to person. While they may seem at first glance like purely provocative adornment, they are only as sexual ..read more

Last month Adorn “celebrated” our 20th year of operations.  Previous anniversaries were accompanied by all the FUN and Prizes!! …Mechanical bulls, Suspension, Luaus complete with Hula dancers, Sumo suits, and Inflated Wrestling Rings, Costume Contests, and FOOD… always food. We are a crew that loves to eat and sling bling! With the constraints of Covid, the 20-year milestone came and went while we scrambled to resume operations under a cloud of economic and physical uncertainty in the midst of an environmental crisis and righteous social/civic unrest.  We are grateful for our lives a ..read more

To anyone who has gotten tattooed or is considering getting tattooed, the right location means everything. Finding the right tattoo shop is the difference between a prized anatomical ornament and an inky wreck less salvageable than the Titanic. In an industry with so much demand, there are going to be a lot of tattoo shops, but only a select few actually deserve your money. Find the right shop and you’ll have a partner for life. Find the wrong tattoo shop and you’ll have a burden that takes twice as much money to get fixed. Portland presents just such a conundrum. Tattoo shops have always been ..read more

“As psychologist Richard Stephens listened to his wife let loose with some unsavory language during the throes of labor, inspiration took hold. So he and some colleagues at Keele University in England conducted an experiment to test whether uttering emotion-laden words can change the amount of pain people feel. Turns out that cussing a blue streak might be a good thing. Study participants were asked to write down five words – to allow for varying foulness thresholds – that they might say after hitting their thumb with a hammer. “A word someone might find shocking and scandalous is a word some ..read more

Piercing the tongue has been around for many moons. It has been traced back to the Mayans of Central America and the Ancient Aztecs. Mayan people pierced their tongues regularly by bloodletting for ceremonies and rituals. To increase the blood flow, they would draw a string back and forth through the hole (McNab). It has also been discovered that Mayan women would pull a thorn-covered rope through a hole in their tongues in a ritualistic fashion. This was done as a blood sacrifice as an offering and to honor their Deities. Tongue piercing has also been practiced by the Haida, Kwakiutl, and Tli ..read more

Friends, Portlanders, countrymen, lend me your ears, but please don’t touch them! Anyone who’s been in our studio with a piercing-related agenda is familiar with one of our cornerstone rules: Keep your hands off your piercings.  Return clients grin and look abashed when we ask them to clean their mitts with an antimicrobial hand wipe each time they touch their piercing.  First-timers give us a quizzical look.  Employees from any sort of medical field nod approvingly.  The real question is why?  Why do we wince each time someone removes their jewelry in our lobby o ..read more

Nipple piercing has a rich history in antiquity. It has been practiced throughout the world for centuries. Nipple piercing has been practiced by the Karankawa Native Americans in the 1800s, the Kabyle from Algeria, British and American sailors, as well as upper-class women of the 14th Century. Its popularity was renewed in the 1960s when sexuality and self-expression started blossoming. Its recent popularity has even been trickling into mainstream society. Let’s begin with the Karankawa. Nipple piercing has been recorded as being practiced by the now-extinct Karankawa Native American males. Th ..read more

The nostril piercing has a long and surprising history. It dates back 4,000 to 5,000 years ago when it was first recorded in the Middle East. In fact, it was brought up in the Bible which is said to be written around the same time. It (piercing the nostril) is mentioned in The Bible in Genesis 24:22 Abraham requested his oldest servant to find a wife for his son Isaac, the servant found Rebekah, and one of the gifts he gave her was a “golden earring” the original Hebrew word used was Shanf, which also translates as “nose-ring” (Morrison). It was brought to India in the 16th century by the Mogh ..read more

We were all young once and have more than likely made a choice or two that we have come to regret. While you may have to live with some of these questionable choices, your tattoo need not be one of them. There are ways of transforming that old tattoo into something new and beautiful. Some tattoos are easier than others to cover depending on the saturation of dark colors, scarring, and overall size. For especially large, dark, or difficult pieces we may suggest a session or five of tattoo removal treatment. With laser treatment, you can usually at least lighten old tattoos enough to open u ..read more

Piercing guns have been used for years in malls and department stores for piercing people of all ages. Today, though, professional body piercers want to see the gun banned. Why? I talked to a lady (who shall remain nameless) who works in a jewelry boutique at a local mall. She said that she has been doing piercings there now for about 6 months. Her “training” took all of 2 weeks, which consisted of watching others and practicing on a teddy bear. (huh?) Although she claims that in the time she has been piercing she has only gotten one complaint, that does not mean this procedure is entirely saf ..read more