Today we’d like to introduce you to Louisa Schneider.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in North Carolina dreaming of becoming an entrepreneur, despite coming from a family full of medical professionals. I attended Dartmouth College and, after graduation, began my career on Wall Street with roles at Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan – two of the industry’s biggest names.
While at JP Morgan, I worked on the sale of Brooks Brothers to Luxottica owner Claudio Del Vecchio. Shadowing him during site and facility visits, I became fascinated by the way he thought about brand recognition and loyalty. That experience sparked my interest in building a brand of my own.
Motivated to take the next step, I enrolled at Columbia Business School, where I joined the Greenhouse Program – an incubator designed to help students launch startups. Drawing from my own lifestyle and instincts, I came up with the idea for Serene Wear, an athleisure brand (named after my maiden name, Serene) well before athleisure was mainstream. I believed moms would gladly trade out their denim for leggings and still feel polished enough to pick up their kids in a blazer.
After graduating, I returned to Morgan Stanley and hoped to build Serene Wear on the side. But I quickly realized I didn’t have the time or capital to make it viable. I decided to put my entrepreneurial dreams on hold, though the passion never left me. Years later, while trading the IPO of Lululemon, I promised myself that if I ever had another big idea, I wouldn’t let it pass me by.
That moment came in 2016, while I was working at the hedge fund Alder Hill. I was researching struggling malls when I discovered that mall-based ear piercing was still thriving, despite decades of little innovation or investment. Around the same time, I was considering getting my daughter’s ears pierced and began researching options. To my surprise, none of them felt right. Piercing parlors didn’t seem safe or family-friendly, and the pediatrician’s office lacked the celebratory feel I wanted for such a milestone.
When I couldn’t find one, I created one.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No success story is without its challenges. I founded Rowan in 2017 as a concierge ear-piercing service in New York City, where licensed nurses visited clients in their homes. Alongside this, I launched a hypoallergenic jewelry subscription box.
Over time, our customers began asking whether we had any storefronts. While they loved receiving monthly earrings, they also wanted the opportunity to shop more frequently and experience ear piercing in a more celebratory setting – outside their homes.
In 2019, after Rowan was featured in Fast Company, Target reached out to explore a potential retail partnership. The timing couldn’t have been better. We launched kiosks inside Target stores nationwide, which significantly boosted our national brand awareness. However, the model came with its own set of challenges. Operating within another company’s space made it difficult to fully control the customer experience and convey our brand identity. Additionally, the logistics and day-to-day operations proved more complex than we had anticipated.
In 2020, I made the decision to open Rowan’s first brick & mortar studio on the Upper East Side of Manhattan – our home turf. Since then, we’ve grown to over 95 studios nationwide, each designed to deliver a safe, memorable, and celebratory ear-piercing experience.
We’ve been impressed with Rowan, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I created Rowan because I wanted a piercing experience that was as safe as it was celebratory for my daughter. At Rowan, all piercings are performed by licensed nurses only using hypoallergenic earrings always – that’s the Rowan difference.
Ear piercing necessitates expertise, skill, and a keen understanding of hygiene to prevent adverse outcomes like infection and tissue damage. That’s why it is important that you choose to get pierced by a medical professional. Coupled with stringent guidelines and training of the Rowan Clinical Piercing Standard, Rowan nurses ensure that ear piercing is safe, hygienic, and worry-free.
Something many people don’t realize is that no two ears are exactly the same. Piercing placement is crucial—not just for aesthetics, but to suit the unique anatomy of each ear. That’s why all Rowan piercings are performed by licensed nurses trained in ear anatomy. During every appointment, we include a personalized consultation, giving you the opportunity to work directly with your nurse to find the ideal placement and jewelry for your look.
We offer two distinct piercing methods. Our needle piercings are performed with a single-use, hollow bore sterilized needle. The needle piercing method can be used for any piercing placement in the ear and utilizes flat backs specifically designed for optimal comfort and healing. Our device piercings are performed with a hand-pressurized device, which is in complete control of the nurse’s hand to guide, position, and pierce safely. It is nothing like a piercing gun, which uses a spring to pierce. This piercing method can be used for any placement along the outer perimeter of the ear and uses butterfly or bell back earrings which make the jewelry easier to change out once the piercing has healed. Whichever method is chosen, our Rowan nurses will ensure the piercing is done with safety and comfort in mind.
We prioritize safety above all else, but we also believe in making the experience fun! Our vibrant studios are as joyful as they are hygienic, creating a welcoming space where everyone can feel comfortable. We opened our first Georgia studio at Avalon in 2022, followed by Krog District in 2023, and Lenox Square in 2025.
Pricing:
- Piercings start at $35
Contact Info:
- Website: https://heyrowan.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyrowan/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heyrowan/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hey-rowan
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@heyrowan
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/rowan-mall-of-america-bloomington
