Onyx Piercing Studio is Lincoln, Nebraska’s premiere piercing and body jewelry studio. Our team of Association of Professional Piercers (A.P.P.) members treat your comfort and safety as their number one concern. We believe in using high quality jewelry, gentle, proven techniques, and educating both ourselves and our customers. You’ll find our selection of implantation grade and solid gold body jewelry is second to none in the state. Onyx Piercing Studio’s mission is to provide safe piercings, a memorable and enjoyable experience to customers while being a leader in health and safety standards both locally and at the state level.

Onyx Piercing Studio is located inside of Big O Tattoo in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska.  The newly remodeled space has a warm and inviting lobby with over 30 feet of display case filled with the area’s largest selection of implantation certified and gold body jewelry. 7 tattoo stations surround the two piercing rooms. Large double doors provide both privacy, as well as access for customers who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices.  Cleanliness and order help to make the well-lit piercing room calming and inviting. The piercing room is backed up by a dedicated processing and jewelry finishing station.

Matt Bavougian is the owner and senior piercer at Onyx Piercing Studio as well as Lincoln, Nebraska’s first member of the Association of Professional Piercers. Matt started his piercing career in 1999, and has been piercing full time since 2003. When he isn’t busy ordering jewelry and talking to customers about all things piercing related, he can often be found reading medical journals, reports, and textbooks to further his understanding of the human body and how body piercings affect them. A good portion of his time is spent helping lawmakers, healthcare professionals, and health inspectors become more knowledgeable about the health and safety concerns of the body piercing industry. He has helped write code and laws involving body art in several states across the country and internationally. That knowledge has also been shared with the public throughout the years at dozens of public outreach events.

Matt is a former chair of the A.P.P.’s Legislation and Regulatory Affairs Committee. He is currently the body art representative to the Nebraska Board of Health.

He is also a volunteer on the National Environmental Health Association’s Model Body Art Code Work Group , and the Association of Food and Drug Officials’ Sub-committee on Body Art Materials.

Away from work, Matt enjoys home renovation projects to keep his carpentry, plumbing and electrical skills honed. He loves cooking with his wife (including curing and smoking bacon and sausages), and playing outside with his 2 daughters. He also occasionally fills in as a professional stagehand for concert and theatrical events.

Stop in and see Matt for a quality piercing experience and the finest and safest body jewelry Lincoln, Nebraska has to offer. He might even trade recipes with you.

Mark Badberg is a body piercer at Onyx Piercing Studio, and Lincoln Nebraska’s only other member of the Association of Professional Piercers. He grew up in Doniphan, Nebraska, and has lived in this state his whole life.

He moved to Lincoln after graduating high school to start college and worked various part-time jobs in the meantime. Mark befriended Matt through a common interest in jewelry and woodworking.  This interest sparked a relationship between the two of them, built around education and bettering a craft.

After a few months of regular visits to see Matt and discuss quality and safe products for body piercings, Mark was given an opportunity to apprentice under Matt as a professional body piercer. He has been bettering his craft ever since, and hopes to continue his education through the APP conference courses in the next few years.