This is a magazine that has been crafted especially for you, as a piercing professional.
Each feature and advert within its pages is designed to help inspire you in all aspects of your work, promote your achievements, cater for your wellbeing... and provide a bit of entertainment along the way!
the launch edition is jam-packed with content.
For the cover feature (page 12), i caught up with Jess sellars, creator of the jaw-dropping jewellery curation domes that you probably saw popping up all over social media after last year’s aPP Conference in las Vegas. and rightly so – they were an absolute wonder to behold.
my other big interview for this issue was with andrew davenport (better known to most as Jabba) of Get-Pierced ltd, who took me behind the scenes on a rollercoaster ride of a studio refit.
But would you look at the result... turn to page 30 to check it out!
Don’t forget – this magazine is for you, and there will be ongoing opportunities to get involved, from entering social media polls, to sharing your news stories (find out more on page eight), to taking part in features (keep an eye out for prompts in the pages that follow). i’d also love to hear any feedback you have about the magazine, so please do get in touch.
on that note, i’ll sign off and let you go ahead and dive in. i hope you enjoy reading the magazine as much as i’ve enjoyed creating it.
Here’s to 2023!
Louise Hoffman Founder and Editor-in-chief
Welcome, one and all! i t gives me great pleasure to reveal the very first issue of The Sharp End .
s tar attract I on
30 _ rI s I ng above
Andrew Davenport of Get-Pierced Ltd shares the highs and lows behind the jaw-dropping transformation of his new premises in Carlisle city centre
37 _ tI me for techn I que
In the hot seat as our professional expert for this launch issue is Cristiano Aielli, piercer of 20 years and owner of BorneoFlower studio in San Remo, Italy, who imparts his wisdom on the subject of daith piercings
06 n ews and v I ews
All the latest industry news and updates from the piercing community
10 _ dates for your d I ary
Don’t miss these exciting industry events taking place in the UK and further afield over the coming months
18 _ Push I ng forward
UK Association of Professional Piercers (UKAPP) Public Outreach/ Vice President Becky Crossan empowers us to keep reaching for our goals
20 _ talk I ng P o I nt
In the first of our debate series, Aiden Johnson of Rogue Piercing and Anna Garvey of Revenant Tattoo tackle each other on that classic feud between piercers and tattooists
26 _ t he colour of 2023
Get inspired by this special jewellery showcase, themed around the Pantone Colour of the Year for 2023: Viva Magenta
40 _ Into the arch I ves
Paul King, Founder of the Body
Piercing Archive based in the US, introduces us to a rich collection of material that represents the very foundation stones of our industry
42 Jewellery 4 eva
Permanent jewellery is fast becoming the must-have accessory for 2023 –and it’s a perfect side hustle for piercers, as BodyAlter’s Paddy Kielty and Elizabeth Moore explain
46 _ a new lease of l I fe
Having embraced a more mindful way of life, Nikki Lloyd-Proctor of Bold and Gold Piercing Art shares the daily practices that help her to maintain wellbeing
50 _ e nd-note I ns P o
Concluding this issue with a suitably motivational message is Bex Harris of Pictures of Lily in Bedfordshire, who tells us about her career history and proudest achievement
As has recently been announced, Wales is set to become the first UK nation to introduce a mandatory national licensing scheme for body piercers, tattoo artists and those working in semi-permanent make-up, acupuncture and electrolysis.
The scheme aims to reduce infections, eliminate poor working practices and create a central public register for licensed practitioners and approved business premises. It forms the final phase of
changes introduced under the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 to improve standards of infection prevention and control in the industry.
There are an estimated 3,516 practitioners operating in Wales who will need to be licensed, and 1,868 premises that will require approval under the new mandatory licensing scheme. The pass rate for those practitioners who have so far voluntarily already undertaken the Level 2
Award in Infection Prevention and Control is 95%.
A 12-week consultation has now been launched, and the Welsh Government is particularly keen to hear from practitioners across the UK – especially those in Wales and those who are self-employed and working as small businesses.
So, now it’s over to everyone working in the piercing and body art industry to get involved in helping to shape the regulations by sharing your views on this scheme.
Visit gov.wales/mandatorylicensing-special-procedureswales to find out more and respond to the consultation online before 19 April 2023.
Just before going to print we heard that the team at Flux Piercing Studio had won Retailer of the Year 2022 at the Adur and Worthing Business Awards. We’ll be catching up with them to hear all about it for the next issue!
The UK Association of Professional Piercers (UKAPP) is thrilled to announce the appointment of David Angeles as the association’s fourth President.
David comes to the role having sat as Secretary since September 2021. During that time, he has overseen the production of online classes delivered at little or no charge, and has been instrumental in expanding the range of vendors at the 2022 UKAPP Conference. Alongside Outreach Liaison Becky Crossan, David has also
helped to form the UKAPP’s first members committee, as well as negotiating a range of new discounts for UKAPP members.
His appointment follows the recent resignation of outgoing President Sean Powell – a long-standing board member with significant wins for the UK industry under his belt – and the UKAPP wishes Sean well with all his future endeavours.
“I couldn’t be more excited to be following Sean into the role of President,” said David.
“To be filling a role previously held by some of the UK’s very top piercers, like Nici, Lola and Sean, is an unimaginable honour. I hope I can fill their shoes and do the role the justice it deserves.
“As President, the number one thing I want to be is approachable,” he added. “If there’s ever anything you feel you’d like to see the organisation doing (member or not!) I’ll be available as often as I can via email. You can contact me via president@ safepiercing.co.uk.”
hot and what’s not as of the end of January? The social media community has spoken...
Following the success of its two sold-out launch shows last year, the Piercer Trade Show is back for 2023, hosting two events and a brand new line-up of classes and vendors. Director Nathan Hague, of Utopia Body Arts in Aberdeen, tells us more...
by our class tutors – and there’ll be a chance for you to get pierced by one of them at the end of the day too!
Officially launched last year, with events in Manchester and Dublin, the Piercer Trade Show was born during the Covid outbreak, with a group of UK-based piercers coming up with the original idea.
This year, we will return to the Tattoo Tea Party at Manchester Central in April, and then in August we will be at the Big London Tattoo Show as well! A huge thank you goes out to Martin and the team for allowing us to host our events at their conventions once again.
Manchester will be a two-day event this time, taking place from 8-9 April. We will once again be in the Cobden Rooms at the Central Complex. Our headline classes have already been announced via Instagram (@piercingtradeshow), and all details and further announcements will be made there. So far we have announced Casey Morason from the US and Matthew Masterton from Canada, and further announcements will include european piercers. Two-day passes for Manchester are available for the price of £120.
Our event is also the only UK conference to feature live piercing demonstrations –that’s something I am really proud of as it sets us apart from other events instantly. Our open technique classes will feature up-close demos
London tickets and classes will be announced in the run-up to the Manchester event. Plus, be sure to keep an eye out for lots more exciting updates over the next few years: we will be branching out into other areas of piercing so that we can give the best knowledge and information to our future members via events and a series of webinars.
for any further information, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at piercertradeshow@gmail.com
As well as carrying important industry updates, these pages are the place for you, the piercing community, to shout about all of your achievements and developments. So, if for example your studio has held a charity fundraiser, celebrated an anniversary, carried out a refit or rebranding, won an award or hosted an event – please let us know! Likewise, we’d love to hear about any personal achievements, such as graduating apprentices.
There’s a blog on our website with top tips for how to submit a winning piece of content, but at the end of the day, it’s the key details that count!
p ier C er t rade s ho W 2.0
8-9 april
Manchester Central (at the Tattoo Tea Party) tattooteaparty.com/ piercingtradeshow
t he 11th tattoo
t ea party
8-9 april Manchester Central tattooteaparty.com
e mergen C y f irst a id at Wor K ( efa W) C ourse 10 april Manchester cognitionbae.com
p ier C er t rade s ho W 2.5
27 a ugust ExCel London (at the Big London Tattoo Show)
@piercingtradeshow
Big London tattoo s ho W
26-27 a ugust
ExCel London
biglondontattooshow.com
u K app Conferen C e 2023
24-26 s eptember Radisson Blu Edwardian, Manchester ukapp.org.uk
e mergen C y f irst a id at Wor K ( efa W) C ourse
27 s eptember Manchester cognitionbae.com
i nternationa L inspiration
app a nnua L Conferen C e and e xpo
11-16 June
Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, US safepiercing.org
B mx net
Dates TBC Germany bmxnet.org
apa r itorno a LL e o rigini Vo L 6 21-23 October Pescara, Italy @ritornoalleorigini.apa
Let’s fi LL this map up! If you know of a conference, expo or open door event that should be on this page, or have one of your own to promote, send the details to editor@the-sharp-end.co.uk
Here are some of the unmissable industry events taking place in the UK and beyond over the coming months...
the 2022 Association of Professional Piercers (APP) Conference and Expo in Las Vegas, US, something truly special was unveiled. i n an ingenious reimagining of exhibition stand design and function, visitors to the Junipurr Jewelry booth found themselves approaching not a sales counter but a museum or art gallery installation, where illuminated domes containing inspirational jewellery curations set within magical, miniature worlds sat atop custom-made plinths.
Even more excitingly, the creative mind behind these exhibits was n ottingham’s very own Jess Sellars, owner of t he Luna Collective and a Junipurr p ro team member, who was asked by U k distributor i an h uman to devise something strikingly different for the brand’s app booth that year.
“ i an called me one day and said, ‘Do you want to come to Vegas?’, and i was like, “O k , i didn’t think i ’d be doing anything like that!”
Jess laughs, recalling the unexpected moment in which her creative journey began.
“ h e was keen to display our jewellery really nicely rather than taking lots of it along to sell, because Junipurr already does next-day delivery worldwide so people could probably get an order delivered to their studio quicker than they’d get it home from the conference,” she explains.
th aving suggested the idea of putting the jewellery inside decorated glass jars, i an was met with a resoundingly enthusiastic response from Jess. “ i just said, ‘Leave it with me! i can do that, no worries!’”
c hallenge accepted a lready an avid crafter, but having made nothing like this before, Jess’s mind immediately began working on overdrive. She decided to work on a series of themes that would bring individual jewellery curations to life.
“Because i have a D h D i became hyperfocused on the project, and if i ’m going to do something i want to make it really good, so i got into the world of Etsy and miniatures – oh yeah! i could see it all in my head, but at that point i had no idea if it was going to work. i was just winging it really!” she admits.
a s it turned out, this ability to focus and commit to the task at hand was rather a blessing, because by the time the plans were finalised and the components had arrived, Jess had little more than a week to create all 15 domes.
“ t he original plan was to fly the bits over and create the domes on-site, but i would only have had a few hours in which to make
them, straight after a long-haul flight – and what if, after all that, they ended up looking shit! p lus, i wouldn’t have had access to the many boxes of craft stuff i have at home. So we decided we were going to have to make them here and then get them to Vegas, but we’d run out of time to send them over by Fedex. So we were like, fuck it, we’re just going to have to take them on the plane!”
With the build process successfully completed to schedule, thanks to Jess’s hard and fast work, the dreaded day arrived. “Oh my god. transporting them was the biggest pain and stress of the entire trip. i lost so much sleep over it!” she remembers, wincing. “ i packed the domes in the protective boxes they’d originally come in, and then bubble-wrapped the shit out of every single one, as well as bubble-wrapping them together.
t hen we had about six massive, heavy-duty laundry bags that we lined up and stuffed with more bubble wrap, bound them up with fragile tape and just prayed!
“ i t was such a nightmare. i was watching the airport baggage handlers like a hawk, and every time we hit a bit of turbulence on the way there
Jess decided to work on a series of themes that would bring individual J ewellerY curations to life
i was like, ‘ n ooooo!’. But they all made it to Vegas safely, with only a few loose bits that i could easily fix with the glue gun i ’d brought with me.”
touch down a nd so the finished masterpieces were positioned on their pedestals, within the black curtained walls of the Junipurr booth at Las Vegas’s p lanet h ollywood r esort, ready for the app Conference doors to open. a ttendees were able to weave their way around the exhibits, taking a moment out from the hubbub of the event to disappear into tiny terrestrial, celestial and fairy realms, whilst drawing inspiration for their own client jewellery curations.
“ t here was ‘What h appens in Vegas’, which i gave a real showgirl vibe with the bougiest pieces from Junipurr along with feathers, glitter and sequins. i also did a spacethemed one called ‘Out of this World’; a woodland animal one, with a fox and a mythical jackalope inside; a bee theme called ‘Oh, h oney’; a star-filled dome called ‘Starlight, Star Bright’; and ‘Shipwrecked’, which had a fishing net over
the top that i ’d made. For ‘ i t Can’t r ain all the t ime’ i built clouds with flashing lights to simulate lightning, and used a hot glue gun to make a raindrop effect on the glass. t hen there was ‘Folklore Faerie’, ‘ t il Death’, and the h arry p otter-inspired ‘Why so Sirius?’. t here were also a few generic domes decorated with foliage and flowers to display jewellery curations by other contributors.”
For her own curations, Jess had selected her favourite pieces of jewellery from the brand to appear on artificial ears and noses placed within the domes, to reflect each theme. n aturally, the broomstick and Deathly h allows symbol featured prominently in the h arry p otter-themed dome, for instance.
“When i curate ears i usually do so based on the person’s anatomy, but since these were fake ears i could pretty much do whatever i wanted. Of course the aim was to showcase the collection, whilst also making the pieces look good, so maybe they were fuller than i ’d have done on an actual human being, but it was mostly just to show off as much as i could,” she explains.
a fter some wrenching indecision, Jess settles on the fairy dome as her favourite one of all. But which was the most complex to make, i wonder?
“ t he space one was quite time consuming. i painted the glass to look like a galaxy, so i had to get in there with a tiny sponge!” she recalls. “Building the clouds for the rainy day dome was tricky
too – i wanted the lights to be inside them, to create the lightning effect, and it was fiddly trying to mount them and hide the wires.
“ t he clouds were made out of the stuffing that’s used for soft toys or cushions. i made them look grey by stamping on them a bit and then using some grey eyeshadow. Basically, anything i could get hold of that i could turn into something, i was like, yep, let’s do that!” she laughs.
Unsurprisingly, the reaction at the event was overwhelmingly positive –despite Jess’s fears. “a s the booth was very different – no one has ever really done anything like it before – i was really worried that people would be like, ‘What the fuck is this?’. But everyone really liked the domes, and it made me so happy,” she smiles.
i t was a proud (but also slightly painful!) moment for Jess when the decision was made to sell the domes at the conference, with $100 from each sale going to Junipurr’s p iercer g rowth Fund. t hey were snapped up in no time, which only
goes to highlight the power of visual merchandising in driving jewellery desirability and demand.
“Unless they’re coming in for something specific, clients don’t tend to know what they want. a nd i think it can be quite overwhelming when they look at the jewellery, as there are so many options – their eyes just scan over it all,” Jess observes.
“ m aking the cabinets look more interesting, especially with themed displays, helps clients to focus and understand the jewellery better. So, if you want to sell a themed curation, why not make a themed display around it to show what it is and what it represents?” she suggests.
“We change the displays at t he Luna Collective every season – the cabinet is currently like a winter wonderland, with fake snow, deer, trees and all sorts.
“ i n fact, that might be why i an tasked me with creating the domes!”
In the first of a regular column series from the UK Association of Professional Piercers (UKAPP) , Becky c rossan , Public Outreach/ Vice President, empowers us to keep reaching for our goals
If there’s one thing that every piercer knows – growth is hard! Nobody springs from the womb a fully formed piercer who is a member of professional organisations, meeting/surpassing minimum standards, and carrying all the best brands. In fact, many piercers in the UK didn’t have an ideal start in the industry, which is why the uphill struggle to get to where you want to be is so familiar to so many of us.
It’s easy to dismiss platitudes like ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ as cliché, but sometimes the clichés are true! Many piercers set the goal of improving their studios in a myriad of ways, but once they’re faced with a long list of changes to make, it’s so easy to become overwhelmed. And once overwhelmed, it’s even easier to decide that the task is insurmountable.
The most important advice I ever received is that improvement is a journey. It might be beneficial to make a list of all the changes you’re looking to make. It could be larger challenges
The U k a ssociation of Professional Piercers (U ka PP) is a not-for-profit health and safety organisation dedicated to spreading knowledge of safe piercing practices and up-to-date information for industry professionals and the general public.
The organisation has a list of criteria that industry professionals are required to meet in order to become a member of the organisation. This includes environmental criteria, jewellery standards, and health and safety criteria such as being trained in first aid and blood-borne pathogens. The UKAPP also holds an annual educational conference.
For more information, visit ukapp.org.uk
like the studio layout or upgrading your jewellery to verified brands. However, there are likely to be smaller things listed too – it could be professional development like taking a first aid or bloodborne pathogens course, or maybe even smaller undertakings such as adding gloves and surface wipes to your front desk area or improving the signage in your studio.
Why not make a list of every single improvement you’re looking to make, no matter how small? Keep it somewhere you can check on it regularly and work your way through it. If you complete a task (even something simple like putting up a sign or two), cross it off the list. This forms a clear visual record of you working towards your goals, and it’s much less likely that you’ll become disheartened when you can easily see how far you’ve come already.
Some of the larger challenges can prove harder to navigate and could yield a whole article in themselves, but if your studio layout is a
barrier (for example, if you don’t have a separate sterilisation room), why not research working disposably? There are a whole host of superb classes and resources available, and for many piercers it can be careerchanging! If moving over to verified suppliers is your biggest hurdle, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to make the changes all in one go. Many studios began by improving one part of their jewellery inventory –labret posts, for example, in frequently used sizes –before then moving on to another one as and when they could afford it. It’s definitely worth getting to grips with which are the most and least popular piercings that you offer and then implementing changes from most through to least used.
The focus should be on progress rather than perfection, and growing at your own pace. Even if you have yet to reach your goals, remember to look back at how far you’ve come on your studio improvement journey and be kind to yourself as you continue to move forward. A phrase I use regularly in my own studio is ‘constant forward motion’ –keep motivated and remember that even a small step is still a step in the right direction.
Ding ding, round one! In the first of The Sharp End ’s debate series, piercer
Aiden Johnson of Rogue Piercing and tattooist Ann A G A rvey of Revenant tattoo, who work alongside each other at the same Nottingham premises, thrash it out over that classic clash between their clans
Ann A : Do you want to fire the first arrow?
Aiden: I don’t know, man!
t hat’s a dangerous move!
Ann A : Let’s start with some common things you hear from tattooists about piercers and from piercers about tattooists.
Aiden: tattooists are dirty, man. <laughs>
t hat’s the big one, really. Piercers don’t consider tattooists to be the most hygienic.
Ann A : a nd tattooists often say, ‘Piercers take themselves too seriously’.
Aiden: I mean, we do. I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily untrue! t he other one I find a lot of tattooers say is that piercers are a little bit... ‘psychopathy’.
Ann A : Yeah, I think you’re right actually!
Aiden: Some piercers, and I’m probably one of them, get up to some pretty hardcore stuff, which if you like tattooing daisies all day (and that’s cool, don’t get me wrong) is just a very different world, isn’t it!
Ann A : Yeah and actually a lot of tattooists kinda get their head around the act of tattooing, but aren’t so good at getting their head around the act of piercing, or the hows or whys.
Aiden: I think, to be fair, that the heavy black work tattooers see that form of tattooing more as a body modification, in the same way that piercers see a body modification.
Ann A : Yeah I know what you mean. I agree. Can you think of any other common criticisms?
Aiden: Um, tattooists never get there on time.
Ann A : <laughs> Yeaaah.
Aiden: t hat probably comes from the fact that piercers are generally employed in more of a shop role. We normally have to get in early and clean the floors before we start, or at the end of the day, and I think that sets a bit of a hierarchy straight away. I’ve definitely worked in some studios where the piercer is just seen as a staff member, not an artist.
Ann A : Yeah, I think that does come from the culture at a lot of studios, why piercers are treated like that – not just by the tattoo artists, but by the very structure of the studio itself.
Aiden: a lot of the time the piercer tends to be the studio manager as well, or the front of house dealing with bookings and things, and it’s just the nature of our job – we’re done a lot quicker so we’re back at the front of house a lot more. a day sitting might last five or six hours, so you’re not coming to serve at the desk during that session – why would you? b ut in that time I’ve done like 20 piercings and talked to multiple people and made bookings as well. b ut of course I’m piercing-only these days – none of those dirty tattooists! <laughs>
Ann A : Yeah, turning up late and leaving early! <laughs>
Aiden: On the flip side of that, though, I’ve worked with some tattooers who really grind, man. With piercing, we have to put all the work in before the client gets to the room – it’s all about the “some piercers, and i’m probably one of them, get up to some pretty hardcore stuff”
layout of the room, the sterilisation, the choice of materials. t hen when the actual moment comes <snaps fingers>, we’re done, because we did all the prep work very, very well. a s a tattooist, you have to do all the prep work as well as sitting there to do the whole job. t hen, at the end of the day, I’m locking the door and going home. You’ve still got to draw for another four hours ready for your next client!
Ann A : Yeah, and I think those dynamics can affect little subtle, almost emotional responses in the different practitioners. If a tattooist is working late and knows full well they’re going to be there until 9pm, but the piercers are all done, it can in some people
plant a little seed of ‘Oh, well they just get to go home!’. b ut that’s because they work in a different field and the processes are different. Aiden: I think that’s also why piercers take it too seriously. Of course we’re serious about it – we’ve put everything the way it needs to be; please don’t touch it and change that! We’ve got 15 things that have to be just so before the client walks in – if you change that thing then we’ve got to do them all over again. tattooers set up an aseptic field in which to work, just as we do, but we’ve also got two cupboards full of things in tiny packages, which, if they get touched or breathed on, are no good to us!
Ann A : t hat’s made me think of another point that we haven’t discussed before –maybe a lot of tattooists’ art brains do not cope well with seeing all these racks of drawers filled with gazillions of tiny objects!
Aiden: I do also think that some of the rift comes from the fact that there’ll be more of you in a room than there will be of us. You wouldn’t have six piercers working in a single room together, but you would have six tattooers, so you get a bit of banter and it starts to form that clique.
t he piercer is normally stood in a room on their own, full of – yeah – racks and drawers of tiny items, and there may not even be more than one piercer at the studio. So that is immediately a reason for a divide to develop.
Ann A : Yeah, that’s just a natural way that social groups form, and I think the structure of studios has a lot to do with that. b ut we should also consider the rebirth that both tattooing and piercing had when they came into the modern world...
Aiden: Yeah, I mean piercing is really born out of tattooing, in the modern sense. It was always there, but tattoo studios gave us a home where we could grow and form.
Ann A : Yeah, that was the
only safe place for piercing to go public – nowhere else would have accepted it at the time.
Aiden: One thing we need to remember, on both sides of the body art industry, is that we used to use a lot of the same equipment, but we don’t now. Piercing found its feet and is moving out on its own. It’s had its teenage years of rebellion and it’s now settling down a bit more.
Ann A : It’s almost like a baby flying the nest. From what I understand from talking to you, there was maybe a bit of division that formed around the 90s, when piercing first started finding its feet. a nd yeah, maybe part of that is from being taken under the wing of tattooing and then having to grow away from it and fledge. So naturally, like teenagers arguing with their parents, it’s quite an ordinary part of life.
Aiden: the funny thing is though, I’d say tattooing has found its feet a lot more in the mainstream than piercing has. there are tv programmes about tattooing. there’s no tv programme saying ‘Hey, watch me pierce a helix. Phwoooarrr look at the ring in that!’. but I find that tattooing being drawn into the mainstream legitimised it a bit; maybe made it a bit more corporate.
and look at the target markets now – these days you can spend £1,000 on a day session, and much more than that if you want. I could sell a piece of jewellery tomorrow that’s easily more than £1,000. We’ve both found these fancy worlds that started to accept us because of the move to mainstream. and I think that we’ve actually started to pull back together a lot more, and we complement each other again now.
Ann A : We’ve got these two industries that have high-end factions within them. a lthough, piercing is seen as quite glamorous, whereas tattooing is...
Aiden: I’d say it’s more of a working-class root. Piercing in its upper echelons is for the super rich, and it’s aimed directly at people who want to buy 48 diamonds and jam
them in their face. It’s a hell of a niche to hit. a lso just want to point out – still love the ‘just do it’ basic range! b ut at the end of the day, if you go to Chelsea, you will not see the fancy ladies walking around rocking sleeves, yet you will see them wearing diamond earrings.
Ann A : Ultimately, I know both of us believe we’re flip sides of the same coin.
Aiden: Yeah – I mean, there’s a reason why I asked you to come and work at Rogue – it’s because I like having tattooing around!
Ann A : and that’s the reason I’ve always supported your piercing career as well, because we both believe in the different practices that we do.
Aiden: Well, you first started in this industry in piercing! In the grand scheme of things it was a short
: NO PI e RC e RS W e R e
window, and tattooing has massively eclipsed it, but that also shows where we used to come from: you didn’t learn to tattoo or pierce – you learned to tattoo and pierce. It’s only quite recently that we’ve had that ‘I’m a piercer’ and ‘I just tattoo’ thing.
Ann A : I think it’s really interesting to see the divisions. t here will be new things that younger people in the industry say.
Aiden: Calm down, grandma.
Ann A : Nah, it’s just human nature isn’t it, that people will always find divisions... and also find connections.
Aiden: I think that’s quite a fun one – people actually like to have a division, because then you can unite, after you’ve been divided! <laughs>
Ann A : <laughs> Yeah, absolutely! a nd also, banter has always been a big thing in tattooing and piercing shops, so maybe a lot of it does just stem from that need to find someone to rip for something.
Aiden: Shop shit! t he crap we talk all day... but it’s not offensive to each other. You need a division to be able to have that banter. Life is better because we’re different. I love it when we have the partner of a customer come in saying, ‘Oh I’d never get a tattoo or a piercing’, and I’m like, ‘ g reat!’ because it means we’re different. t hat’s fantastic.
Ann A : We can also bring a lot to our colleagues in different disciplines. m any tattooists like having really beautiful jewellery and knowing that they’re going to be looked after and feel confident in the ability of the practitioner, and obviously a lot of piercers like to get beautiful tattoos from their tattooist colleagues.
Aiden: One divide that I hadn’t thought of, actually, is piercers with terrible tattoos, and tattooists with terrible piercings. Come on guys, we work together! It always makes me laugh. I’ve seen some beautiful full body suits, with the jankiest septum, and I’m like, ‘Just come and see me, I can change that!’.
Ann A : Yeah, polish it off nicely, people! totally with
over to you
you on that one. at the end of the day, though, what we both do is help people to explore a different side of themselves. We help them to express themselves. We help them learn how to face the challenges that they’ve chosen, in a safe and controlled way – all with a bit of excitement, nerves and usually a good laugh along the way.
Aiden: a nd a big chunk of adrenalin.
Ann A : Yeah! So I think really, the core commonality of what we do is super, super similar.
Aiden: I’ve worked in many shades of studio. m y favourite ones are always the ones where there’s tattooing. It’s just good, wholesome fun!
Ann A : a s long as we all keep sight of what we do and why we do it, then we can see our similarities and just have a good laugh at our differences.
Aiden : e xactly! <pause> b ut, you do need to be cleaner.
Ann A : <laughs> a nd you guys need to chill! @roguepiercing
We all know the power of a theme when it comes to helping clients choose their jewellery – not to mention securing those welcome add-on purchases. And with a new year underway, why not draw inspiration from its very own colour?
Each year, the Pantone Color Institute – a globally recognised authority on the subject of colour – selects a Colour of the Year based on its trend forecasts, and for 2023 it’s the ravishing red of Viva Magenta.
Chosen against a backdrop of disruptive events around the world – from pandemic, war and climate change, to economic struggles and social unrest – but with a shared determination to heal and to rise up, this shade of bright crimson red is a symbol of power, motivation and assurance.
“This year’s Colour of the Year is powerful and empowering,” Pantone affirms. “It is an animated red that revels in pure joy, encouraging experimentation and selfexpression without restraint, an electrifying, and a boundless shade that is manifesting as a stand-out statement.”
Let’s face it, experimentation, self-expression and stand-out statements are pretty much what we’re all about. Plus, as a versatile shade of red, balanced between warm and cool, Pantone adds that it’s universally flattering across ages, genders and skin tones, which indicates that it should be a worthwhile investment for your cabinet.
Above all, says Pantone, “Viva Magenta welcomes anyone and everyone with the same verve for life and rebellious spirit. It is a colour that is audacious, full of wit and inclusive of all.”
An ideal colour to represent our industry, then – and one that has certainly inspired our featured jewellery brands for this issue. We asked them to select a favourite piece from their collection that draws in this kind of crimson colour, and say what they’d pair it with for the perfect curation...
“Pictured are our Marilyn hinge ring in 14ct yellow gold with r uby AA and Iolite, two Medium Kandys in 14ct yellow gold with r uby AA and Iolite, and the Take a Bow hinge ring in 14ct yellow gold with r uby AA.
“The Marilyn is a stunner! I especially love it with these deep jewel tones. It’s very
royal. s uch a beautiful piece, it lends itself to so many fun gem combinations. s eeing it in a septum paired with Medium Kandys in double nostril piercings would be amazing!”
Krista P, BVL a g emstone Department Manager bvla.com“Fondly known as # n eoPetals by some of our longest-standing customers, our Titanium Flower Gem Ends (pictured top, in r uby r ed) are made from implant-grade titanium – safe enough for new piercings and comfortable enough for long-term wear. They’re perfect for lobe and flat piercings and can be paired with our Trinity Gem Ends in Pink for extra sparkle.
“Complementing these are NeoMetal’s Titanium Trinity Gem Ends in r uby r ed. Featuring three brilliant prong-set gems set in implant-grade titanium, they’re ideal for tragus and high lobe piercings, and can be paired with our 2mm Bezel s et Cabochon Ends in White Opal for delicate contrast.”
Lindsey Sinner, Sr a ccount Manager neometal.com
“Let me introduce you to the MCL3 (below) – these are among our newest creations and we are really pleased with them. These mini clusters are perfect for a conch, helix or tragus piercing, fresh or healed, and give you the chance to match and play with colours.
“Combine that with the Lola (left) in a lobe piercing – a piece that’s named after s panish flamenco icon Lola Flores and inspired by the traditional flamenco hand fans. o r maybe one of our CL2 two-gem clusters (above), which are versatile enough to be used in any ear piercing or even nostrils, and are available via a custom service so that everyone can have the size and colours they want.”
Clau, i nari Organics UK team inariorganics.co.uk/shop
w hen piercer Andrew d avenport (aka Jabba) got the keys to his new 2,500-square-foot, multifloor building on 1 August 2022, he had little idea of the journey that lay before him. As it turned out, the classy boutique that is probably turning you teal green with envy right now was set to be hard won!
Just a few streets away from his former premises, the warehouse-style building Jabba chose as the new home for Get-Pierced Ltd offered the space to expand and improve
Andrew dAvenport of Get-Pierced Ltd shares the highs and lows behind the jaw-dropping transformation of his new premises in c arlisle, in conversation with Louise Hoffman
both the piercing and tattoo services of the business in a more sought-after location, at the heart of c arlisle’s bustling city centre.
“
t he big sticking point we had at the old shop was our reception area. i t had our staff room door leading off it, so the tattooists had to come down into our private appointment space, so to speak, to get their lunch or whatever. Both of the piercing rooms led off the reception area too, but not in such a way that we could manage two clients at the same time – if they didn’t know each other, for instance,” Jabba explains. “So, i wanted to get a better throughput of clients, better control over where the clients are in the studio, and obviously offer the best possible service.
“Not only that,” he continues, “but i ’ve always wanted to see how far you can push piercing in a particular area. to the point of it being more of a whitecollar, professional-type place.”
The jou R ney begins d ating back to probably the 18th century, the building had obviously housed a multitude of businesses over the years. Most recently it had been a hairdressing salon.
“on the ground floor they had their reception area, plus two little massage rooms which we planned to turn into piercing rooms. What had been an aesthetics room at the back was to become our lounge area for piercing. upstairs they had areas for washing and cutting hair, which we would turn into the tattooists’ lounge and an openplan tattoo area with a private tattoo area at the back. then on the second floor are the toilets, a little room that i think they did massage in, a big open staff area and a back room where i think they mixed hair dyes.”
f rom the very start, Jabba had a vision for how he wanted the new studio to look –formulated with input from his apprentice, c hanelle Gregson, and his business partner, Kizzey Maclean – but the first step for this former engineer was to measure up, draw everything to scale and plan out the rooms.
“ t hen we decided to get the old flooring up,” says Jabba, grimacing. “ t hat was when we realised that the sub floor to the actual floorboards and the five beams below it were all completely rotten.”
f ar from the interior refit that he was expecting, a structural can of worms had been well and truly opened. “We had to knock out all of the rooms downstairs, disconnect the electrics, take out the suspended ceiling – it basically ended up as an empty shell. i t looked horrendous,” Jabba recalls.
“And bear in mind, when we first started the project we had to book in the long-lead items. So we had painters and decorators and flooring people set to arrive in a matter of days or weeks – yet we had no floor, or rooms, or plaster, or anything!”
After the new floor had been installed and electrical work carried out, there was still no let-up for the Get-Pierced team. “ t here were so many problems. i mean, every single day i was getting a phone call from someone saying, ‘ o h mate, you need to come and see this’,” he admits.
“We had no heating in the shop in week two of the build... and we still had no heating two weeks before we opened.
t he decorators basically said, ‘ i f you don’t get your heating on, we can’t paint’ – the paint wouldn’t stick to the walls because it was so cold! t hey had painted the whole staircase, then the next day they had to scrape all the paint off again. t hey were absolutely gutted.
“ e ven little jobs like changing a toilet and sink ended up with a leak that meant we had to replace all of the flooring, the dividing wall and paintwork and carry out sewerage work.
“ i reckon 30 different people ended up working in that building, and we got let down by pretty much every trade at some point, too. i just had to ring them and say, ‘Look, if we don’t get into this building on time, my business will no longer be a business’. i know that sounds harsh, but it’s true. i f we hadn’t opened before 2023, there would have been no money left. We just invested so much in it and everything spiralled out of control.”
The big R eveal So, when was the moment that Jabba felt everything was finally coming together? “Half-past eight the evening before we opened,” he laughs. “ t hat was the time i walked through the building and thought, ‘ e hhh, we did it’.”
All in all, it had been almost four and a half months of relentless problem-solving, hard work and sleepless nights...
“eve Ryday i was ge TT ing a phone call f R om someone saying, ‘oh maT e, you need To come see T his’”
not to mention financial investment. But on 7 d ecember 2022, the doors to the sleek new Get-Pierced premises were proudly thrown open, and clients stepped onto the white marble floors of a whole new world of piercingstudio splendour.
“ i decided early on that i wanted a marble floor,” says Jabba, “and there were two reasons for that: one, marble floors in posh hotels just look cool – straight away they transform a space; and two, Pinchy did a class years ago on selling jewellery, in which he said that if you want to sell gold you need to have a marble floor, so...! i ’ve already sent him a picture of the floor and he was like, ‘ o h my god!’.”
f or the wood effect, Jabba drew inspiration from car showrooms. “ i ’ve seen it done so often in places like that. Going into the showroom when i had my Jaguar, i noticed that it didn’t matter who you were or what you looked like – they would treat you like a multimillionaire for that half hour. i loved it! i could go in in my camouflage pants, covered in tattoos, and they’re making me a coffee and talking to me like i could be anybody, you know? t hat’s what i ’m trying to achieve with this space. You don’t have to have an absolute fortune – fifty quid is sort of the cheapest thing we do, and for that you can come in, have a
coffee, have a chat with us for half an hour, we’ll do a piercing for you, and you get to sit in what’s probably one of the nicest shops there is!”
f or Jabba, the look and feel of the studio is absolutely crucial to success. “At the end of the day, your business is only as good as the weakest part of your business. i f i went to a piercing studio and everything was totally fine but then i needed the loo and it was a bit grim in there, i wouldn’t remember how nice the rest of the studio was. i think that’s why i went all-out on the shop. i t’s the whole experience, you know? e very single little thing matters.”
“aT T he end of T he day, you R business is only as good as T he weakesT pa RT of you R business”
i ndeed, every detail at Get-Pierced has been carefully considered, even down to the skirting boards, painted green instead of white to blend into the walls and make the marble floors pop; the grey floor grout to avoid discolouration; the dishwasher in the lounge to keep crockery spick and span; and the removal of door thresholds to allow the design scheme to flow through the building unhindered.
“
t he continuity of the aesthetic through the entire space is probably the thing i wanted the most,” says Jabba. “So, when you walk through from reception, you’ve got the dark green with little hints of gold, and lots of light in the cabinets to make people want to look straight in. t hen it dims down as you walk along the corridor towards the lounge area where the tv, music and coffee are. t here, you’re sitting in a sort of chilled cafe area, but
it’s still got that continuity right through – it still feels like you’re in the same space because we removed the door. And as you walk past the piercing rooms you can see the green again, and the units with the gold banding – they were a ridiculous price compared to normal ones, but if you want the best you’ve got to pay for the best, i guess.
“ i mean, the whole thing cost... a lot,” he laughs. “But, be under no illusion, just so everyone knows, there’s a lot of debt involved in this shop, because obviously i ’m going to use the bank’s money to do it! Anyway, you’ve got to spend a bit of money to make some.”
So far so good, as the studio’s average sale went up in the very first week of opening.
“Mate, it’s been an unbelievable rollercoaster... but it was super fun. i ’d do it again tomorrow!” he enthuses. “ i don’t think you ever feel as alive as when you’re out of your comfort zone. i do buzz off a bit of stress, like.”
@get_pierced
When somebody comes to the studio asking for a new ear piercing but they don’t know what to get, my advice is simple –get a daith piercing!
Why do I love them so much? First off, they simply look great on any kind of person, and second, there is an enormous variety of jewellery you can use, to suit all tastes.
As for any other type of piercing, it’s really important to look at the anatomy, just to make sure the jewellery is going to sit nicely and the piercing is going to heal without trouble.
Joining us from Italy to share his
expert advice on daith piercings is the hugely talented Cristiano a ielli , piercer of 20 years and owner of BorneoFlower studio in San Remo
typically, the correct angle for the piercing centres the ring in the conch, and ensures the ring doesn’t ‘flip out’ by placing the exit further away for the centre of the head than the entrance mark.
As you can see in the photo, to visualise the ‘perfect’ placement you need to imagine a line cutting diagonally through the cartilage, marking the top part in the natural groove, at least 3mm deep from the edge. the bottom mark will be slightly deeper, following the correct angle.
you can use a ‘size placement ring’ in order to visualise it; this way you can also show the client how the piercing will be and which diameter ring you are going to use.
there are some cases where you will want to re-evaluate the angle; for example, if you are using a heart or a moon shape, you can opt for a more vertical angle.
Cristiano has been piercing since 2002, and professionally since 2006.
From 2007 to 2012 he travelled the USA, n orway and Italy, guesting at such studios as h igh p riestess in o regon, e nigma in San d iego, Laughing Buddha and e volve in Seattle,
So, how to pierce this tiny piece of cartilage?
Firstly, it’s important to bend the needle in a way that makes it feel comfortable to hold, also making sure it’ll be as easy as possible to push it on its way out.
I love bending it different ways, but today I’m going to show you one effective way. this bent ‘S’ shape will make it possible to sneak into small areas, whether you need to pierce bottom-top or the opposite way.
My favourite type of receiver is an L-bent tube. Same reason as above, being able to sneak in without distorting the tissue. Also, according to the bend you are using, you can push the needle gently into the receiving tube, reducing the chance of accidentally poking yourself.
i hope you enjoyed this article, if you have any questions, shoot me a message.
@cristiano_borneoflowerand p inpoint p iercing in o slo. In d ecember 2011 he opened his own studio, BorneoFlower, in San Remo, Italy. c ristiano has spoken at conferences across e urope, including youmodify (Italy), BMXnet ( g ermany), Ritorno alle o rigini (Italy) and the UK’s own p iercer trade Show.
“The mission of T he Body Piercing Archive
is To selec T, collec T, documen T, P reserve, exhi B i T A nd in T er P re T
T he P erson A l, soci A l
A nd m AT eri A l evolving hisTories of B ody
P iercing To ensure T hese A r T efAc Ts A re
AvA il AB le To P resen T A nd successive gener AT ions.”
first annual exhibit in 2015, a celebration of the APP’s 20th anniversary. t hat year we also had an exhibition/ memorial for the recently departed r aelyn Gallina, an earlier female piercing pioneer and scarification artist, featured in the r e/ Search book Modern Primitives (1989).
mr. Sebastian, aka Alan oversby. this was the first exhibit to have an accompanying book, titled: Alan Oversby
While the practice of tattooing has had dedicated scholars, archives and museums, body piercing has not. m any of us in the body piercing community had seen the critical need to protect and preserve our sensitive histories for a long time. Finally, in June of 2014, the Association of Professional Piercers (APP) authorised the formation of the Body Piercing Archive (BPA).
w e have been working behind the scenes on establishing a committed team of workers, an organisational structure and some preliminary goals. t he archive is proceeding methodically by rolling out manageable and contained projects. i t began with our
i n 2016, our exhibit was on Sailor Sid d iller. w e raised $25,000 to help the l eather Archives and m useum digitise their Sailor Sid collection. Sid was extremely important in the 1970s body piercing scene. i n 2017, we centred our exhibit on photographer and documentarian c harles Gatewood. t he Gatewood collection is one of the BPA’s cornerstone holdings. Additionally in 2017, we had another exhibit spearheaded by BPA volunteer m atte e rickson on the histories of body piercing jewellery manufacturers. i n 2018, we featured piercing in performance, highlighting artists such as Stelarc, r on Athey, Jon John, lukas z pira and others. t hen, in 2019, we had our largest exhibit to date in honour of Fakir m usafar, another major holding of the BPA.
After c ovid had cancelled 2020 and 2021 APP conferences and exhibits, our most recent exhibit in 2022 was dedicated to U k piercer and tattooer
As our name indicates, ‘body piercing’ is our main focus, but it’s important to mention that, in practice, we have holdings in the collection that cover all manner of body modifications, temporary and permanent, including: hook suspending, tattooing, corseting, foot binding, branding, cutting... everything past and present! o ur future plans involve winding down the annual exhibits (only two more are planned) and returning our focus to establishing a dynamic online archive and eventually transitioning from private offices to a public brick-and-mortar archive and museum.
i f you would enjoy seeing more articles on piercing history, please let the editor know!
@bodypiercingarchive
bodypiercingarchive.org
Paddy Kielty and e lizabeth Moore of Body a lter in Worksop let us in on the latest must-have accessory – permanent jewellery – and why it’s a natural fit for piercing studios
Paddy, what made you decide to start looking into, and ultimately offering, permanent jewellery equipment as the UK distributor for Stiletto Piercing Supplies?
Paddy: i was blissfully uneducated about it until July 2022, when Patrick (of s tiletto U sa ) contacted me to say he was bringing along a colleague from s unstone Welders to the UK a PP Conference. I thought he was mad to want to bring a welding machine to a piercing conference. a nyway, 20 minutes after playing with one, i decided to buy one and get cracking on with the permanent jewellery service. i t’s all Patrick’s fault – that’s the U sa Patrick, of course! He is to blame.
s tiletto now offers the hardware. The welders are not a stock item and are manufactured to order, which should take around five weeks from the order date to delivery.
What is the equipment like, and how is it used?
e lizabeth : i t’s a microwelder, so it looks like a big pen! ( i ’m clearly the technical expert.) i t’s really easy to use – you tap the point of the welder to the point of the jewellery you want to weld together, so that the bracelet or anklet can be fastened without the need for a clasp. Paddy: t he welder also has different strengths to cope with various material thicknesses, which can take some trial and error before going live with the service. e lizabeth : t he chains themselves are easy enough to pick up from gold wholesalers. i t’s nice to be able to choose the styles of chains yourself; i felt that i had a good idea of what my clients would like.
d o you believe this service fits well alongside piercing services in a studio?
e lizabeth : a bsolutely! i ’ve been able to make chains and charms for piercings in-house, which is a huge thing at the moment, and it’s been cool for my clients to be a part of it and get involved in making their own jewellery. But also, the bracelets and anklets are really complementary – the love of jewellery is a huge part of piercing for me, and i feel they go hand-in-hand really well. Plus, being able to close a seam ring as a piercer has made fiddling with tiny jump rings much easier!
What sort of permanent jewellery do you offer at your studio?
e lizabeth : We offer bracelets, anklets, and chains for piercings (which of course aren’t permanent). i ’ve also had a request to weld a necklace closed, and to add an heirloom charm to a bracelet,which i ’m excited to do. n ext, i want to look at welding chains onto threadless ends to make custom, superfancy jewellery.
Paddy: a lthough not mega popular, we also have the ability to weld balls onto rings, rings to rings and so on.
What sort of client demographic is the permanent jewellery attracting?
e lizabeth : Lots of my existing clients have had bracelets, but they heard me chatter about the welder long before it arrived –some of them were definitely more excited than i was! But it’s
also brought in a lot of people i ’ve never met before, who have been looking for permanent jewellery and didn’t want to travel. i ’ve had couples and people with their parents, best friends and sisters too – it’s a lovely thing for them to be able to come and do together, without having to heal a piercing!
So it’s already proving to be a success at your studio?
e lizabeth : i t’s really taken off! We added it to our booking system and there have been days when i ’ve done more bracelet welding than piercings.
a re you enjoying providing and carrying out the service?
e lizabeth : i love it! i t’s so fun to do and it’s been great to meet new people who i might never have seen in the studio otherwise. i love piercing because helping people express themselves is important to me, and choosing to wear any piece of jewellery feels the same. s o being able to wear that piece of jewellery forever is incredible. a ny style choice someone makes is a reflection of themselves and i am always honoured to be part of that process.
d o you believe it’s important to diversify a piercing business, even if it’s already a successful and popular business model?
Paddy: t he traditional piercing studio we all remember from our teen years is dead ( i am getting on a bit, so we are talking 25 years ago). t he industry has
moved along rather quickly into high fashion. i often joke now that we have a jewellery business offering piercings, so why not cover all bases? We have found our permanent bracelet and jewellery service has brought in not only piercing clients, but a much larger audience. s urprisingly, it’s popular with guys too. Diversifying is the only way to weather the storms that come from operating any business. e lizabeth : a s someone who is successful and popular...(joke!)...
i think it’s really important. a nyone walking through your door is a potential client for all the services you offer, so someone who has a bracelet and enjoyed their experience will think of you if they decide they want a piercing. Plus, if you’re not moving forward with your business, do you need to think about whether you still have passion for it? t hat doesn’t mean everyone needs a ‘side hustle’ or a new service, but it’s so important to be excited about the things you’re doing.
until five or so years ago I had no solid wellbeing routine.
My understanding of ‘self-care’ was treating myself to a bath, doing my nails, watching a movie and having an early bedtime every so often.
‘Work hard, party hard’ used to be the motto I lived by. Most days after work I’d visit the local pub for ‘a drink’ (which meant at least three or five), go home, eat something (not much and definitely not with nutrition in mind), pass out and then repeat the cycle every other day.
i was exhausted most of the time, and was definitely becoming a liability and an unreliable figure at work. i wouldn’t say the quality of my work suffered, but my mood and attitude certainly did. As a business owner, i abused my role a few times knowing that if i was too ill to show up, my colleagues would be there to cover for me. I recall, even at piercing conferences and conventions, the overwhelming sense of disappointment in myself for feeling so horrendous the morning after bingeing –one time throwing up blood, not making it out of the hotel room and making jokes about it the next day. My wellbeing was not good.
i seriously started questioning my lifestyle around 2017, then in 2018 my piercing apprentice left to take a break from the industry, which meant my backup was gone and i had to be fully responsible and accountable for my actions. I have since apologised to this person for how I mistreated her, but i am so grateful for her support then and now, and am happy to say we are working together again in harmony, as equals.
The first steps I took to improve my general health and wellbeing included reaching out to people i followed on social media who posted about positivity, mindsets and gratitude, and they recommended various self-help books and podcasts. Then, in September 2019, i met with a life coach who helped me to figure out what my passions were outside of the piercing studio.
We focused on building my confidence to find things I was interested in, and she encouraged me to do things alone that I’ve always wanted to do but not had the time for or put off due to anxiety – something i used alcohol as a crutch for since my teens.
I found love for playing music again, explored meditation, joined yoga classes, started waking to go see the sunrise, and wild swimming with new friends.
Fast forward, and to sit where i am now, with a dramatically transformed lifestyle and having opened a successful piercing-only studio during a global pandemic – essentially, living in a real-time manifestation of what I thought my best life could look like – is reflective and powerful. i’m pinching myself but also remembering how hard i worked to get here. I deserve to feel good now.
i n her own words, Nikki L L oyd-Proctor of b old and g old Piercing Art in e dinburgh tells the story of her personal journey away from alcohol towards a more mindful way of life, and the daily practices that now help her to maintain wellbeing
Today i try to keep wellbeing as my priority through practising mindfulness and gratitude, among other interests I’ve developed along the way, and this has undoubtedly made me more patient, self-aware and, I think, more forgiving and compassionate to others.
“H ol D in G s PAC e fo R MYself H el P s M e PAY ATT en T ion To H ow i AM feelin G, B efo R e TH e DAY sTARTs ”
I have an almost-daily ritual where I wake, wash and meditate. i set an intention and usually do a little movement and journaling before eating my breakfast.
For me, this begins with an alarm to get up. i am not a natural early riser – often, i want to snooze the alarm, but i know how important setting up my day ahead is. I have a space that I dedicate to my practice (some would call it an altar space or creation station) and it has everything I need set up ready. Holding this space for myself helps me pay attention to how i am feeling, before the day starts; some days start more slowly than others.
in my own practice, i usually start by lighting a candle, signalling the sunrise and start of the new day, then I move on to lighting some herbs or incense and smoke cleanse myself and the space while I give thanks for my breath. i pick a stone from my crystal collection and hold it with the energy of the stone and earth in mind, giving gratitude for the ground beneath me – the literal and metaphorical foundations that keep me safe and secure. i use water to
anoint myself and give thanks for the abundance of it that we have, especially here in Scotland where we can drink straight from the tap. I finish this practice by drinking the water.
Then i’ll often pull a card from an oracle or tarot deck (or both), think of an intention, and use the card as guidance for my day. i usually sit and meditate on the card for a bit, or just focus on the breath and feel the inhales and exhales as they come and go.
If I practise movement, this can be anything from a few neck twists and shoulder rolls
to a full 30-minute stretch out. i listen to my body and what it needs – emotions can come up in meditation, and if for whatever reason I am feeling more frustrated or irritable than usual then I find moving helps release some of that energy.
Your daily practice could be so much simpler (or even more detailed!) than this – there are no rules, which is the fun bit. you can go all-in with creating the most luxurious space, or have no frills at all – so long as you have somewhere to sit where you feel at ease, that’s all you really need.
if you’re interested in mindfulness but don’t know where to start, there are lots of helpful apps available. I found Insight Timer to be particularly useful – it provides guidance on whatever topic you might want to meditate on, from breath-work and healing, to anxiety, stress or sleep. And if anyone wants a more detailed guide to my own practice, you can ask me about it, as i am more than happy to share.
So, what does any of this have to do with being a piercer? Well, I am just one piercer who finds it important for me, and of course it may or may not resonate with you. but doing this morning ritual before work helps clear my own energies to make room for holding space for others. implementing the tools throughout the day can also help us
to keep calm and in a nonreactive state so that we can adapt to whatever the day throws our way. As a business owner, it’s super helpful to be able to deal with unexpected challenges without losing your shit!
not only that, but i think it’s really important for those like me who are openly providing a more mindful piercing service to have a space that is safe for us to work in; one where we can keep ourselves grounded and peaceful as we provide our services, and not be overwhelmed by the expectations of the client. After all, as piercers we are often a point of connection for some of our clients, whether they want to gossip or share personal details on their life, loves and stresses, or are seeking a more mindful experience to celebrate a milestone or achievement; to honour a memory, a time, a place or person; or to claim autonomy over their body, among so many other reasons.
So, there you have the story of my experience with wellbeing and how it has impacted my life. To those of you reading, i hope you’re still awake, and if you fell asleep then came back to the end you are welcome for this meditation and for the deep rest i just facilitated for you, which your body was crying out for.
your wellbeing matters most.
@boldandgoldpiercingart
I’ve been a piercer since 2015 (if you’re not classing piercing my mates in the school toilets!). Like many piercers, I started by doing one of those terrible courses in London that basically rip you off and teach you how NOT to pierce! I then did a brief stint shadowing a friend who’s been a piercer for more than 30 years.
I’ve always been alternative and into piercings, piercing my own nose (we’ve all been there!) with a gammy old stud from my gran’s jewellery box back in the late 80s; I then continued into the 90s getting lots more piercings that are still with me today. I actually wanted to become a piercer back then and enquired at a local studio, to be told that I’d need to be into S&M/fetishes etc to be one; I was probably about 17 at the time!
Roll forward 30-odd years and here I finally am. I met my current partner who happens to be a tattooist and we decided to open a studio together, so I sold my house, left a successful career as an agricultural livestock lecturer and set up our studio back in my home county of Bedfordshire in 2015.
It made me feel terrified at the start, and I can easily say it was one of the most stressful times of my life, but I’ve always loved a challenge. In some ways I believe I have almost a sixth sense (call me an old witch!) about what will and won’t work; I just believed in it. I have what I consider to be a good work ethic and am very driven, being made of sturdy stuff... I’m a true Capricorn! I’ve always been surrounded by strong women and, to my own detriment sometimes, take on too much and don’t
my eyes as to what our potential was and how much better a service we could be offering. That’s when I shook things up a little. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure back then whether people would pay that sort of money for jewellery... but they do. It really pays to invest not just in better jewellery, but the overall service you’re offering; speculate to accumulate as they say!
In fact, the son of the lady who I shadowed initially, who took over his mother’s studio, has now been to my studio to shadow me and watch how we do things here so that he can update their service! I’m proud that I’m now helping someone else improve their business and offer something special.
delegate enough. But my business is my baby and I’m passionate about this industry, so will always strive to be the best I can.
I’m so proud of how much we’ve achieved – and particularly of becoming members of the UK Association of Professional Piercers (UKAPP).
Attending my first piercing conference in 2017 really opened
The main thing I’d like other piercers to take from this is that if you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything. Sometimes it’s scary and stressful, but that’s life, crack on – there’s no such thing as can’t! If you’re unable to make those changes straight away, do it bit by bit, but don’t think it’s not achievable or worth the effort. If you have a thirst for knowledge then learn, read up, attend workshops and conferences, watch from afar if that’s your bag, look at other reputable piercers, sign up to online courses and Patreons, and listen to podcasts etc.
But for me personally, to be successful is not all about money and business; be a decent human, don’t just #bekind, actually mean it, stay humble, and always be open to learning something new in this ever-changing industry.
In the first of this regular series designed to send you off on a motivational high, Bex Harr I s of Pictures of Lily in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, tells us about her career history and proudest achievement
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