Body piercing has always been a ginormous interest of mine since my first proper piercing at the age of 14, that later developed into a passion that I couldn’t help but chase.
I have been in the piercing trade for little under four years. Admittedly, I took a rather risky and shameful approach in order to get my foot in the door of this industry via a shoddy piercing course.
Before you read any further, I want to take a moment to emphasise how utterly dangerous piercing courses really are.
Piercing/tattoo courses, especially ones that are less than a week long, give no where near enough time or information to teach individuals everything they should know and need to know to become a body piercer/tattooist.
You leave a piercing course feeling like you’re a big fish ready to swim with fellow big fish, but as a matter of fact you’re more like tiny minnow with merely a spoonful of knowledge - bobbing about in the ocean that is this glorious industry.
Anyone and everyone is welcome within this brilliantly creative and expressive industry, but PLEASE only look into reputable apprenticeships if you wish to flourish as a body piercer...
It wasn’t until I shadowed a reputable piercer based up in Brighton for 3 or 4 months at the start of my career that I myself began to identify and develop genuine reputable standards.
I then took it upon myself to connect with more experienced piercers and attend annual seminars (APP) and webinars that help to expand my knowledge and skills, all helping me to become the Silly Sausage piercer I am today!
Body piercing and body modification has been a huge part of my life since I began to accumulate piercings from the age of 14. It’s no secret that body modification is indeed addictive, but alongside that it becomes a huge part of your identity.
When I used to get pierced before becoming a piercer, I remember I would experience a very euphoric feeling every time I peeped my fresh new piercing in the mirror and feeling not only proud of myself for overcoming the fear but also feeling like I recognise myself just a tiny bit more.
Bumbling aimlessly through school and college followed by a few years of working in retail, with the encouragement of my wonderful retail manager at the time I finally took the plunge of investing in a piercing career that I had absolutely no business plan or structure for.. all I knew was I wanted to assist people in decorating their bodies and expressing themselves safely through the art of body piercing.
I pride myself on maintaining a peaceful and relaxing, yet vibrant environment for my clients to be pierced in. I play binaural beats and healing melodies in my piercing room to keep my clients nice and grounded, as I find everyone’s music taste can differ so to avoid any clash in vibes I like to play what chills our soul out!
With regards to set-up, all surgical steel tools that I use are sterilised via an ultrasonic and autoclave. All jewellery is de-assembled and packaged individually before being sterilised via the autoclave. I use alcohol wipes and iodine to prep the skin of the piercing site. I am absolutely a gun free establishment, my stabby instruments of choice are blade needles or cannula needles.
It goes without saying that I entirely enjoy every piercing I do! But naturally, I do have a few classic favourites. It’s hard to choose just one! So I’ll go for my current favourite three… first being eyebrow (LOVE pairing them up too), second being nostril, third being tongue. All entirely different from one another, but ooooohhh so satisfying to pierce!
What I love most about my job is the look I get to see on my clients face when they look in the mirror and show so much joy when they peep their fresh piercing.
At this point in my career I have met hundreds, if not thousands of beautiful souls who have travelled to me with their trust in hand and to be able to say that I have offered each of these souls a safe, sterile service that helps them in a way to release, express, decorate or empower themselves is nothing short of a priceless honour. I am so thrilled on a daily basis to be a small feature in each of these individual journeys.
I’d say the worst part (if there is one) about my job is some peoples ignorance and dismissal of aftercare advise. I love each and every one of my clients with my entire heart and soul, but there are a handful of clients who make my job difficult or repetitive when they choose to ignore my aftercare advice. This also makes my work look shoddy.
Clients who get their ear cartilage pierced but do not sleep on a travel pillow despite this being a firm recommendation of mine. Or clients who get their nostril pierced with a labret and are too impatient to wait for it to heal properly before installing a hoop, then wonder why their piercing becomes inflamed and irritated with a bump.
I myself have 33 piercings and counting!!
Piercings have affected my identity and persona in different ways over the years. I was a rather insecure youngster, like most people I had a lot of things I didn’t like about my physical appearance. Especially with regards to my face.
When I began to get piercings, the more I got on my face the more I could hide behind. People would notice my piercings before they noticed my insecurities so to speak! That’s how I felt when I was 14 to about 17 anyways.
Then when I got to 18, I removed all of my piercings and entirely toned myself down internally and externally for just over a year, to appease these boring social “norms” that I had totally lost myself to.
I missed my piercings hugely, eventually after a year or so I impulsively got my nostril re-pierced again and when I looked in the mirror I recognised myself a little more for the first time since removing my all of my piercings.
Piercings made me feel protected at a time when I was vulnerable in my early teens, I used them as a unique shield and as a way to find release. Even though people around me thought I was typically rebelling by getting piercings, I was actually falling in love with the art that is self-expression. As I got older, I stopped using piercings as a distraction from my ‘flaws’ and started seeing them as enhancers of beauty.
It’s not that I wouldn’t be confident without my piercings now, but if I was to remove them all and look in the mirror I know the reflection of myself that I’d see would be incomplete. My piercings to me are symbolic of my freedom, bravery, and patience and healing.
One of the many memorable moments that I’ve experienced at work would be when a gentleman wearing a posh suit came up the stairs and asked if he could purchase some needles and jewellery from me so he could pierce his own Jacobs Ladder. I politely said absolutely not.
A professional goal of mine is ultimately to provide a safe, sterile, welcoming space where souls from all walks of life can come to me to be adorned with whatever their heart desires (anatomy and practicality dependent of course!).
I want to be able to offer my clients variations of jewellery that are nothing less than the safest implant grade metals. Above all else, I want to provide a service that helps people to love their bodies and anatomy as much as I do!
Everybody deserves to love themselves. Everybody deserves to unapologetically decorate their gorgeous bodies with mods how they see fit, with professional and safe guidance.
I love to use Qualiti as a stockist because the jewellery range is exquisitely extensive. Especially the attachments. I myself adore working with vivacious colours and I cannot get enough of the natural stone range.
Crystals and natural stones are a huge part of my day to day life, I love to learn about them & utilise their properties, so to be able to use natural stone attachments in piercing is such a blessing for me as well as my ethereal, witchy lovin’ piercees!
Qualiti is a stockist that helps me to cater for all my clienteles desired style of adornments in an affordable fashion, whether they’re into wearing loud and vibrant jewellery or subtle and dainty.
It’s hard to choose just one so I’ll reel off my favourite three. It goes without saying I am head over heels in love with the Tigers Eye cabs in all diameters. The flashiness and uniqueness of each individual cab never fails to bring a smile to my face when I use them in piercing.
The ‘Tawny’ marquise fan is beautifully ethereal, the sparkly coffee brown outer crystals amongst the central Tigers Eye marquise is sheer brilliance to me.
The ‘Daphne’ forward facing emerald hinged ring is another favourite of mine. Green being my favourite colour, the vividness coupled with the daintinesses of this ring brings divinity to any septum or Daith in my opinion.
Poppy's Moxie Collection
Designed by Poppy
I adore the Gardenia piece as I feel it delivers a delicate yet striking statement. The white, yellow & champagne cubic zirconias in each different diameter amongst the three opals all compliment each other splendidly. I very much enjoy the calm and subtle tones this piece grants.
Creator of the "Pinchy Collection"
Current Colours: Hot Pink Opal, Green Olive Opal, Azure Opal, Black Cherry Opal, Champagne Crystal & Liquorice Crystal.
Specialist Skills Include: Scarification, Branding, Custom & Large Gauge Piercing, Advanced Piercing, NFC Tags.
The first uk studio to hold the "North Sense" - A new upgrade for the human body.
He has been featured on various tv shows, given seminars, and has attended science fairs as a guest speaker and inserted NFC tags at future fest.
Pinchy a.k.a Nicholas Pinch, joined the QualiTi family in April 2015. He never fails to stun his audience with incredible pieces and can often be found repping QualiTi at British conventions.
The Pinchy Collection
Designed by Pinchy
Nick's impeccable eye for colour and eclected taste has brought us a range of stunning pieces, from vibrant Hot Pink to subtle Champagne and dark and gothic tones from Black Cherry and Liqourice.
Our collection is 100% centred on our customers’ loves and wants; organic forms with eye catching dangles and sparkles, in soft and subtle colours.
Angel Body Jewellery is a small local business; first established in 2001 by the previous owner, it started out as a small sales kiosk selling body jewellery in Perth Australia. In 2016 Hayley purchased the business and knew from the start that she wanted to start piercing too!
We love body jewellery so much, and wanted to be able to provide our wonderful clients with the whole package. Everything we do is to ensure our clients have the best experience possible, and the best range of jewellery to choose from. Our collection is 100% centred on our customers’ loves and wants; organic forms with eye catching dangles and sparkles, in soft and subtle colours.
QualiTi have helped us realise this dream and helped us in designing these fantastic new pieces which will complement our current range while providing new and unique options for future creations.
Natasha and Naomi are artists at Angel Body Jewellery and Piercing, Perth, Western Australia.
Natasha
On and off for 22 years.
My first love is the jewellery. I love to plan both my own and my clients’ piercings piercing to show off the pieces to their best advantage while complementing their existing pieces and reflecting their personal style.
Becoming a mentor / trainer to my apprentices and watching them grow into amazing piercers.
I have a new dream project all the time! Picking out pieces to curate a look for a client is my absolute favorite thing to do. The best part is when the client just absolutely loves their new look.
Naomi
After many years of determination and applying for piercing roles, I finally got accepted for a job in an alternative clothing shop/piercing studio called Off Ya Tree, where my piercing journey began. I have now been piercing for almost 6 years.
The first professional piercing I ever performed was a navel, shortly followed by all ear piercings.
I knew I wanted to be a body piercer since I was a young teenager. I’ve always been drawn to the art of all body modifications. Piercings have always been a way that I like to express myself and I’ve always been drawn to the idea of being a part of someone else’s self-expression, especially when it helps to boost their self-confidence.
I like to maintain a professional, sterile and safe space for all of my clients, and I am always striving to help them feel as comfortable and safe as possible while giving them the best piercing experiences they’ve had.
The Angel Collection
One of the very best things about being a piercing artist is that I get to help people reclaim their identity.
Piercing for me is such a privilege, and one that I fell into by divine timing and intervention (or by accident) whichever way you prefer to see it. From as young as I can remember I loved Body Art in all its forms, but I wasn’t working in the industry. I was actually working as a Holistic Therapist, and that’s how I ended up in a Tattoo Studio - I was renting space there. I was 30 when their piercer moved on and I was asked if I wanted to train to pierce – which of course I did!
I completed my apprenticeship and began piercing which I loved. I’m 40 now, so I’ve had 10 years! I’m still learning things and I always will. I’m a solo piercing artist in my studio so I make sure I speak to other piercers, go to conventions, do guest spots as and when I can, and keep my eye on the trade all the time. I always think ‘If I’m not learning something new, then I’m falling behind’ because every industry grows and piercing is no different.
I love piercing, it’s such a blessing to be able to calm nervous people, build a rapport, identify and discuss their aesthetic, choose beautiful jewellery, talk them through the process as I do it, and then see how ecstatic they are with the result! The whole process is a joy.
I’m particularly passionate about making clients who feel piercings are inaccessible for them, for any reason, feel comfortable enough to have it done too. As someone who has ASD and ADHD, sensory and auditory difficulties, anxiety, and am part of the queer community, I historically found it difficult feeling comfortable as a client in some studios for various reasons. As a result, I try my best to make sure people who want a piercing can access an understanding and accommodating piercing artist and studio. At Raven Piercings they can be both comfortable, and have their needs met at the same time.
While I can confidently say I don’t feel nervous piercing at all these days, I can recall being incredibly nervous myself when I did my first lobe piercing on my friend Bruce - which he still has last time I checked too! Lobe piercings are still one of my favourites because they’re usually peoples first, and they’re sooo happy!
One of the very best things about being a piercing artist is that I get to help people reclaim their identity. People often have piercings after a breakup, or a difficult time, ‘coming out’, or leaving any place where they didn’t feel they could outwardly display their aesthetic preferences – so it’s amazing to be able to help empower my clients. They are so happy and that makes me happy. I always say my clients and I make each other sparkle.
Piercings are such a big part of my identity. I feel naked when I take them out for training and matches, and I’ll always get changed quickly and put them straight back in so I feel like me again. I only have 13 piercings myself currently (due to playing full contact sports). I am however retiring from contact sports at the end of this season, so I have plans to add a fair few more over my next naughty 40 years!
One of my main career goals was to design and create my own jewellery, which thanks to QualiTi I’ve now done, so that’s incredible - I’ll hopefully do more one day too as I have so many ideas now. I also want to have a bigger studio of my own so I can develop all my amazing ideas to cater for my clients’ needs the way I’d like to. It would also enable me to work with other artists to share knowledge and develop ideas.
My collection symbolise joy, freedom and discipline I’ve found through piercing. As I've moved through adult life the Raven has helped me find the security and confidence to be my unapologetic, authentic self.
The starting point for my collection was thinking about myself and the freedoms being a piercing artist allows me, and my guide to this point in my life - the Raven. Drawing inspiration from the piercing community and my place within it was the pinnacle of the evolution of this collection.
As I designed these pieces I kept a focus on keeping other piercers in mind. So I hope this collection to appeals to piercers as well as artists.
My favourite part of this opportunity was seeing my ideas turn into tangible pieces. The reality that some amazing and unique people will wear my designs is such an ecstatic feeling.
Raven runs Raven Piercings at VARA Tattoo Studio, Newbury.
Follow Raven on Instagram.
Raven's Collection
