Category Features

Point 85: Back in the Day

Comments Off on Point 85: Back in the Day read Features, Industry History, Issue 85

by Elayne Angel

If you were not present, it would be hard to imagine how incredibly different “the field” of body piercing was in the 1980s, when I landed my job as a professional piercer and manager at Gauntlet, Inc.

At the time, piercing was some years away from being an actual industry. As far as we know, there was still just that one specialty studio in the country (and possibly the world)! Body piercing was all but unheard of. Literally—most people had simply never heard of it. The general public thought that women’s earlobes were the only site for such ornamentation, and maybe some noses in exotic, distant lands. Body piercing, when it was perceived at all, was viewed as underground, radical, and exceedingly deviant.

Even the National Tattoo Association (NTA) did not welcome Gauntlet at their conventions. Despite multiple attempts to rent a booth, they refused to offer the simple courtesy of a reply. They felt that piercing was outlandish and would give tattooing a “bad reputation.”

We had a tattoo artist client who used to buy jewelry from Gauntlet and do some piercings on the side. He confided that if his tattoo artist boss knew that he was pierced, and that he was performing piercings on others, he would be fired for being a pervert!

When I first became employed at Gauntlet, the clientele was still primarily gay leathermen (like its owner/founder, Jim Ward himself), and others from the BDSM community. Jim Ward is the person who essentially brought piercing out of the bedroom and dungeon. Initially, “kinky” people who were exploring the limits of their bodies were about the only ones engaging in piercing. We put holes in ears here and there, but mostly we pierced nipples and genitals, and the occasional septum on a willing slave or daring dominant.

At that time, piercing was very much about sex, eroticism, sensation, and enhancement. Piercings were for function, and the aesthetics were somewhat secondary. It used to be more about how a piercing felt than how it looked.

Then piercing got some media attention, including an article in the National Enquirer, with the sensational headline “Bizarre New Fashion Fad Turns Folks into Human Pincushions.” As melodramatic as this tabloid fodder was, it caught the attention of a lot of interested parties. That coverage was definitely responsible for putting tongue piercing before the public eye and its popularity soared afterward! Tongue piercing had not been in the repertoire of usual puncture sites in those days. At. All.

In addition to the National Enquirer piece and other print articles, we got a fair bit of television coverage too, including CNN, After Hours, MTV, French TV, and Japanese TV. An old syndicated news show called Inside Report filmed a noteworthy segment at Gauntlet in the late 1980s. I find it very illustrative of that era.

I’m rockin’ a piercing-purple skirt suit. The blazer’s padded shoulders set off my long curly, dyed-black Mohawk. As I speak there’s a text overlay on the screen reading, HOLE-EE COW!

Me: One of the other new piercings that is getting very popular, and it is rather painless to have done and very erotic: it’s the tongue piercing!

The poofy-haired anchorwoman, clad in a sassy leopard print dress (with massive shoulder pads), opines: “For most people, even getting their ears pierced is a traumatic experience. But imagine having your nipple or your navel pierced?! Body piercing is becoming a booming business, and not just with rock and rollers or radicals. This painful fad is becoming popular even with the yuppie crowd! Inside Report’s Angela Shelly shows us some folks who have more holes in their bodies than Swiss cheese!”

Cut to a Mötley Crüe music video with reporter’s voice-over: “It’s kind of your job when you’re a rock star. You’re supposed to shock people. Like Axl Rose of Guns n’ Roses, Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe, these two have a lot in common. No, not music; nipples! [Cut to close up image of a pierced male nipple with a captive ring.] Both of the rockers have recently gotten their nipples pierced at this shop [image of the Gauntlet storefront] in West Hollywood, California.

“But don’t think piercing is just for the raunchy and famous. A lot of regular people…and a few irregulars are pierced in places you never thought of—take navels.” This as they show a preppy short-haired young man getting his eyebrow pierced, then one of the Gauntlet staff strutting down the street in SM-fashionable leather and chains, sporting septum and navel piercings.

Next, they interview a sincere young piercee about her new navel piercing as she is bouncing a toddler on her hip. “It’s a pretty exotic place, I thought; something out of the normal. Not everybody has one.” [Though, of course, some years later, nearly anybody might have one!]

This show actually recorded my very first eyebrow piercing. Once the fixed bead ring was inserted and closed (of course we didn’t have any NeoMetal curves back then), I looked over at the client and said—in all seriousness— “You are a wild man!” Yep, piercing was quite different in those days.

Elayne’s experimental wrist piercing

Soon piercing started to catch on with entertainers, artists, musicians, and others. Being located in Southern California, Gauntlet was well positioned to handle that clientele. In the late 1980s (coinciding with the release of the Re/Search book Modern Primitives), more varied types of people became interested in body art and modification. They wanted to decorate different areas including more ear and facial work, and surface piercings.

Two photos of Joe Ruby of Borneo Joe and Flaming Bones Jewelry. Many of his facial piercings placements were totally pioneering (and wildly attention getting) at the time. It is fantastic to see that he still wears them to this day.

There simply was no existing body of knowledge to draw from to fulfill many of these new requests. So, we moved forward as best we could, applying principles from our stock of “traditional” piercings whenever possible. It was an era of experimentation, informal research, and trial and error. And, yes…there were errors. Some piercings didn’t heal well and left scars. Fortunately, I have no real catastrophes to report (except for the disaster described on page 119 of The Piercing Bible, called “The Worst Piercing Story,” which is about my own cheek piercings).

We were always honest about our experience (or lack thereof) for any atypical requests. But when the customers were up for trying, we did our utmost. It was acceptable to just… attempt something new—nearly anything. We didn’t yet know what the boundaries and possibilities were, so we had to feel for them. We pushed, to find out what worked. Compared to today, there was relatively little expected by our clients, which facilitated this process. If they were willing to ultimately walk away with a scar for the chance at a new piercing, we gave it a go.

The truth is, we did some foolish stuff. And once that initial period of exploration ran its course, I pretty much stuck to the piercings that routinely healed successfully and let go of the rest. I suppose it is ironic that I’m now viewed as a “conservative” piercer, given these origins.

But my current attitude springs from having experimented a lot in my formative years.

Some of our early efforts come to mind.    A number of them turned into very popular piercings; others, not so much.

In the 1970s, the first piercing I’d done on myself (other than an ear) was through a pinch of tissue just below the prominent bone on the outside of my left wrist. I was in high school at the time and was afraid someone would see it and send me to the looney bin, so I kept it in for just a few weeks before abandoning it. After joining the Gauntlet team, I thought it would be fun to reprise this piercing, so I had a colleague hold the forceps while I pushed the needle through. Then they did the jewelry insertion for me: a 14 ga 3⁄8″ gold captive bead ring. I wore it for some months and it healed quite well given the minimal tissue, and the frequent handwashing and glove wearing required by my work. Ultimately, I found it impractical and gave it up.

I also thought it would be neat to have a hand-web piercing, which I’d seen in issue #23 of Jim Ward’s Piercing Fans International Quarterly Magazine (PFIQ). Somehow that settled in too, in spite of the Betadine and water soaks I used to “help it heal.” I had it for several years before it began to migrate and had to be abandoned.

Innovations were tossed around and regularly tried out on the very willing staff. The lower central labret was already somewhat established, but one of my employees (Rebecca L.) got the idea for a midline piercing above her upper lip, and that was the first philtrum piercing I can recall.

Another staffer (piercer Jen D.) wanted her forehead pierced horizontally, as close to the hairline as possible. I didn’t think a ring or straight barbell would work well, and curves were years from becoming readily available. So, I got the bright idea (ha!) to make a flexible “barbell” by filing the seam off of some plastic weed-eater line with a jewelry file. I figured out a creative way to melt and flatten the plastic ends with a lighter to hold some beads on. Amazingly, it healed just fine and she later put in metal jewelry. Jen wore it for years, and to my knowledge, indefinitely.

An employee from the jewelry division wanted to get an ear cartilage placement that “not everyone has,” so I evaluated his anatomy. I decided to frame the prominent horizontal ridge near his face, toward the upper region of his ear. We called it a “Niler” as his last name was Niles. Later, Erik Dakota would dub this placement a “rook” piercing.

Then there were other inventive things to be done with piercings. I thought it would be cool to have a vampire bite scar on the side of my neck. So, I took a long straight barbell (12 gauge, about 11⁄4″ in length) and while a colleague held the tissue in some forceps, I pierced it myself, and inserted the jewelry. The intention was to leave it in temporarily, and for it to not heal at all well. Somehow, minimal scarring resulted, which is probably for the best.

Believe it or not, I wasn’t the only one to try this “vampire piercing.” Joe Ruby of Borneo Joe/ Flaming Bones jewelry was an early frequent visitor in the studio, and he also got one. Many of his facial piercing placements were totally pioneering (and wildly attention-getting) at the time. It is fantastic to see that he still wears them to this day.

In addition to performing experimental piercings, some of the circumstances surrounding them were unusual as well. I recall a few topless after-hours, invitation-only piercing parties. In fact, my forward helix—the first of its kind, as far as we know—was done at one such event. It was performed by Crystal (now Clayton) Cross, pierced from the interior, into a cork on the front. A small bead ring was the initial jewelry.

Elayne, right, with Crystal (now Clayton) Cross

I also have very fond memories of a “first cleaning” party that took place in my large home shower, only a mile from Gauntlet’s door. About a half a dozen of us bathed together and washed our tender new piercings with Hibiclens surgical scrub. Believe me when I tell you, that harsh soap was actually a big improvement from the agonizing rubbing-alcohol-on-cotton-swabs aftercare method I used for my nipple piercings back in 1981!

Stretching cartilage (or any large gauge hole in that tissue) was also pretty revolutionary at that time; most enlarged piercings at that point were Prince Alberts. For my conch piercing, a 10-gauge matte-finish charcoal ring was selected as the initial jewelry (ever so unwisely). What agony! But it healed, and within nine months I’d somehow stretched it enough to fit in a 4-gauge double-flared eyelet without damaging the tissue.

A memorable and unique man came to Gauntlet in the ‘80s with a number of highly unusual requests for the times. He went by the name Erl Van Aken (RIP), and he got the first bridge piercing, which we dubbed an “Erl.” He also got the first neck surface piercing (nape). He wore both of these for many, many years. Less well known was his foray into axillary piercings. Though he was a very physically active man, Erl thought it would be a good idea to pierce the folds at the front and rear  of his underarm creases. Though I tried to discourage him, Erl was a very persistent and persuasive person. I eventually placed 14ga 5⁄8″ rings there, front and back, bilaterally. Although he didn’t wear those piercings for as long as his others, they healed despite his inventive care regimen: twice daily applications of Bacardi 151 rum!

An adorable and effervescent young gal named Madison was the first to come in requesting a surface piercing at the front of her neck, which we labeled accordingly. We placed a ring in it and she wore the piercing for years, stating that she never had problems with it. Amazing!

I also recall a gent named Chet, who requested a single cheek piercing. He brought in a spent Magnum .357 bullet shell casing, and we had the jewelry department slice off the inscribed back portion of it to make a threaded end for the front of his piercing. Once the project was complete, he thought it looked like he had a bullet in his face. That was creative and…different. (I want to take this opportunity to clarify a common misconception: we did use internally threaded jewelry, even in those early days, for everything 14 gauge and thicker.)

I remember Dr. Jack Ward teaching a class on anatomy for piercers at an APP Conference in the 1990s. He entitled it: “Are We Good or Are We Lucky?” and frankly, I would have to say we were pretty lucky indeed. We didn’t use needles larger than 10 gauge (I still don’t), and generally pierced smaller than that. But we stuck them through some places that could have had less fortunate outcomes. I did a piercing on one of the staff members (Crystal) at the juncture of her face and earlobe, but have since learned that there is an artery present there that is usually quite large. That could have gone badly!

When I wasn’t at the shop or at home, I was out proselytizing about the joys of piercing to anyone who would listen. They often heard my message, as I made countless “converts.” My passion and enthusiasm were boundless, and the role of educator/liaison was one I undertook zealously. I still do….

During that period, the energy was electric, palpable, and intense, and it was evident that the era was somehow significant. My memories of that extraordinary time are incredibly fond, but frankly I’m relieved that my experimenting days are behind me. I’m so grateful to have been there, and happy to have returned to my roots, specializing in the piercings that were Gauntlet’s original stock in trade.

Disclaimer: This article is intended to accurately describe my personal recollections and professional experiences from many years ago. It is my sincere intention to be truthful, though we all know that human memory is sometimes fallible. Any errors are my own (and are inadvertent). Also, it is not my aim to seek credit for any particular piercings—just to relate some early history as I remember it.

Point 85: In the Beginning There was Gauntlet

Comments Off on Point 85: In the Beginning There was Gauntlet read Body Piercing Archives, Features, Industry History, Issue 85

by Jim Ward

Yes, humans have been piercing their bodies for millenia, so this title is not literally true.

But in 1975 when Gauntlet was born, except for a handful of fetishists, the western world had largely forgotten this part of its history. That year marked the beginning of a revival that has taken the planet by storm. Thanks to Gauntlet, piercing shops have become a staple of the urban landscape.

Many of you have read my book Running the Gauntlet and are familiar with so many of the photos it contains. For this issue of The Point, I’ve dug back into my personal archives and chosen a number of mostly unpublished photos from Gauntlet’s early years to share.

For the first three years of its existence, I conducted business from my dilapidated old home. The shop opened in 1978. I hope you enjoy this stroll down memory lane.

Doug Malloy in a candid moment
A young chap modeling the first incarnation of a Gauntlet t-shirt. I silk screened the design myself. At one point I attempted to dye some of them purple, but the widely available Rit dye faded rapidly to lavender.
Poet, performance artist, and out masochist Bob Flanagan in a 1982 video getting a Prince Albert and guiche piercing from Jim Ward. Shot by his mistress Sheree Rose, the video may be seen on the APPThePoint YouTube Channel. It should be viewed as an historical document and in no way
considered instructional.

My home on San Vicente Boulevard in West Hollywood where Gauntlet was born and from which I conducted business for three years prior to the opening of the studio.

Exterior view of the shop front
My secretary’s desk and work area. On the stool
bottom left is visible a layout board for an issue of
PFIQ
The showcase and my desk and work area.
Through the opening at the far right is the jewelry
making area. Seeing the ash tray on the display
counter, we forget that smoking was acceptable
in those days.
My friend Diane at the jeweler’s bench
in the opposite corner of the room is the piercing area shielded
by a folding screen on the right. This studio would not meet
today’s APP standards; but was acceptable at that particular
time
Me wearing a second generation Gauntlet T-shirt. It
was purple with a glittery gold design. The peacock wallpaper
raised a number of eyebrows, but finding anything
featuring our signature purple at that time was a challenge

Point 85: The President’s Corner

Comments Off on Point 85: The President’s Corner read Editorial, Features, Industry History, Issue 85, President's Corner

by Jef Saunders

Welcome to The Point: Journal of Body Piercing—Issue 85, where we celebrate our piercing history. There is so much to consider when we look at the history of piercing: of course, there is the anthropological and historical record. There is also our far more recent piercing “industry” or “community” history.

A knowledge of both is quite rewarding. One of the often overlooked resources for people interested in learning the recent history of piercing, and of the APP, is what you are reading right now—The Point. Our issues are available for free online and provide tremendous insight into the kind of battles piercers had to fight in the 1990s versus the challenges we face today. It is worthwhile to see that things like jewelry standards and safety requirements have been a part of the organization from the very beginning. It is also of no great surprise to see that our industry’s leaders, from piercers to manufacturers, were often active in and supportive of the APP from the very beginning.

It is somewhat expected that two of the people who come to my mind when I think of the production and editing of The Point have also released books. Both Elayne Angel (The Piercing Bible) and Jim Ward (Running the Gauntlet) have produced works that have educated and entertained piercers and the public. The APP has also benefited from the extensive and challenging work that has been performed by the Body Piercing Archive. This group of piercing enthusiasts has put thousands of hours into protecting our history and presenting it for us at our Conference. The APP is deeply appreciative of this committee and committee members for all of their hard work. The APP Conference in May 2019 will feature a Body Piercing Archive  exhibit  about the life and work of Fakir Musafar. Fakir was a hugely influential figure, to our entire community and to me personally. The Association of Professional Piercers mourns his  passing and celebrates his legacy. I encourage all APP Conference Attendees to make time for the Body Piercing Archive’s exhibit at the upcoming Conference.

The Point – Issue 85

Comments Off on The Point – Issue 85 read Body Piercing Archives, Camp, Events, Features, In Memorium, Industry History, International, Issue 85, News, Sister Organization

Point 84: Looking back at Performance Art

Comments Off on Point 84: Looking back at Performance Art read Body Piercing Archives, Features, Industry History, Issue 84

The following pages feature articles from issue 49 of Piercing Fans International Quarterly, 1992. Over 25 years have passed, but the art was as vital then as it is today. Used with the permission of Gauntlet Enterprises.

Cover of PFIQ issue 49 with Spike the Holocaust Girl photographed by Christine Kessler.
Back cover of PFIQ Issue 49 featuring Ron Athey in the “st. Sebastian Enlightened in a Zen Garden” scene of The Casting Out/A Crown of Thorns performance at L.A.C.E. Los Angeles, November 13, 1992. Photo by Dikon Lewis.

Paul King

Image from David Wojnarowicz photo series Silence Through Economics.
In demonic drag Paul King torments Andrew Fucker during the San Francisco performance of Man’s Ruin.

Motivation and presentation may have changed, but the act of the artist using bodily fluids and perforated flesh as a vehicle of expression is nothing new. In the 70s, artist/groups such as Marina Abromovic and Coum Transmissions, later known as Throbbing Gristle, incorporated blood letting in their performances. In the 80s blood performances attracted greater atten tion. The artist Stelarc suspended himself from a crane over the streets of Copenhagen, held by giant hooks through his flesh.

Portraying the human body as “obsolete,” he gained international notoriety. The collaboration team of Ron Athey and Rozz Williams, known as Premature Ejaculation, was filleting and nailing themselves—and a few road kill—for Los Angeles audiences. On the subject of nails, performance artist Bob Flannigan would hammer the head of his dick to a board and then pry the nail out. AIDS activist/writer/ performance artist David Wojnarowicz utilized similar techniques when he stitched his lips shut as a visual testimony to the concept “Silence = Death.”

Through literature, music videos, high fashion, media sensationalism and governmental hysteria, the sub-culture of permanent and performance piercing has penetrated the mainstream. Don’t be surprised when Barbie starts sporting a “belly button ring.” Increased public attention, both negative and positive, has enabled cutting edge artists like Ron Athey to break from the underground circuit to “proper” performance theaters. Performing in established art environments with greater budgets, the artist can more accurately and elaborately bring their vision to stage.

Performance piercing in the 90s originated in the nightclub. At L. A.’s nightclub “Fuck!”, friends of the promoters included S/M practitioners, who started bringing their sex lives to the dance podium. Performers such as Elayne Binnie, Ron Athey and Crystal Cross were at the forefront.

Fetishism and exhibitionism were the primary motivations. Initial responses ranged from shock and revulsion, to admiration and lust. Most of what you see in nightclubs these days has become narrowly focused on shock value.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good shock more than anyone. However, one cannot rely on sticking needles through flesh to be shocking forever. At some point the shock fades. With repeated exposure even a strong image will lose its power. Just think of TV violence. Unfortunately for most viewers, there’s little variation available. Play pierced lips and ball dances are becoming as passé as navel piercings. It’s difficult to pinpoint where content and progression began to evolve with the individual performer. The process seemed to evolve unconsciously through the repetition of recurring fetish themes.

I was doing shows in nightclubs and as demonstrations for S/M organizations. I became detached; mechanical. The repetitive action of sticking needles through skin had become monotonous; perhaps I had just come to realize that action alone is empty. I began to incorporate my darker feelings into the pieces, creating a sort of psychodrama. Oftentimes I had preexisting relationships with my collaborators and assistants. When I allowed my feelings for the person to fuel the inspiration, the pieces developed depth. My work was now the expression and release of love, obsession, fear, insecurity and vanity. I used images of operating rooms, dungeons and dark basements. Bodily fluids, such as vomit, blood, piss, spit and tears are my favorite medium.

The first work of mine that contained any real substance was “Fuck Art…This is Love.” My partner at the time, Bud Cockerham, was an artist who is HIV positive. I delved into my unconscious fear of watching someone I love being reduced, wasted, and destroyed. I focused my anger at the idea of making love becoming synonymous with cross contamination. Intimacy was death. My anguish materialized. The piece takes place in a plastic-encased operating room. The

audience’s view is clouded and nightmarish. Masked , goggled and garbed head to toe in surgical scrubs, I catheterized him, infused his scrotum to monstrous proportions, sutured his lips shut, carved “HIV+” into his chest, and sprayed him and the enclosed room in his blood. In later performances this image was pushed and the ending changed. I introduced another character who is HIV-. Both drenched in their own blood, they make love through a polyurethane wall.

Mic Rawls in a Paul King performance Halloween night in New York.

“Puff-n-Snuff” is playtime in my darkest fantasies. The piece is a tribute to the bogeyman, killer clowns, Texas Chain Saw Massacre and of course, Dennis Cooper. It’s a snuff (murder) fantasy. The killer clown has two victims in a basement, mummified and tied to ladders. Hundreds of pictures of one of the victims are obsessively scattered all over the walls. One of the pictures is placed over a victim’s face. The clown straps on a dildo harness equipped with a 10” steel knife and proceeds to fuck one of the victims to death. A sterile piercing needle is attached into a battery powered drill which the clown presses through the victims’ cheeks. The clown then uses a circular saw to rip through arms and gut the abdomens of the victims. The lights dim while the clown writhes in organs and masturbates with the intestines. Don’t worry; all mutilations, except the drilling, are  stunts.

My recent work has gotten lighter, even playful. In the piece “Man’s Ruin,” co-creator Brian Murphy and I brought to life the elements of the traditional tattoo flash of the pin-up girl sitting in a martini glass framed with playing cards and dice. The image pays respect to vice and the sorrow it brings. The piece is staged as a game show hosted by a Las Vegas devil boy and devil girl. Flashing lights, blaring trashy rock, outrageous costumes and props set a dream-like mood. We tempt the contestant with the vices of sex, money, drugs, liquor and vanity. Every time he reaches for his desire we “hook” him. The viewers are the game show’s audience. Their cheers and cries egg us on to hurt him more. One by one, fishhooks pierce his finger webs, cheeks, scrotum and legs which are then strung up to a frame in the image of giant dice. The game continues until he dies. The show ends with rock-n-roll drag-queen nurses body bagging and toe-tagging the loser.

Owning my feelings and fantasies, confronting social taboos and phobias is my work’s passion. Catharsis became the mother of invention. The audience doesn’t always understand the artist’s motivation or the message; with art that isn’t always relevant. Whether awe-inspired or repulsed, rarely is one unmoved. v

Point 84: CoRE-Constructs of Ritual Evolution

Comments Off on Point 84: CoRE-Constructs of Ritual Evolution read Features, Issue 84

The following is a blog post on the International Suspension Alliance website entitled “We Are CoRE” dated 9/13/2010:

““I try to remove bricks off the wall of society. In my lifetime, I will probably remove one brick from that wall, and that’s the whole point of this.” –Steve Joyner

Trying to write about Constructs of Ritual Evolution, or CoRE as you might know them, may be one of the most challenging subjects I have taken on. I think a lot of that comes from the fact that what they are doing on stage is more about what you personally take away from it than anything else. It’s emotion; it is about making you think. The beautiful pictures here can’t begin to do justice to watching the real thing and no amount of words could tell you what you would experience seeing it in person. I’m just here to tell you who they are and what they do. As for the rest… well, you would just have to see them yourself to figure that one out.

With an anniversary right around the corner, CoRE is coming up on ten years of performing, educating, and evolving into what it is today. What they are may be the trickiest question to answer. Are they performance art or suspension, actors or educators? The simple answer is all of the above. For as much as they put into entertaining the crowds on stage, just as much is put into their work with the suspension community. With links on their website to educational resources and their classes that range from cross contamination and aftercare to suspension safety, saying that education is an important part of what they do would be a drastic understatement. They take time to attend suspension conventions worldwide, traveling everywhere from Dallas to Israel to share what they know and with the classes he has taught through the Association of Professional Piercers and Professional Piercing Information Systems, CoRE’s founder and director Steve Joyner is a familiar face among both the suspension and piercing communities. Even the live show is a chance for them to teach through their actions on stage. Steve worded it best when he said that whether or not you consider yourself an educator, every time you step on stage, the people in that audience are taking with them what you have done.

CoRE founder Steve Joyner conducting a tour of the BPA exhibit at the APP Conference in 2018.
Photo by Matte Erickson

As for what to expect from CoRE’s live show, it tells us stories that could be taken differently by each person in the audience. Like any good work of art, it is made to reach you on a very personal level. They have worked to bring us something far greater than just people hanging from hooks, what they do on stage is nothing short of breathtaking. Having a cast of performers that range from elegant belly dancers and contortionists to bold and daring fire-breathers and suspension artists, CoRE’s show encompasses a unique blend of rituals, suspensions, and stage performance. Their well coordinated use of light and sound to compliment the acts on stage adds yet another dimension as you watch the show. With a rehearsal schedule that could rival Cirque du Soleil’s, this certainly isn’t just a group fooling around on stage. Every act is carefully prepared, edited, and rehearsed with special attention to the safety and well being of all of those involved.

I am so excited to see what the next ten years has in store for this remarkable group of people. I know we will continue to see many more shows coming up for CoRE in the future and if you have the chance to see them live be sure not to miss out on the opportunity to witness a spectacular performance by this one-of-a-kind theatrical group. You can keep up with upcoming dates, news, and educational events on their website We Are CoRE.

Thank you so much to everyone in CoRE for what you have given to all of us, both inside the suspension community and out. A special thank you to Patricia and Steve for being such a huge help in writing this article.

https://www.facebook.com/wearecore/

Point 84: Piercing with Steve Joyner

Comments Off on Point 84: Piercing with Steve Joyner read Features, Issue 84

Reprinted from Inkspired Magazine issue 22, 2014, with permission of the publisher.

Story: Sean Dowdell

Photography: Sean Hartgrave

Number of years piercing: 27

SD: What do think is something positive that the comes from the piercing industry, if anything?

SJ: It is adding cultural diversity to our society. It can give individual meaning as an outlet of expression to people.

SD: What would you like other piercers to know that they might not know about you?

SJ: Not a damn thing! Just kidding…! know that I have worked hard to push our industry but at the end of the day, my door is open to anyone who would like to talk to me about piercing. I love teaching and talking to everyone and learning myself. I’m more sensitive than people think. I don’t like arguing or arrogance.

SD: Being a veteran piercer, what advice do you think that most new pierc­ers should be aware of as they climb into our industry?

SJ: Piercers need to SLOW DOWN. Take the time to learn A-Z correctly. They need to go through a real apprenticeship and take it for what it is meant to be.

SD: Is there anything you wish to learn or get better at in the piercing industry?

SJ: Oh yeah! There will always be more techniques and newer equipment. I would love to learn to do hand poking tattoos. I am on my way to learning as well!

Point 84: Technical Innovator Award: Auris Jewellery

Comments Off on Point 84: Technical Innovator Award: Auris Jewellery read Awards & Recognition, Conference, Events, Features, Issue 84

by Kendra Jane B., The Point Co-Editor

Auris Jewelry was a first time vendor on this year exposition floor and as a new Gold company from Russia, it was great to see that they had entered the Magdustrial for an innovators award. What is even better as first time attendees and entrant is winning the technical award for this year.

Kendra Jane B: Can you introduce yourself and tell us what brought you to APP this year?

Auris Jewelry: Auris Jewelry’s core is three people. Myself and Vlad-1 are the owners of St Scalpelburg Piercing Boutique, with the intention of creating a new piercing jewelry line for its customers, and Vlad-2, who is a jeweler and owns a goldsmith manufacturer. Together we want to make this world more shiny. Where to start if not APP, the world’s biggest and best.

KJB: How long has Auris been a jewelry company?

AJ: We started looking for a jeweler to make our designs in 2014. We found Vlad-2 in 2015, so we can say we’ve done piercing since that time. But series models only started in 2016.

KJB: What was it like breaking into the gold market in Russia? Tell us about your company.

AJ: Besides the Advanced Journal of Surgical Pathology (AJSP), there is nothing high end in Russia. Only cheap gold designs from the ‘90s which are externally threaded, wrongly sized, and not even nickel free. Since 2013 St Scalpelburg has offered Russian people jewelry from BVLA, but long wait times and higher price points were very difficult in our market. We decided to build our own brand which can fulfill our customers’ demands in about one month and it works. As you can see, not only for our shop customers, but for other shops all over the world!

KJB: Why is it so important for piercers in your area to have access to high end jewelry?

AJ: Well, besides safety and quality, selling good jewelry is crucial for our industry. The more money we make, the more money we spend on advertising our professional industry ideas, and the bigger educational conferences we can hold, etc.

KJB: What inspired you to create the Magdustrial?

AJ: Well, the idea belongs to Vlad-2, our jeweler. He says that when you are focused on a specific area, you try to project onto this field everything  you  encounter—whether   those are rocks from a specific place or technological newcomings. One day Vlad got his hands on a pair of neodymium magnets, they were small enough to be feasible for applying to piercing and strong enough to keep tension. Some time after, he discussed the idea with Vlad-1 and me. We decided that it might be an  interesting idea to upgrade our existing chaindustrial with magnets instead of separate chains. The idea was so fresh and fascinating, so we started working on the design. You’ve all seen what it became!

 KJB: Tell us about the process of creating this piece?

AJ: It was pretty much the same as any other piece. Interactions, one by one, until we found a design suitable for magnets and it looked bright enough.

KJB: What are your future plans for your company?

AJ: Ohoho, there are tons! We’ve got a number of ideas for new jewelry styles we want to introduce to the public. We want to cover all countries where people work with high end, so we are pretty much on the road all this year.

Of course, we are quite a young company now, so we are establishing business processes first. But the biggest dream is to move all the manufacturing, employees, and facilities to a nice warm place like Thailand or Bali.

KJB: What is the piercing industry like in Russia compared to North America or European markets?

AJ: It is only just starting to grow. We have only 10–15 shops ordering high end titanium on a regular basis at the moment. The  general  public is still not ready to pay that much for a piercing; although we did a huge educational job by mass-advertising with St Scalpelburg the past five years and now people are starting to  believe that they can sell high end  jewelry  and  earn money from it.

I would say it is pretty similar to South America at the moment, but we are growing fast.

KJB: Can you tell us a bit about your involvement with the RuAPP and the conference you just had?

AJ: Of course! Auris Jewelry, along with Industrial Strength Russia, became corporate and administrative sponsors of the first and second RuAPP conference in Moscow. The first was held in January, second in August and this time we involved foreign speakers and attendees. Thanks a lot to APP who generously sponsored Brian Skellie and Cody Vaughn coming to RuAPP! The conference had 105 attendees which shows us that piercers in Russia are eager to learn and make Russian piercing all it can be!

Regarding involvement, RuAPP, Auris Jewelry, St Scalpelburg and the Russian piercing industry in general are mixed into one because we (Vlad Bodmodov and I) are doing all these activities at the same time.

KJB: Can we hope to see you next year?

AJ: You kidding? We would love to be there again! Next time we will be better prepared.

KJB: What is one piece of advice you would have for aspiring jewelry makers?

AJ: I’ve got a little bit different type of answer for that. After APP and RuAPP we went to Brazilian GEP where we met RARO jewelry who had their debut at the Conference. Lukas, their designer, told us that our jewelry along with Charly Pastrana’s Sacred Symbols, has become an inspiration for them.

I was so happy to know that we inspired those people to create a neat product! For me, inspiring people is one of the best things in the world.

Therefore, if I wanted to give advice to people who want to make jewelry themselves… well, do what you want to wear for yourself and don’t copy. When it comes from your heart you can easily see the difference. That’s why I love what Charly from Sacred Symbols does. The rest just takes time.

Hope to see you soon at Conferences all over the world and have you in the Auris Legion one day. Together we can wipe styleless jewelry from this world.

Point 84: Creative Innovator Award: Onetribe’s “Topo” Design

Comments Off on Point 84: Creative Innovator Award: Onetribe’s “Topo” Design read Awards & Recognition, Conference, Events, Features, Issue 84

by Marina Pecorino, The Point co-editor

Kaitlin Raison from Scarab Body Arts.
Photo by John Joyce.

Jared Karnes of Onetribe took home this year’s Creative Innovator Award for his “Topo” design ear weights. I had the pleasure of interviewing him about his customer-centric business model, love of metallurgy and gemology, and the design to manufacturing process.

Marina Pecorino: Tell us a little about the history and philosophy of Onetribe.

Jared Karnes: I started Onetribe at the end of 2002 after realizing there was an open niche for a retail store with a well organized, user-friendly website and jewelry more unique than what was available wholesale. I had been looking for personal jewelry and became frustrated with the selection of styles and materials, and how the industry seemed to be stuck in the 90’s concerning web best practices.

After several years of production in Indonesia, I set up a personal workshop to prototype, use new materials, and troubleshoot issues my artisans were having. This allowed me to teach new techniques and solutions to keep our production running smoothly. I had been coordinating design and sourcing materials for years, but the new direction of putting my hands on materials and troubleshooting processes became a turning point for both myself and the business. I fell in love with the meditative act of making, and particularly with the process and history behind creating artwork from stone. At its peak, Onetribe had many employees, products, and projects both at home and abroad. As I became more invested in making jewelry with my own hands, it was challenging to manage all of those things, and I began to let them go. My philosophy going forward is one of embracing simplicity and play. I intend to cultivate joy in myself and others by using my work to honor the time people spend changing their bodies.

MP: What was the inspiration behind the “Topo” design? What makes this design unique?

JK: Topo is inspired by mountains and rivers, and how we translate those environments into maps. I became obsessed with how to make a river valley with elevations and water that looked as if it was a three-dimensional section from a topographical map. It was also exciting to create something way outside of current body jewelry trends.

A few details that make Topo unique are the rear set stone, a hallmark of mine over the last few years, and the stone shape itself. The stone is tallest at the center of the valley and lowest toward the edges as it disappears into the background. This gives depth and helps reinforce the visual feel of a river. I put a lot of thought into how the design would appear from multiple angles and it is particularly well suited for my recent experimentation with doublets, laminations of two or more stones to create a new aesthetic. That process worked remarkably well for creating a water effect.

MP: Can you tell us about the development and manufacturing process for the “Topo” design? Approximately how many hours go into crafting one pair?

JK: Most of the work for a style like Topo happens before any metal is melted. The process  of refining a design from drawing to paper model, handmade metal model, 3D printed model, mold, and then final metal master took months and it’s still not finished. I’m redesigning the setting due to some production issues and that’s why  I only had a handful of pairs  for Conference. Because the bulk of the work is done up front, an estimate can be misleading. With that said, depending on whether it’s the small or large size, the hardness or difficulty   of the stone, and whether it is a solid stone or   a doublet, the stone carving process takes between one and four hours for a pair. The setting takes on average an hour and a half, and clean up about the same. This works out to between four and seven hours of hands-on time for each pair, not counting the pre-production work.

Topo in large size with Rutilated Quartz and Lapis doublets.

MP: Many of the items available from Onetribe are made to order and customized for the wearer. Can you explain your rationale for this business model?

JK: There are two reasons for this. The first is that I like things to fit correctly and be special for the customer. If I can easily accommodate sizing or aesthetic specifications, then that customer has helped create their own jewelry. The second reason is that it’s a risk making stock using time-consuming processes and materials where every cut is unique. I can make ten pairs of plugs or weights this week, and two or ten may sell. It may be a month before any sell. It takes a predictable income to run a business and make sure that bills get paid on time. Relying on the unpredictable nature of one person with the right aesthetic, size requirements, and budget to find and buy that one product is not a stable business model. That model is better suited to businesses who are buying wholesale or mass manufacturing.

There is a big caveat here, and it’s that running a standing production queue for years on end is mentally and physically tiring because there is always something due. Each order is paid in advance, and thus the queue is also a huge business liability. It’s not a perfect system and I have some ideas for refining it. I would like to move to more of a balance between stock and custom work and involve customers in selecting what styles, materials, sizes, and price points are stocked and available for immediate purchase.

MP: Your website says that you’re “perfectly content being nerds about beautiful woods and stones and coming up with new ways to make them wearable.” What is your favorite material to work with and why? What are some of the characteristics of the materials you choose?

JK: Choosing a single material has become difficult as I use stone in different ways beyond simple solid plugs. Recently I have been super into  searching  out  specific colors in stone. I get excited about combinations  of bright colors like Chrysoprase (think mineral-pool green) and Turkish Purple Jade. I also get weak in the knees for pastels, and I have been looking for rare colors like pale pink, peach, lavender, and cool grays in Botswana Agate. Nodular agates like Botswana are unique because they tend to occur in small pieces that look like eggs, and due to the exterior skin it’s not possible to tell what’s going on until it is cut. Searching for a specific color means cutting open many nodules to see what I’ve got to work with, and then narrowing down what’s useful now or inspiring for later. I cut down over 20 nodules to find the handful of small pastel pieces I used in a recent pair of my Moon hoops. I’ve started to think about stones as a palette and not just individual entities, and it’s opening up some exciting possibilities for future work.

MP: At the 2016 APP Conference & Expo, you took home the Creative Innovator Award for your “Ghost in the Shell” design. Did that win influence your submission for this year at all?

JK: It did! Up to that point, I had been mostly focusing on technical work such as new setting methods and modernized historical jewelry. Ghost in the Shell was one of the first designs to reflect my personal aesthetic. It is not ornate, but it has thoughtful attention to line quality and light play and huge personality when you pay attention. I actually did not plan to enter anything that year, but someone at Conference suggested I submit GitS while I was setting up my booth. Winning the Creative Innovator Award for that style was confirmation that my design aesthetic is valid and that I shouldn’t worry so much about what’s trending. I had no idea how Topo was going to be received this year but I decided if I am going to continue to try and do new things, I gotta go for it despite my insecurities.

MP: As a well-known and established jewelry company, do you have any words of wisdom you’d like to share with up-and-coming artisan jewelers in our industry?

JK: I’ll never forget Keith Alexander telling me right at the beginning of my business that it wasn’t worth it, because the industry was too saturated. I took this statement to mean “do it better, or there’s no reason to do it at all.” He may not have meant it that way, but a few years later he congratulated me on building something special and that made me very happy. I used to have the opinion that saturation is killing the jewelry industry, then I realized that a more accurate assessment is that saturation only happens when there’s little to get excited about. So please, make things! Bring it, but bring originality and do it well so we can all get hyped on creativity and innovation, and push ourselves and each other onward and upward.

Point 84: Volunteer Appreciation Award: Theo Sheffler

Comments Off on Point 84: Volunteer Appreciation Award: Theo Sheffler read Awards & Recognition, Conference, Events, Features, Issue 84

by Caitlin McDiarmid, APP Administrator

Theo working Registration
Photo by Autumn Swisher

The 2018 Josh A. Prentice Volunteer Award winner was Theo Sheffler.

Caitlin prepares to present the award.
Photo by Shanna Hutchins

I love this man and my man loves him too. Theo is one of those volunteers that has been quietly serving our Conference and may not get noticed by many of the Attendees. He is one of the friendly faces behind the Registration Desk, but does so much more for our Conference.

He makes me laugh more than anyone else at Conference and although I don’t see him but once a year, he’s always there for me to give me a hug, make me look at some stupid video, or have a deep conversation about life, love, and chickens. He gets rated as one of the friendliest and most helpful volunteers from year to year by attendees and volunteers alike. He’s humble and reminds everyone always to take things less seriously. Before Theo asks me for something the first words that come out of his mouth are “Is there anything you need?” In some ways, Theo epitomizes the word “service.” This year someone put Theo in charge at Registration, and while I have been teasing him about it, the fact is that he’s perfect to be the Registration Manager. He’s kind and polite, knows how to diffuse frustration with humor and has an amazing work ethic.

He’s been volunteering since we were at the Tropicana and has not missed a single year. I was so happy to honor my friend and colleague, Theo Sheffler with this year’s volunteer appreciation award.