Category Issue 71

Point #71: Help Save Sailor Sid! – Paul King

PaulKingPaul King
Committee Chairperson & APP Treasurer

Over Memorial Day Weekend, the Leather Archives & Museum (LA&M), with cooperation from the Association of Professional Piercer’s Body Piercing Archive (APP, BPA) launched a month-long fundraising campaign for the preservation of piercing pioneer Sailor Sid’s archive.

LA&M logoThrough our joined efforts, the project will achieve:
1. Creation of an online exhibit. This project will put an immense amount of “paper only” photographs, films and documents online, available for research and casual use.
2. Preservation and conservation of important history. The Sailor Sid collection at the LA&M is currently in a fragile physical state. Many hours of carefully removing photographs from harmful photo pages and cataloging papers will be required to keep this collection available for generations to come.
3. Digitization. Photographs, films, letters to and from Sailor Sid and other records will be digitized using archival quality scanners. The project will also allow for reel films to be sent to digital facilities to make them available online.

Recognizing the urgency for saving this fragile historical piercing collection, the APP’s Board of Directors has committed to assisting LA&M in this common cause. This support includes a generous matching grant of up to $5,000. While the archival work, digitization, and exhibit creation will be conducted by the LA&M, the amazing resources in Sailor Sid’s collection will benefit leather and piercing aficionados alike. By joining forces, the LA&M and APP are both excited to see this collection come to life as well as be protected for future generations.

Sailor Sid—photo courtesy of Leather Archives and Museum
Sailor Sid—photo courtesy of Leather Archives and Museum

About Sailor Sid…

Sid Diller, better known as “Sailor Sid,” got his first tattoos and piercings while serving in the Coast Guard during World War II. Famous for his extensive genital piercings (reportedly over 100 in the penis and scrotum), Sid worked predominantly on gay men, mainly from his Silver Anchor studio in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Sailor Sid did it all: Prince Alberts, ampallangs and apadravyas, frenums, lorums, and any other part of the male anatomy. When Sailor Sid passed away in 1990, his collection of personal papers and effects related to his piercing career were entrusted to Jim Ward, founder of the original piercing studio, Gauntlet. Ward donated the collection to LA&M in 1997, where it has remained in climatecontrolled storage ever since, largely inaccessible due to lack of processing resources.

The collection itself is extraordinary in its scope. Sid kept meticulous records of his piercing work, documenting his procedures with hundreds of Polaroid photos, many identified with time, place, and subject neatly typed on labels. In a testament to Sid’s seemingly endless creativity, these pictures are stored in hand-made “binders,” crafted by Sid out of wood, string, bolts, and wingnuts. In addition to the photographs, the collection includes pages of his personal correspondence (Sid was a tireless letter-writer), various magazine and newspaper clippings on the history of piercing from publications as diverse as The New York Times, National Geographic, and Fetish Times, piercing instructions, 8mm films from his travels, floppy disks, slides, and even comic strips he saved.

Sailor Sid
Sailor Sid—photo courtesy of Jim Ward

But the collection is in urgent need of protection. Based on a cursory inspection of the collection, it has already become clear that there are some pressing preservation concerns due to its age:
• Homemade photo albums are an impressive display of ingenuity, but they aren’t the best option for long-term storage and preservation.
• Yellowing newspaper articles and correspondences need to be photocopied
• Photographs need to be transferred to archival quality sleeves
• Digitization of the 8mm films is an increasing concern due to their delicate condition.
• Importantly, the collection remains unprocessed and uncatalogued. The accessibility of the collection is extremely limited.

Sailor Sid—photos by Doug Malloy
Sailor Sid—photos by Doug Malloy

Info about the LA&M:
The Mission of the Leather Archives & Museum is: “The compilation, preservation and maintenance of leather lifestyle and related lifestyles [including but not limited to the Gay and Lesbian communities], history, archives and memorabilia for historical, educational and research purposes.”

The Leather Archives & Museum is a library, museum and archives pertaining to leather, fetishism, sadomasochism, and alternative sexual culture and practices.

The museum is located in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood on the far north side of the city. The 10,000 sq. foot facility houses a collection containing original erotic art from artists as diverse as muralist Dom Orejudos (who worked under the name Etienne), Robert Bishop, Tom of Finland, and Robert Mapplethorpe and artifacts from individuals, groups, sex clubs and events, such as The Mineshaft in NYC, Fakir Musafar, and San Francisco’s legendary Catacombs, just to name a few. Other features of the museum include:
• Eight exhibition galleries
• The 164-seat Etienne auditorium
• The Leather SINS Screening Room
• A 600 sq. foot reading library to house the research collections (published books, magazines, scholarly publications, films and electronic resources)
• A 1,425 sq. foot climate controlled storage space for archival contents (unpublished papers and records from notable activists, artists, businesses, and organizations)

Sailor Sid Diller—photo courtesy of Leather Archives and Museum
Sailor Sid Diller—photo courtesy of Leather Archives and Museum

The institution was founded in the early 1990’s with the motto, “Located in Chicago and serving the world”. Today, LA&M’s programs continue to uphold this dictum by making collections available outside of Chicago through social networking, digitization, traveling exhibitions, and loaned exhibitions. Social media also plays an integral role in LA&M’s outreach, with a combined audience of over 20,000 followers though its presence on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, Pinterest, FetLife, and YouTube, or through the website www.leatherarchives.org.

LA&M’s Jakob VanLammeren (Archivist/Collections Librarian) holds a Master’s in Library and Information Science with a focus in Archives from Dominican Uni-versity. Since being hired full-time in July 2013, Jakob —has established priorities, completed the arranging and describing, and/or managed the completion for over a dozen collections; developed, revised and created written procedures for archival processing and work plans; created catalog records, provided ongoing supervision and management of volunteers and interns, and given tours and presentations to student groups and/or organizations.

— article co-authored by Leather Archives & Museum and Body Piercing Archive

Sailor Sid Diller—photo courtesy of Charles Gatewood
Sailor Sid Diller—photo courtesy of Charles Gatewood

Point #71: Josh Prentice Award – Ryan Ouellette & Gus Diamond

RyanOuelletteRyan Ouellette

I remember Josh Prentice being a busy bee at Conference. He always seemed to be helping someone with something. He was kind and never gave anyone the brush off. He really wanted to be part of a team. Admittedly we weren’t more than acquaintances, but I hope I can live up to the standard he set for volunteers within the APP. I am very proud to have received a token of appreciation named in his honor.

Every year when Caitlin McDiarmid makes her tearfilled speeches I am moved by her passion. If there was a “hardest working person in the APP” award she would win it every year. So to be chosen for this award by her makes it twice as special to me. It seems that every year she picks someone very important to her both personally and professionally, so when she started her speech last year, my stomach dropped as I quickly figured out who she was talking about. I like praise as much as anyone with an Instagram page but hearing her heartfelt words really had an impact on me. The feeling of receiving this award from Caitlin, someone who is very important in my life, is very hard to express in words. She is a friend and a colleague, and to know that she cared about the volunteer work I had done for the APP means more than I will ever be able to fully describe. Like a total goof I had to wade through a sea of the people I respect with tear-filled eyes to try and say thank you. I hope Caitlin could fully appreciate how amazingly awkward and appreciative I felt.

With every day I volunteer for the APP, every person I harass with a half formed idea, every deadline I barely make, and every issue I hammer into the ground with my opinions, I hope to make Josh and Caitlin proud. I guess I’m not allowed to slack off anymore.


GusDiamondGus Diamond

I am one of the few attendees that can say I have been to every Conference. That being said it has been an honor to volunteer for the APP Conference for more than the past ten years. To be awarded the Josh Prentice Volunteer Award is simply the cherry on top of an already great sundae. It means that for all the years I have been helping, I’ve been doing something right. I look forward to volunteering for many years to come, each year welcoming new recipients to the club.

Point #71: In the Office-Josh Prentice – Caitlin McDiarmid

CaitlinMcDiarmidCaitlin McDiarmid
APP Administrator

 

 

“I began by getting pierced in a shop in Alabama and becoming friends with the people working there. I worked as receptionist for a short stint before being offered an apprenticeship. I have been enthusiastic about the art of piercing ever since. During my apprenticeship I learned the fundamentals, like disease prevention and basic technique, but was left to learn a lot on my own. By networking with my peers in the profession I have become a pretty well rounded piercer. I’m now a proud member of the APP, and look forward to keeping with standards and promoting health and safety to the piercing industry as long as I’m involved, and will always advocate for the industry that has allowed me to make a profession of something that I truly love.”—Josh Prentice

JoshPrentice
Josh Prentice

“The lack of emotional security of our American young people is due, I believe, to their isolation from the larger family unit. No two people—no mere father and mother—as I have often said, are enough to provide emotional security for a child. He needs to feel himself one in a world of kinfolk, persons of variety in age and temperament, and yet allied to himself by an indissoluble bond which he cannot break if he could, for nature has welded him into it before he was born.” —Pearl S. Buck

“Our differences are apparent during meetings and discussions about the business of the Association—we see that clearly. However, our love for each other far surpasses any conflicts or differing opinions.

This reality was driven home by the loss of Josh Prentice while we were in Atlanta. Josh volunteered at the Conference the last three years. I only knew him at Conference, only knew him as one of “my” volunteers. I only him as one of “my” volunteers. I only spent three weeks with him — but he was family and so I grieve for him like I would for family. We all do. We came together, sobbed and mourned upon the news of his death. We worked as best we could on the tasks at hand. Wept during breaks and wept after we were adjourned. We supported each other as best we could. We reached out to our loved ones—our other family members—and let them know we loved them and pleaded with them to be safe in their actions.” — The Point Issue 39: In the Office – Caitlin McDiarmid (Spring 2007)

Josh Prentice
Josh Prentice

I wrote that article just a month or so after we lost Josh. And it’s true, I didn’t know him very well or for very long. I think Josh’s death made me realize the impact of relationships—the impact of one single human connection can have. The fact that his death occurred at the same time we were holding a Board meeting in Atlanta also had its own impact. For me it was a serious reminder that ultimately this Association is built on those personal connections, those personal relationships we have—as colleagues, as mentors/students, instructors/ attendees, vendor/customer, Board/ members… and human to human. It made sense to me to have Bethrah included in this article, someone who knew Josh way better than I did.

“Josh Prentice was a remarkable young man. He quit school at the age of 16 to support his family after his father became disabled. After working a handful of different jobs his sister and brother in-law encouraged him to pursue a piercing apprenticeship. He was hesitant at first but once he made the decision to pursue piercing as a career there was no stopping him.

From the beginning he worked diligently to expand his skill level and knowledge base. In 2004 he attended his first APP Conference with us and shortly after came to work in the Atlanta location of Virtue & Vice. When the piercing portion moved two doors down in 2005, Josh’s previous work experience was a true blessing. He pretty much knew how to do everything construction related. Separate from his in-shop time Josh was a brilliant networker. He was in regular contact with piercers all over the country. He was constantly gaining insight, information and new techniques.

On a personal note Josh was a truly loyal friend. He was supportive during some of the crappiest times of my life. He was funny, sweet, sarcastic, brave, and warm. I have this strong memory of him prancing around the counter with his arms open to hug me for no apparent reason at all, smiling his big goofy smile. Even all these years later, there are barely words to describe the empty place he left behind.

I think he would be quietly proud of his legacy. The recognition of those who hold it all up through their hard work and dedication. Those who are unassuming and don’t behave with entitlement. Those who say ‘yes’ to the grunt work and actually show up and do it. That’s who he was, a beautiful example of all of those things.” —Bethrah Szumski

Bethrah brought me to tears last year when she mentioned that Josh’s mother had spoken to her and thanked us all for remembering and honoring her son in the way that we do every year at Conference.

As the years go on, there are more and more people in our industry who never knew Josh or worked with him at the Conference. When I established the Volunteer Award in 2008 (first awarded in 2009) it was simply that I wanted to honor outstanding volunteers for their work and I wanted everyone to remember Josh, who to me epitomized that every single person makes a difference. They make a difference in their lives and the lives of others.

In 2009 I honored both Ed Chavarria and Tiana Mc- Guire. I had wanted to give the award starting in 2008 and had just not put my ducks in a row to get it established. So I made up for it by the double award. I joked when it was first awarded that I knew Josh would have laughed at me for giving a big Lucite obelisk in his name, so I made the awards more personal; less fussy. Over the years, I have honored John C. Johnson (2010), David Kelso (2011), Gus Diamond (2012), Luis Garcia (2013), and Ryan Ouellette (2014). I believe I made good choices and that Josh, if here, would agree. Then he probably would have made a joke about why hadn’t he gotten the award yet, saying something like “I mean it has my name on it.”

When I think of Josh, the loss of him reminds me to reach out and really find out how people are doing in their lives. The memories of my interactions with Josh remind me to be genuine, give with the whole of my heart, smile more, and when I make a mistake say I’m sorry and move on. Small lessons, but important ones.

The Conference after Josh passed, some of his friends gathered around an empty area next to the Splash Bar in the Riviera Hotel’s Casino. We gathered in a circle with glasses in hand and made a toast to Josh, many of us pouring a bit of our drinks on the floor in his honor. At that very moment all the lights went out in the casino. True story.

Josh Prentice
Josh Prentice

We miss you Josh. But we won’t forget. And I hope long after I am gone from the organization, someone will still be passing on these simple undeniable words: Every single person can make a difference.

Point 71: Al D. Sowers – The Man Behind the Scholarship – Shorty

ShortyCalmaShorty
APP Member, Ink & Pistons

Editor’s Note: In order to write this article Shorty spoke to Al’s colleagues and friends. This article was possible in part to the verbal contributions of Gale Shub of Body Circle, Michaela Grey and David Vidra.

The annual APP Conference and Expo is something that piercers from all over the world look forward to throughout each year. For many it’s the highlight of their year. A time filled with camaraderie between like-minded individuals, catching up with old friends, and making new ones. This is a time of focused learning, with knowledge being shared around the clock, for six solid days, class after class of information, plus the invaluable time at the bar late into the evening. For some less fortunate individuals, the idea of attending Conference is only a pipe dream. But to a small handful of deserving individuals, one man’s legacy has made this pipe dream a reality.

Al D. Sowers
Al D. Sowers

Al D. Sowers is a man often mentioned by many, but very few know more than a detail or two. Who is he? What did he do that was so deserving of having a scholarship named after him? What did he do to inspire the generations of piercers that he preceded?

Al started his piercing career before piercing was a thing in North America. There is little information available about where he started or who taught him. He was very involved in Seattle’s gay/leather scene in the ‘80s, as were other pioneers of the industry. Al also played an important role in the early days of body jewelry, being one of the go-to piercers for Tom and Gale of Body Circle Designs. He helped to perfect basic designs and create some new ones. In the early ‘90s, Michaela Grey and Jim Ward began Gauntlet’s body piercing seminars teaching body piercing fundamentals to those that wanted to learn. It was in 1993 that Al signed up for Gauntlet’s advanced piercing seminar and met a man named David Vidra. Al and David clicked immediately and became very close, both personally and professionally.

Board dinner in Atlanta after meeting at Piercing Experience - 1998
Board dinner in Atlanta after meeting at Piercing Experience – 1998

At the same time, many in the community saw a need to come together and organize piercers, addressing new legislation and creating a formal set of standards for our fledgling industry to follow. In 1994 the APP was officially formed. In October of 1995 Al became its first official business member and David became the second. Together Al and David set out to not only help bring piercing to the mainstream and make it a profitable business, but also to make it as safe as possible. Al helped to create and evolve the APP’s minimum standards. He pushed to make the proper sterilization (autoclaving) of jewelry and tools a minimum requirement. He also suggested that jewelry should always be run in a clean ultrasonic prior to sterilization to remove any manufacturing debris.

In addition to helping set standards he quickly became part of the Board for the APP, serving as secretary for a short time and spearheading local and international outreach. Al and David were known for their ability to think outside of the box and willingness to buck the system in the name of safety. They were always pushing to raise the bar and create the safest possible procedure for the client.

Al was passionate about the necessity for sharing knowledge. He believed that in order for piercers to be successful, they should be appropriately educated and that education should be industry specific. It was that passion which pushed Al to become one of the first industry specific OSHA bloodborne pathogen instructors in Seattle where he also began teaching his own piercing seminars. Along with his local teaching, Al helped developed some of the core curriculum that would be presented at the annual APP Conference. He also traveled to Europe to help with the piercing movement that was beginning to explode there and teach bloodborne pathogen and infection control procedures.

Meeting in New Zealand
Meeting in New Zealand

Al continued working in the industry for many more years, continually pushing to raise standards and mentoring many young piercers. In 2000 he finally retired due to declining health issues and sadly passed in February of 2001. Al’s passion for education is the reason the Association of Professional Piercers decided to honor his memory with a scholarship. This scholarship gives less fortunate but deserving piercers the opportunity to attend Conference, where they can learn and understand new concepts and techniques specific to the piercing industry. Continuing education is a necessity for our industry and if there is any one thing we can learn from Al it is to never settle. Always strive to learn more.

Body Circle Designs was founded in 1991 by Tom Finch and Gale Shub, making simple, high-quality, handcrafted body jewelry for piercers in the Seattle area. The focus was on using only the highest quality surgical steel, simple but beautiful design, and hand-polishing each piece to a flawless mirror finish. Cheap piercing jewelry, poorly made caused too many problems, such as rejection. But quality jewelry was hard to find back then. By working with skilled and experienced piercers such as Fakir, Al D. Sowers and Elayne Angel, we perfected the classic styles of body piercing jewelry and developed many new and innovative designs.”

First meeting of the short-lived European APP in London
First meeting of the short-lived European APP in London

Point #71: Process of Choosing Conference Classes – John Johnson

JJohn Johnson
Owner of New Flower Studio

Editor’s note: This is John Johnson’s response when asked to explain what is involved when deciding what classes are offered and what instructors will lead them. Our goal was to provide attendees with behind-the-scenes information about the classes they attend.

The short answer is the nine person Conference Committee creates a suggested curriculum for each Conference. This curriculum gets presented to the Board who approves it or requests changes.

The longer version is more like this: After Conference, the committee starts its round of meetings for the next year. Many things are discussed, classes and instructors are a major topic. Each of us on the committee have ideas about what is needed and what can be improved. Those ideas are all put into a list. We used to get only a few class suggestions each year, but now that Conference has grown so much over the most recent years we have more proposals submitted than we know what to do with. Some people suggest classes they would like to take. Others suggest classes they want to teach. When similar topics are proposed by multiple people, the ideas are combined. This is often how multiple people present a course at Conference.

We have core classes that we offer every year like Anatomy, Medical Risk, BBP, Initial Size and Style, etc. These are fundamental subjects and will always be offered. But any courses that are introduced as an initial offering, may rotated in and out of the schedule every few years, and are selected based on their relevance to the industry at the time, or the number of years since they’ve been offered.

Many years ago, before committees were in place the way they are now, the Board of Directors did all conference planning and most of the instructing. The Association has grown so much and has so many things like outreach and legislation work, it isn’t practical for them to do everything. Fortunately, 19 years of conference planning has given us an effective system that includes a strong and consistent conference staff.

Conference Class by Category Statistics - Graph generated by Marina Pecorino
Conference Class by Category Statistics – Graph generated by Marina Pecorino

The instructors are selected based on being known experts on the topic they teach, and after 20 years we have a long list of reliable presenters who can be used in their regular spots and inserted where needed. But the industry grows and there are always trailblazing piercers who make their mark and get the opportunity to teach at Conference. When their classes are well done and well received by the attendees they have opportunities to return. Some people will be asked to present but not feel comfortable doing so; public speaking isn’t easy. Sometimes people teach for the first time and decide they don’t want to do it again. Instructors have an obligation to present information that can be both useful and understood by the attendees. A course isn’t useful if the learner can’t take the information home and use it in their studio. So public speaking rule #1 is to know your audience. Also, the content must be in the context of the current piercing environment and the APP’s mission. The APP has printed literature like the Procedure Manual and several brochures. An instructor must not present any material that directly contradicts the current positions of the Association. Piercers work very differently and diversity is appreciated. This is why many classes with different instructors can be so great, because different opinions or strategies are offered. But we still need to present information that aligns with the APP’s available materials.

For the months leading up to Conference, instructors are hard at work developing outlines for their course. What will they offer this year? What can they leave out? We review the previous years’ handouts and slideshows. We review the material other past instructors used. We make calls to colleagues to ask their opinions. We look for ways to make the information useful and up-to-date, without being the same course as the previous year. When we include new instructors to the lineup we add fresh ideas and that’s sometimes all it takes. All of this comes together to create the schedule of classes that you see at Conference each year.

 

Point #71: APP’s New Secretary – Aaron Pollack

Aaron Pollack

Aaron Pollack
Flying Tiger Tattoo

Hello Point Readers! I am honored to have been selected as the incoming secretary for the APP. I will be taking over the role Bethrah Szumski has been in for quite some time, this means I have quite the shoes to fill. I am excited for the challenge and humbled by the opportunity to work for our Members. I have been piercing since 2006. I currently work at Flying Tiger Body Art in Auburn, Alabama (War Eagle!). I attended the Fakir Intensives and my first Conference was in 2009. In 2013 I fulfilled a career goal of becoming an APP Member. Shortly after becoming a Member, I started volunteering for the Media Committee, and became chair of that committee in December. I would like to thank Bethrah for all her hard work over the years. Shadowing her has shown me that the secretary position is a large task, but she has been excellent in preparing me for this new role. This is an exciting time for the APP, and I am looking forward to working with the Association in this new capacity.

Point #71: Thank You, Bethrah! – Elayne Angel

ThePoint_Issue60_v2_Elayne headshotElayne Angel
Author of The Piercing Bible

Bethrah Szumski has been one of the most active, involved, and productive APP Members in the organization’s twenty-year history. The Association of Professional Piercers would like to publicly recognize Bethrah for her dedication and service, and to express our deepest gratitude for all of her hard work as she steps down from her long-held post as secretary. She is also stepping down from her positions as chair and member of the Conference Committee.

Her tireless efforts and many accomplishments are truly too copious to list. But a brief summary is in order.

Bethrah Szumski
Bethrah Szumski

Bethrah has served multiple voluntary terms of service on the Board of Directors as secretary and also as president. She founded the indispensable Conference Committee. She is also an ongoing member of the Conference Curriculum, the Oversight Committee and Members Retreat subcommittees.

Bethrah has a phenomenal skill set, which she has so generously shared with our group. The APP has benefited greatly from her expert organizational abilities, which she utilized to create and maintain accurate records of the group’s history. She remains tasked with maintaining the corporate record for the Oversight Committee. Bethrah has applied her talents in negotiation to critical dealings with hotels and unions. Her verbal strength and public speaking flair have been put to great use throughout her work on behalf of the organization.

Bethrah first became a member of the APP in 1996. Just two years later she was appointed to the position of secretary. She then instituted the Association’s first elections and in 1999 was duly elected to that position. Bethrah served a full three-year term during which (among other things) she reviewed applications for membership from piercers around the world, giving her an expert eye for appropriate studio set-up.

She was then elected president in 2002 and served an additional threeyear term in that position. She is deservingly credited with having played a key role in stabilizing the organization. Bethrah was the deserving recipient of the very first President’s Award, as an acknowledgement of appreciation. She was voted Hardest Working Piercer in 2005.

During her tenure with the APP she organized multiple U.S. conferences and several in Europe. Her conference duties at various points have included contract negotiation, attendee registration, promotion, literature distribution, event scheduling, vendor relations and floor-plan, and hotel and union relations, just to name a few. She has also been an instructor for numerous educational classes and seminars for piercers, healthcare providers, and legislators, teaching courses in the U.S., Holland, Italy, Germany, and Mexico.

Following a three-year hiatus, in May of 2008, Bethrah returned to service as secretary on the Association of Professional Piercers’ Board of Directors. Notably, she restructured the Association’s annual conference planning by establishing the Conference Committee.

Following the APP Conference in 2010, Bethrah stepped down from her Board position and was appointed by the other Directors to the position of secretary as an officer, rather than as a member of the Board. She continued to serve until the position was recently handed off to Aaron Pollack of Flying Tiger Body Art in Auburn, Alabama.

As Aaron stated, he has some “big shoes to fill,” taking over for Bethrah, but we are confident that he will do a great job given his conscientious attitude and the ongoing support that has been generously offered by Bethrah.

Thank you so much, Bethrah, for all that you have done for the Association and the field of professional body piercing. Your hard work has literally changed the landscape of our industry and forever impacted the strength, efficiency, and effectiveness of the organization.

Point #71: Volunteering for the APP – Julie Taylor

JulieTaylorJulie Taylor
APP Outreach Committee

The Outreach Committee is responsible for connecting with the public about safe piercing. The committee coordinates APP Member volunteers to attend pre-selected national health conferences throughout the year. It also provides advice and materials such as a PowerPoint presentation, brochures, and postcards, to assist piercers in performing outreach in their own areas. If you would like help to do outreach at an event such as a conference or convention where you live, or if you would like information on how to get your foot in the door at a hospital or school, please contact outreach@safepiercing.org.

The Outreach Committee currently consists of Ash Misako (Board Member), Laura Jane (Chair), April Thomas, Lou Quino, and myself.

Outreach is important to me because it is through doing outreach that I built a community of educated consumers and my own business at the same time. No matter where you live, people can learn to choose a safe piercing experience. The APP’s brochures and other resources were instrumental in spreading that message here in my tiny province on Canada’s east coast.

Living in a more remote area, volunteering with the APP has given me the opportunity to work with other piercers from around the world toward a common goal. This common goal is one that requires constant and consistent work. The brochures can’t do the work by themselves! As an organization with a mission of education, I believe our members have a responsibility not just for distribution of information to the public, but for keeping that information upto- date, and sharing it with piercers, health professionals, legislators and others. There’s lots of work to do!

APPConVolunteers2013
APP Conference Volunteers 2013

To that end, the APP has a survey to assess the skill sets and availability of members who wish to volunteer. If you are interested in volunteering, please email me at volunteer@safepiercing.org, for a link to the survey. Our committees are particularly looking for those with graphic design and marketing backgrounds, as well as those who have a good eye for quality content and maintaining presence on social media networks. Please note that the volunteer survey is not for conference volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering for Conference please contact Caitlin at info@safepiercing.org.

Point #71: Environmental Criteria Update

Dear APP Members,

The Association of Professional Piercers Membership Committee and Board of Directors thanks you for being a part of our organization. In response to overwhelming demand from our members, we have made significant strides in updating our membership requirements. To ensure all of our members are operating at the current minimum standards, we are requiring that all current members who have a video walk through and environmental criteria older than two years provide an updated video walk through and submit updated environmental criteria. If you are receiving this letter, your video walk through and environmental criteria are older than two years as of December 31, 2015.

These updates should be submitted no later than January 1st, 2016. There will be no video processing fee with digital or hard copy submissions.

You can upload all your completed forms, signed pages, photos of your autoclave(s), scans or photos of your documentation, and everything else to Google Drive as a single Google document or PDF (Google Drive is the preferred method). Upload the video to YouTube (www. youtube.com/upload), set to unlisted, and Creative Commons license. (Go to info and settings, then choose advanced settings, then Creative Commons license.) Next, copy the link to your video, paste it into the document you created, then share the completed application with media@safepiercing.org or email.

Pre-Application Processing Checklist:

  • Application Form
  • Copy of current CPR certificate
  • Copy of current First Aid certificate
  • Copy of current Bloodborne Pathogens training certificate
  • A narrated unedited 360 degree video of your shop
  • Photograph of all autoclaves with Make, Model, and Serial Number
  • Copy of two most recent spore tests from each autoclave
  • Copies of piercing aftercare sheets
  • Copy of Business License
  • Copy of shop/personal business card
  • An example of advertising
  • Copy of certificate of Liability Insurance (if applicable)
  • Copy of jewelry invoices from last 90 days

Pre-submission video checklist:
Pre-Video Checklist

  • Show the front of shop
  • Show the back of the shop too.
  • Required: Videos must be shot in LANDSCAPE view, not portrait.
  • Required: No cuts or editing in the video
  • Go through every drawer and closet in the shop.
  • Tattoo stations may be omitted.

Front Counter

  • A non-porous front counter that can be disinfected
  • Disinfectant products behind counter
  • Gloves behind counter
  • Bags or cups for contaminated customer jewelry
  • Suggested: signage asking clients not to touch jewelry
  • Suggested: a thoroughly organized, neat counter and desk area

Sterilization Room

  • Non-porous flooring
  • Clear separation between dirty and clean
  • An ultrasonic or instrument washer for piercing tools
  • An employees only sign
  • Does your autoclave meet requirements?
  • Is your clean up room totally contained?
  • “No handwashing in dirty room” sign
  • Suggested: A clean jewelry ultrasonic or steam cleaner or both
  • Suggested: HEPA filter

Hand washing Area

  • Is it in the studio, or a separate employee handwashing area? (bathrooms and sterilization room sinks are not acceptable)
  • Hands free paper towels (single hand)
  • Suggested: hands free faucet (infrared or foot pedal)
  • Suggested: hands free soap (infrared)

Piercing Room

  • Sharps Container wall mount and placed correctly
  • A Biohazard tool tray
  • Lidded trash cans, foot operated or infrared
  • Is your piercing studio private, with minimum 8 foot walls?
  • Do you have an appropriate (non-porous, massage/dental/ medical style) piercing table
  • Is your artwork framed, nonporous and easily disinfectable?
  • Is your storage sealed, disinfectable and appropriate?
  • Suggested: HEPA filter
  • Suggested: Sterile Gloves for piercing procedures

Bathroom

  • Is the bathroom clean, with an operational toilet and sink?
  • Are there appropriate handwashing products in the bathroom?
  • There must be no piercing related items in bathroom storage.
  • Suggested: A sign that asks clients not to touch or change their jewelry in the bathroom.

The Membership Committee is available to anyone who needs any assistance in any way, shape or form. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions (members@safepiercing.org).
THE APP OFFICERS & BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
• Brian Skellie—President
• Cody Vaughn—Vice President
• Paul King—Treasurer
• Bethrah Szumski—Secretary
• Jef Saunders—Membership Liaison
• Steve Joyner—Legislation Liaison
• Christopher Glunt—Medical Liaison
• Ash Misako—Outreach Coordinator
• Miro Hernandez—Public Relations

Point #71: Giving Back in Your Own Community – Jesse Villemaire

JesseVillemareJesse Villemaire
Thrive Studios

Let’s talk about sex! Do you remember those talks back in high school? Well, times are now shifting and some proactive schools are seeking more knowledge about the safe practices of tattooing and body piercing to add to their educational speeches for students. In 2010 I was approached by my local Public Health inspectors about teaming up and working together to help develop a short seminar that could be presented to students between grades 7-12. Our mission was to provide a class that the kids would easily enjoy, absorb, and share within their peer groups. I was proud to be a part of this project and happily obliged.

As a piercer of almost 15 years, I’ve seen the number of teens getting body modifications growing each year. I’ve also seen an increase of poorly done self piercing and tattooing, and an influx of younger teens practicing body art on each other. With the substantial growth of social media and YouTube, I believe we’ve all seen similar increases of poorly executed body art in our communities.

Let’s face it; body art isn’t going away anytime soon. If anything, it’s growing at an alarming rate and if you look around the hallways in schools, it’s common to see body piercings and the occasional tattoo. When body art is on the rise, so are the potential risks of bloodborne pathogens such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV and skin infections such as MRSA. Just like “Safe Sex Education” was controversial at one time, now it’s time we start educating our younger generation about the risks involved with body art. Each time I’m invited to a school to guest speak, I’m shocked to see the number of students that will admit to piercing themselves or each other. Many kids do not realize that the same diseases that are spread by unsafe sex can also be spread by unsafe body art practices.

APPCon2002
Association of Professional Piercers Conference & Exposition – 2002

As an owner of a reputable tattoo and piercing studio in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada and also an educator within the body art community, I have had the privilege to partner with the Wellington-Dufferin- Guelph Public Health Inspectors and another local piercer, to put together a 60-90 minute presentation aimed at youth in grades 7-12. This presentation has been presented to hundreds of students throughout the school years since 2010. While we do not promote nor encourage students to get tattoos and piercings, this presentation promotes safety and education to help guide students into making the correct decisions if they choose to get any body art in the future. It’s extremely rewarding to discuss with students after the presentation how we helped them realize that not all tattoo and piercing establishments are the same. It also helps them realize the greater risks of getting tattooed or pierced at a friend’s house, or within a party environment.

With minimal regulations surrounding the body art industry, it’s also an eye opening presentation for the teachers within the room. We’ll discuss how many people believe that every tattoo artist or piercer has to have some sort of formal training and have a “licence” to practice, however this is usually not the case. Many are shocked to find out that, in most places, little or no education is required to start tattooing or piercing on the general public. We discuss key topics such as what to look for, and what to ask, if they decide to visit a tattoo and piercing studio. Other topics include dealing with peer pressure, recognizing and understanding the differences between a reputable, inspected studio as opposed to a non-inspected studio, and understanding the role of the Public Health Inspectors. We’ll discuss the subject of infections, diseases, the possible challenges of future job placement, sterilization standards, and even show some images of poorly done body art in order to spark an open discussion with students. The key focus is to emphasize the importance of doing proper research before making the decision of getting a tattoo or piercing. Through education provided by experts in our field, our goal is to decrease the health risks involved with getting body modifications. Students will leave the presentation with a much clearer view on how to protect themselves and their peers.

I encourage you to present a similar course outline to your local health unit and the surrounding schools. If you’re passionate about the future of our industry, then I suggest teaming up with others that show similar interests, get involved in your community, and start educating our youth. Let’s work together to make the future a little safer for the next generation of body art enthusiasts!