Point 80: When I Give the Best of Me

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Caitlin McDiarmid
APP Administrator

“When I give the best of me, that becomes my legacy” – Karen Lopez McWilliams

This was the 15th Conference that I have attended and worked at for the APP. The job I do today has changed drastically from the first Conference, and I am certain will continue to change and evolve as the Conference does.

One of my main responsibilities at our Conference is to manage and oversee the training of the volunteer staff members. This started out pretty simply with a handful of volunteers and now we have just over 50 volunteers each year – some of whom have even more experience than I do at Conference.

I started referring to the volunteer group members as ducklings years ago and at some point I became Momma Duck; and in some cases just “Momma” or “Mom.” I suspect it was when I started being a better manager, when I moved from being a hardcore boss lady and started doing more mentoring. I didn’t come by it naturally, and it took a while. I am forever grateful for the volunteers who stuck out those harder years when I was not in control of my emotions, when I was angry most of the time, when I attempted to control everything and everyone and did a poor job of both.

When I started relying on my team, giving them the tools to do the job and then staying out of their way – I became a mentor. When I realized that emotions in the Conference environment were contagious even more than the Las Vegas flu and took steps to work on this flaw in my own life – I became a mentor. When I stopped trying to make everyone do the work the way I would, I stopped having to do everything, and the work got done better – and I became a mentor.

The pride I have when a volunteer becomes an APP Member, applies to a job in a premier shop, joins a committee, becomes a parent, learns to ask for help and support when in trouble, runs for a Board position, or reaches out to assist a fellow volunteer, is never ending. It validates the work I have done with the team.

Let me be clear, I love being a mentor to the volunteer team. To see a group of individuals who dedicate a huge amount of time and effort to a single cause – strangers who come together and through service work become friends and family. The team who goes on each year to celebrate each member’s victories and mourn each member’s losses; to be there for each other in their daily lives for counsel, laughter, instruction, and support.

But I don’t just mentor them – they mentor me. The whole of APP mentors me. I would not  be  the  person,  mentor,  administrator  that I am without this mentoring. Every challenge, every criticism, every little bit of feedback from an attendee, has lead me to work on myself personally, to grow professionally, to search out new technologies and tools to manage our event and attendees. The volunteer team more than most has both supported me in the challenges of running the Conference, and made it clear that I could do better. Do better by relying on them, trusting them, and allowing them to do their jobs. Do better by doing less, stressing less, being happy, and relaxing more. Do better, by doing things differently than my brain says to do them.

At the very basis of Conference is the belief that everyone can improve themselves with more knowledge and everyone has knowledge to share with others. Everyone can Mentor; and everyone still needs mentoring.

I encourage everyone reading this to find ways to mentor another piercer or another person. I encourage everyone to find someone or many someones who can be a mentor for them. Not just in piercing, but in life.

“If you’re not reaching back to help anyone then you’re not building a legacy.”—Germany Kent

Point 80: Piercing: Erik Dakota

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Interview by Sean Dowdell, City/State: Santa Cruz, CA

THE PIERCER THAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT, BUT DOESN’T

Sean Dowdell: Erik, let me start by saying that it is a huge honor to do this interview with you. You have given me and the piercing industry a lot of insightful and innovative years. It has bothered me  for several years at this point in my career when I speak to young piercers and most don’t know your name or the incredible contributions and impact you made on our industry.

I have looked up to your work for my entire career and you are honestly one of the most inspirational figures in my piercing world. I feel that this interview is an important part of our industry’s history that   I would like my colleagues and peers to read and know.

Can you give us a little background as to how you came to be interested in piercing?

Erik Dakota: I lived and grew up in Santa Cruz, CA. I was going to school for mechanical engineering when piercing started to creep into my life. Early 1980s, Gauntlet was the only real studio on the   West Coast. I was using Silver Anchor, non-annealed jewelry and it was loads of fun, haha! I got excited about piercing and seeing what the mind and body was able to overcome. I was very experimental in different communities such as the punk and gothic scenes, and the “nerd” and “BDSM” culture seemed to come together very naturally in my world of friends. I am straight. However, a lot of my friends and their friends were in the LGBT communities and I was immersed at least on the fringes of that lifestyle. I enjoyed the “Body Play” and seeing what the body was capable of accomplishing and enduring.

There were really no piercing studios at this time other than Gauntlet and everything was really expensive. At the time, us college students couldn’t really afford to play in the piercing world as often as we had wished, so I started getting into manufacturing jewelry myself. I wasn’t around any other actual piercers yet, so I started experimenting on myself and friends by piercing everyone. I wanted  to learn more about the technical aspects.

Gregorio Gus had arranged for me and him to watch Elayne Angel pierce down in LA at Gauntlet for the day. This was really my first block of actual piercing knowledge. She was very kind and insightful as to how to perform certain techniques and was extremely helpful. Elayne was really impressed    and thrown back because I had actually had my rook pierced and she had never seen one before. Apparently, I invented it which was a shock to me as well. I always assumed someone else had done this, but apparently not!

Sean Dowdell: I think you were a disrupter in the piercing industry and you have pushed the boundaries further than most people know. How do you think that came about?

Erik Dakota: Alan Falkner and I were hanging out and he was a great supporter of mine in pushing me into the field more and more (this was before Alan actually got involved  in piercing). This was a really exciting time for me and all of us! Alan eventually went on to be one of the top suspension artists in the world as well. With friends like Alan supporting me and several others, I started to feel more confident about my abilities not only with piercing but with the design and manufacturing of jewelry.

Sean Dowdell: How did you work around the issues of not having standardized jewelry at the time of your learning in the 1980’s?

Erik Dakota: By working with Silver Anchor, I realized that there were so many areas that it could improve the design. I wanted to pierce full time and design jewelry.

Needles at the time were horrible, we were better off using a 16 penny nail. Gauntlet had their own needles on the market and I didn’t like the style of needle that they offered. It was simply not sharp and really difficult to use. So… I started developing my own needle designs and introducing them to the industry. Back in this time, it was so hard to find a simple good needle and today it’s almost hard to find a bad one.

Sean Dowdell: Weren’t you involved in creating some of the jewelry standards?

Erik Dakota: Yes, when I started making barbells, I noticed that there were gaps between the barbell shaft and ball, so I designed  a countersunk ball. It got rid of issues with fluids and debris getting caught in the gap.

I was the first to introduce the ASTM standards to the industry in my catalog and created lot numbers for full traceability with stainless steel and titanium. I was also the first to “passivate” my stainless steel lots (this means that any deposits left on the steel from the tooling, and improved the overall metal surface; while manufacturing it would be removed). I knew within the medical implants field, the need for this when using ASTM stainless yet sometimes the SS would get rust deposits on it.

Sean Dowdell: Did you ever own a studio and where?

Erik Dakota: I opened the first piercing shop called Anubis Warpus in Santa Cruz and (I didn’t own it, however I helped open it around 1982). This was the same year the Body Manipulations opened in San Francisco as well. I never owned a studio myself; I was much more into the jewelry company Dakota Steel. I had to make  a decision by going all in with piercing or all in with jewelry. I chose the jewelry company and decided to pierce on the side.

Dakota Steel did well for quite a few years until I decided that things weren’t going the way I had hoped in my life and the company’s direction was far from what I wanted. I tenured my resignation to Dakota Steel (a company that I founded and poured my life and  soul into) in 2000 and founded (Noble Industries) DBA: Lotus Body Jewelry on my own. Around 2008, I decided I had my fill of the jewelry industry. I love piercing, I love making jewelry but at the time I was just over it.

Sean Dowdell: Who was most influential to you in the early years and why?

Erik Dakota: Jim Ward was an enormous inspiration. I was actually able to purchase my first set of Pennington forceps from Jim personally and I thought he was a god.

Sean Dowdell: What type of things did you invent in the 90s that most piercers wouldn’t know?

Erik Dakota: The big 3 were: the Rook piercing, the Daith piercing, and the development of a lot of tools such as small jaw Penningtons, fine tooth serrations on Foerster forceps, ring expanders, and slotted septum clamps.

Sean Dowdell: The Industrial piercing. Yes, for all of you youngsters out there this man invented all of these!

What do you remember about coming up with the Daith piercing and are you surprised by the popularity of something you created?

Erik Dakota: I think that it is all about the jewelry choices that are available now. That has made these specific piercings as popular as they are right now.

Sean Dowdell: What are your current interests and hobbies?

Erik Dakota: I still love to pierce, and cutting and suspension, as much as I can.

Sean Dowdell: What do you think your greatest contribution to the industry has been and why?

Erik Dakota: ASTM Certification for jewelry in our field.

Sean Dowdell: Do you have any regrets?

Erik Dakota: Yes, every day. I think about the industry all time. I felt like I was pushed out and if I had the funding I would get back into it in a heartbeat.

Sean Dowdell: What are you doing now?

Erik Dakota: I went into medical manufacturing. I used everything that I was doing in the jewelry industry and easily moved into the manufacturing departments for a couple of companies. I’m glad to have been a part of the industry for so long and hope it continues to grow.

Point 80: Membership Standards Update & Clarification

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Cody Vaughn
Membership Liaison

APP Membership: A Glance At The Past & Environmental Criteria Updates for The Future

“The only time you should ever look back is to see how far you’ve come” – Author Unknown

I began volunteering with the Membership Committee in 2009. Originally, I thought each idea I had which I believed would further our mission statement would be a quick and easy change to make. Make the suggestion, state your case, done and done! Volunteering for a non-profit health and safety organization — one whose membership has grown immensely at the same time body piercing’s popularity has surged — has taught me change and improvements often come slowly and deliberately.

When I first started with the Membership Committee, our application process consisted of mailing a hard copy application and your video recorded to a disc (or VHS!) to the APP office. Then it got shipped to a volunteer. After being reviewed, it got shipped to a second volunteer for final review. This wasn’t the hardest thing when we were averaging maybe a couple dozen new Members a year. As the number of applicants began to drastically increase, through much work and trial and error, we improved upon the process and have now moved to a strictly online application. This has reduced costs and improved the applicants wait time. We are currently working on utilizing our new website’s features to even further streamline the application process. You’ll hear more about that in the coming months.

This application process was created because it isn’t financially or practically feasible to fly a Membership Committee volunteer to each applicant’s studio to do a walk through for environmental criteria. Similarly, when receiving a complaint about a member breaching their Health & Safety agreement, it is just not feasible to drive across the country (or to another country for that matter) to see for ourselves.

In April of 2017, the Board of Directors informed APP Members of a new update to our Membership Environmental Criteria:

“All piercers working at an APP Member studio (members or non-members) will only use appropriate jewelry for initial piercings as listed in the current APP minimum standard.

Any use of non-compliant jewelry for initial piercing by any person (member or non-member) in the studio is considered a breach of environmental standards and can be grounds for losing membership.”

The APP Board of Directors and the APP Membership Committee feels this newest standard will help to further spread safe piercing practices and our organization’s mission statement.

If you have any questions in regards to this updated policy please do not hesitate to contact us at membership@safepiercing.org

All members will have until January 1, 2018 to become compliant with this new environmental standard.

Point 80: BPA Fundraising Auction

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Gene Gowen
Body Piercing Archives Fundraising Coordinator

I would like to start by thanking everyone who contributed to this year’s Body Piercing Archive Fund- raising Auction. Your donations went towards the preservation of our living history and the history of those who helped us all get here.

Going into this year’s Conference, I again wanted to come up with items that were functional. For the last several years, I have carried my own jewelry in a protective book for safe and easy transport. When brainstorming ideas for this year’s project, I began to think of all the Conference attendees leaving Vegas with their precious new jewelry acquisitions. So with this year’s donations of shirts, we made jewelry travel cases.

Different from last year, this year’s items were conceived to connect us not just with studios and companies but with our jewelry itself. As sort of a self effacing reminder of the inexorable tie that binds us all. Studios can open and close, piercers may move all over the world, companies may fade into obscurity. Come what may, however we find ourselves in this industry, we are all bound and driven by the jewelry.

This year’s BPA exhibit featured gonzo photographer Charles Gatewood. Photos by Kendra Jane B.

Looking ahead, we have already begun the process of creating fundraising donations for the 2018 Conference. The collection of iconic studio and company shirts from this year yielded more than enough material for next year’s project. We’ll be returning with some of the items that were so popular at last year’s Conference, but we will have plenty of other new creations with us as well.


This year’s BPA exhibit featured gonzo photographer Charles Gatewood. Photos by Kendra Jane B.

I am thankful to everyone who has made a purchase or donation on behalf of the BPA. There is no amount of money nor is there any amount of effort that is insignificant in the scramble to save our past before it eludes us. I would like to once again express my gratitude to the Archives Committee for allowing me the opportunity to be of help, however rudimentary it may be, to the APP and its membership.

Yours in service.

Point 80: The BPA Jewelry Exhibit

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Matte Erickson
The Body Piercing Archive
(All photos taken by the Author)

In June of 2016 I was tasked with a project. That project was to curate an exhibit of vintage body jewelry companies and designs. I was both excited and terrified at the same time. This was to be the first project that was solely on my shoulders, but I had the confidence, drive, and belief in this project and myself to know I could do a good job. I also knew I would have to rely on people, which is something I am not very good at.

I decided that the APP Conference in 2016 was the best time to put the word out and   try to get people interested. In the following months, there seemed to be little interest, but I pressed on. The Point staff was kind enough to run the advertisement in every issue. At this point I was raiding my own archives; documenting, photographing, and inventorying as much as possible.

In September, I got a message from Paul King about reaching out to Josh Warner from Good Art HLYWD. I emailed Josh and he wanted to gift us with old Good Art items, however, he was moving to a new shop and was going to be unavailable for a few months. This allowed me to start reaching out to anyone I could think of that was involved in manufacturing. In December I got a message from Anne Ott about the Anti-Bling eyelets; seriously one of the “Holy Grail” pieces from Custom Steel.

As January approached, I had booked a flight to Los Angeles and secured an appointment with Josh Warner. While in LA, I was meeting Anne to pick up the Anti-Bling eyelets before heading over to Good Art HLYWD. Upon arrival I was met by a grizzly, bearded man with a cheerful disposition. This is Josh. We jump right into old stories and a quick tour of his new shop. Thankfully, I had my GoPro with me and caught it all on video. After about an hour of him telling stories of how it all evolved and who the key players were, he presents a large folder full of vintage Good Art memorabilia and said, “take what you want”. I was like a kid in a candy store. I managed to fill my carry-on bag and still had to send 2 packages to my shop with all the items.

As I was heading to one of my favorite food destinations (Jerry’s Deli in Studio City), I got a call from John Kittell from NeoMetal. He was sending out some items with my next order for the exhibit. At this point, I felt the momentum growing. I also felt my hunger growing and Jerry’s was getting closer. When I got there I ordered 8 deconstructed Reuben sandwiches. I ate one (minus the cheese and Russian dressing) on the way to LAX. The other seven were packed in my bag. You know something? TSA looks at you really strangely when you are delivering sandwiches from LA to Sacramento.

That next week, I received the packages I sent from Good Art and the first Neometal shipment. The next few weeks were filled with photographing, cataloging, organizing, and making museum cards for each piece. During this time, I had sent the Anti-Bling eyelets back to Pat Pruitt for repair and restoration, and kept reaching out to other companies. I had also started teaching myself video editing and how to create intro and outro graphics. Just as I was finishing up with my deliveries, I received another box from Neometal and I got word that I had a box on the way from Body Circle Design. By the time I had receive these next items, I had my process streamlined fairly well. Good thing, because Dallas Suscon was right around the corner. Upon returning from Dallas I started wrapping up all the pieces.

May was filled with building display items and totally stressing out. I also managed to secure (thank you Sean Dowdell) a meeting/interview with Erik Dakota, so off to Santa Cruz I went. During my visit he also presented me with a stack of old catalogs and a few great stories. When I returned to my shop, I spent several days editing video and putting together the graphics. I actually had to redo this four

times! The last time it was all rendered properly and I found a typo. UGH! This project was starting to take its toll on me, but upward I pushed.

June came, there was light at the end of the tunnel. I had reserved a trailer and maintenance on the truck was done. Finally I got word from Becky Dill that the Charles Gatewood exhibit boxes were ready to pick up. I headed down to Concord, CA. It was now a few days before Conference, and during all this I was still receiving little packages here and there. The Friday before Conference I finally heard from Pat Pruitt about the eyelets. He was shipping them directly to Las Vegas!

Saturday, the day before I had to leave for Las Vegas, I had the bright idea to go photograph the Sonoma County Hot Air Balloon Classic. It was being held about an hour away, and I had to be there by 5 a.m. I went and shot the balloons then headed home, picked up the trailer, and was off to work. Most of the day was spent loading the trailer and finishing up details. I finished up at 7:30 p.m. (we close at 8:00 p.m.). My stress levels were at their peak. Did I have enough stuff? Did I do it justice? I ended up getting to bed around midnight.

I was back up at 3:30 a.m. and ready for the road. The trip was as uneventful as usual. A little slower maybe, since I was pulling a trailer, but still uneventful. I finally arrived in Las Vegas at around 3:00 p.m.  Unloading was expedient, which was good because I was exhausted. You know, there is something strange that happens at Conference. I was exhausted and road weary, but once I saw the first few people, I felt a second wind come over me and I was ready to press on into the night.

With Monday came setup  and all was going well. The stress was draining away with every piece I put out. At least until I set the TV up. I had purchased it about a month prior and I told the guy at Best Buy that I needed to  stream  video off a flash drive. He assured me that   it would. Well, when I set it up, it would run pictures off a flash drive but not video. Back to stress mode. After a quick run to Walmart for an HDMI cable, I hooked up my trusty laptop to the TV and it worked. Crisis averted.

Tuesday was the first day of the Expo. I picked up my last package from the business center on the way and the first visitors came by to see what we had for sale. They quickly learned we weren’t selling, just displaying. As the week went on, more and more people came by to see the relics. The enthusiasm was intoxicating! So many people had questions and stories. It was educational on both sides.

The highlight of Conference this year, however, came by text. I was having dinner and Becky texted me and said I had won the “Best Multiple Booth” award. I was blown away. I thought I had done a pretty good job, but obviously I wasn’t the only one. I am so thankful to all those that voted for my exhibit, loaned items for display, and supported me while I put this all together. I would also like to give special thanks to Josh Warner (Good Art HLYWD), John Kittell (NeoMetal), Gale Shub (Body Circle Design), Pat Pruitt (Custom Steel/Pat Pruitt Metalsmith), and Erik Dakota for taking the time and effort to gather and donate items. I would also like to thank my family for putting up with me being stressed and cranky for so long. Hard work always pays off!

Point 80: The BPA Charles Gatewood Exhibit

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Kendra Jane B.
Vice-President & The Point Editor
(Unless otherwise noted, photos are by the Author)
A view of the BPA Charles Gatewood exhibit. Visible at the rear is the pavilion containing The Dream Machine

Charles Gatewood holds a special place in the heart of the body piercing industry. He used his camera to bring what was  once  private  to  the  masses. He had a very special ability to capture what others viewed as grotesque in the most beautiful ways. After the passing of Charles last year, the Body Piercing Archive knew how important it was to preserve our history as it intertwined with the photography of Charles Gatewood. From this, the 2017 Body Piercing Archive exhibit at the APP Conference was born. We were fortunate enough to have Eva Marie the “last Gatewood girl” present to lead tours of our exhibit and share her own accounts of her time with Charles. I was able to set some time aside to take one of her docent tours; it was truly the highlight of my Conference week. I have long been a huge fan of Charles’s work and had begun conversing with him regularly just before he passed. Getting the opportunity to listen to someone share their personal accounts of time spent with Charles, beyond what we can read in a book, was absolutely wonderful. Here is what Eva Marie had to say about her experience at Conference.

“I was first introduced to Charles by his friend Steven Leyba, the painter. Steven had approached me asking if he could use images of me for some of his paintings. Here are my requests he said  ‘I need up close, in focus, hi-resolution photos of your genitals.’ I was excited for the collaboration, but wasn’t sure who to approach for such an intimate photoshoot. Several days later I got an email saying ‘My dear friend Charles Gatewood agreed to the photos. Why don’t you give him a call?’

Charles and I talked on the phone several times and set up a time to meet at his studio. When I arrived, he gave me a lovely tour of his penthouse apartment and made  a pot of tea. We talked for hours discovering we shared similar interests and hobbies. We both loved to make collages from old mag- azines, write short stories, and take kooky self-portraits. ‘This is a direct hit my dear!’ We agreed to meet once a week every Sunday, then more and more frequently until I was a full time “Gatewood Girl”.

Longtime Gatewood companion and archivist Eva Marie with BPA curator Paul King giving another presentation on the photographer at San Francisco’s Center for Sex and Culture

Charles liked to create and go into what he called magic space. He would get bored with traditional pose and  shoot  models  and would turn down most offers for photoshoots unless he felt someone had a spark. Sometimes he would create magic space with something as simple as a scrap piece  of fabric, or he’d use the sunlight peeking through the kitchen windows to create patterns of shadow across your face. He would grab an old can of paint and splash some  on a piece of black plywood to create an interesting background. When he got a really killer photograph, he would get a creative high, and his eyes would light up and shine. He always insisted there be a bag of toys, props, and accessories somewhere  nearby whether it be goofy sunglasses, studded leather collars, or fuzzy bunny ears. On his living room table, he kept a fresh bouquet  of stargazer lilies, his favorite flowers. There would usually be whipped cream, chocolate syrup, candy sprinkles, or spaghetti-o’s on hand, not to snack on, but for messy splosh photoshoots. There was an inflatable kiddie pool in the living room at all times!

Charles and I would sit in the living room, drinking cups of tea, and he would tell me these incredible stories behind his photographs. We would flip through pages of his books and he would grab Wall Street say ‘Now this is the time I was out with my camera on New Year’s Eve in Manhattan and I got mugged.’ Or pick up True Blood and say ‘This is when a bunch of vampire blood fetishists called me up at 8am for a wild photoshoot that scared even me!’ He would tell me stories about the first time he met Annie Sprinkle and how through her Sprinkle Salon gatherings, he was introduced to Fakir Musafar.

Eva Marie commenting on one of the exhibits

It was amazing to see such an extensive body of his work in one place during this year’s Association of Professional Piercer’s Conference. I was flooded with memories of Charles telling me stories and filled with immense gratitude that I was able to share these stories with so many people from all over the world. Some folks were very familiar with Charles Gatewood’s books and art, some had stories to share with me of their time with Charles. For those who weren’t as familiar with his work, I think they walked away with a definite idea of the contribution Charles made to the history of body piercing. What I thought was really special was every now and then someone would flip through a book or see one of his collages and say ‘Hey, that’s me!’

I believe Charles was aware of the impact his work had on the Body Piercing Industry. He began photographing pierced people in the ‘70s after his friend and fellow Helllfire club regular tattoo artist Spider Webb told him that one  day  piercing  would be as popular as tattooing. Charles used to say he made the art he did for the ‘True Believers’—the people who choose to live outside societal norms. True Believers for him were the folks who weren’t afraid to be different or original, and held conviction in the unconventional lifestyles they lived. I believed photographing people in the piercing industry was so significant for him because to Charles, he had found a very special community of True Believers.”

Image from a scrapbook of Gatewood images
Image from a scrapbook of Gatewood images
Image from a scrapbook of Gatewood images

Indeed, he had many true believers in our community, with myself being one of them. It was an honor and pleasure to be able to speak with Eva Marie, all while looking at a collection to honor the life and works of Charles Gatewood. I would like to add a special thanks to Paul King, Becky Dill, Matte Erickson, Danielle Greenwood, and Jennifer McMahon for their contributions to this exhibit, without which would have been impossible.

Jennifer McMahon was responsible for building a replica of The Dream Machine which was available to view in the archive display. It brought Charles’ vision and the entire display to life. Post conference it was purchased by Steve Joyner and will reside with him as part of his personal collection.

Point 80: The Banquet & Raffle

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Paul Rainer
Bound for Glory

It was simultaneously the best and the worst week of my life. And as enticing as it would be to redo some of the worst parts of that week, I probably wouldn’t be writing this article if things had gone differently. As it turned out, the series of unfortunate events that led up to, and overlapped Conference, would leave me the most fortunate piercer in the industry.

But first, a fun little flashback to my first Conference in 2015. I was lucky enough to be selected as an Al D scholar and recall watching as Ryan Ouellette won the Anatometal top prize in the raffle that year. My head spun as Tod and Barry offered up four more top prizes. With odds like that, I thought, I could really win. I left the Banquet that night inspired to try to make it happen.

For the next 2 years I saved. Every extra penny I came across got set aside with the intention of making it to Conference in 2017. Conference was to double as my family’s vacation. As Conference neared, fate intervened throwing a wrench in our plans. Just 4 days before the family was set to head to Vegas, I ended up needing emergency dental work. The dentist’s bill left us faced with a decision to make: does my family still come with me, or do I use the family’s saved travel money on the raffle? We decided on the latter as it would be much more life-changing if we could pull off a win.

I arrived at Conference and I was in a good deal of pain. I’ve dealt with tooth pain for years though, so I kept telling myself that it’s only a couple of days. I repeated a familiar mantra to myself over and over: “It will all be worth it when I win Anatometal.” By Wednesday, my wife and I, nervous that I may not win by going ‘all-in’ on Thursday’s raffle, called an audible. We decided I should split the tickets up between Wednesday’s and Thursday’s raffles. Again, fate had a different plan. By midday Wednesday I was in excruciating pain and honestly considered going home. Brian Moeller knew I was in a bad way and got Betsy Reynolds to convince me to see a dentist immediately. Quite reluctantly, I got into an Uber and went to the dentist in Vegas. “Oh, great, the dentist. Again. This time, in Vegas!” This was not my plan. I felt myself unraveling. I repeat the mantra: “This will all be worth it when I win Anatometal.” Soon, I was finished at the dentist (thanks Brian and Betsy) and I got back to my volunteer responsibilities. I received   a few much-needed hugs from my volunteer buddies and got back to my room to write my info on my raffle tickets. At 7:07pm, I went back downstairs with 200 tickets in my hand. I figured, at least I’ll go home with “something” by placing them in Wednesday’s raffle. Yet another change of plans! I missed the raffle by seven minutes. I thought the last entry was 8 pm, but now I was seven minutes late.

I remember panicking to my wife on the phone “what if I don’t win on Thursday? I think I may have just wasted a lot of money.” She just kept assuring me, “This will all be worth it when you win Anatometal tomorrow.” I took a deep breath and hoped she was right. That night, I went to bed with my raffle tickets under my pillow, telling them we were destined for great things.  I woke up on Thursday, set-up my classes (as part of my AV responsibilities), did some other things with the tickets that I won’t mention for superstitious reasons, and then went to the Expo floor. As I dropped all of my tickets in the spinning acrylic raffle drum, my head was reeling with all the other things that money could have gone to. The car, the groceries, the rent. I forced those thoughts aside and continued on with my day. As I walked into the Banquet I heard the sounds of Jamiro- quai and immediately started dancing. It may have looked like I was enjoying myself, but I was legitimately going crazy in my head trying to work out the probability that I would win. One thing was certain: gambling is not for the faint-of-heart.

Just like that, it was raffle time! I started a video chat with my wife because it was important to me that she was included, since she had made the sacrifice not to come. When they called my name for the first prize I honestly thought I was dreaming. I had envisioned this moment daily for months on end during every drive into work. This was really happening! I was celebrating so hard with the volunteers around me and my wife over the phone, that in all the chaos I didn’t even know that they were calling other tickets. The second winner was apparently chosen, but I was still screaming. Crying. Trying to wrap my head around what was happening. Then, it happened again. I heard my name, but it wasn’t processing. I was looking around for help. “What does that mean?” I was asking, frantically, shouting even! Jason Heeney confirmed what I thought I heard, in fact, the second prize was mine too. In response, I seriously lost my shit. I was so thrilled and shocked. There was a high- pitched tone that grew louder and louder in my head. I was going deaf and couldn’t see. I was seconds from passing out.

The next thing I remember was being leaned up against the back wall with a glass of water in my hand, surrounded by all the volunteers; my wife still on my phone in our video chat. I looked around at everyone and felt so much love at this moment. Suddenly, the whole banquet hall went quiet and I thought I was about to pass out again. I guess everyone was just as shocked as me to hear my name called a THIRD time. What. The. F#@?

I am literally the luckiest piercer alive right now. Just like that, I went from being a nobody, to being a nobody with a ton of Anatometal. Thank goodness for changed plans, running late, and yes, even for excruciating tooth pain. As it turns out, it was all worth it when I won not one, not two, but THREE of the grand prizes from Anatometal.

I can’t help but feel like the whole experience was made more special because it marked the 10 year anniversary of Josh Prentice’s passing. While I didn’t know Josh personally, the volunteers who were fortunate enough to work with him are profoundly affected by his memory. I’m honored to be a Conference volunteer. Thank you Caitlin, for this continued opportunity and to all of the other volunteers for your genuine love. I am so fortunate to be able to surround myself with such amazing people each year at Conference and am honored to call you my friends.

It goes without saying that I can’t thank Anatometal enough for donating these prizes. They have changed my entire life, both on a professional and a personal level.

Point 80: Choosing the President’s Award Recipient

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Jef Saunders
APP President
Derek Lowe
Photo by Matte Erickson

Deciding on who should receive the President’s Award seemed like a daunting task to me, until I realized that Derek Lowe hadn’t yet been a recipient of it. I cannot imagine the Association of Professional Piercers without Derek. I believe that one of the reasons the Conference Committee had chosen Derek Lowe as the speaker for our Conference’s Orientation for so long is that Derek embodies so many qualities that we want our organization to represent: strong, rational, mature, friendly and always there when you need him. Derek is a member of the Oversight Committee, and in that position is a resource to the Board offering historical context and insight when necessary. He has been an enormous influence on me as a person, a piercer, and an APP Member. It was truly an honor to be able to present the award to him, and I will always be grateful for the opportunity to do so.

Derek Lowe & Mark Montgomery
Photos by Matte Erickson

Point 80: Creative Innovator Award

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Tether Jewelry & Other Couture for the “Olympica” Design

The Award winning Olympica design

At this year’s Exposition, Tether Jewelry & Other Couture won the Creative Innovator’s Award with their “Olympica” design. This design is available in yellow and rose gold, naked, and obsidian as part of Tether’s Noachis Terra collection. I had the opportunity to interview Paul Shinichi from Tether about this design and his experiences in the Expo.

Marina: This is your second year as a vendor at Conference. How were the two experiences different?

Tether Jewelry: It felt really good my second year to have studios and piercers come to our booth the first day specifically seeking us out, eager & excited to see the new collection. It makes me extremely happy knowing some- thing I designed is bringing someone joy and excitement when they wear it. It feels like I’m on the right path.

Last year I was so nervous, honestly now it is a giant blur. I made some rookie mistakes, but I definitely learned a lot! From a logistics standpoint, just knowing what to expect this year made it so much easier. We bring quite a bit of inventory to the Expo, so studios can take all the jewels home with them. This year, I had one person specifically handling all jewelry operations and that made everything smoother and quicker. Actually, I would like to shout out to my crew for making this year’s experience amazing. Eleni Evangelatos, Lilly O’Neill, and Sara Martin—y’all are magnificent!

Marina: You were awarded the Creative Innovator Award last year as well. How did that influence your submission in 2017?

Tether Jewelry: I really wanted to collaborate with someone for this year’s entry. Mike Knight, owner, designer, and jeweler for Other Couture, and I had been sharing little sneak peeks at what we had been working on in months previous. He is someone I have a lot of respect for, and he always pushes to do more innovative and detail oriented work, super inspiring stuff. So it just made sense to work together.

Paul Shinichi of Tether and Michael Knight of Other Couture were awarded the Creative Innovator Award. Photo by Autumn Swisher

Marina: Tell us about the Olympica design. What makes it so special?

Tether Jewelry: I’ve been wanting to design a large gauge hidden hinge ring for quite some time. I just thought ‘wouldn’t it be cool if it was one continuous design and you almost can’t figure out where the seam is, almost like a puzzle!?’ After many failed attempts, I finally got it. This design in particular had several iterations because steel is so difficult to work with, especially when you are casting it. What works in gold and silver might not work in steel. It’s a great design idea and I’m already planning more larger-gauge hidden-hinge concepts for next year!

Marina: Aside from the Olympica design, do you have a personal favorite in this year’s collection?

Tether Jewelry: I’m a big fan of the Vitae design. I’m actually wearing them right now. That’s one of the perks of being a designer, designing things for yourself! This design is a nod to my love of marquise cut stones.

Marina: Last year, we asked if you had words of wisdom to share with small manufacturers getting their start in the body modification industry. You answered to “plan for the long game.” Can you expand on that advice?

Tether Jewelry: I am the new guy and I’m still learning how to run this business the best that I can. However, I’m not new to the industry. I’m putting in the time to Tether, much like I did in my piercing career. You need to put in as much time as possible, and just make it work. It can be super challenging at times. I mean, I still drive for Uber on the weekends. Also, it’s not always about designing jewelry. It’s about learning the business side too. I read and listen to a crazy amount of entrepreneurial articles, books, and podcasts. I can make a pretty decent customized spreadsheet now!

The definition of success can vary dramatically from one artist to the next. For me it has changed and evolved over time.

The long game is complicated. Most makers don’t want to make production pieces or outsource and I completely understand why. The long game, in my opinion, rests on the success of brick and mortar studios. If more makers in our industry build interesting products that will sustain a reselling market it’s a win/win. I think there is a huge void in our industry of mid-range retail products that are well made, interesting, and made from steel alloys.

The biggest hurdle for me as a designer was switching my mindset from “I want to make the best quality, most bad-ass jewelry ever” to “I want to make well built, bad-ass jewelry, that studios can sell to a wider audience.”

Marina: Is there anything else you’d like to share with The Point readership?

Tether Jewelry: Do more 14 gauge piercings!

Point 80: Technical Innovator Award

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Buddha Jewelry Organics for the “Halo” Design

Chloe DeSimone for Buddha Organics Jewelry

Buddha Jewelry Organics took home the Technical Innovator’s Award for their “Halo” design. I had the opportunity to interview Katrina Wickersham regarding the history of their company and their inspiration for this design.

Marina: Tell us a little about the history of Buddha Jewelry Organics. Your website has a synopsis, but it sounds like quite a journey. Tell us more.

Buddha Jewelry Organics: In 1991 Rion began piercing and in 1998 began designing and carving wood jewelry for the original Organics company. During a trip to Bali in 2002, Rion started collaborating with local artisans and Buddha Jewelry Organics was officially established! In 2004 Rion and I partnered personally and professionally. I have always had a love for piercing and jewelry, but came from an international business/fashion background. We quickly realized that our design aesthetics both contrasted and complemented the others in a unique way, and thus the Buddha Jewelry Organics design perspective was born. We have three piercing and tattoo studios in the Seattle area, which give us a unique insight into the studio owner/ jewelry buyer perspective, as well as the end client’s experience. Between our studios and traveling often for our jewelry, Rion and I stay pretty hands on. When Cassidi joined our team in 2013, she elevated BJO to new heights. BJO really is a team effort and that collaboration has a wonderful impact on both the direction of the company and our jewelry designs.

Marina: How has that unique history influenced the company you are now?

Buddha Jewelry Organics: We express who we are as people and what we love about life through our jewelry. We love to travel; we love to study cultures both traditional and modern, people, architecture, landscapes, art. We find inspiration everywhere, and love translating our experiences into new designs. Nature is an element that strongly influences our jewelry. Rion and I initially connected over our shared passion for outdoor activities like snowboarding, surfing, and hiking. We have a huge respect for the inherent beauty of natural materials and often our jewelry is about showcasing that in a progressive, wearable way. I design jewelry that I want to wear, usually from a more couture point of view. Rion is definitely more innovative and comes up with the most amazing ideas. We definitely inspire each other. Cassidi has also brought a new perspective and has had a great impact on our designs as well. There’s definitely a synergy, we’re super blessed to have the small team we do.

HALO

Marina: What was the inspiration behind the “Halo” design? What makes this design unique?

Buddha Jewelry Organics: We are slightly obsessed with stones and crystals… shocking right? I have a very edgy, high-fashion point of view and Rion is insanely creative. Our goal was to showcase the raw beauty of the crystal- line structure and the stone, but in a very modern structural way. We played around with different variations and combinations until we just knew that we had something we wanted to wear every day. For us, that’s the win.

Marina: Buddha offers a diverse collection of styles. Do you all have any personal favorites?

Kat: I have so many personal favorites, when you design something and see it brought from an idea to a physical creation it’s a sort of birth, and I get attached to those designs. I’m a nerd, I can’t help it. Right now I’m really into our Osiris weights for everyday and of course my pair of Halo weights.

Conference attendees checking out the award competitors.

Rion: I wear the Idol plugs almost every day, or the Luxe weights. I also really love the Deco fans.

Cassidi: I love the Muse hoops, I’m obsessed with the crystalline rawness mixed with the streamline metal.  I also really love the Deco weights, I can wear them to work and a fancy event, they look great anywhere. I really love anything vintage inspired.

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

Buddha Jewelry Organics: Stay true to yourself and your style. The wonderful thing about jewelry is that each designer brings a unique perspective and adds a new dimension.

Kat and Ryan Wickersham and their Technical Innovator Award

Marina: Is there anything else you’d like to share with The Point readership?

Buddha Jewelry Organics: We’re just really grateful for all of the continued support! We’re excited to see our industry evolving and look forward to sharing our new collection with everyone!