Posts tagged 2016 conference

Point 76: Banquet Dinner – Kendra Jane B

The banquet dinner is a highlight of the week in Vegas for many people. In fact, it has sold out the last few years in a row. Every year we get to see our colleagues dress up in their fanciest duds, from stunning gowns to costumes that fit the theme for the year. This year we saw some of our favorite science fiction characters, including Barf and Leeloo.

2016 APP Banquet portraitsAs we enjoyed a great dinner we were entertained by the familiarity of a sideshow. From there we moved on to the evening’s formalities: speeches, awards, and the much anticipated grand prize raffle draws.

The evening’s formalities got started when Cody Vaughn and I had the opportunity to say thank you and welcome to our new Members for the year.

“This century has seen the advent of technologies and procedures those before us never thought possible, not to mention an exponential growth in the numbers of body modification enthusiasts, and in turn the number of piercers looking to be their best. Every year we gain new Members and grow as an organization but this last year saw us gain an amazing 86 new Members. Congratulations to all our new Members.”

New Members:
Andie Saunders
Ashley Reeves
William Barron
Matt Bressmer
Kyla Scrivener
Olivia Theriault
Kara Dee
Lara “Barkley” Barkley
Laura Davis
Michael Bernhardt
Megan Feeley
Robert Wilson
Kelli Zeien
Edward (Richie) Bibee
Hannah Phykitt
Mona Lisa A. Escalante
Whitney Chase
Joshua W. Spriggs
Chris “Plaid” Weyer
Emily Woods
Jarred Mantia
Lani Soleil Gillespie
Ricky Andrew Minor
Anthony Merritt
Joey Hayden
Nick Lanehardt
Rivka McCormack
Courtney-Logan Rose Cangelosi
Sebastian Wolfe Pickersgill
Ana Paula Escalante
Lola Slider
Jay Zogg
Tim Gerdes
Janessa McKissack
Leo Ziebol
Melinda Hupy
Dominick Arduino
Giselle Rose Arduino
Inaveronica Ausland Pedersen
Amy Willmore
Jacob Spjut
Matthew Buonantuono
Kevin Allison
Crystal Vozzella
Ryan Terrillion
Doug Poisson
John Robberson
Rosemary Willicome
Justin Ellis
Hali Stimis
Amanda Thompson
Chris A Taylor
John Osborne
Hall Boyer
Paul Rainer
Jason “Jay” Zukas
Dustin Schoelier
Phoebe Dowling
Ryan Tantay
Britt Riggs
Samantha Minh (Robles)
Brittney Lola Lebbano
Thomas Gottschalk
Scott Self
Derek Ian
Robert Chambers
Kolby Cain
Kaylyn Suellentrop
John Alonzo
Dustin Jackson
Michael Kabbeko-Johnson
Chelsie Ross
Bernard P. Ellis II
Eric Schuh
Michael Kaspa
Amy McNichol
Dorian McCarron
Nicolas Fox
Thomas Mocek
Westin M. Fryar
Rich Hartwick
Maddie Akers
Matt Ronin
Charles Charlie Wheeler
Deidra Saville Evans
Bilal “Cozmo” Whitest

Miro Hernadez then had the distinguished pleasure of announcing this year’s birth announcements:
– Shortly after conference last year, Brian and Sandrine Skellie’s daughter Serena was brought into this world
– Ahri Elise Wilson was born on April 11th to Robert and Carissa Wilson
– Hazel Grey Hemmingsen was born on May 6h to Tyler and Laura Hemmingsen
– Patience J. Hope McInnes was born on July 9th to Mike and Michelle McInnes
– Tamarah and Wednesday Henryson brought a female “puppy” into this world on September 24th. When Tamarah was pregnant, the baby’s gender couldn’t be identified, so after people kept asking and asking, they finally just said, “a puppy” and that has stuck since.
– Julie Green of Westcoast Piercing and Ink first grandchild, Daya, was born on June 21
– Simon Patrick Saunders was born on September 8, 2015 to 2 of our APP members, Jef Saunders and Laura Leonard
– Troubador Rocco Grosvenor was born on September 29, 2015 to Nathan and Chelsea Grosvenor
– Mark and Nikole Montgomery are now grandparents with the birth of their beautiful grandson Lach- lan (Lock Ian)
– Lyric Mason Dinsmore was born on November 22, 2015 to Desiree ́ Dinsmore and Dustin Merryman

This past year was also filled with loss and sorrow and we mourn the passing of several members of our community:
– Hugh Mattay from Australia passed on Jan 28 at the age of 37.
– Leah Lovell from New York passed at the age of 28
– Peter Pina, 33, of Electric Chair Tattoo and Body Piercing in Houston.
– Jerome “JJ” Moiso passed away on February 26th after a long battle with cancer. He was one of Al D.’s last apprentices and had worked for a handful of Seattle studios as well as owning his own studio for a couple years. He was also involved with the original body art regulations in Washington State.
– Charles Gatewood and his iconic photography that brought the weird and macabre to pop culture and his larger than life personality.
– In 2014, Mark Siekierski joked about having this quote read as a memorial if he should ever pass, and sadly this year that wish will be made a reality.

Earth from the far reaches of space“Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.”

With the completion of that paragraph there was not a dry eye in the place and we all knew that we had honored a great man and all those that we had lost last year.

Last year’s banquet gave me the opportunity to thank someone very special to me, Caitlin McDiarmid. This year the tables were turned and she awarded me the Josh Prentice Volunteer award. This definitely brought me to tears. I was stunned and left speechless to say the least. I am so honored to have been recognized for something that brings me joy and fills my bucket until it runs over.

Brian Skellie also had the privilege of presenting this year’s President’s award to Ana Paula. This woman is a powerhouse in our industry and has brought safe piercing education to Latin America. When she is not teaching worldwide or starving to build LBP and the education seminars available to Latin American piercers, she creates stunning jewelry. A mother, wife, educator, and creator she is the most deserved recipient of this award.

From there the evening progressed to the presentation of the Expo awards. This year, there was a tie for the Creative Innovator’s Award, being presented to both Tether and Onetribe. We also saw Tether win the Single Booth Award. It is so wonderful to see a first time exhibitor and new company hit the ground running. At the other end of the spectrum, two long standing pillars of the industry took home the evening’s other awards. Tawapa won the Multiple Booth Award and Diablo Organic won the Technical Innovator’s Award.

Now that the formalities had been taken care of it was time to get onto the top raffle prize drawings (we all know this is what everyone was really waiting for).

As the evening drew to a close, lives had been changed forever, and we knew the week was drawing to a close. This is always a bittersweet moment for many of us. So until next year I leave you with this. . .

Alvin Toffler said, “The illiterate 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write. But those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” It is in this vein that we gather in the desert; to learn with the best; to unlearn some of our preconceived notions; and relearn things we thought we already knew. From our classrooms and workshops to our exposition floor it has been evident that the APP, our Members, Sponsors, and conference Attendees ensure that they take every opportunity to learn and grow both personally and professionally. We are so very excited to see what the future holds, when we boldly go where no piercer has gone before.

point-76-banquet-2016-app-conference

Point 76: Tawapa – Best Multiple Booth

Marina Pecorino headshotMarina Pecorino
Managing Editor of Content & Statistics

At this year’s Exposition, Tawapa won the multiple booth award with their dark unicorn themed display. I had the opportunity to interview Phoebe, owner and designer for Tawapa, about how their processes and ideas have evolved during 20 years of producing jewelry for the industry. Manufacturing and distribution to over 200 countries is a huge job, and it sounds like Tawapa is constantly fine-tuning their processes to meet demand and introduce new designs.

Marina: Tawapa has been producing jewelry for our industry for 20 years. How have the manufacturing and order processes changed in that time?

Tawapa: 20 years is a long time. Everything has changed, and then changed back, and then changed again. The manufacturing process used to be much much simpler. In the beginning we only produced carved jewelry. Ideas were communicated to the carvers via my drawings. I started Tawapa in 1996 working with the carver who was making buttons for my clothing line at the time. I loved him, but the industry grew quickly in the beginning; he began taking on a lot of clients and our quality and security were compromised. So I started the Tawapa carving workshop in about ‘98 or ‘99. Building our own workshop made it possible to hire a team focused only on Tawapa. This meant, better quality, consistency and prices. It also gave steady jobs to a small team who really got to know our product and our vision. These are the guys who still carve all of Tawapa’s organic jewelry. Our relationship has been long and prosperous. It’s been great growing up together.

We are now, clearly, more focused on metals which is a huge shift in manufacturing (and designing). I started the Tawapa metal workshop about 7-8 years ago. This was the next major milestone in our production capabilities. I learned so much in this process and was once again able to provide solid jobs to a strong team who could grow with us. Here we have our master wax carver who works beside me on new designs. She is, incidentally one of the only female wax carvers in Bali. She is highly skilled and can work sometimes up to one month on extremely complicated designs. Her finished waxes go to casting and then come back to the workshop for finishing. Besides our wax carver we have 2 amazing sample makers. These guys make hand made samples that don’t need cast pieces for the design. They are also the ones who finish our “masters” for casting and who consistently help me problem solve; they are our engineers. Their skill surpasses most silversmiths I have met, so their time is precious.

Next we have our production team. These people are piecing every item of jewelry together with their hands, their bench, a torch and some solder. Our team is stellar and coincidentally predominantly female, which is very uncommon in the jewelry business. They come to us with different degrees of skills. It’s been amazing to watch these women excel, deepening their skills while sharing, teaching, and learning from each other. The intent is that everyone who works for us learns greater skills for the future while they become experts working piece by piece on Tawapa jewelry.

Using metal is infinitely inspiring to me. Every day and every year I learn more about the process, while creating new processes and transforming old ones.

Regarding the ordering process, we have gone from producing stock and selling what we have, to primarily taking orders and filling them, to finding a happy medium. Producing quantity and quality to fill orders in a timely fashion is an inherent challenge in this business where everything is handmade in small facilities. Through the combination of in-house stock and taking orders, we are able to hone in on this great conundrum and continue to fill orders better and faster.

Marina: Tawapa is woman-owned and operated. Has Tawapa chosen to always employ only women and why?

Tawapa: This has been a natural evolution of the company. We do not exclude men. We love men 🙂 I think energetically, the environment Jenella and I have created over time is more feminine, and therefore we attract females. I know that in our production studio, since we have balanced the gender scheme, it is a much gentler environment for everyone to work in. Incidentally, this choice was not at my request, it just happened naturally.

Marina: Tawapa offers a huge selection of designs and materials, which must require a lot of space and a wide variety of skills. How is quality control handled within the manufacturing process.

Tawapa: As I mentioned earlier, we have a carving workshop and a metals workshop. We also have started sampling ourselves here in Los Angeles, which helps speed the whole process along.

We have at least 3 stages of QC. The carving workshop quality controls everything they produce, then they deliver to the metal workshop. Here, we have full time QC people dedicated to checking the quality while also checking and testing and double testing everything that is produced in the metal workshop. Next, all of that jewelry lands in our studio in Los Angeles, where we have 1-3 people checking every single piece of jewelry that comes through here…. again. It’s a very important process that takes a lot of time and employs several people.

Marina: Where do you guys find inspiration for new designs and jewelry lines?

Tawapa: I am inspired by everything all the time! It’s limitless. But I like to focus on a few important topics every year or every season.

We did a large collection of geometric inspired jewelry a couple years ago. This year I was inspired by gothic and deco stained glass. I mean, it is infinite, and this inspiration is what drives me.Tawapa - unicorn display

Marina: Tawapa has released all sorts of new designs within the last year. Which new designs are the Tawapa pirates most excited about this season?

Tawapa: Oh wow… so much! To begin with, we are excited about horn again for the first time in awhile. The simple sophisticated geometric shapes that are a long way from previous “tribal jewelry” are really changing our current outlook on carved jewelry. I wear horn again! Besides that, the bondage eyelets are super innovative and new. (We love all the new eyelets.)

We are thrilled about all of the septum jewelry and push pins. The black nano coating has added a refreshing new look to everything. A few favorite designs would be the Minona, Valkyrie Shield, the Owl, Origami Weights, Unicorn Weights, and Notre Dame (inspired from the window of Notre Dame). We are also excited about the inclusion of stone in so many of our new designs.

Marina: Where does Tawapa find inspiration for the Conference booth displays?

Tawapa: We LOVE creating displays! We spend way too much time, effort and money on it, because we enjoy it so much. This year that unicorn (previously a horse) came to us magically, and we sort of built the display around her, deciding that matte black was this year’s color choice. I’ve also been really inspired by street art lately. I’ve been learning screen printing, so some of that carried over to the overall look of the campaign. Every year is different depending on current inspirations. #currentmood Going all white a couple years ago was a bold move for a dark industry that I think everyone found surprisingly refreshing.

Marina: Does Tawapa have any suggestions about how to handle and display your jewelry in the shop?

Tawapa: Be innovative with your materials. Think outside of traditional “displays” and use unusual items and materials for your displays. Creating multiple levels is really important to us. The key is to create a visually stimulating display that maintains an essence of simplicity so that it does not overwhelm the viewer. It’s a thin line. You need to wow your customers with an amazing display that doesn’t take focus away from the jewelry, but rather, draws them in and makes it easy for them to digest, and want to buy.

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

Tawapa: We are just really humbled that we are still here after 20 years! It has been an exciting ride. It is awesome to be 20 years in and feeling more inspired than ever. We are so grateful to all of our shops, piercers, friends, and community who have stood by us all of these years. I think that in this industry more than most, there is a very symbiotic relationship between all of us. All of us at Tawapa love and respect the relationship we have within this greater community that goes beyond manufacturing jewelry. It is a relationship that has withstood the test of time… and it feels great! So, thanks, you guys! We love you!

Tawapa - 2016 APP Expo

Point 76: Talk APP – Will Spencer

William Spencer headshotWill Spencer
TRX Tattoos & Body Piercing

It’s Las Vegas… everyone always wants more: more classes, more options, and of course more free time too. All at once. So how do we get more classes squished into a day without taking up more time and without a magic wand? Make them shorter.

Not all of them of course—not the technical classes, not the hands on classes. What about the others? The inspirational classes. The stuff that makes you think. The people who open your eyes and stretch your perceptions. Talking about new concepts or angles of approach to subjects you might never have thought about. These are the kind of classes that don’t need hours and hours. In fact all that extra time would bog them down and the core idea would get lost in a miasma of unnecessary flotsam.

This was the idea behind Talk APP. Inspired by the success of the ever popular TED Talks we crafted a new format just for the APP that gives us the ability to put all these great class ideas into a smaller, faster, more exciting format. With only twenty minutes for each presenter, we are able to take great ideas and boil them down to the roots. Our aim is to give you a class with punch that you’ll actually remember. This year we had two talks with standing ovations.

We hope you checked out our new format. If you haven’t already, please give us your feedback. We are always striving to integrate new ideas and make this better. We look forward to hearing from you! We can’t wait to see what next year’s topics will bring.

Jaymes Lombardi at 2016 APP Conference
Jaymes Lombardi making a point during his TalkAPP presentation on Client Connnections. Photo credit: Matte Erickson

Point 76: Thank You, Ash Misako – Kendra Jane B

Kendra Jane headshotKendra Jane Berndt
Managing Editor of Content & Archives

I am fortunate to work in an industry that surrounds me with beautiful things, special occasions, and brilliantly talented people. One such person I feel lucky to not only call a colleague but a friend is Ash Misako, the wandering piercer. Ash has a no nonsense attitude and will always tell you where you stand, but at the same time she wants you to stand as tall as you can and be the best you can. I am absolutely honored to be able to say thank you to Ash, from the bottom of my heart. I am so proud that I have the opportunity to join the Board of Directors as you step down, and it would not have been possible without your support.

As a fellow piercer I admire her commitment to the highest standards, the fact that she never settles, she strives to stay at the forefront of education and knowledge, and willingly helps many new piercers better themselves. As a client I admire these exact same attributes, but I also know that I am in safe hands, and that she would never compromise my health or the experience that I was looking for by rushing the process or just to make the sale. Ash is a special combination of everything a piercer should be.

headshot of Ash Misako
Ash Misako
photo credit: Autumn Swisher

A perfect testament to Ash’s commitment to our industry can be seen in the beautiful gold end from Anatometal named after her, the “Kira Kira”. However, the respect that accompanies something such as this was not earned overnight. Before owning her own shop, Kira Kira, Ash spent many years honing her piercing skills at Hearts of Fire. In fact she has been piercing since 2001 and an APP Member since 2008. Since she joined the APP, her invaluable commitment to helping and bettering our industry has become even more evident; piercing is not just a career for Ashley, but truly a passion. She has volunteered countless hours for this passion, all to ensure young piercers are steered in the right direction. She helps those piercers wanting to become Members alongside her, providing answers to their questions as they move through the steps to membership.

She has spearheaded the mentor program at Conference for the past 3 years and has set it up for success. Now, she steps down from the Board and away from these responsibilities to focus on other areas of piercing for awhile.

I hope she knows what an invaluable mentor and role model she has been to, not only myself and fellow Members, but to piercers worldwide. Ash Misako, thank you for all you’ve done.

Point 76: President’s Corner – Jef Saunders

Jef Saunder headshotJef Saunders
APP President

The first time I ever heard Brian Skellie’s name was in a discussion about “how crazy people can get about cleanliness.” This was in 2001 or 2002 and I kind of just assumed Brian was some nut who wanted to turn body piercing into surgery. Little did I know I’d become an enormous fan of Brian’s, a proponent of much of his philosophy, a fellow Board Member and a friend.

Brian’s tenure as President was really a joy to behold. For those not in the know, Brian is a spectacular navigator of choppy waters. To him, no problem seems insurmountable; every issue fraught with emotion has a rational conclusion. Brian is the rare worker-bee that is also an expert boss.

During Brian’s tenure, the APP had it’s largest conferences to date. He helped process the application and renewals of literally hundreds of Members and applicants. He acted as a resource to the Legislation Committee. He served as International Liaison, supporting piercers all over the globe with their questions about piercing and the Association of Professional Piercers. He also filled in as Medical Liaison by committee. He spoke at industry related conferences all over the world. During all of this, he also ran businesses on two continents. Did I mention he did all of this from France, while raising two young children?

It really is difficult to imagine body piercing being quite what it is without Brian’s influence. Whether the discussion centers around health and safety, freehand technique, material standards, anodization, StatIM autoclaves, or disposable studios, Brian’s name will come up. He’s a master of all things piercing related.

If Brian’s tenure as President marked his departure from APP work, I’d write about how much we’d miss him. Of course, that’s not Brian’s style at all (and we are very thankful for this.) He will continue to assist the Board in all things technical and web related. He is now deeply entrenched in the work of updating the data processing of our ever-expanding membership. Thus giving the organization, and all APP Members, a modern and streamlined method of maintaining membership standards.

Brian hasn’t done this alone. I know this from my own personal experience. Without a dedicated partner, the kind of volunteer hours someone like Brian puts in are simply not possible. His wonderful wife Sandrine is as much a part of this work as Brian is. Thank you Sandrine!

Brian has taught me a lot about piercing, but he’s also taught me a lot about being a dad. One of my favorite experiences with Brian was talking about fatherhood in Mexico late one night while we attended the LBP Conference. It was one of those conversations you think back to and say, “I really needed that at that point in my life.” He may not have thought much about it, but I did… and still do.

So thank you, Brian. You’ve been an exceptional Board Member and President of the Association of Professional Piercers. Thank you for your ongoing support of not only the APP, but the entire piercing community.

Jef thanks Brian for his service as APP President
Jef Saunders honors Brian Skellie at the 2016 APP Conference