Posts tagged safe piercing
Point 87: The Many Faces of Conference 2018
Photos by Shanna Hutchins
Point 87: From the Editor
by Marina Pecorino, The Point Editor
Well, this is my first issue as a solo Managing Editor. Thankfully, I work with a wonderful Art Director, Jim Ward, and together we have created another stunning issue brimming with pre-Conference content. If you have expertise in grammar, syntax, and the written word, and spare time on your hands, we may have a place for you on The Point Committee.
Deeper within this issue, you’ll find some important updates regarding the 2019 APP Conference & Exposition. Not only have we moved to a fresh, modern venue inside Planet Hollywood, we’ve also updated some of our Conference procedures and events.
This year, your odds of taking home a grand prize from Vegas have gotten even better; check out a quick summary and the official rules for the new Golden Ticket Raffle and Silent Auction.
We’ve also refreshed the process of certificates. Conference attendees can now receive Recognition of Attendance onsite, and travel home with tangible proof of their amazing week in the desert. Transcripts with course titles (similar to what a college graduate would receive) will be digitally available shortly after the event as further proof of an attendee’s dedication to continuing education.
The 2019 Body Piercing Archive is devoted to the extraordinary Fakir Musafar. Visit this unique exhibit with art and Body Play artifacts never before publicly displayed. Don’t forget to schedule time to view the exhibit with the guidance of a docent or four; visiting this rare presentation is one thing, but attending a guided tour lead by a personal acquaintance with firsthand accounts is another thing entirely.
This year, our Banquet has also been reinvigorated. Come join us at the Gallery Nightclub in your best Moulin Rouge themed attire for our Closing Party. Make sure to wear your dancing shoes and bring your appetite for socializing.
Details about these new programs and events are available on the Conference website and in the subsequent pages of this issue. This is an exciting year and I can’t wait to see you all. Let’s get to work!
Point 86: Faces of the Future
Photos by Shanna Hutchins
Point 86: Studio Building & Renovation Basics
by Gene Gowen
Cold River Piercing & Fine Jewelry, Albany NY
It is a privilege to contribute to the first issue of The Point for 2019, and to lend my experience to the theme of “Our Future” as an industry.
This is an industry of small businesses and entrepreneurs, and with small business and the entrepreneurial spirit comes the possibility of ownership and the hope of deciding one’s own fate. For many, that means building or renovating your own work space, sometimes needing to meet specific building codes, or perhaps to meet APP environmental criteria for membership.
Whatever small business experience you’re coming from or going to as a piercer—opening your own free-standing studio or developing space in a tattoo shop—hopefully this article serves as a useful guide. You will learn what can be expected, as well as some things to remember in building out a commercial space. Opening and closing tattoo and piercing studios is nothing new, and I’m sure there are those currently with multiple locations who could speak on this. In this article, I will be focused more on speaking to those who are branching out on their own, whether it is renovating their own piercing room or attempting their first studio space.
I have renovated and built out tattoo and piercing businesses of all shapes and sizes in both Connecticut and New York. My background was in building trades. I worked as a builder full time for more than 12 years before taking up piercing. I am trained and have worked in all forms of residential and commercial roofing, asbestos and lead abatement, custom high end deck and patio construction, residential and commercial building/additions/renovations, restorations, and residential/commercial property management and maintenance. These experiences served to help me as I prepared to build my own studio space. I am confident that they will also help you.
PLAN AHEAD:
Even if you end up throwing out your plan the night before you start building, plan ahead anyway. Plan for every single thing as much as you can. No detail is too small to include in your plan.
• Plan your budget
Building costs, inventory budgets, licenses, fees, insurance, cash for your register, living expenses during start-up time are just a few of the things to think about. While these are some of the financial concerns you’ll want to plan for, sticking to them is the hard part. Building costs will likely require an experienced contractor to estimate. Your build-out budge will vary based on the amount of work you want/need to do.
• Plan your time of year
The time of year you renovate or build your business can affect a lot of other factors. Are you building during your slow time? Is it going to cut short your cash resources? Are you scheduled to open during your slow time? Will it hamper initial success? Are you attempting major exterior work with winter approaching?
• Plan your work
Projects can run-away from you fast. Get accurate estimates on an accurate amount of work. Stick to the work you’ve planned. Don’t just plan what work you will do, but also your timeline and order of work. Don’t have people sheetrock and cover walls before you have your electrical done. Keeping to a planned timeline, when possible, will help prevent doing the same jobs over again.
• Plan for success
Whether it’s planning your budget, your inventory, or your build out, leave room for success. Jewelry inventories can be modest when first starting; make sure you have room to accommodate the natural increase in inventory selection that will occur as you are open longer. Having all the jewelry will matter little if you have no place to put it. You can use your initial budget to help you increase your inventory selection over time, simply by being judicious with your initial inventory orders.
LOCATION:
Choose your location carefully; you’ll likely be there for awhile. There are a number of factors you should consider when picking a good potential location, whether for your own shop, or inside an existing business. Population and demographics for the area1, amount of foot traffic, and access to parking are important for both situations. Leasing costs will be necessary whether you lease your own space or sublet. Bear in mind most commercial real estate is not a simple monthly rental fee. There are often NET2 costs and CAM charges3. These fees may exist in addition to your monthly lease.
BUILDING/ZONING CODES & PERMITS:
Zoning codes will dictate whether or not your business can even exist in the location you’ve chosen, so it is best to look into this during the beginning of your process. Building codes will dictate what changes you can and can’t make, and the manner you are allowed to do them in. Codes will vary depending on area and building type. For example, a studio opening in a residential building might be able to use wood framing lumber, while something in a strip mall will likely require steel framing. The cost difference between these materials is substantial and can drastically change your build out capital requirements. These building codes not only stipulate material types and uses, but also govern handicap accessibility, historical restrictions, and acceptable and unacceptable mechanical4 conditions. A large portion of all of this work will require permits. Generally speaking only licensed contractors can pull a permit, if the work you need requires one. Permits and the subsequent inspections to verify the work are lengthy processes. In my experience, required permits and inspections can be the things that most commonly cause delays in a project.
AVOID SURPRISES:
Surprises will always arise with any building project. The goal is to eliminate as many surprises as possible beforehand. The story of building your own business changes rapidly when you unexpectedly find termite damage, asbestos wrapped pipes, or some other hidden detriment that will cost thousands of dollars and weeks of time to mitigate. A thorough property assessment by a qualified contractor including a hazardous materials survey and a EUL Report (Expected Useful Life) on mechanicals can save time and money! Even after you’ve checked for surprises, and eliminated as many variables as possible, plan a little extra time for your project as a precaution!
If you are lucky, your new studio space will require very little work. Hopefully all you need to do is some minor upgrades and a few coats of paint. Regardless of the size of your studio project, do thorough research and thoughtful planning on everything, not just your jewelry inventory and piercing supplies. I hope this article helps you on your journey, and that you are able to successfully build your own studio space. Plan carefully and thoroughly. Look for a location as objectively and as informed as you can. Follow through with the appropriate civic departments. Expect the unexpected. These are just some of the basic fundamentals of commercial building projects. Keep them in mind and it will make every step of the process easier.
Footnotes:
1 Population & Demographics: Population numbers, median age, median income, population density, education data, average debt, common professions. All of this is easily accessible information that can be found online. All of which can help inform your decisions about the area you are considering opening in. The US Census Bureau is a great place to start.
2 NET Lease: In a NET Lease, the landlord charges a lower base rent for commercial space, plus some or all of their “usual costs”, which are expenses associated with operations.
In a single net lease, renters are required to pay the base rent plus a portion of the property taxes for the building. Double net leases require the renter to pay the base rent plus taxes and property insurance costs; this is beyond your own business insurance. Triple net leases require the renter to pay base rent plus taxes, insurance, and CAM (Common Area Maintenance ) charges.
3 CAM Charges: Common Area Maintenance are expenses incurred in shared, common area, such as utilities, sidewalk maintenance, snow removal, etc.
4 Mechanicals: Plumbing, Electrical, and HVAC (Heating/Venting/Air Conditioning) would be your mechanical systems. Each system has specialty contractors who works solely within their discipline and area of expertise.
Point 86: Communicating Science in the Age of Fake News
by Chris Beierschmitt
BA Biological Sciences – Columbia University
PhD candidate in Molecular Biology – US San Diego
Although the internet and social media have been boons for the distribution of information and ideas, most will agree that they have served as a double-edged sword. For every fact-based and informative article shared, it seems that there are two more that dabble in pseudoscience or outright lies. As professional piercers, we have a unique opportunity (and maybe an obligation) to utilize our platform to educate our clients and fellow industry people about a wide range of subjects. The problem is: scientific literature is written with language that allows researchers to appreciate the mechanical and technical nuances of a given topic, but it’s nearly indecipherable to the general public (i.e.: the taxpayers funding the research). Tackling this divide between scientific writing and comprehension by the average reader is a rough task, and while this burden should largely fall on the shoulders of the scientific community, there are methods piercing professionals can use to sift out pearls of relevant information from these daunting piles of data.
Consider the Source
In order to stay profitable, news organizations rely on click traffic to their websites so advertisers will buy ad space from them. It’s no mistake that headlines often share similar architecture, a la: “Scientists prove…;” “…you won’t believe what happens next;” or “Doctors are baffled by….” The unifying theme behind a majority of these articles is that, somewhere deep down, they are rooted in some intentional or accidental distortion of a real scientific finding. Like a childhood game of telephone, where an initial message is gradually corrupted as it passes from person to person, so do the relevant findings of a scientific publication as it is interpreted and communicated by people who don’t fully understand it. Before sharing one of these articles, it is our responsibility to find out how the authors came to their conclusion and if it makes sense. This means reading the article with a skeptical eye and finding the root of the author’s claims. Hopefully, the base of their writing can be found in apeer-reviewed scientific journal. The struggle isn’t over here, though, as many journals are behind paywalls and/or so jam-packed with difficult language that they are nearly unreadable. Knowing this, why should we strive to find a peer-reviewed source instead of just taking someone’s word for It?
Why Does Peer-reviewed Matter?
A scientific paper is (in most cases) the result of months to years of hard work and revision. In order to be published, it must be submitted with some novel finding, have published references for any claims about previous research, and must have data for any new claims. After submitting a paper to a scientific journal, it is preliminarily reviewed for novelty and general content. If this is found acceptable, it is given to several scientists unrelated to the journal for review. After weeks to months of review, the journal decides whether the author should be allowed (or is able to) address any concerns that the reviewers had. If the journal decides that the author will be able to revise their paper to address reviewer concerns, they will be given time to perform the necessary experiments and/or gather the appropriate data to do so. This revision process will take anywhere from a few days to a few months, depending on how demanding the revisions are. Finally, the paper is re-submitted with revisions, the journal performs any necessary editing for grammar and format, and in a few weeks to months, the paper is published. Authors must declare where their funding is coming from (e.g.: government, private industry, etc.), as well as any potential conflicts of interest. If an author is found to be lying about these details, they risk ruining their reputation as well as the journal redacting their paper.
Where Do I Find Peer-reviewed Papers?
This is where things get a bit tricky. While open-access journals are steadily becoming more and more common, many papers are stuck behind paywalls. University systems, research institutions, and some libraries pay subscription fees so their members can access these pay-to view journals, but this leaves the average reader with the option to only read the paper’s abstract or buy access to an article. There are some legal grey areas and blatantly illegal ways to circumvent paywalls for science articles. For legal reasons I won’t be naming them in this article—though, if you spend a short bit of time on a search engine, I’m sure you wouldn’t have trouble figuring it out. If we wish to remain within the law, it’s best to first read a paper’s abstract to determine if it might contain information that is interesting or relevant. In a vast majority of cases, an abstract will let you know if it is worth investing your time in decoding a paper in its entirety. A repository of listings for nearly all research articles can be found at PubMed (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/pubmed/), which is maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the U.S. National Library of Medicine, located at the National Institutes of Health. While not all listings on PubMed contain links to the full-text of an article, you can at least find an abstract and contact information for the author(s) of a given paper. If you are a taxpayer in the US, you are paying for this archiving service, so don’t be shy about making use of it.
What If I Can’t Find the Full Text?
Since every listing in PubMed should have contact information for the author(s) of a paper, you have a direct way of contacting the researcher and/or physician who knows the most about the article you are interested in. While there is no guarantee, I can say with high confidence that if you send an email to a paper’s author requesting a copy of their work, they are going to be happy to send it to you directly. This might seem a bit weird, but it’s more common a request than you think. To increase your chances for success, try to send an email to the first author listed on the paper. The order in which names are listed for a research paper are (for the most part) organized in such a way that the person who contributed most to a project will be listed first, and the person who runs the lab where they are employed is listed last. As such, by sending a correspondence to the first author, you are directly asking for information from the person who probably knows more about the paper’s contents than anyone else on Earth. After you do your due diligence and carefully read the paper, you could even send an email back to the author to ask them any questions you may have. If you decide to ask questions, be sure to give the researcher an “out,” and ask them if there is someone else you should be contacting with questions (e.g.: a postdoctoral worker or graduate student in their lab). Don’t be surprised if responses take a while; researchers are often inundated with mountains of email and it takes a while to sort through all of them.
Working together with scientists
Reaching out to the scientific community is a step forward in the direction of further legitimizing the piercing industry. If we want to be regarded as professionals who are progressive and interested in the health of our clients (as well as ourselves), we should be using resources outside of the piercing community to prevent our well-intentioned sentiments from becoming an echo chamber. The next time you see a health or science-related news article shared on social media, take a moment to evaluate the source and investigate it yourself. Start a dialog with fellow piercers about what the findings of a publication might mean for client health. Encourage others to engage with this material and ask questions of their own. Together, with a keen set of skeptical eyes and help from scientific literature, we can be sure our industry will continue to improve for years to come.
Point 86: 2019 Exhibit Planet Hollywood — Fakir Musafar
In honor and celebration of the life of Fakir Musafar, the Body Piercing Archive will present the most comprehensive exhibit that’s ever been seen on Fakir’s art and legacy.
Over 2000 square feet staged with his original iconic images and fabricated sculptures made famous over eight decades of accumulated artwork and Body Play.
Exhibited as well will be many items that have never been on public display.
This will be the largest and most ambitious BPA exhibit to date, so come learn, remember, and celebrate!
Register to take your tour today!!
Exhibit Hours:
- Monday 10 am–6 pm
- Tuesday 10 am–6 pm
- Wednesday 10 am–6 pm
- Thursday 10 am–6 pm
Docent Tours:
MONDAY
- Paul King 11:30 am–12:30 pm
- Ian Bishop 1 pm–2 pm
- Allen Falkner 2:30 pm–3:30 pm
- Dustin Allor 4 pm–5 pm
TUESDAY
- Cody Vaughn 10 am–11 am
- Paul King 11:30 am–12:30 pm
- Ian Bishop 1 pm–2 pm
- Betty Ann Peed 2:30 pm–3:30 pm
- Jef Saunders 4 pm–5 pm
WEDNESDAY
- Cynthia Wright 10 am–11 am
- Ken Coyote 11:30 am–12:30 pm
- Yossi Silverman 1 pm–2 pm
- Grin 2:30 pm–3:30 pm
- Annie Sprinkle 4 pm–5 pm
THURSDAY
- Grin 10 am–11 am
- Paul King 11:30 am–12:30 pm
- Allen Falkner 1 pm–2 pm
- Cynthia Wright 2:30 pm–3:30 pm
- Ken Coyote 4 pm–5 pm
Point 86: The President’s Corner
by Jef Saunders
In this issue celebrating the organization’s 25th anniversary, we ponder the future of the body piercing industry, our community, and the Association of Professional Piercers. As President, considering the future of our organization and industry is one of my highest priorities. The opportunity to help establish policies and safeguards which help our organization flourish, and our industry to become safer and better-educated, has been one of the greatest honors of my career. As such, I’m excited to discuss how we hope to aid in the growth and success of our industry.
It is the goal of the APP, and hopefully the goal of everyone in our community, to foster inclusivity and diversity. With that goal in mind, the
APP has added several new classes, roundtables, and TalkAPP sessions to our 2019 Conference. These courses are intended to highlight diverse perspectives and ideas, provide education about the challenges faced by people of color in our industry, and discuss actionable steps we can take to minimize those challenges.
In addition, the APP has added the following language to our Member’s Code of Conduct:
“I agree to provide a work environment that is free from harassment, bigotry, and discrimination. I will not discriminate or harass employees or clientele based upon an individual’s sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, size, race, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, age (except where legally required), religion, ability, or any other legally protected characteristic(s).
“Declining to perform a piercing on an individual (who has provided legally required valid identification) based on minimum age requirements, anatomy viability assessment, or potential health complications is not considered a violation of the APP Code of Conduct, unless it is done to explicitly discriminate against a legally protected characteristic. Refraining from piercing when there is a reasonable risk that the piercing will fail or result in complications is considered appropriate, safe, and ethical piercing practice.”
The APP will continue to expand our educational offerings and improve pre-existing classes at our annual Conference. In addition, we will continue to broaden the scope of our online courses; it is imperative that we offer a wide variety of options for education, so that all individuals looking to learn are able to do so regardless of distance or financial concerns. Furthermore, as sister organizations spring up around the globe, we will do everything we can to assist these colleagues in nurturing their organizations and developing educational materials.
I am truly excited to see what our industry’s jewelry manufacturers and other suppliers deliver in the coming years. I am in awe of the high-quality, innovative creations our sponsors have produced in the past 25 years, and I think we are all looking forward to seeing what they have in store in the next quarter century.
Finally, as the APP’s educational mission continues to succeed, I expect to see further growth in our membership. In the last three years alone, we have seen membership increase by more than double. Our next big benchmark will be one thousand APP Members from all over the world!
The future has some big things in store for our community, and I can’t wait to see what we accomplish! Excelsior!
The Point – Issue 86
- FROM THE EDITORS — FAREWELL, KENDRA
- THE PRESIDENT’S CORNER
- OFFICE UPDATE-MEET OUR NEW BOARD
- THE BPA PRESENTS FAKIR MUSAFAR
- SOCIAL CHANGE WITHIN THE INDUSTRY
- COMMUNICATING SCIENCE
- LEARNING TO LOVE THE TASTE OF FIRE
- BUILDING AN EMPIRE
- FACES OF THE FUTURE
- STUDIO BUILDING & RENOVATION BASICS
- BIOMATERIALS & TRUSTWORTHY SOURCES
Point 85: RuAPP
by Arseniy Andersson
While things have come a long way in the United States, in many places all over the world the professional piercing industry is only at the beginning. Russia is one of them. Traditionally, Russians are kept away from American community. Why? Well, it is not a big secret that there is political tension between the United States and Russia, so for common citizens it isn’t easy to get a visa to travel to the US.
I think in the whole history of the APP, only two or three piercers from Russia have attended an APP Conference, this is likely due to a combination of low Russian economy, language barriers, expensive flights, and poor industry standards (in Russia) that all play a part. So, this year we are so excited that we were able to hold the first and second of what we hope to be many of our own conferences, read on to find out more about the RuAPP and our Conference!
I would like to give credit to fellow piercer Ruben Lew, and his article about LBP as I used it as a template for my article. .
RuAPP was officially established in November of 2017, but was conceived long before that date. We currently stand at 24 members. Requirements are significantly different than for the APP, but RuAPP has a 3-year member requirement rising plan (like the UKAPP has hi, fellows!), which is going to bring RuAPP to APP standards (slow and steady wins the race).
Our first RuAPP conference was held in Moscow in January of 2018, where 60 Russian-speaking piercers gathered from all over Europe. The second RuAPP conference was held only 7 months later due to overwhelming interest form local piercers so eager to learn. Hosted once again in Moscow, attendance nearly doubled to 110 people, 95 of which were piercers, including APP Board Members, Cody Vaughn and Brian Skellie, APP Business Members, Sergi Tinaut from Spain and Javier Retamal from Chile, who all taught 2-3 classes at our Conference. Overall, 25 classes and several live demonstrations were taught over the three day period of RuAPP #2. Eight vendors were present in the conference expo area, including companies such as Industrial Strength and Auris Jewellery. Also there we saw other crucial things as Katana Needles and even Statims!
We would like to show thankfulness to the APP for all of their help in ensuring we had a successful Conference.
Both conferences to date have been predominantly Russian-speaking, and lectures have had translations, but the next one is to become international in a fuller sense and have at least half of the classes taught in English with no translation. From now on we plan to have annual conferences and you can visit RuAPP #3 from June 18-22th, 2019 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. So save the date!
From the very beginning of the first conference, I realised that we had changed the game in Russia. Lots of old piercers who were “enemies” before were sitting at one table together right in front of me with no drama, no fights, no insults. Lots of new piercers who were unknown before the Conference and a bit shy to come out from the shadows showed themselves. I had no idea we have so many piercers interested learning! At that moment I understood that we’re doing our work correctly. There is no better motivation in this world than seeing a result that was supposed to be impossible!
I was really happy to have our first foreign speakers it was a totally new organizing experience to me! I think you all understand that for many of us, conference is not only a temple of Forever Learning, but a social hub full of friends and dedicated inspiring people! Lots of attendees found a huge source of motivation and inspiration and I could read it on their faces!
My personal view on our industry is that piercers are the kind of people who are not just making holes in a safe manner; we are more than that. What I intend to do within my piercing career is to solve clients’ troubles, and inspire them to change their lives for the better! The feeling of thankfulness I receive back is an unbelievable source of my inner motivation. During the conference, I think of all the piercers as my clients who I want to inspire. What we did gives me inspirational feedback and huge motivation to do it even better. After conference I have no post-conference depression, I’m running around full of projects and ideas along with energy as do a lot of other piercers and RuAPP organizers!
Of course, not everything goes according to plan and we make mistakes. There were issues with translations, issues with sound system; but no critical mistakes happened. We can analyse and improve our event planning to make the next one even better, same as we all analyse and learn how to do each piercing better.
I can’t as we start preparing the third RuAPP. For now I will have to do with the warm feelings I get while thinking of all those friends I met at APP, GEP, LBP, BMXNet, YouModify and UKAPP, who wished us luck and who want to come to Russia in 2019!
As know my opinions about the success of our Conference are likely biased so please read what some of our attendees had to say;
Cody Vaughn: Having the opportunity to attend and teach at RuAPP this year was an absolute pleasure and an honor.
The attendees and other speakers were incredibly nice and very eager to learn. The classes I attended were very insightful and it was great to see where Russia was at with their current piercing techniques and practices. Seeing and hearing so many similarities to what I have encountered at conferences such as APP and LBP popping up at RuAPP really made me proud to see how far and wide the piercing industry has become.
I sincerely thank everybody I got to meet and interact with. The RuAPP attendees and speakers were a pleasure to spend the week with, both teaching and learning. I wish you many more successful conferences in the future.
Brian Skellie: Thanks to the RuAPP for an enthusiastic and curious experience as a speaker and participant. I would be pleased to return in 2019 if you’ll have me. Overall, the conference seemed well put together with a balance of educational and social interaction. I arrived to the St. Scalpelburg shop in Moscow to the lovely view of Yuri Gagarin’s golden statue who welcomed me along with the smiles of friendly fellow speakers, organizers, and participants. The uncertainty that preceded about my visa, my travel arrangements, and my unfamiliarity with the language faded quickly. By the time we got to the event location, many productive conversations were started, and the group was dynamic and involved.
The presentations were a high quality and seemed well received despite a few complexities with translation. The questions and feedback addressed felt useful and impactful on many levels, towards a shiny future.
The vendors brought an impressive quantity of attractive jewelry designs, quite aware of the industry trends in precious metals and minerals. Their generosity to the raffle was greatly appreciated. APP Board Members, Cody Vaughn and I, were able to donate two of our full conference passes for 2019 in Las Vegas for two fortunate piercers Lala and Yuliana.
Javier Retamal: I had the great honor of being invited to do classes in Russia for the first time in my life. I felt completely happy to meet many people with the same passion that I can find every time I go to Brazil or Mexico; people looking to grow as professionals and at the same time as human beings. I always felt very welcome and with certainty RuAPP is going to be one of the best conferences in this part of the world!
Postscriptum: If you ever want to explore a new exotic destination and combine it with shopping or selling jewelry, taking or teaching classes, feel free to contact RuAPP international liaison, Arseniy Andersson, and remember: it is bad manners to keep an adventure waiting!