Posts tagged ThePoint

Creative Innovator Award 2023 Queen Of The Ashes

August 20, 2023 Comments Off read Awards & Recognition, Conference, Industry History

***Queen of the Ashes award winning design “Kwaidan.” Picture by @connorfornow***

At this year’s APP Conference, Queen of the Ashes won the Creative Innovators Award for their design “Kwaidan.” We had the opportunity to talk to Hika K, the owner of Queen of the Ashes, to discuss her award winning design and her company.

The Point Blog: Congratulations on your Innovative Award win, Hika! Your company, Queen of the Ashes, has been gaining a lot of popularity lately and your newest earring design was a hit at this years APP Conference. We also saw quite a few folks wearing other pieces from your company during this year’s Conference. How are you feeling?

Queen of the Ashes: Thank you so much! Honestly, I am still quite overwhelmed. Last years APP Conference went already well, but this years positive feedback, especially after winning the Innovators Award, still feels quite surreal. I am incredibly happy that people love my designs and it still makes me giddy every time I see somebody wearing my jewelry.

The Point Blog: Tell us more about your company and when you started designing such interesting pieces.

Queen of the Ashes: I started Queen of the Ashes in 2019, but the first design – The Scavenger Queen – had been on my mind since 2016, as well as a few other pieces. I found it quite hard to find any reputable jewelry company making ear weights representing my more crust-punky taste. The main push I needed was my significant other convincing me to just dive in and bring the punk aesthetics back into the piercing industry.

The Point Blog: Have you had to face many challenges in the industry with your new company right before the pandemic? Did you face other challenges being based in Germany?

Queen of the Ashes: Somewhat yes, somewhat no. I would say, the greatest challenge was starting off right before Covid hit and the world slowed down, so our customer base could not grow as fast as I would have wished. On the other hand, this gave me the opportunity to slow down and carefully perfect the designs I had in my mind. Of course, being located in Europe has been tricky, especially when travel was not an option, which made it impossible to show off my designs besides when being at a guest piercing guest spot; most German studios would not invest in a small, nearly unknown German brand for ear weights, as the top studios we have usually tend to rather invest into gold. And even after the world opened again, having a booth at APP for the first time was probably far more organizational work than it would be for a company from the States or from Canada. But of course I can’t compare how things would have been if I would have started my company in another country.

The Point Blog: Do you find your pieces to be more popular at home than in other parts of the world?

Queen of the Ashes: I definitely noticed that my designs tend to fare better on the US market, not only when it comes to wholesale clients, but also when it comes to orders on the retail side. This seems to be usual with ear weights in general though, as I hear often that ear weights don’t move much in German studios for example – so the pieces my wholesale customers prefer in Germany are those for traditional earrings.

The Point Blog: We’ve noticed that many of your pieces are limited and those limited pieces seem to be in high demand! Do you plan on continuing to keep things exclusive?

Queen of the Ashes: Yes, definitely! I love the idea of exclusivity and the collectability of jewelry, but since I prefer to keep an accessible price point I decided on achieving the first point through the limitation of designs. While I regularly make limited designs like the Hunters and the Aliens, with the former being sold out since this year’s APP Conference, I plan on keeping the amount of designs I offer small, so some pieces from the first year will eventually have to go too. At the same time we have a few one off pieces, as most of the stone combinations for the Feral Children for example will not be repeated.

The Point Blog: Tell us a bit about what gave you the idea to create your winning design.

Queen of the Ashes: I am honestly not sure. I had a loose idea of this design already 10 years ago, but I am pretty sure that the main inspiration had been the J-Horror-Movies I watched as a young teenager, as well as many other Japanese ghost stories I read over the years (and still am reading). I remember staying in a house in Japan years back, and on the ceiling of the closet a board was slid open so we got a glimpse into the attic. I couldn’t shake the idea of waking up in the night and the moonlight shining in, to illuminate hair hanging down through this opening. As I said, watching too many of those movies, and then that image lead to hair hanging on earrings. And of course traditional tatami flooring belonged into every Japanese ghost story in my eyes, which is why I chose that pattern for the brass part of our “Kwaidan” ear weights.

*“Kwaidan” designed by Queen of the Ashes. Picture by @connorfornow*

The Point Blog: Who knew that one moment in time would inspire the creation such a beautiful earring design! Do you feel that how you find inspiration for your pieces is what separates Queen of the Ashes from other competitors who may be offering comparable designs?

Queen of the Ashes: I would say the main difference would be that many of my designs are quite niche, with many of them being wearable art than designs which fit into a wider audience. I consider Queen of the Ashes my playground, so I don’t always think about what may be selling in big quantities but rather what I think may be cool. I don’t think of other jewelry designers as competitors though; I rather consider us all as fellow artists, many of whom I look up to and whose work I adore.

The Point Blog: Where else does your inspiration come from? Who inspires you?

Queen of the Ashes: I sometimes wonder that myself. Many of my ideas just visualize in front of me, as I tend to think in pictures. So some pieces just seem to have existed in me; some are homages to literature or movies which I love. Some pieces have been requested by customers, with me mainly giving them the shape to make the idea wearable. There is also a small handful of designs either developed by friends or my significant other which are even more fun to work with than the ones I develop alone, since we all share the creative input, we are sticking our heads together to perfect those ones.

The Point Blog: What can we expect to see next from Queen of the Ashes?

Queen of the Ashes: First of all, a new website bringing together the retail and wholesale shop with an easier user surface that hopefully we will launch in late autumn or winter. There are also a lot of new designs in production, most of them going more into the direction of mythology, obviously many more pieces with popcultural references, but, what I am mostly excited for, are new alternatives for wearing surfaces to combine with hanging designs. Similar to our Ties that Bind, I am playing around with fun new ways for my customers to make their own individual jewelry combinations.

Find Queen of the Ashes online!
Website: http://queenoftheashesjewelry.de
Instagram: @queenoftheashes_jewelry
Email: queenofashesjewelry@gmail.com

Innovator Award 2023 Regalia Jewelry

August 5, 2023 Comments Off read Awards & Recognition, From the Editor, Industry History

***Regalia’s Innovative Award winning design “Pin Crimp.”***

At this year’s APP Conference, Regalia won the Innovator’s Award for their “Pin Crimp” design. We were fortunate enough to have a chat with the owner of Regalia, Derrick Edward R. and asked him about his latest invention and his beginnings in the industry.

The Point: Congratulations on your win in the Innovators Award. You also won the Best Single Booth award at the APP Conference this year. You all must be very excited!

Regalia: Thank you! It was a bit of a surprise when I got a text message saying we won both awards (we didn’t attend the closing party). To be honest, I think we should have won the best booth award last year; Some people might remember the reliquary that the Regalia crew spent weeks working on with “Sadima” the mummy empress. It was a bit of an upset, so this year, we’d intentionally planned a much simpler approach and wanted to focus on sales and operation. We all kind of joked to ourselves because we thought we were thrown a bone this year because whoever felt bad we didn’t win last year. In any case, it feels good to have hard work acknowledged.

The Point: What inspired you to create this concept and how does it set itself apart from similar concepts?

Regalia: We’d always had the thought of, “Ya know it’d be really cool if there was a specific tool that bent our threadless pins in a way that didn’t sacrifice the integrity of the pin itself so there would be less breakage” Then that turned into… “Imagine if we could get customers to be able to change their jewelry out on their own so they can focus on building their jewelry wardrobe without having to wait in line at their local piercing studio just to get something changed out.”

When the pandemic happened, it became, “All these people with threadless jewelry sitting at home that can’t go into their local piercings studios.” During normal times, we can definitely appreciate the human to human interaction and experience of going into a piercing studio to ogle and jewelry, purchase, and have it put in… But we also have found value in turning the ‘necessity’ of piercer assistance vs. ‘convenience’ of piercer assistance when it comes to having jewelry changed out. While we always recommend clients visit their piercers to make sure their piercings have healed correctly and are healthy, there’s something to be said about giving the power and confidence to the client to work with their own accessories. It also helps facilitate the move toward eCommerce as studios become more open to selling threadless jewelry in their online stores.

The design itself is meant to provide a consistent and desired result. We understood that the pliers could be used by an extremely WIDE range of people, whether piercers or “end-wearers” as we like to call them. The brilliance of our first prototype was that no matter how hard you squeezed the pliers, they would bend the pin in same exact way, the same exact amount. There’s only one other pair of pliers that are currently sold as dedicated threadless pin pliers, but we haven’t seen too much success in our industry with the use of them. Ultimately our goal is to make them so easy to use, that they become a no-brainer in needing to have them if preserving threadless jewelry is important! Many people have used other pliers in non-intended ways to bend pins with success, but we want people not to have to figure anything out. We’ll do that for you. ;D

The Point: We think this design is really neat! Is this tool a one-off creation or do you have plans to create more tools in the future?

Regalia: That’s a really good question. I suppose it depends on the success of this tool. I imagine that there will different versions of the final product of our Pin Crimp. Anyone else have any ideas?

The Point: Regalia has been around for some time and is widely known as a body jewelry company. Tell us more about yourself and the history of your company.

Regalia: Haa! I actually started out as a replacement counter-hire. This was in 2014 and at the time I was working in management at a large cosmetics company. No experience in jewelry whatsoever, other than wearing it, of course. One of my regular customers was Lysa Taylor, who at the time was the main piercer at Industrial Tattoo & Piercing in Berkeley. At this point, I’d already gone up and down and plateaued in the company I was with, so one day when Lysa came in to stock up on some facial moisturizer, I said, “Hey, you guy hiring over there?”… I suppose the timing of everything worked out. I am and have always believed that things happen for a reason. To make a long story short… I went from the top of the totem pole at this corporate company to scrubbing toilets, taking out the garbage, and cleaning up after bums outside of this piercing studio off of Dwight and Telegraph in Berkeley. Albeit, one that I’d frequented for years. I’d learned a lot about the industry in those first couple of years. Safe practices, jewelry types, sizes, materials. It was a HUGE growing point for everyone and everything and the studio and the industry in general. Social media wasn’t even a thing, yet. Nobody was taking good photos of jewelry and regularly posting to platforms like Instagram. Shortly after starting, I took over their social media and started experimenting with composition of how to post jewelry to look good and fun. I became fascinated with how light bounced off certain facets and textures of some of the designs. Having a knack for picking up and learning computer software, it wasn’t long before I’d downloaded CAD freeware to begin playing with 3D shapes and realizing my own designs.

One of the biggest bottle necks in A to Z shop operation was the amount of time it took to get jewelry from our manufacturers. We were selling jewelry faster than we could get it in our displays. I told Todd, co-owner of Industrial Tattoo & Piercing, “Dude, why don’t we just MAKE OUR OWN JEWELRY”… So we did. And literally, not knowing anything about production or manufacturing, we knew what we needed for our clients, we knew we wanted to work with gold, and we knew we had the energy to figure out the rest. I incorporated in 2015, and it’s been a huge creative endeavor since then. And definitely the most challenging experience of my life. I’ve worked alongside very talented and industrious people in this industry and have done my best to absorb as much as I possibly can. When people say they put their blood, sweat, and tears into something… I quite literally know exactly what that means. I tell people all the time that the main reason why I started Regalia was because I just wanted to make things… What people don’t see or understand is just how difficult it is to start, run, and maintain a gold body jewelry company that doesn’t outsource production to other countries, in the state of California. Proud to say we’re about 99.9% in-house production at the cost of sleepless nights and sound mind. I’ve gotta say, it does make it worth it when people see, appreciate, and share those values with others and go on to wear our designs.

The Point: Regalia has some very interesting and unique pieces. How do you stay ahead of the game when there are so many similar types of companies?

Regalia: I’ve heard we’ve got a distinct ‘look’ from some of our clients. This is a fun compliment for us, for sure. In my mind, staying “ahead” of the game is a little bit of a trap. It’s a type of hamster wheel that we’ve got one foot on and one foot off. Something that I think Regalia has started to achieve, kind of accidentally, is creating a type of new-classic? If I could say that as cliche as it sounds. When I design something, part of me is concerned that it’ll look cheap or that it may in the future “look like its trying too hard”. Timelessness, in my opinion, is hugely important and probably comes from my own rebellion against a system that feeds off of “Oooh whats the next new thing?”, but how do you create something or a brand that isn’t typecast into someone else’s trash box? I actually think about this a lot and realize I’m overthinking it, I shake it off, and just keep moving forward. What you see in our production line is the result of that thought process. Another thing that I consider is what something will look like at different distances and how different textures break up and distribute light. Many designs don’t translate that well depending on where the observer is observing from. Many don’t know realize this, but the designs we have for sale are literally JUST A FRACTION of the designs that most of which haven’t made it to our production line. I have folders and folders and folders of literally hundreds of design files that are unfinished, or have been finished, but that never made it to cast.

And while yes, there are a lot of smaller gold body jewelry companies popping up every single year, a part of me naturally experiences concern, but then I remember how we started, our principles, how we make things, where we make them, and why we make them comprises the unique fingerprint that is Regalia. Design-led jewelry purchasing is a big hook, but people need to know that they aren’t just buying something that shines a specific way. They’re buying a brand, they’re buying our crew, and they’re buying our values. When I talk about Regalia I notice that I get very passionate about these things as I believe it’s up to us as manufacturers to enrich our industry and educate our clients and their clients to retain the values of what they adorn themselves with. And while it’s very possible to get washed up in these fickle trends, I’ve never wanted for Regalia to outgrow our principles; This has proven to be one of our biggest challenges, but one that is at the core of who we are. These other companies will experience their own hardships like we have and still do and if they’re still around after all is said and done, and they’ve added value to the industry instead of just profited off of it, what more can be said than, “Welcome to the players circle”. I still feel like we’re outsiders achieving our stripes. Not sure if or when that feeling will ever go away, but whenever I see a beautiful photo taken of someone wearing our jewelry in a different part of the world, those stripes feel tiny.

The Point: Where does your inspiration come from when creating your designs? Is there someone or something that inspires you?

Regalia: My inspirations come from really everywhere… pictures, paintings, architecture, the occasional *cough* video game, nature, and of course suggestions from the Regalia crew and colleagues in or out of the industry… there have even been times that the NAME of the design inspired and came before the finished piece. Imagine that. Philosophy is also a huge inspiration to me. There have been moments where the meaning of words have inspired the look of certain designs. There’s literally no shortage of inspiration or creative energy that can be found in this industry, so a bigger challenge is finding the time to dedicate to bring things to fruition. As far as WHO inspires me? The industrious inspires me. There isn’t even one specific person, but more so the TYPE of person that inspires me is the ‘doer’. Anyone can have the next brilliant idea. Those are all a dime a dozen. The type of person that inspires me is the person that can execute their idea and see it through to its completion with intentional focus and vigor. Focus and dedication are two qualities that I consistently find in the people that I’m inspired by. These kinds of people are rare. I’m sure if you’re reading this, you can think of someone in your life that is like this. Keep them close, learn from them, and if you want to help those around you, BE THAT PERSON.

The Point: Do you have any fresh ideas that we might see around the innovators booth at next year’s APP conference?

Regalia: Currently, I’m focused on getting our Pin Crimp re-designed and manufactured. That said, we might try for the creative innovator’s award if that’s being run again. We’ve got some designs up our sleeves.

The Point: Do you have any other plans for the future? What can we expect to see from Regalia next?

Regalia: We do have plans of more limited drops and one-off designs. So keep an eye open for those!

Find Regalia Jewelry on the web!
Website: https://regalia.jewelry/
Instagram: @regalia.jewelry

Point 89: Gentian Violet Concerns & Alternatives

August 18, 2020 Comments Off read Editorial, Features, Issue 89, Medical, News, Questions & Answers, Science & Body Modifications

Piercers in Canada were recently informed by Health Canada that they were not allowed to use products containing gentian violet.1 A recall was put in place due to a link to cancer risk. At least one manufacturer voluntarily discontinued sales of their products and their license was cancelled.

Continue reading →

Point 89: Grupo de Estudos de Piercing (GEP)

August 17, 2020 Comments Off read Events, International, Issue 89, News, Other Conferences

Bethrah Szumski

Brazil! That’s all I could think about for months before I went. This would be my first time to the country and that idea is always super exciting to me. I first met André Fernandes in Mexico for LBP and had been hearing news of the organization and event in South America. There was much discussion about the difficulty, financial and practical for South Americans to get to the US and Mexico for education. When I started looking at tickets, that made a lot of sense. The flight to Sao Paulo was nine hours. It’s pricey and requires a lot of extra work to bring in foreign language speakers from the US. It’s a real honor to get that invitation.

Sao Paulo is grimy and amazing. Unlike many places I’ve visited, every place I went to shop took credit cards. Maybe more practical than carrying cash? The petty crime rate is off the hook. I was never worried about my safety at any moment though. The first day was only really about FOOD. Delicious food plus more delicious food. Small groups, big groups, food, food, food. Of course, I had sprained my ankle within ten minutes of arrival so part of the day was an exploration of the Brazilian pharmacy. The only thing better than a grocery store in a new country is a pharmacy. SO many strange items I can’t read the labels on. I found some good (non-narcotic) meds that would see me through. I had to repeat this mission homebound for the head cold I got at the end. Travel while you’re young folks: it’ll kick your butt!

Buses gathered to take the whole attendee group to the venue in the afternoon of the next day. The drive was beautiful. Jungles, mountains, and waterfalls the whole way to the beach. The venue is a quaint beach resort during off season. The beach was right across the street. It rained most of the week, but it hardly mattered. The place was lovely. Orchids everywhere and jungle noises really made me feel how different of a place I was in.

The set up felt super relaxed, but the organizers were on top of everything. They did this thing that I found super interesting from an organizational perspective. First let me qualify with the fact that a lot can fall down that will affect whether a speaker can do a good class. This has created a bit of hyper vigilance for me and some other travel educators I know. Things like, will there be a computer? Some events are so loose you never know just what to expect. So, here is the thing I really enjoyed. They managed all things with no sense of urgency. Normally, I would consider this with concern. No need, it was just good planning. There was an AV person available at all times to help with anything. Even with a language barrier everyone was SO amazingly helpful. Meals were set up buffet style and really nice. Vegan options for each, including dessert.

The sentiment that “the people in my town won’t buy gold” is time and again proving to be false. The expo boasted quite a few gold jewelers that work exclusively for the South American market. Importing from the US can be quite problematic. I’m generally impressed by companies that have a clear vision of what they are doing and for whom. It was great to see a lot of support from bigger companies as well.

If you know me, you know I’m a talker. Even so, I find some things quite difficult to express. One of those things about this event was how very impressed I was with the organizers André and his partner, Tati. Everything I could think to say just seemed sappy. Really though, I’m a fan. These guys really put together an amazing event. The things they do to help people come to the event just blew my mind. There is an eye for the big picture of piercing in South America. It’s the ONLY event I’ve EVER been to where female identified piercers well outnumber the men. While I was still one of the very few female speakers, I’m confident that will change quickly in Brazil. There was a unity and mindset amongst these women that I can only describe as FIERCE. Also, a big thank you to Roberta, the event interpreter. It’s one thing to stand a few hours to teach over the week. Another to stand, translating new ideas, in real time all day, every day.

Point 89: UKAPP Review

August 17, 2020 Comments Off read Events, International, Issue 89, News, Other Conferences, Sister Organization

W. Barron

As I sit here in the airport waiting to start my nine-hour flight back home, I reflect about how it is still so surreal to me that merely four days ago I traveled 4,000 miles to attend my first UKAPP conference in Manchester, UK. Prior to me making this trek I had never been off the continent before or instructed a class solo. Let me tell you this was one of my most enjoyable experiences at a conference I’ve had. I expect that this is what it must have been like for the early days of the APP Conference.

Held at the Radisson Blu Edwardian in Manchester, England, the hotel was gorgeous and not what it seems from the street. According to the hotel’s website, it is set inside the historic Grade II-listed Free Trade Hall, one of the UK’s oldest and most iconic buildings. The fifth annual conference was on the fourth floor that has one main lobby area and three classrooms total. While the room prices were a little high, the hotel was central to some more affordable options, which is great for attendees that may be on a tighter budget in their travels. Nonetheless, the interior of the hotel and conference were modern and updated to suit the needs for the UKAPP’s fast-growing event for this year and the next.

One of Cale’s classes.
Photo by Cale Difrancesco

The conference was very simplistic in function, with no computers in use. To sign in you just go up to the registration desk and show your identification and proof that you are industry affiliated. They look for you on a printed list, check your name off, hand you a blank conference badge to handwrite your name down, then you move down the line to pick whatever badge ribbons suit you best and then off you go to start your three days of learning. All classes were on a first come first serve basis. At the time of the class, you just jumped in the line that was forming at that specific classroom. When the doors opened, you entered the room and gave the volunteer your name, which was then checked off at the door on a printed list with all the attendees’ names on it again, so you got the credit for attending the class.

“The engagement was refreshing for me and showed that we are all truly teachers and learners in this industry, no matter if you have six months or 20+ years experience.”

Each day started with a morning class at around 10 am 11 am, then afterwards an hour lunch break for the attendees, preceded by an hour lunch for the vendors at the expo. It was definitely a different change of pace to have time built into the day to not have to worry about how you were going to eat without missing any classes. The rest of the class day lasted until about 6 pm. After lunch is when the bulk of the classes were scheduled; it was very difficult to decide what to attend as there were so many phenomenal classes to choose from.

Cale DiFrancesco (APP Board Member), Charlie Remy LeBeau (UKAPP Board Member), and David Osborne (UKAPP Board Member). Photo by Cale DiFrancesco, APP Outreach Liaison

The class that I had the pleasure of teaching for the first time was Versatility of Needle Blanks. The idea for the class was to introduce needle blanks and various ways you can apply them to be an effective disposable tool in your studio. I covered what a needle blank and transfer pin were, and several the ways the attendees are able to use them into disposable clamps. The feedback that I have received from the organizers has told me that my class was well received and really got the gears turning for a lot of piercers that attended the conference. By no means was my class the pinnacle of the conference. Other great classes that were offered include the following, just to name a few.

Cannula vs. Needles
PA FUNdaments
Lumps and Bumps
Aseptic Technique
Self Care for the Happy Piercer
Building your UKAPP studio
Introduction to High-End Jewellery
Jewellery and Studio Presentation
Sexuality and Body Piercing
Doubles, Triples and Beyond
Ear Complexity

Overall the conference came in at 126 attendees with 12 vendors. It was amazing and ran very smoothly. The vibes were calm, cool, and collective. The list of educators and instructors were fantastic, every one of them had passion you could see reflecting through each of their presentations. My favorite part about the whole conference was the attendees; everyone was very welcoming, kind, eager to listen and learn about what every instructor—including myself—had to say or teach. The engagement was refreshing for me and showed that we are all truly teach ers and learners in this industry, no matter if you have six months or 20+ years experience. I can’t wait to see what the UKAPP comes up with for this event in 2020. I would highly recommend this conference to any piercer, new or old, looking to experience something new in their career.

Nikki Proctor, Helen Houghton, & Lola Slider
—Source: *@boldandgoldpiercingart*
**on Instagram**

Point 89: Camp APP Review

August 17, 2020 Comments Off read Camp, Events, Issue 89, Uncategorized

Angel Horsley

Photos by April Thomas

Carl Kimberly takes a moment between activities and classes to reflect by the pond.

I had the pleasure of attending the 5th annual Camp APP this past year in Oregon. Usually, this event is held in Georgia, however, Bethrah Szumski decided to go above and beyond and organize this event entirely on the other side of the country! I honestly can’t thank her enough for facilitating what was one of the best experiences of my life.

Matthew Masterton, Ryan Tantay, (back, Aaron Solomon and Kelly Carvara), Jay Johnson, and Cale DiFrancesco

It was held at Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp right outside of Portland, Oregon, so it was a very easy and scenic drive for me. The weather was exactly what I hoped to get camping in Oregon humid, cold, and rainy. These conditions may not sound super ideal for some, but it was MORE than perfect for me. Any walk or hike that I was a part of was just gorgeous. Moss was everywhere, there was a waterfall not far, and I was in my element.

A group collaborates during a Needle Improvement techniques
workshop discussion led by Becky Dill

Where do I even start with this amazing experience? The beginning of the first day was intense for me; mainly because there was an opportunity to introduce yourself in front of everyone at Camp. I’ve always opted out of things like this, so this made it nerve-racking for me. That said, I did it and this paved the way for an incredible week actually making new friends and memories. My personal goal was to not hide in my room the entire time like I do at Conference and actually start being able to integrate myself into our giant piercing family.

Directional sign at Mt. Hood
Kiwanas Camp

All of the classes were so fun and constantly kept my attention with intriguing information. I’ll start with my favorite class, Charging Windmills and Slaying Sacred Cows with Jef Saunders. This class was impressive in its goal and execution. Cale DiFrancesco is an aesthetic genius and had a million tips and tricks on achieving your goal results for multiple piercing placements.

The workshops were well planned out and very fun to be a part of because of how hands-on they were. Rob Hill helped me get over being a little spooked by polishing wheels. Pablo Perelmuter showed us things about Statim cassettes that I went home and immediately applied to our cassette at our studio. I love improving/modifying needles, so it should go without saying that Becky Dill’s Needle Improvement workshop was my favorite. John Johnson, Cale DiFrancesco, and April Thomas’s workshop for Web Design, Content Sharing, and Email Newsletters definitely opened my mind to ways to appeal and be seen by my local community. We also had a team-building exercise where each group got on a huge seesaw and you’re supposed to stay balanced at all times while other people get on. My group was the only group that crawled onto it to make it work. I truly don’t understand how the other groups stood up the whole time.

Randy and the Crushers discuss team strategy as they prepare for the Piercing Ninja Warrior competition.

Monica Sabin is an absolute angel. They came up with the idea to put together the Piercing Ninja Warrior Relay Race. This race was so much fun and I’m not just saying that because I was on the winning team (Goldemorts 4 lyfe). It was very dead on with the tasks that we deal with on a day to day basis being piercers. I have awful social anxiety (bless everyone involved for their patience), anyone that knows me can tell you that. This race showed me that my peers are just people and I shouldn’t be so intimidated to make those connections with them and just be myself.

Monica Sabin prepares to see their idea for the Piercing Ninja Warrior competition come to life for the first time.

Each night ended with something very fun that involved everyone. The first night was bingo, the second night was a Campfire Talk APP session, and the third night was a raffle and closing ceremony. The Campfire session with John Johnson, Bethrah Szumski, and Paul King was such an eye-opening experience. I wish I could thank them more than I already have for sharing themselves with so many people. The closing ceremony was essentially a follow up on your introduction at the beginning of the week and if you got what you wanted out of Camp. A lot of people got way more out of camp than they intended and it was lovely hearing everyone’s experiences. There were so many feelings during the closing ceremony and I thank everyone that shared themselves.

Matt Bavougian rests after serving delicious home cooked food for all 70+ Campers

The last thing I want to express my gratitude for: the food. Everything that was made was delicious and incredibly accommodating to anyone with dietary restrictions. Seriously, I ate better this week than I have all year. After going back and forth on attending Camp, I’m so happy I did. I will see y’all every year I can because Camp is not something I’m willing to skip anymore. Thank you again to everyone involved in facilitating such a life-changing event.

Pablo Perelmuter explains Statim cassette maintenance to a small group during a workshop discussion

Point 89: POC Scholarship Update

August 17, 2020 Comments Off read Awards & Recognition, Issue 89

Keiana “Kookie” Lynn

With the support of 64 community members, we raised $4,555.53 to give 7 piercers the opportunity to attend the Association of Professional Piercers Conference. Eduardo Chavarria, Miro Hernandez, and myself are proud to support with continued education, along their piercing journeys.

Aaron May
Angie Ortiz
Anthony Lewis
Deron Carter
Frances Sesay
Jose Zuniga
Kay Warren

With the rise of COVID-19 and the cancellation of the upcoming Association of Professional Piercers Conference, we intend to continue supporting recipients by honoring 2020 scholarships in 2021. Conference admission tickets will remain booked, while rooms and flights will be re-booked, when possible. In the event that a recipient is no longer piercing in 2021, their resources will be forfeited to the next qualifying applicant.

For further questions or concerns, please email KonnichiwaKookie@gmail.com.

Point 89: Membership Committee Update

August 14, 2020 Comments Off read Issue 89, Membership, News

APP Membership Corner—Series 2

Membership Committee

Monica Sabin, Membership Liaison
Pablo Perelmuter, Membership Coordinator
W. Barron
Sabrina Egan
Johnny Velez
Cody Vaughn
Cozmo Whitest
Kristina Outland
Marina Pecorino, Membership Administrator

In Issue 88, we discussed tips to help prospective members through the application process. Since then, we have begun training two new membership committee volunteers Cozmo Whitest and Kristina Outland. In addition to training on application processing, they have been helping us with managing compliance documents for current Members of the APP.

WHAT IS COMPLIANCE?

In order to maintain your membership with the APP, you must provide us with certain information to keep your file current and your membership in good standing. This information includes the following criteria:

Spore test results—each autoclave must be spore tested at least monthly
Bloodborne Pathogen training*—renewed annually regardless of certificate expiration date
CPR—annually or until expiration date on certificate
First Aid—every three years or until expiration date on certificate

* If you’ve taken the APP’s Bloodborne Pathogens course through Litmos, you will still need to upload the certificate to your Member Profile. These are two different servers and are not connected

Annual membership certificates are sent to the address on-file when annual dues are paid and membership is in good standing. To participate in elections—by nominating or voting, as well as running for a Board position—requires that your compliance documents are up to date. You can do this by logging into the safepiercing.org Member Area and verifying that your Membership Requirements (BBP, First Aid, CPR, and Spore Tests) are on file and up-to-date and your membership dues have been paid.

KEEP US UPDATED

Remodeled your studio? Relocated to a different studio? If your situation has changed, keep us in the loop. This allows us to keep your membership record accurate and make sure you are displayed properly on our Member Directory.

We currently give you up to sixty days to make us aware of these changes. You can update us of any changes by sending an email to members@safepiercing.org or to our Membership Administrator at mpecorino@safepiercing.org.

TRAVELING & ADVERTISING YOUR MEMBERSHIP

Whether you are a full time traveling piercer or just enjoy the occasional work vacation, many of us have taken to traveling and piercing at different studios around the world. It is awe inspiring to see our industry grow into this network of piercers that can work almost anywhere, serving clients all over. As an APP Member, it is important to know how traveling plays into advertising your membership.

“When the membership logo is used, it must be used in a way that clearly shows the membership belongs to the individual, not the studio. While membership belongs to the individual, APP membership is dependent upon adherence to not only the personal criteria set forth by the Association, but also the current environmental standards in which the Member operates. Therefore, individual membership is only recognized and advertisable when operating in a studio environment that has been reviewed by the APP to meet standards and has current APP Business Members on staff.”

Point 89: From the Body Piercing Archive, 2019

August 14, 2020 Comments Off read Body Piercing Archives, Features, In Memorium, Industry History, Issue 89, News

Dustin Allor

This past summer we lost a most iconic and beloved member of the body piercing community. It is hard to imagine what the landscape of the piercing industry would look like without Fakir Musafar. He was part of the group who brought body piercing into mainstream western culture from underground society in the 1970s. Fakir inspired countless people to become piercers, taught the skill to approximately 2,000 attendees of his piercing workshop, moved many to try suspension and urged us to claim our bodies as our own, especially through body modification. He firmly believed that piercing was sacred, magical, and could be a special moment for all involved. His life was spent spreading that message and seeking the spirit through exploring and testing the limits of his body. This year’s Body Piercing Archive exhibit unfolded many of the lives, hobbies, jobs, and performances of the multifaceted Fakir Musafar.

Walking into the exhibit was overwhelming in the best sort of way. There was so much information—so many visuals—that it was hard to know where to look. Each time I went in, there were things I hadn’t noticed previously. It would have taken me a couple of focused hours to take in all the information. The outer walls were lined with banners. The inner walls had four alcoves with various displayed items. Several banners featured large photos of Fakir embodying his different personas. There were other banners that stood out to me: the timeline that shared childhood pictures, some of influential people in his life, covers of his Body Play magazines, and collages of the group photos from nearly every class of the Fakir Intensives.

Visitors enter the exhibit.
Photo by Marina Pecorino

Then there were the alcoves. One held books and images that inspired and guided a young Fakir to try so many unconventional practices. A few items in particular caught my eye: Fakir’s yoga book from the 1950s and National Geographic from Fakir’s childhood where he got the idea to perform his first piercing on himself at age 14. Another area had masks, homemade eyelets for stretching his nipple piercings, some of Fakir’s septum jewelry, and articles he had written. There was a section that had a bed of nails, a bed of blades, a kavadi frame, a suspension frame, and other inventions of Fakir’s that I’m not sure have names. Most of these devices were featured in Fakir’s early self photography. Having been born in a rural area in 1930, out of necessity he developed a resourceful and inventive ability. A large portion of the objects in the exhibit were things he made at home by hand. Rarely disposing of his creations, the BPA was able to acquire or borrow many of them from his wife, Cléo Dubois. It was fabulous to see classic Fakir photos right next to the actual items he made and was wearing in the portrait.

View of the exhibit.
Photo by Marina Pecorino

There was a screen toward the back of the exhibit playing the Mark and Dan Jury film Dances Sacred and Profane starring Fakir, Jim Ward, and Charles Gatewood. Mirroring that was a second screen dedicated to performances he had done, featuring video from one of his European performances. Between those was information on RE/Search #12: Modern Primitives, the publication where so many of us discovered Fakir for the first time.

The last alcove in the exhibit was the most solemn. The exhibit overall celebrated Fakir’s life, but the last alcove honored his death. Fakir felt that altars were important. He would make one at the end of every piercing class, a place to look to for focus, to display images and objects that had meaning to him and to help inspire a particular mindset he was looking for. The last alcove of the exhibit, with bright yellow and red walls, was an altar to Fakir. It displayed a large photo of him, photos of those close to him who had also passed, images of deities he was drawn to, fresh fragrant flowers, candles, and a few personal items like his chest spears. When he announced that he was sick and had limited time left, Fakir asked that instead of emails or phone calls, that people hand write and mail him letters if they had anything they wanted to share with him. Hundreds of letters came in and he read all the words of love and thanks before he left us. A selection of those cards were strung from the center back wall of the alcove, extending to either side of the door, framing the altar and giving the space a sense of depth, layers, and sentiment.

Fakir’s memorial altar at the APP Conference, 2019.
Photo by Marina Pecorino

Fakir was so many people wrapped up in one. It was impossible to know everything and everyone he had been in his life. Depending on how you knew him, you would connect and learn about different aspects of his personality and interests, hearing different stories of his past. In addition to all the visuals in the exhibit, docents who were personally known to Fakir gave tours. Each had unique experiences and insight on who Fakir was, having known him in a variety of circles and points of his life. Several of the instructors from the Fakir Intensives gave tours, as well as friends of Fakir’s including Allen Falkner and Annie Sprinkle. Each offered unique flavors, new insight and things to learn about Fakir. Hearing their stories really brought Fakir’s memory to life in a vivid interactive way and I wish I could have seen all the tours.

Annie Sprinkle conducting a tour of the exhibit.
Photo by Marina Pecorino

Working closely with Fakir’s wife, Cléo, the BPA team put together an amazing and moving exhibit. Fakir was always touched and awed by the gratitude, credit, and honor people extended to him. I think he would be absolutely blown away and speechless by the beautiful display and celebration of his life that portrayed so much of who he was. To Paul King, Becky Dill, Devin Ruiz, and all your behind the scenes helpers, thank you for all your hard work in putting together such a rich and beautiful commemoration of Fakir’s life. It was wonderful to get to celebrate Fakir’s life together with the bulk of the piercing community this year at the APP Conference.

Point 89: The Gay Ear

August 7, 2020 Comments Off read Features, Industry History, Issue 89, Lifestyle

Lynn Loheide & Margo Dellaquilla

In piercing studios around the country the question is still asked today, “Does one side have any special meaning? You know, what ear is the gay ear?” Despite changing times and modern progress many people still associate piercings—particularly a single piercing in the lobe—as a symbol of one’s sexuality. We’ve all given a little internal eye roll when we have to field this question in our studios and most of us have a carefully prescribed response. any of us may not understand the history of this concept. It’s actually quite fascinating to take a look behind how one specific piercing developed such recognition as a gay symbol.

To find out how an ear piercing could carry such symbolism we need to look back to the ‘70s and ‘80s in America. A different time when it was still perilous to be LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, and asexual or allied) and publicly out, and there were no legal or social protections for people who were. Many people lived in fear of losing their jobs, homes, families, or being outright attacked. The AIDs crisis was beginning and both hate and fear concerning anything gay were at an all-time high.

People gathered in secret bars, hung around dark trails in local parks, and used various forms of code based on location to subtly tell people they were gay. These codes were a form of protection, a small way to tell people in-the-know what their preferences were without outing themselves and potentially changing, or even ending, their lives. We, as piercers, generally know and love the hanky code (raise your hand if you own a purple one!) This same philosophy also helped to coin“The Gay Ear”. Born from these codes is a phrase few now remember as familiar, “Left is right and right is wrong” (“wrong” here meaning gay). This cultural phrase spread across communities in an era when piercing was just blossoming. Women were daring to wear second and third earlobe piercings and a particularly rebellious person may pierce their cartilage. This phrase cemented in many minds that the singular right lobe piercing on a man was synonymous with being gay. We can even look at this New York Times article from 19911 that mentions a piercing in the right ear as a “discreet symbol” of one’s sexuality. We must remember this was a time when discretion was, for some, life or death. Like a game of telephone, this phrase spread, and small changes happened along the way. In some areas, it was reversed, and the left ear was a signifier. Others changed the script entirely: both ears could signify one was bi or trans, and a few on one ear had specific meanings in a local scene. As the phrase became more widespread and used as a way of outing folks, some opted to pierce the opposite ear associated in their area to remain hidden. All of this served to muddle the waters until no one could agree which ear was, in fact, “the gay ear”.

It wasn’t long before that phrase became lost, and many people forgot which ear meant what, as if any ear ever meant anything. The internet, and even before that the “Ask x” columns and library question cards, were filled with men agonizing over which was the ear they were “supposed” to pierce. How could they wear the adornments they desired while maintaining their heterosexuality; or, perhaps, secretly inquiring which they could pierce to flaunt their homosexuality. Over time the meaning seemed to matter less and less as piercings became more popular and many folks cared not what anyone else thought. Their adornments were for them and them alone. As early as the ‘90s people had forgotten the meaning as piercings were now more about punk rock and youthful rebellion than an underground symbol. Time passed and it became ok to be out. We didn’t need to hide behind antiquated codes or symbols; we could be out and proud!

While discrimination still exists in many shapes and forms, even now in 2020, fortunately, we don’t need to hide as much as we did then. That being said, education and reclamation of what was once used to hurt or oppress us can be a powerful way to stand in the face of discrimination. This is a great piece of history to share with other piercers, clients, and friends, to help remove the stigma and keep our history alive. After all, given our shared history, all piercings are a little bit gay!

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