Welcome to BME’s Big Question! In this weekly (hopefully) feature, we’re going to ask a handful of the community’s best and brightest piercers, tattooists, heavy mod practitioners and shop owners for their opinion on one question or issue that’s affecting the body modification community. Many, many thanks to all of the contributors.

If you’d like to be a part of future editions, or if you have an idea for an issue or question you’d like to see addressed, please e-mail me.

This week’s topic:

* * *

Joy Rumore

One word: logic.

Meg Barber

Back when I was starting out, yeah, I did all of the above. Now? Well, there really aren’t too many instances where I’m asked to do something I’m not familiar with. But, if that DOES come up, I generally contact another practitioner, bounce ideas off of them, and then just put it to use on the client. I tend to think of myself as pretty logical when it comes down to it, and if I slow down, think about the dynamics of what I’m doing enough … I can figure out how to do pretty much anything thrown at me. That said, I only do piercing and scarification. If someone came in wanting something more involved, like an implant, I’d send them elsewhere.

Brian Decker

Like Joy said, I do count on common sense for most of what I do. A lot of procedures are very similar in technique, even if the work is completely different. I’m self-taught with most of what I do, but I definitely make phone calls to work out specifics of new procedures — quite often, honestly. I used to call Tom Brazda pretty often for his input and advice. I don’t think it was ever really anything about how to approach a particular procedure in general, but more so the specifics that could help better the procedure. Things like suture type and size, suturing styles, jewelry designs, etc. He was always very helpful. That man loves to talk. I remember calling Shane Munce, whom I’d never spoken to previously, about his approach for the Nefertiti piercing before trying it. In the end, I’d already had the work mapped out very similarly to his approach, but I’m all for sharing ideas to make sure there’s nothing I’m overlooking. Hell, I even talked with Todd Bertrang online for a while about scalpelling piercings. Years ago, I talked with Emilio [Gonzalez] about ear pointing and he threw me one idea that that made things much easier. Even though I don’t use the same technique now, I’ve definitely built from what I learned from him at the time. When I started making the switch from tools to freehanding piercings, I talked to tons of people. Some ideas I was comfortable and some I wasn’t. Dave Gillstrap showed me the most satisfying holding position for tongue piercings ever. Since I’m always open to new ideas (and asking for them), I have no problem sharing, either. I encourage it. When I was in Cincinnati, Meg asked for some input regarding skin removal in scarification, which she’d already done, so we set up a piece we could work on together so I could show her exactly what I do. Very rarely do I just shun people away. When someone has absolutely no idea what they’re doing and they just want me to tell them because they’re too lazy to do some homework, then I get frustrated, but otherwise I’m all ears.

Stephen DeToma

Whether the client asks me for something new or I wish to try something different, such as freehand V clamps, it’s important that it’s made perfectly clear that this will be new. A lot of prep for something new starts with discussion with others and researching listed techniques. Often, it comes down to hands-on application, but that doesn’t always mean with a needle. When I was switching away from forceps for nipples and navels, doing a dry run with a cotton swab in place of a needle helped to give me the feel of the piercing without actually having to poke the skin or follow through. Learning how others do something, even if you don’t end up applying the same methods in your own work is just as important, and that applies even to piercings that you’ve been doing for years. Traveling and being able to observe artists that I respect and admire goes a long way to help sharpen my own skills. Sometimes it’s as simple as seeing how someone approaches an unrelated procedure to help blossom new ideas for your own work.

Brian Decker

I fully agree. When I first started moving away from forceps, I was piercing everything other than people to get a better feel for different grips. Paper, jeans, cardboard, bookbags … everything.

Steve Truitt

I pretty much agree with everyone else. Common sense can go a long way. When I was learning to do procedures, I thought about them for a while before doing them to map out the technique I thought would work best. Then I’d usually call someone I knew that had done that procedure before. Usually that was Steve Haworth, and he was very helpful. I also normally started out doing the procedures I hadn’t done before on friends and regular clients that knew I was trying something new and were aware of the risks.

Meg Barber

Brian [Decker] has been really helpful to me with input, and he is who I turn to most often. I think he and I just work well together, and we respect each other enough I know he isn’t gonna call me a chump when I ask about something. I’ve also touched base with Ryan Oullette and John Joyce once or twice … That’s when knowing artists who aren’t total rock-star douchebags comes in handy.

John Joyce

Whenever I was looking into a new procedure or a new technique, I’ve always researched the hell out of it before jumping in. Talking to more experienced artists, looking at photos, and whenever possible actually watching someone else do it. A great example of this is when I first started looking into doing the punch and taper method for surface piercings. I had the general idea down, but before I attempted it, I contacted people I trusted that were already doing it. Tom Brazda was very helpful; he and I wrote back and forth many times before I eventually attempted one, and the first few that I performed after that were all done on friends only. I made sure they understood it was something new that I was trying out, and there was a very real possibility that they may end up with just two holes in them and no jewelry. Fortunately, that never happened. Before punch and taper, I did the same thing when I was learning to freehand surface piercings instead of clamp and pierce. I talked to Luis Garcia, and a few other people about their techniques. The Learning Forum on IAM is a great place for exchanging information between piercers, experienced or not. Unfortunately, I do think it’s underused by newer piercers. When I was first learning to pierce, there wasn’t a place like that where you could ask questions and get responses from so many great piercers all at once. It really makes getting information much easier.

Stephen DeToma

IAM in general is a great resource. Thank you, Al Gore.

John Joyce

I couldn’t agree more with Stephen when he said that, “Traveling and being able to observe artists that I respect and admire goes a long way to help sharpen my own skills.” Scar Wars helped me sharpen my skills as a scarification artist tremendously. Even though I was there as a respected practitioner, watching other artists work made me think about the way I did certain things, and made me a better artist. This is another example of the newer artists not taking advantage of something amazing that could better themselves more than anything else. At the last two Scar Wars events I was really disappointed at the lack of the younger/newer “scarification artists” that made the effort to come and learn from the best of the best.

Stephen DeToma

I don’t even cut and Scar Wars was a great learning experience.

Steve Truitt

Yeah, I learned a lot at Scar Wars from watching people cut as well.

Meg Barber

I think that Scar Wars is easily one of the best learning environments that there has been for scarification, hands down. The ability to schmooze with and watch all of these skilled artists for a period of three days?! Yes please!

Ryan Ouellette

I think preparation is the best kind of research — does that make any sense? Whenever I’m around other professionals I’ll make sure to keep my ears open and ask a lot of questions. Sometimes it’s just that one small piece of the puzzle that brings everything together. I’ve learned so many little tricks (from a lot of people here on IAM) that has really advanced my work. If someone comes in and asks for something I’ve never done before I’ll typically refer them to someone else. If it’s just a different variation on a familiar procedure then I’ll inform them of my experience and it’s their choice to have me perform it. A good example would be when I tried a punch and taper microdermal on someone when I had only done freehand microdermals and punch and taper piercings. You can try new things on clients at certain skill levels, but if it is something outside of your field of experience it’s best to research and train, or refer to a trusted colleague. But I don’t mean to make it sound like I’ve never rolled the dice on a procedure. Luckily my experiments have usually been on myself, or at least my friends. There’s always a first time for everything you’ve done. Experimentation is really important to advance the industry. I’m not a heavy mod practitioner, just piercing and cutting really. But my first flesh removal was on a regular client/coworker/friend … and it came out horrible. But I never would have been able to nail down a solid technique without getting my mistakes out of the way first. I think part of knowing how to do something right is seeing how to do it wrong.

Allen Falkner

I think everyone agrees that research is important and that clients should be fully informed prior to attempting a new procedure. So, I’m going to try and give an answer coming from a different angle. When I first made the jump into suspension I knew zilch, zero, nada. The only person I knew that had hung from hooks was Fakir. He was helpful to a certain extent, but in general I stumbled into it blindly. For those that haven’t heard the story, my first suspension was an utter disaster. I understood the basic physics. Knew it was possible. However, the information, equipment and materials just weren’t out there. Well, at least not like they are now. Looking back on it I see the first years of TSD as reckless. Granted, I tried to convey to people that my experience was limited, but ego and pride can really be one’s undoing. Yes, I learned a lot from working with other people and communicating with others online. But really my first two to three years of suspension were riddled with comments like, “Well that didn’t work,” and, “Yeah I guess that won’t hold.” Nowadays it’s easy to dismiss it all by saying things like, “There really wasn’t anyone else to ask” and “I was young and stupid.” These statements might be true, but it’s still no excuse. Basically, in the beginning I was very headstrong and often attempted things that in retrospect I really wasn’t qualified to do. Do I regret these experiences? No. However, I was lucky. No one was ever seriously hurt and the lessons I learned really shaped who I am today. The main thing that came from this behavior is that I am much more cautious now. Do I still do stupid things without adequate research? Sure, but whenever possible I’m the first guinea pig. Personally I think experimentation is a good thing, and yes reinventing the wheel should be avoided whenever possible. However, there is definitely something to be said for learning things the hard way.

Stephen DeToma

Absolutely, sir. Learning something the hard way can often times be the greatest teaching tool. If someone tells you the stove is hot, you may forget; but you touch a hot stove, you’ll never forget again.

What do you think? Let’s hear it in the comments.

Please consider buying a membership to BME so we can continue bringing you articles like this one.

Welcome to BME’s Big Question! In this weekly (hopefully) feature, we’re going to ask a handful of the community’s best and brightest piercers, tattooists, heavy mod practitioners and shop owners for their opinion on one question or issue that’s affecting the body modification community. Many, many thanks to all of the contributors.

If you’d like to be a part of future editions, or if you have an idea for an issue or question you’d like to see addressed, please e-mail me.

This week’s topic:

* * *

Steve Truitt

I think, and am noticing, that business is slowing down quite a bit, but it normally does around this time of year here every year. It seems slower than normal, but going through my books, it isn’t. I think that people will continue to get tattoos/piercings/etc. done even when the economy is bad because they make them feel good about themselves — even though they aren’t necessities. Much like sales of alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, etc. don’t really get affected like other industries (restaurants, movie theaters and so on) by the economy, I think body modification will be just fine overall. It just seems that people are opting for cheaper plain jewelry instead of going with the fancy jeweled piece more often now though.

John Joyce

A lot of people around Syracuse work in factories. New Venture Gear/ Chrysler is one of the larger ones, and they have been laying people off since the end of last year. Before them there was Carrier, which ended up closing. With these lay-offs, there are thousands of people with no work. I’ve definitely noticed a slight drop in the amount of business we are doing which I definitely relate to the local economy. But like Steve said, it’s not that I’m really doing fewer piercings, I’m just using less expensive jewelry. People aren’t getting the gems as often, and I’ve received far fewer requests for the more expensive plugs. I’m also seeing more and more people coming in after getting work done somewhere else — usually with very low quality jewelry, poor placement, the wrong aftercare information, and all sorts of irritation. While I’ve always had people come in to get things fixed from these other places, the number is definitely increasing.

Meg Barber

As both a piercer, and someone who works in a wholesale situation, I have totally noticed a drop in business on both ends. As for piercing, we have recently dropped from doing about $3,000 a day or more to an average of about $1,000-$2,000. That’s a big drop for us. Being in NYC especially makes it worse; people feel the drops in the stock market a little more keenly I think. People are more conservative with their spending now, and the idea of luxury, except for the very wealthy, is a back-burner thought. Thankfully, we do have some of those clients keeping numbers high. But, yeah … sales are lower, and people are price shopping more, and with the cost of gold climbing, that makes it really hard on us at times. But we make it.

Barry Blanchard

Sure, the economy is in the crapper — that is indisputable. Guess what: it’s probably going to get worse. What we do for a living makes someone who is not feeling well feel good about themselves. I do not see it getting so bad that it comes down to “food or a piercing, but it is that fear that keeps people from spending extra money on an item such as a piercing. We are all going to feel “it.” It’s time to get back to the basics, such as customer service and quality. That way, when someone does want to spend their hard earned (and slim) money, they will come to you — that person who treated them the best. Anatometal has been hammered with orders right up until today. Not sure what tomorrow will bring, but make no bones about it: We are busy. Jewelry (including body jewelry) has shown to be one of the more “recession-proof” items out there. No, we are not talking about big ticket items — those who can afford those will afford them no matter what. My point: girl walks into a tattoo shop because she has nothing better to do. She just got laid off, and she wants to get a tattoo, but that $125/hour rate is a bit much for her. Instead she walks out with a $40-60 piece for her navel. She feels better about herself and helps this economy at the same time. Retail therapy works and works very well for not just that girl with the new navel bling; it also works for people like you and me. We are up 10 percent from last year, and up 33 percent from two years ago. I attribute this to our customer service staff and our great customers.

Steve Truitt

Barry, are you noticing more sales of basic items than the fancier pieces right now? More than usual, I should say, since I’m sure basic plain pieces are always going to be the biggest seller. Over the last year almost every microdermal I did was with a gem on it; now only about a third are. And up until about two or three months ago, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d pierced a navel with a plain curved barbell — now I haven’t used a jeweled curve in maybe two months.

Barry Blanchard

Basic stuff will always do well for those wanting a new piercing. The catch is to get those people in your environment and treat them just how you would want to be treated. We don’t do too much “super high-end” stuff like what Meg works with, so it’s hard for me to judge. Gemmed eyelets are most certainly a bit down, but that started after other companies started putting out similar designs. Just today, I noticed a lot of gold going to places like Japan — more than usual, even. To answer your question Steve: it appears to be that orders are not much different than they were just a few months ago.

Brian Decker

I’ve never worked in a busy 30-piercing-a-day type shop, so I never expect things to be “busy,” but I’m honestly not noticing any decline in business for myself. If anything, I feel like walk-ins are growing for me, but I attribute that greatly to keeping my pricing as low as is economically possible. Since I seem to have a great reputation in the area for piercing, especially with the college crowd, that’s definitely what keeps me working. I certainly know, based on the levels of standards of sterility and jewelry quality, I should be charging more, but unfortunately, many people in the city will not pay more. Now that I attribute mainly to lack of information and legislation for possible clientele. If a client comes into the shop and allows me to educate them, very rarely will they leave without the work, but if people know you charge more, they just don’t bother coming in at all. I seem to have found the perfect pricing to maintain clients, but even still, being that I do charge more than most other shops in the area, bunches of people still nearly faint when I tell them the prices. For these people, I really just blame the cost of living in NYC. It’s true, piercing probably isn’t a necessity for most people, so if they don’t know better and can get it cheaper, of course they’re going to. Barry, I’m curious, with the orders you’re getting, how much of that is from select, enormously busy shops that have been ordering like that for years? You obviously produce unmatched quality, but also obviously more costly than, say Wildcat or BMS, which I’d suspect makes it harder for the smaller shops to exclusively stock your entire line, no? I’m very curious, how many shops in NYC stock your basics?

Barry Blanchard

The orders I get are based on customers like yourself, Brian — you too, Steve. From the start, we have not had much business out of NYC, so that’s not really something I can go by. Any shop that’s been ordering from us for the duration knows what I know: piercings as a whole have declined over the past ten years. At the same time, jewelry sales have gone up. Perhaps not for all of you, but as a whole? Body jewelry is doing well. Those who have visited Anatometal should know its more of a “mom and pop” type atmosphere. It’s shops like yours, Mr. Decker, that I prefer to cater to, and perhaps that’s why things are the way they are at my work. Sure there are ups and downs, but it seems when one area is down another picks up, and so on and so forth. It’s sort of hard for me to judge unless I do a year-to-year comparison. I have my bookkeeper working on that for September ’07 versus September ’08. October is a better “judge” as it’s typically our slowest month of the year. Because of the current economic status in America, just know I am watching things very, very closely, looking for the signs, just like everyone else. I do think that we stand out and sell to a select crowd, Brian — no different than Tiffany & Co. would in the world of standard jewelry. I would like to see how places like BVLA are doing.

Brian Decker

I completely understand what you’re saying, and I love you for that (as well as for other things), but let’s be honest: I don’t spend thousands of dollars per order with you. I wish I had to, but I know it’s not me paying your bills. That’d be places like HPP or old Dragon FX, I’d assume.

Barry Blanchard

It’s the sum of all the “Decker Shops” that are the brunt of our business, and I monitor this very closely. Some of you will remember that there was a day when we were the biggest in the USA. I don’t ever want to go back to that again as you cannot have that and those three things mentioned above. I turn down anywhere about 25 percent of new clients, even in this economy. I want to be able to serve the clients I have now and in the future.

Meg Barber

To keep our costs down, we make all of our own steel posts, both straight and curved. The only things we are ordering from “the outside” are balls, surface bars, microdermal bases, and the occasional large gauge items. On the wholesale side, we get a few orders per week, and they are generally for at least $1,000. We ask people how stuff is selling, and they all pretty much tell us the same thing: that it all sells at a good rate. I’m not sure how these shops are charging in comparison to how we charge in our retail store; it would be interesting to find out actually. I’ve noticed in the retail store we are doing more piercings lately than in past months, but the jewelry is really, really basic — lots of white gold fixed ball rings in cartilage, 1.2 mm. diamonds in nostrils, and our basic $135 gold/CZ navel combo. We’re still getting the bigger ticket items to move, but it’s a little less than in past months. On Sunday, we did $3,000. Monday, we barely did $700. It’s fluctuating a lot more, and with October being historically slow, it’s hard to gauge whether it’s the typical time of year drop, or economics. I will say that I did have a client tell me how he just lost half of his money in a stuck crash in recent weeks. He talked about how hard it is for him right now, and how bad things are with everyone he knows. Then he bought a $550 navel piece for himself.

Barry Blanchard

I think we can all agree on one thing: we are all okay. Sure, we are not where we would like to be. Even Meg’s stock broker can agree with that. I can say where the economy has affected us, and it’s not exactly where this topic started: the cost of materials went through the roof over a year ago. Stainless, Titanium, and yes of course: gold. We tightened our belts a year ago, and perhaps that’s why the little Anatometal engine keeps chugging along.

Meg Barber

The cost of gold is a pain in our ass.

Barry Blanchard

Real numbers: September ’07 to September ’08: Eight percent growth, and that’s about spot on correct considering all that is going on around us. The October numbers will paint a much clearer picture.

John Joyce

I was just looking over numbers and comparing them to last year. Surprisingly, business is up, just over $15,000. But … so is our spending, which is up almost $19,000. So, so far this year I’m down almost $4,000 in profits from last year. I blame most of that on the increase of all our supplies — gloves, jewelry, etc. — but, I also blame a lot of that on APP. Man, did I spend far too much money there this year. Cervesa is not cheap! It’s really just the last two months that I’ve seen a real dip in business. But like I said earlier, New Venture Gear/Chrysler laid off most of their employees around that time, and it looks like they may be closing completely. I just heard today that another big factory was sold and there are already threats of picketing and lay-offs there. So we’ll see what the rest of the year brings.

Derek Lowe

I think modification is going to feel the impact of the economic issues, but I certainly don’t think we’re going to feel it as much as many other types of businesses. Choosing to spend less money by cooking at home is a substitute for going out to eat. Renting a move for $4 is a substitute for spending $20 for two people to go see a movie on a Saturday night. Watching a sporting event on TV is a substitute for spending money on tickets to actually go to the arena. There simply isn’t a substitute for modification. Some people will choose to do something different all-together because it’s less expensive. But I think most people who want to get pierced or tattooed will do so because nothing else is going to satiate that desire. They might alter their jewelry choices are size of their tattoo, to help keep the cost down, but I don’t think it’s going to keep that many people away. Now, if we find ourselves in another full-on Great Depression with a 25 percent unemployment rate, it might be a different story. I think the odds of that happening are pretty small though. I think John touched on a really good point as well: geography is going to play a big role. Being in Minneapolis — a fairly liberal, well-educated, reasonably affluent larger city — I don’t expect to feel the economic impact as much as if I were still working in Cleveland — a fairly conservative, blue-collar city that has had a struggling economy for a while now. Looking at our numbers, I see that we are down this September, just slightly, compared to last September. Overall though, we are up this year a decent amount, compared to last year, in both piercing fees and jewelry sales. Tattooing shows a similar trend. This whole “crisis” is just starting to play itself out though, so I think the next few months will provide a much clearer picture.

Allen Falkner

It’s good to hear that everyone is doing well. However, most, if not all of you are on the upper end of the spectrum for sure. I’m not sure about other cities, but I have noticed piercing shops in the Dallas closing. In this city, as with most, tattooing and piercing are combined in one shop. The trend I have been seeing is that the tattoo artist/shop owners are phasing out piercing and the piercers/shop owners are thriving on the shift of business. Now on the flip side of this, tattoo shops are opening left and right. With the all the media exposure, tattooing is the new “navel of the ’90s” and people of all skill levels are cashing in. As for the common piercer, I think there are dark days ahead. Shop owners and select, well established piercers in good location shops still have plenty of life left in them, but seriously, piercing is a young person’s game. As inflation has risen over the last decade the costs of both jewelry and service have remained fairly steady. If you take into account a four-to-six percent yearly cost of living rate increase, combined with the financial burden of raising a family, the life span of a piercer seems to be getting shorter and shorter. Tattooing, on the other hand, is a whole different animal. Unlike piercers, tattooers are seen as unique artists. Rather than the, “I can get it for $5 less down the street” mindset, tattooing style and ability has a more intrinsic value. Because of this, the art of tattooing is based more on the artist and less on the average market value. Plus, tattoos represent a very different commitment then body piercing. Of course, everyone here will have a different numbers, but in general piercing clients get worked on a few times and buy new jewelry a few times. Tattoo customers have a much higher percentage of being life-long customers. You can take a piercing out, but the ink is with you forever. (Well, maybe not in my line of business, but that’s another topic all together.) My point is that once people start getting tattooed, they continually want to add, modify or change their tattoos. This just isn’t true for the average piercing client. Back to the point at hand, piercing has passed its peak, dropped a bit and is finally beginning to level off. However, I agree with you all that modification is a “feel good” service and should ride out the bad economy, especially in college towns where students have fewer financial responsibilities and exploring the world of body modification has become almost a rite of passage for young adults. As for tattooing, I think the unstable economy might be just the thing to help weed out all the mediocre artists that are riding the media shock wave. Overall, unlike Wall Street, this financial crisis might actually be a good thing for the modded community. If nothing else, modified people looking for other forms of work has and will continue to change people’s opinions about what modifications are acceptable in the “real” world.

John Joyce

I completely agree with Allen. If I wasn’t the owner of this studio, I couldn’t make it as just a piercer here. Without the income from the tattoo artists, the piercing business just isn’t as booming as it once was. New tattoo studios are popping up all over Syracuse and the surrounding area. Some of them have piercers, some of them don’t. The ones that do have a high turnover rate. It seems like every other week I hear about some new guy piercing at so-and-so’s shop. There have definitely been weeks, and even months where piercing seems very slow, and the tattoo artists here carry us through those times. When I first opened, and even up to about a year ago, I could carry the studio on piercing alone. That is definitely not the case any longer.

Stephen DeToma

The economic issues absolutely affect our business. The people that haven’t put any thought into what they’re getting and where they’re getting it done are the first ones we lose; the crowds of college kids that used to flood the shop on the weekends are definitely thinning. But, in the wake of that, I’m finding that the people who are coming through the door know exactly what they want and have been thinking about it for a bit. So instead of four outer helix piercings on college girls, it’s more becoming one individual looking for something maybe a little more complicated and willing to spend a little more in the process. We’ve felt the hit. In simple terms, it seems like the parents have less money, so the stream of cash trickling down to the college student seams to be less than it was even last year. Things suck and, I agree with Barry, that they will be getting worse, but I don’t think the choice will be piercings/tattoos/mods or food. I think it will be more along the lines of new shoes/purse/movies or getting work done. I’ve never been one to have a lot of money, so to me that isn’t anything new. But dealing with a new breed of college freshmen that may or may not have ever had to hold down a real job, exist without a cellphone or credit card … this will be a kick in the pants. I’ll tell you what’s pulling me through it personally: the regulars. People who we build relationships with and continue to come back to us really help. I think Allen makes a good point by saying that piercing is a young man’s game. I’m lucky that I was able to come back to piercing after not working for a few years and I truly enjoy it, but I do find myself wondering what I’ll be doing in another five or 10 years.

Brian Decker

I fully agree with Allen’s last paragraph. For myself, anyhow, any drop off in business is just attributed to the lesser popularity of piercing as a whole, not so much the cost.

Barry Blanchard

I agree with Allen as well.

Allen Falkner

We need a topic where everyone will have a difference of opinion.

Steve Truitt

We should just invite Cere into the conversations and he can disagree with everyone.

Allen Falkner

You know, Cere is a tattoo artist … I would say invite Bradly, but I have a sneaking suspicion he/she is already on the panel.

What do you think? Let’s hear it in the comments.

Please consider buying a membership to BME so we can continue bringing you articles like this one.

Welcome to BME’s Big Question! In this weekly (hopefully) feature, we’re going to ask a handful of the community’s best and brightest piercers, tattooists, heavy mod practitioners and shop owners for their opinion on one question or issue that’s affecting the body modification community. Many, many thanks to all of the contributors.

If you’d like to be a part of future editions, or if you have an idea for an issue or question you’d like to see addressed, please e-mail me.

This week’s topic:

* * *

Ryan Ouellette

I refuse stuff all the time, or, more often, I ask people to book appointments a few days away. I don’t get picky with average piercings, but with the trickier stuff like microdermals, surface work, genital piercings or complex cartilage I really prefer the person to have some kind of understanding of the “risks.” If someone seems a little blurry on the details I’ll explain the basics of healing and aftercare and the chances of a problem coming up. If they seem to get it then I’ll either get them on the spot or have them book an appointment. If a person just gives me that blank stare when I explain something or is obviously trying to rush into something, I’ll usually tell them to research it more and come back at a later date. I understand that it’s their body and choice, but I don’t want to deal with a serious problem coming up because I valued someone’s money over my own reputation or ethics.

Joy Rumore

I have not refused to do work based on the image to be tattooed, nor have I refused to work on someone because of differing beliefs. I’ve tattooed gang members, white supremacists, and a variety of unsavory characters in general. Few and far between are those I flat out refuse to work on, but they are out there.

Occasionally, a couple will come in where the woman is supposed to get the tattoo, but her husband/boyfriend is doing all the talking. It’s always the same set up: The man will describe how he wants the tattoo on her, what colors I should use, how it should be angled, how it will look most sexy, and she will just stand there looking nervous. The dude will make some snide remarks about me being a female tattoo artist and then expect me to carry out his every whim. When it is clear that she’s terrified, I walk past the man and ask the woman if she wants to get tattooed. There’s generally some shrugged response about, “Well, he likes it,” and zero eye contact. Then, usually when I turn to the man and announce, “She can come back when she wants to get tattooed, but I will not be tattooing her today,” insecure and dominating men don’t like it when a woman tattoo artist tells them how things are gonna be. Curses are shouted and they go away. No big deal.

Other times, I have refused to work on people based on their interactions with me and the “vibe” they’ve given off. In one of these cases, I ended up feeling threatened and unsafe.

Before I owned my own place, I worked at a shop in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. I had a customer approach me about doing two dog portraits. I was game, he was game, it seemed like it’d be a fun time. He brought some pictures in and we started to set up a date for the appointment. I also informed him at this time that he needed to bring in his ID and fill out paperwork on his appointment date.

He said that he didn’t give out information and he wouldn’t let me copy his ID. He raised his voice and continued that he didn’t do that kinda stuff, alluded to problems with the law, and said he couldn’t leave a trail and allow people to find him. I apologized and I told him that those were the state’s regulations I was required to follow and that I would lose my tattoo license if I did not comply. He got agitated. I repeated what the problem was and further explained that the paperwork doesn’t get sent to the state, but rather sits in a box, filed away, for seven years. He still was nowhere near happy with the situation. He raised his voice more and began to verbally turn his anger on me. After going over the same questions for another 10 minutes or so, I apologized again, and he finally left the shop all pissed off.

This is where it gets weird.

The would-be customer began to drive by the shop everyday very slowly. Sometimes he would park outside the shop on the street and just stare into the building. Sometimes he would get out of his car and lean against it just hanging out for no reason. After about a week of this behavior, he came back with the pictures of his beloved pooches in hand and he told me he wanted to get the tattoos done. I reminded him that I could not do the tattoos without ID and paperwork. He got agitated again. Began saying things that didn’t make any sense — almost like he was pleading his case. By this time, I had made my mind up that he was more trouble than he was worth.

I informed him that I could not do the tattoos. He conceded that he would get his ID and fill out the paperwork as long as I promised no one saw them. I said I couldn’t promise that because the Health Department has every right to come in and inspect them whenever they would like. I continued by explaining that I would not tattoo him at all. He was confused. I told him I was uncomfortable with the situation. I didn’t like him driving by being menacing, and that I was simply refusing to work on him, period.

I thought he was agitated before? Ha! He yelled at me, told me I couldn’t do that, stomped around, called me a few choice names, and finally left the building after I yelled back at him. He continued the weird drive-bys and hanging-out business for another week. I let all the guys I worked with and the business owners on the same block know what was up in case something escalated. It never did. He was creepy for a while and yelled things occasionally. Finally, he stopped hanging around and I never saw him again. I’m really happy I never did those tattoos and I have refused to work on people here and there who present the same sort of attitude.

Steve Truitt

I have refused to do a lot of procedures over the years. Everything from people wanting their tongues pierced that are far too short for it to be comfortable for them and people with inappropriate navels wanting them pierced to people wanting far more extreme modifications.

If I don’t think the procedure has a good chance of working out in the long run, then I don’t do it. Also, if I think the procedure is too dangerous, or the person doesn’t fully understand what they are getting into, or the person is obviously mentally unstable I don’t work on them. There are also procedures I’m just not comfortable attempting even though I’m sure I have the skills to do them. For example, I’ve had a certain IAM member ask me on numerous occasions to do a penectomy on him. While I know that I could safely do that procedure, it’s not something I would ever attempt on anyone. I also wouldn’t amputate anything on anyone and have been asked to do that quite a few times as well.

All the procedures I do, I do because I like them — either how they look once they are finished, or doing the actual procedure. If I’m not into something, I don’t really have a desire to do it. I know of quite a few artists that are motivated by the money, but for all the more extreme mods I do, I don’t really care about the money. I do them for the pleasure of doing them and/or the end results. Because of that, I can’t think of any mods I’ve done to someone that I regret doing.

Allen Falkner

Regret? Well, regret is a strong word. Yes, over the years I have made my share of mistakes, and no, not every modification I have done has turned out perfectly. This is true for any practitioner. However, I have always tried to work within my abilities. Not to say I haven’t done quite a bit of experimentation and exploration over the years. I have tried my hand at tattooing, scarification, implants, branding and various other things. In the end, I discovered piercing, suspension and now laser tattoo removal are my real passions and the other arts are best left to people that can devote more time to them.

As for refusal, the list goes on and on. In the early stages of my career, there was almost nothing I wouldn’t try. OK, maybe not the uvula. I remember when that piercing started to get a lot of notoriety. Do I think I could have pulled it off? Sure, but I felt the risks were too high so I left that one alone. In fact, I think it was that piercing that shaped me and made me realize that I had my limitations and should work within them.

This actually brings me to the real issue. One of the biggest shortcomings of the body modification industry has been and always will be ego. Not to say I don’t have one. We all do. It’s human nature. My point is that practitioners should work within their abilities and not let ego rule their decisions about what they can and cannot do. I’m not saying we shouldn’t push our boundaries. The only reason our industry has come so far is because of people constantly striving for the next great mod. It’s just that people should work within their abilities. Having every procedure imaginable on your resume might look good to you. But practitioners should really think about their client’s well being before attempting something that they’ve only seen on BME.

Meg Barber

In this line of work, there are often occasions that arise where it’s best to not do a certain procedure on a client. Situations that immediately come to mind are those in which the client doesn’t have the proper anatomy to support the piercing that they are interested in, the client being intoxicated, the client being flat out belligerent in dealing with me or my staff, etc.

I’ve turned down scores of people over the years for those reasons, the most common one being anatomy related.

If I have a client interested in an industrial piercing who has no defined curl to the top of their ear, I will explain to them why that particular piercing isn’t the best option, and work with them to find one that is. And there’s always the classic issue of not having the best navel to support a piercing …

But I can’t say I have ever done a piercing I really regretted doing. I’ve always been pretty adamant about sticking to my guns when it comes to putting my client’s safety and successful healing first. I feel that as a piercer, we need to have the ability to say “no” to our clients when it’s warranted, and nine times out of 10, the client will appreciate it.

The thing I have noticed more and more in recent years, though, is the willingness to experiment on clientele for procedures that we aren’t sure of. It used to be, if there was a new or wacky thing you wanted to try, you did it on your roommate, or your lover, or on yourself … and those were pretty much your options. These days, it seems piercers are drawing from their client base for these experiments, and that is simply dangerous and foolish.

It really brings to the forefront the questions of, “When is it OK to experiment on clients?” and, “Why isn’t the word ‘no’ being used more in circumstances when it would be?”

The simple answer is a blanket “never.” A more in-depth answer would be, “When the procedure is in fact tested, just not in this particular situation.” A good example would be fully informing a client that they have a less than ideal navel for piercing, them insisting on having it done anyway, and then the piercer using a different placement to make it work. Remember all the 45* angled navels of the ’90s on those less than perfect navels? Case in point. No harm done really, just a little trial and error. And a few funky navel piercings as a reminder.

(The last answer, and the most common it seems in terms of today’s hot-shot piercers, is, “Always! I have ideas I need to test!”)

The next question that begs to be answered is, if clients are acceptable guinea pigs, then, specifically, which clients are the best for this?

Again, going back to basic answers, you have, “The heavily pierced client who is extremely careful and knows their body enough to understand what may happen,” who would be, of course, the best person for that role, and, “Who cares. If I tell the client the risks, and they still want it, OK.” Which is, of course, how it seems things go these days.

Personally, I will admit to playing around with different theories on how things will heal with clients. But — and there is always a “but” — I was very careful to only do things that were deemed “experimental” on clients that were heavily modified, who were fully informed, and whom I knew I would see often enough to keep tabs on the healing and any complications. Over the years, I have had three test subjects, and I saw all of them at least weekly.

We as piercers have a certain responsibility to uphold basic standards of ethics and morals with our job. We wield a lot of influence and power with our clients, and it needs to be used in a positive way — for positive education and helping the growth of our industry, rather than taking the risks presented to us to potentially destroy it.

Sometimes, “no” isn’t such a bad thing.

Derek Lowe

I can’t wait to once again be labeled as “anti-modification” after I answer this question.
 
I choose not to do procedures (in my case, pretty much just piercings) on a semi-regular basis. While it is physically possible for me to pierce pretty much anything that walks through the door, that doesn’t always make it a good idea. There are a few reasons it might not be a good idea, but the most common one is simply the client’s anatomy.
 
The human body wasn’t created with piercing in mind, so not every person is well-suited to have every piercing. If I feel the piercing has a very small chance of working out, or I feel like it is going to cause “collateral damage,” I will opt to not do the piercing. One example would be someone who wants a surface piercing but has very little loose skin to work with. In that case the piercing is very likely going to reject and in most cases I’ll not do the piercing. Surface anchors are opening up some options in those situations, but even those aren’t the be-all end-all some people seem to think they are.
 
The most common situation in which I won’t do a piercing is if someone wants a tongue piercing but they have a very short tongue. With a very short tongue, the piercing is going to have to be done further towards the tip of the tongue. This is going to greatly increase the likelihood of the barbell doing damage to the gums and bone under the lower front teeth — collateral damage. Some piercers will opt to do the piercing at all sorts of angles to try and counter that issue, but those angles often don’t work and can lead to other issues. I feel it’s simply best at that point to not do the procedure.
 
Some will say that people have the right to do whatever they want to their body, as long as they understand the risk. That’s absolutely true…they do have that right. At the same time, I have the right to choose not to do the piercing. I am under no obligation to perform a procedure for someone if I think it is a bad idea.  As a piercer, my number one responsibility is to do safe piercings. While there are risks associated with every piercing, most of those risks can be mitigated almost to the point of non-existence. If they can’t be mitigated, that’s when I have to make a decision about whether it’s best to proceed or not.
 
 There are also the situations I think every piercer has to deal with: clients who are under the influence of who-knows-what, clients that seem to be mentally impaired, clients who are clearly being pressured into the piercing by a husband/wife/lover/friend etc. Those are often not pleasant situations to deal with, but handling stuff like that is part of what goes along with being a professional.

Stephen DeToma

I think if you are a piercer working today and you are not willing to refuse a piercing, there’s something wrong.

The biggest contributing factor to me refusing to do work on someone has to be anatomy. Fair, thin brows and ears not built to support a traditional industrial piercing are fairly common and make up the bulk of my refusals. Telling someone they cannot get the piercing they want can be touchy, but it’s not hard to steer someone who may be looking for a traditionally placed industrial towards something similar. I’ve often turned to other ear work, daiths being my favorite, as well as placing industrials in anatomy that will support it using different jewelry such as curved barbells. Sometimes it’s hard to explain to someone who comes in with a friend why they are unable to get a piercing their friend is currently wearing, even when it’s painfully obvious to us. The call of, “She got it, why can’t ?I” is a common one and a reminder that, in one sense, we are not all created equal.

I’ve also refused to do many different things that are either out of my range of experience or my personal comfort zone. I’ve been approached by friends over the years looking for tongue splits and transscrotals, the former of which I think I could undertake but my lack of any real practical experience prevents me; the latter is something so far out of my range I don’t even consider it.

I think artists get a rush out of creation, be it from painting or writing, and are constantly striving to reach a new level. I think it’s this sensation that drives body piercers to become body modification artists, that is, broadening their base of procedures that they perform. I think a lot of it is a genuine need to create; piercing can be limiting in its scope of application and a passionate artist will strive to touch on new ground, though there are a great many still who seem to want to make these modifications to earn their stripes, make their bones. It’s like a kid who has to commit a crime to prove he’s down with a gang; that may be a bad analogy but it’s the first that springs to mind.

And so, because of these feelings, I reassess my desire to be a piercer. There is a ceiling that one reaches when doing this work and when it is reached, I think it helps to focus you on your work. Maybe that’s what inspires some people to step away from it and move into heavier modifications. Maybe that was their plan all along — who knows? I won’t fault them for their choices. But when someone comes to me looking for a meatotomy for example, I can refuse easily knowing that there is a lot I still want to work on in the world of piercing alone. Though heavier stuff interests me a great deal, presently, it’s not for me.

When I turn someone down, I try to be as clear as I can with them as to why I am doing so. Being honest and sympathetic lends a great deal to making sure that the person understands why they won’t be getting pierced. Sometimes it doesn’t click until I tell them that I would love to charge them $50 for what they want, but I just don’t believe that would be right. Turning someone down sometimes means that they will simply walk right down the street to the first person who will do the piercing for them, but if you’ve been forewarned and decide to go through with it anyway, you can’t say you weren’t warned.

I try to get to know the person I’m piercing before we get down to work, so that if a girl comes in looking for a facial piercing days before she starts soccer camp — knowing full well that it won’t fly with the coach — I can suggest she wait until the end of the season.

As I write this, I just had a young lady come in looking for a septum piercing. She had been through 12 reconstructive surgeries around her nose and lips since she was a baby. I had her come in and sit down so I could look at her, already thinking that this wasn’t going to work. After a few moments feeling around, it was clear what was left of her septum wasn’t going to be suitable to be pierced. She was pleasant and said she had expected as much and we began discussing other piercing options.

Juxtapose that with one of the biggest disagreements I’ve had recently: A woman came in with her husband and daughter looking for a navel piercing. She had had breast augmentation less than 3 months ago and had gone through her navel. I was not comfortable with the state of the tissue or the length of time she had waited to do the piercing so I asked her to check back with me at 6 months to see if it had changed, warning her that it may be up to a year before the tissue was ready. The short version of the remainder is, she interrupted two separate conversations trying to explain that she was willing to take the risk and by the third I had to explain to her that there was no way I would be doing the piercing for her that day. She threatened to go up the road to another studio in town and have it done there; I wished her the best of luck.

Threatening to visit another studio when I refused, I explained, was like a teenager walking into a bar, demanding a beer, being refused, and threatening to go to another bar if he isn’t served. It’s senseless. If another studio would like to take the responsibility for the piercing, answer the questions that are surly to follow and deal with the inevitable headaches that the client would provide (judging by her interaction in the studio) I can sleep well at night knowing that I refused her.

What do you think? Let’s hear it in the comments.

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