I have been a customer at the Skinquake in Greenwood, IN for over a year and am well familiar with the work of Eric, the studio's piercing artist. I have been amazed at the work that I have seen in his portfolio. His portfolio of body mods ranges from piercings to brandings. Eric also is highly recommended by the tattoo artists in the shop who were not only his coworkers but also, his clients. So, he would be the obvious choice for me if I ever decided on a piercing. However, I never imagined that I would be going in there for a piercing!
At A Glance Author boxerlvr Contact boxerlvr@bme.anon IAM boxerlvr When N/A Artist Eric Studio Skinquake Location Greenwood, IN One Sunday afternoon, this past December, I got tired of the small "mall gun" earring that I had been wearing for over 15 years in my left ear. At that time, I decided it was time to get a "real" ear piercing. I stopped by Skinquake to see if Eric had a bigger loop that I could get that would look better and be a bit sturdier. He quickly recommended a 14 gauge surgical steel loop that I thought looked really cool! We went to the back where the piercing room (which I have also referred to as the torture chamber) is located. Eric explained how he was going to place the 14 ga loop in the hole where the old, much smaller loop had been! Of course, he did have to make the hole a bit bigger and of course, that involved a needle, a big needle! Let me point out something right here, I am a nurse and I like getting tattoos but that DOES NOT mean that I like NEEDLES! However, the procedure was fast and when he was finished, it looked great, did not hurt that bad, and I was on my wa y to see the Colts win another game!! All of my friends thought the new jewelry looked great and everyone was happy. That should be the end of the story, right, but then this experience would be too short to be a real review!
I was back in the studio a few days later to talk to my regular tattoo artist about some upcoming tattoo plans. That's when I asked Eric the fateful question; can I get another piercing in the same ear?? Of course, the answer was yes, you can always get another piercing. The question is, will the additional hole look right or not. The "mall job" of many years ago was located in such a way that there was no way to place another piercing that would be spaced correctly to look good. Eric suggested that I, instead, should just totally start over from scratch and pierce my ear in a manner that both holes would be even and look properly tapered. Then I would let the original hole close up. Now, that plan was a bit more than I had anticipated but I trusted his judgment and agreed to his idea, even though it did involve two more needles!
After we finalized the plan, Eric showed me the jewelry that he had in mind, a 14 gauge 7/16 loop and a 14 gauge 3/8 loop, both surgical steel. After choosing the jewelry, Eric went back to his work area to prepare for the piercing as I nervously talked to a buddy who was getting his tattoo worked on. When the room was ready, we went over the necessary paperwork. We waited for my buddy to get his tattoo work finished so he could watch the piercing and take some photos. When everyone was finally ready, Eric took me back to the piercing room which was a very clean, comfortable room with photos displayed of his various works. He laid out the equipment, still in protective sleeves, and explained the procedure completely. He, then, marked my ear with an ink marker and let me verify the placement of the new holes. Once this was done, he cleaned my ear lobes using aseptic technique and when I was ready, he poked the first hole. Amazingly, his speed made the procedure much more bearable. As soon as the first hole was done, he completed the second in the same manner. He then threaded in my 14 gauge loops into the new holes and attached the beads. Then, he showed me the results. I was impressed that within less than 5 minutes, he had completed the procedure. He then cleaned up my ear, and allowed me to get up and look in the big mirror. I was impressed with the way the new jewelry looked in my ear.
After I finished admiring his work, he explained the aftercare instructions, and gave me a copy and answered my questions. I was completely satisfied with the experience and would definitely go back when I get brave enough for more piercings!