For the last six years I have been a professional body piercer in Columbus, OH.. I have only pierced in one shop. The shop that I worked in has a good reputation, and for the time I was there it was a great learning experience for me as a piercer. The shop has a conservative approach to piercing. They do not do surface piercings. They do not do free hand piercings. They do not do tattooing. They do not do cutting. They do not do branding or any thing else that could be viewed as extreme.
At A Glance Author dave Contact davkelso@aol.com When A month ago Artist Karin Studio Phoenix Temple Location Yellow Springs, OH Being a piercer you have to be confident in what you are doing. As much as I hate to admit it I took my confidence too far. I had started to get the felling that if it was not done the way I did it then it must be wrong. I was starting to become exactly what I do not like about the piercing industry, a cocky know-it-all asshole. To make things worse, I was having a harder time grounding myself. I also felt that my ability to connect with the people I was piercing was just not the same. Something was missing and I could not figure out what it was.
About six weeks ago everything changed for me. The story of how I met Karin is very long and weird. I will skip most of that stuff, but I would like to thank Nick for telling her to call me. Karin owns Phoenix Temple Body Piercing. She has been piercing for around eight years and her natural talent as a piercer is amazing. She has a wonderful bedside manner. I was instantly jealous of how laid back and comfortable her shop was. She has a refreshing honesty in how she deals with her customers and after watching her do some piercings I had to have her pierce me.
I needed to get my second vertical nipple piercing to balance myself. Having two piercings in my right nipple for the last two years and only one in my left nipple left me felling uneven.
For one piercer to go to another piercer for a piercing can be a little weird. All piercers have their way of doing things and I did not want to step on any toes. I was carefully watching everything Karin was doing. I think it kind of made her nervous. I was just enjoying seeing things in a different light. As I was being cleaned and marked for my piercing I looked at her piercing tray and asked her, where was the clamp? When Karin replied that she was going to do the piercing free hand my first thought was, OHHH GOD NO!! My thinking was, I don't do free hand, I was sure it would be slow and painful. She could see the fear I was feeling and told me I would be fine. Somehow I found the ability to let go and stop being so narrow minded about it. The piercing was perfect, it wasn't painful like I thought it would be. It was dead on the marks. I was so impressed.
It hit me hard after everything was done. That was my twenty-eighth piercing. It was the most intense of all of them. I once let an apprentice do a four gauge counch piercing on me and it was his first counch piercing. I sat through that without even blinking an eye. This time was different. I sat in the little waiting area crying my eyes out. It was one of the most awakening experiences I have ever had. At some point Karin and her apprentice both gave me a big hug.
The whole experience really opened my eyes. I no longer work at the shop where i had been for the last six years. At the shop I had been working in it gets the revolving door feeling sometimes. I did not always like the rushed feeling with people. Now that I have found a new appreciation for what I do it kind of sucks that I'm not piercing at this time. I know that when I do start piercing again, that because of Karin's influence, I will be a far better piercer than I was before. All those years of piercing and i was not able to get the big picture. Thank you Karin for being a positive person in my life. Thank you for piercing me!!!
Now that its all done I have started to think about all the people that I have pierced. Did i have that big of an effect on their lifes? Did I help open their eyes? Some yes, some no. Being a piercer is a big responsibility and at times very stressful. Over time I lost sight of why I loved the job in the first place. Karin helped remind me of that. Once again thank you Karin!!!