It all started when I was 15 and decided to let a friend pierce my nose. (not such a great idea, by the way!) I'm not too sure if it was the joy I felt from rebelling against my parents or if it was the new jewelry in my face, but I knew I wanted more. After the nose came the belly button ( finally successfully healed after 3 years and 4 attempts) and after that came the tongue. After that... came three tattoos. But there was still something missing that I just couldn't put my finger on. Until last summer...
At A Glance Author Morning_Star Contact Morning_Star@bme.anon IAM Morning_Star When A month ago Artist Jake Studio Bushido Tattoo Location Calgary, AB My sister and I were hanging out in the sun and talking about the crazy things we'd done as kids. I've always been the more rebellious of the two of us and my sister was always there shaking her head, saying something like "Mom is gonna kill you for this one!". That's when the encouraging words of my mother suddenly came back to me... "do that and your boobs will swell up and pop like balloons when you're pregnant!" I looked at my sister with a grin she knows too well, then looked down at my breasts in my bikini top. "You're f***ing with me, right?" was her response. The grin on my face turned into a huge smile as I recalled the look of total shock and horror on my mother's face when I had first told her of my plan to pierce my nipples a few years before. My sister looked at me and shook her head once again and uttered the phrase I'd heard so many times before... "Mom is definitely gonna kill you for this one!"
I had actually planned to pierce my nipples about five years before this ( when I was about 17) but the parental units were not so accepting of my new found fascination with body modification nor was the boy friend that turned into the fiancé! But now that I was 22... they really had no say and... as it turned out, I was without the nagging fiancé with hopes of quashing my dreams as well! Maybe this was my time to shine after all!
I did some research on the internet and talked to some friends that had theirs done, both male and female. I came to the conclusion that the risks were far less than the reward and that I still really wanted them done. I considered all the issues I might have with having them pierced and seemingly "hard" all the time. I mean ya, sure, people are gonna stare or check out my chest but that's nothing out of the ordinary for this girl. That's what happens when you're rockin a 36D! People look! I can't blame 'em! In today's society, sex is everywhere! But I'll save that for my rants and raves! Hahaha.
So I started looking around in here in Cowtown for a good place to get theses new holes I'd been waiting so long to get. I checked out a few places on our infamous 17th ave and a few others that had been recommended to me, but none of the shops really "clicked" with me. Don't get me wrong, there's tons of great shops and studios here but I was looking for the one that was right for me. I started to get pretty bummed out because I figured I'd waited long enough! I wanted to get my piercings already!
I was over watching a movie with a friend of mine a few days later and we got to talking about his tattoos. He suggested I check out Bushido where he gets tattooed by Stacie Rae. I've seen his tattoos enough to know that they're well done and I know him well enough to know how anal he is about a clean shop and a good atmosphere, so I checked it out.
When I walked into Bushido, the first thing I noticed was the smell of disinfectants and sanitizers. It was such a clean smell and compared to some of the other shops I'd been in, it was a welcome change! I looked around a bit and the more I looked the more I was surprised at how clean and bright the shop was. "This is it!" I thought to myself as I tried to conceal my excitement. I was so excited that I'd found the best shop for me, I could hardly talk to Trevor to book the appointment! We booked the appointment for the following Sunday and tried my best not to giggle at the pretty shade of pink appearing on Trevor's face when I told him of my plans! When I left the shop I had a feeling of total confidence in Bushido.
I came back on Sunday with the usual pre-piercing jitters and rockin a huge smile. I couldn't wait for my new holes. I checked in with Trevor and waited for the piercer to come get me. I must admit... when Jake walked into the waiting area and asked if I was the one waiting for a piercing, I almost fell over. He was gorgeous! Could I really bare my chest to this total stranger? Never mind the fact that he was the one of the hottest men I'd ever laid my big blue eyes on! What had I gotten myself into?! I felt my face get really hot and tried to look him in the eye as before I followed him into his room.
He was extremely through as he explained the procedure and opened all his equipment. Each needle and clamp in it's own sterile package and all the gauze was single use as well. He was so careful with everything, making sure it all stayed as sterile as possible. As he readied all his tools of torture we talked about all kinds of things and he did his best to make me as comfortable as possible. It was so easy to talk to him that by the time it came to marking me up, I had lost most of my jitters and was pretty calm about baring my chest. Jake made it much easier for me as he was marking and cracking jokes and talking about some of the crazy things he'd seen people do to their bodies. When it came time to actually pierce me.. he was so great. He cleaned me up and right before we started, he told me "by the time you feel it, it'll be done." And he was right. He was so quick and smooth with the needle, I hardly had time to feel it! He was the same with the putting the barbells in. ( which he and I picked out and made sure before hand would fit my nipples best)
After he finished, he cleaned them up a bit and we went over the after care. Again, he was so through I didn't even need to ask a question after. He covered everything I needed to know. He put some band-aids on them (so they didn't bleed on my bra) and walked me out to the front. He reassured me that should I need ANYTHING or if I had ANY questions.. just to give him a call or drop by and he'd be more than happy to help.
Overall, I have to say, that was THE best piercing experience I've had to date. It's been about a month and they are lookin' great! I am seriously thrilled with them! I will definitely go back to Jake and Bushido for ALL my piercing and tattoo needs! I would recommend this shop to anyone. It's incredibly clean and the staff are friendly and helpful.
Now... if you're from Calgary or wanting to get work done here... GO TO BUSHIDO, give Jake all your money! Hahaha... and tell him Kelly sent cha! ;)