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Choosing Safe Unusual Piercings

With a seemingly infinite number of piercings to choose from, it’s definitely important for both piercers and clients to know which piercings are on offer. There are many rare and unusual piercings to choose from outside of classic placements, but it’s really vital to do research and understand which piercings are rare for a reason!

Unsafe or Just Rare?

Whilst there are quite a few unsafe piercings being offered, there are many piercings that are currently getting an undeservedly bad rap. Whilst some piercings are downright dangerous, others are only getting a poor reputation due to being commonly performed by inexperienced piercers. This blog is mostly being written in response to an online movement in piercing shaming – Online groups that share piercing images and their own opinions. We really want to bring some positivity and critical thinking back to the online piercing community. We love piercings, and we want to educate the public on safe, beautiful, and sometimes unusual piercings that get a bad rap for almost no reason at all! Today we’ll talk you through all the different piercings we see and why they might be a little bit rarer to come across.

Rare Piercings

Large-Gauge Piercings

Large gauge piercings are simply any piercing performed above 14g. People choose large-gauge piercings for a number of reasons – Mainly because they like the look of a larger piercing, and want to minimise the time spent stretching the piercing! These are considered a rare and unusual piercing because very few piercers are skilled and experienced enough to perform them. They require a steady hand, a keen eye for detail, and confidence to perform. Large-gauge piercings are very controversial on the internet, simply because they have brilliant shock value. That’s it!

When performed correctly by an experienced practitioner, large-gauge piercings do not carry any additional risks in comparison to a standard-gauge piercing. Here at Rogue we are large-gauge piercing specialists – Get in touch to book your large gauge piercing with us!

5mm initial septum piercing by Breo!

Orbital Piercings

These ones pop up quite a lot! Orbitals are simply two piercing channels connected by a ring, or custom curved jewellery. Various orbitals and custom bent jewellery piercings are commonly used online for shock value, yet are simply an unusual way to express yourself. We love performing custom orbitals of all shapes and levels of complexity – Simply head to our booking system and book a consultation with one of our piercers!

These piercings are generally a little bit more unusual to see simply because they are highly anatomy-dependent, and required a very skilled piercer to pull off correctly. Orbitals and custom scaffolds take extra care to heal as two fragile fresh piercings are connected to each other, and so have a slightly higher failure rate than other piercings. That being said, with diligent care these piercings can and do last a lifetime.

Large-gauge conch and orbiting scaffold piercing.

Snug and Antitragus Piercings

Snug and antitragus piercings can be fairly unusual – Not because they are unsafe but again because they are highly anatomy dependent and not many clients have perfect anatomy for them. For a snug piercing to be successful, it requires a very sharp shelf of cartilage where the jewellery can enter and exit the tissue at right angles. These piercings most commonly fail due to being pierced on inappropriate anatomy, where the piercing scoops through a large amount of cartilage and ends up causing lots of irritation.

Another reason that these particular piercings are rare is because they are classed as a more complex heal! These piercings can take upwards of 12 months to fully heal, and usually require at least two downsizes in that time period in order to keep the healing process moving forwards smoothly. Because of this, many clients who are looking for a new piercing can be swayed into choosing other piercings that take less time to settle.

We adore snug and antitragus piercings here at Rogue – They are a real treat to see! All piercings are a team effort between the piercer and the client, and we are here to support you for the entire lifetime of the piercing so definitely book in for this piercing if it’s your dream piercing!

Snug and Antitragus piercings can heal beautifully, when performed on appropriate anatomy by an experienced practitoner!

Stretched Septum Piercings

These are gaining in popularity right now, and we love it! These are more rare to come across, simply because it takes a lot of time and committment to stretch a septum piercing. You can read all about that process here. These are actually a lot less dramatic a modification than most people assume, and yet are featured online for their shock value almost constantly.

The reason this is our favourite ‘heavy’ piercing is that once you remove the jewellery… It’s gone! There is no visible scarring, no visible hole. With the use of a simple silocone retainer, you can wear normal jewellery and look like you have a standard septum piercing in the blink of an eye.

Cheek Piercings

People have always had a love-hate relationship with cheek piercings – Given that there are three sets of cheek piercings at Rogue, we know this more than most! We absolutely adore them here at Rogue. Yes, they are complicated, and yes they can be temperamental, but when performed correctly and cared for diligently, they are an absolute pleasure.

We have a very in-depth blog about cheek piercings that you can read HERE. Historically, these piercings have had a high failure rate. This is not because cheek piercings are inherantly a bad idea, but simply because they are not given the respect and forethought they deserve. Cheek piercings should only be performed by highly experienced and well-trained piercers who have a robust knowledge of anatomy, and be undertaken by clients who are experienced healers that are committed to a very extended healing time and are financially stable enough to invest the many hundreds of pounds required for the care of these piercings.

Aiden is one of the top cheek piercing specialists in the UK – You are in incredibly safe hands should you choose cheek piercings! You should book in for a consultation with him, or simply pop us an email with any cheek questions you have.

Rhino and Nasallang Piercings

These are definitely up there with the rarest and most unusual piercings! We must note that these piercings are rare for a reason. They are not something we would generally offer to the general public, simply because they are quite extreme and carry a certain amount of risk. We would class these as ‘piercer’s piercings’ for that reason. That, however, does not make them dangerous or instantly the target of a piercing shaming group!

As with all piercings, these can be performed safely and correctly, and they can be performed incorrectly. The main takeaway is to do as much research as you can, talk to as many experienced piercers as you can, and make an informed decision on wether this is the right piercing for you.

Surface Piercings

We’ll finish by talking about surface piercings. These have quite a florid history within piercing, and have definitely had their ups and downs! We personally really like surface piercings, but feel that they had been grouped in with unsafe piercings quite unnecessarily.

The main reason that these piercings have garnered this bad rep is because your piercer has to have a robust knowledge of safe placements and jewellery. As a piercer, you need to be highly selective on where you choose to place a surface piercing. It needs to be strong tissue that does not undergo a high amount of movement, and needs to be placed so that the risk of being snagged on hair and clothing is minimised. The number one cause of a failed surface piercing is this vital placement choice not being fully thought through.

We love surface and microdermal piercings! We think they are absolutely the coolest! We also accept the fact that they should be considered a long-term temporary piercing. Think 6 months to a year as opposed to a lifetime. If you go into your surface piercing appointment with this mindset, you will absolutely enjoy your surface or microdermal piercing!

Under-eyebrow surface piercing.

Heavily Pierced People

This is a topic that comes up online all the time – Heavily pierced people being the butt of jokes or having their images spread online. We are clearly not going to support this.

The number one reason that people get piercings is to feel like themselves. Every time we choose to get a piercing, take the time and the energy to heal it, and to adorn it with jewellery we love, it tells the world that we believe that we matter. We are worth the time and the energy it takes. We are worthy of self-care and self-expression.

Unless a piercing is genuinely dangerous and causes acute harm to the wearer, we believe that no person should be judged for the way that they choose to adorn their flesh prison. We really believe that there are better things to do with the short time we have on this planet than waste our lives sharing unwanted opinions about the appearance of strangers!

This is Rolf, the most heavily pierced man! We have crossed paths many times at professional piercing conferences – He is wonderful!

Unsafe Piercings

Here at Rogue we work to the highest standards of safety – Everything we do is to ensure that you leave with a safe, hygeinic piercing that has the potential to last you a full lifetime. The next few piercings are ones that can cause serious damage, and so we do not offer them. These is a reason these piercings should be considered rare, and we are dedicated to continuing to educate the public on this!

Horizontal Tongue Piercings – We have talked about these so much over the last few years! Otherwise known as Snake-Eye, Frog-Eye or Tongue Scoop piercings, these are surface piercings that cross horizontally through the tip or body of the tongue. Not only are these piercings incredibly traumatic to the tongue, passing through many muscle fibres and the two main muscle groupings of the tongue, they can also cause destructive tooth and gum damage. When dental treatment is so difficult and expensive, it is a no brainer to leave these piercings in the past.

Microdermals in Strange Places – This is a less common one! By themselves, microdermals and surface piercings are not inherantly dangerous. They only become so when placed in reckless locations, such as the hands, fingers, legs, ankles, feet and neck. These are all places that are either constantly in motion, or getting dirty, or located close to veins and arteries. These placements often cause damage to the piercing and are not sustainable in the long run.

If you’ve ever been on the internet, or on one of those piercing shaming groups, you will know that quite often the piercings getting shamed the most are not even dangerous – Just unusual!

So what is the difference? A dangerous piercing will, more often than not, cause long term harm or pain to the piercee. A rare piercing is simply an unusual placement, jewellery style or technique that is not often seen or performed, or may have some form of shock value that makes people do a double-take.

Choosing a Safe Piercing

So, how do you go about deciding which piercings are safe, and which piercings are right for you?

  1. Talk to a Professional. If you have seen a piercing that you love, and want to know why it isn’t more popular, then the first port of call is to discuss this piercing with your high quality professional piercing studio! As professionals, it is our job to educate our clients on why certain piercings are more rare, and which piercings may be suitable or unsuitable for you.
  2. Ignore Internet Experts. This might sound like a no-brainer, but TikTok and Reddit are not necessarily the best place to get your piercing information! Although there are many good piercers spreading excellent information out there, there are also many non-professionals who are using these platforms to pass off their opinions as fact. Try to take the internet with a grain of salt.
  3. Get your Anatomy Assessed. Once you have chosen your piercing, it’s super important to book a consultation with your studio and have your anatomy assessed. Not everybody can safely get every piercing – That is what makes us unique! Once you know you can safely get that piercing, it’s time to…
  4. Consider your Lifestyle. This is super important! Even if you have the perfect anatomy for a piercing, if you feel that your lifestyle or routine will not be compatible with the piercing, it might be best to take a step back and reassess. For example: You have fallen in love with a crazy custom scaffold piercing that takes up most of the upper portion of your ear. You have the anatomy for it! But… You love riding motorcycles and wear a crash helmet daily. This means that your lifestyle and that piercing will not be compatible. Or, you want a Rhino piercing but you have to wear a face mask all day because you are a nurse.
  5. Employability Matters. This is a touchy subject, we know. However, it is so incredibly important to consider your quality of life and employment. You may absolutely love the look of a 1″ stretched lower labret, however… You’re in Law School. You are customer-facing at work. You work in a primary school. Even though you love this piercing, as your piercer we need to make sure that you are prepared for any ramifications of more heavy and rare piercing work. This is why some piercings are classed as ‘piercer’s piercings’ – We can (to an extent) choose to go slightly more out there with our piercings!

To summarise: The majority of piercings are absolutely viable when performed correctly, using high quality appropriate jewellery, by an experienced practitioner. Piercings can have issues for a number of reasons, most commonly due to being performed incorrectly on inappropriate anatomy. That’s why researching your piercer is so important!

The best way to find your closest high-quality studio is by checking the UKAPP website, or the APP website if you are an international reader. Take the time to research the studio, contact them to ask which piercer is most experienced in the piercing you are looking for, and ask as many questions as you need to! Sometimes, the only option is to go on a road trip and travel to get the best possible piercing experience. Rogue is based in Nottingham in the midlands, and is more than happy to help.

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Intimate Consultations – What To Expect

Rogue is an intimate piercing speciaAt Rogue we require a consultation to take place at least 24 hours prior to performing any intimate piercing. This is so you have adequate time to process all the information regarding your piercing and make an informed decision. We also want you to feel comfortable in the studio and with our team because communication is key for any piercing.

So what can you expect when you book in for an intimate consultation? The first thing to note is that we will endevour to make sure the studio is clear of other clients so that we can speak openly and put you at ease. If you want a cup of tea or some water, just let us know! We do recommend that you bring a chaperone, but if you prefer to come by yourself, that’s absolutely fine too! We just want you to feel comfortable.

The first part of the consultation takes place on our (very comfortable) sofa where we will chat with you about a few different things. It’s important that we start by building trust, we know it can be intimidating and a little scary to even book for an intimate piercing so we want to ensure that you feel safe and confident at Rogue. Generally we will chat to you about:

  • What piercing you would like and how you became interested in it
  • Our experience with that piercing
  • Why we offer this piercing and some history around intimate piercings
  • Why we are passionate about intimate piercings and ensuring that we provide a safe setting for our clients

Once we’ve built some trust, we will explain the procedure for your piercing(s). This will differ for each placement and may also differ depending on the piercer or specific anatomy but we will provide you with all the information, step-by-step on how we generally perform the piercing(s) you are interested in.

At any point during the consultation, you are free to ask as many questions as you can think of!

After we cover the procedure, we will discuss aftercare. Again, this may differ slightly piercing to piercing but it essentially boils down to our Golden Rules.

  • Keep it clean! – use sterile saline twice a day to remove any build up
  • Keep it dry! – don’t soak your piercing in still water (baths/pools), pat dry with non-woven gauze or clean kitchen paper after cleaning with saline/showering
  • Leave it alone! – touching causes damage, don’t twist/turn/touch the jewellery and it’s very important to refrain from any sexual activity around the piercing (intercourse/oral sex) and any masturbation aswell for the first four weeks.

When you are ready to re-introduce your sexual life, please ensure that everyone’s hands are clean and that you are using condoms or dental dams for the first 4 weeks to ensure that we are not introducing bacteria into the piercing channel. This is important even if you have been with your partner(s) for a long time.

That’s a lot of information to take on but don’t worry! At your piercing appointment we will go over the aftercare information with you again as a refresher 🙂 You will also be given a a free can of Neilmed sterile saline for your aftercare.

Now we come to the anatomy check. As mentioned before, there will be a two member’s of staff in the room for all intimate appointments. We recommend bringing a chaperone with you if this is something you are comfortable with. We will ask you to step in to the piercing room and we will explain the next steps with you. To perform the anatomy check, we will request that you remove or pull down any clothing/underwear that is obstructing the area.

Before we go on, let’s re-iterate a few key points about the process:

  • Nothing will happen without your consent
  • At no point will you be pressured into removing clothing unneccassarily
  • Everything goes at your pace. Let us know at any point if you are feeling uncomfortable or not at ease.
  • Ask as many questions as you can think of! This is all about making sure you have informed consent

To perform the anatomy check, we may need to gently clean the area before hand using sterile saline or an anti-septic skin clenser (PurKlenz). We will let you know at each stage if we are using any equipment such as a sterile receiving tube or a sterile cotton bud. We will explain why we are using these and let you know prior to touching you in any way.

Once we have checked your anatomy, feel free to get dressed and comfortable. We will explain which piercings are viable (if you have asked for a few different options) and if we are happy to perform them for you. We will explain different jewellery sizes and options that are available to you and show you some examples.

We understand that while intimate consultations/piercings are part of our day-to-day at Rogue, we know that isn’t the case for all of clients. We’ve all been in the same position before and understand that it can feel a little daunting and vulnerable. Rest assured, we will do everything we can to make sure you feel at ease. You are in safe hands!

And that’s the consultation! We will have given you a lot of information to process. Feel free to contact us at any point if you have more questions or if you need clarification on anything. As long as our piercers have agreed that they are happy to perform the piercing for you, you can book in for the appointment any time after 24 hours from the consult. This gives you plenty of time to digest all of the information and to sleep on ythe decision. We take informed consent very seriously in the studio and we want to make sure you are making this decision for yourself.

We hope this puts you at ease and gives you an idea of how the intimate consultations go. If you are looking to book in, please do so here: https://roguepiercing.co.uk/book-now/

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Apprentice Piercings!

Learning how to pierce is definitely a key part of a piercing apprenticeship, but how do we ensure that these piercings are going to be safe and viable for the piercee, and why is it a good idea to trust an apprentice with your new piercing?

Learning the Basics

Lets discuss the lead up to the piercing first. When an apprentice does their first ever piercing on the public, they are not going into it blind. In Jay’s case, they spent a long time watching and learning how the studio runs. Talking through the different types of piercings, the anatomy of the body, the healing times. They became a shadow, watching their mentor (Aiden) and other members of the team pierce their clients. Jay was talked through different piercing methods, and how each one worked, and which ones would be the most suitable to start with.

They then had to practice getting hands-on with piercing foam, paper, and fruit such as oranges and bananas. This was all done to have a feel of how the needles worked, and talk through more technical ideas in a 3D space. The fruit also helped Jay get a ‘feel’ of what piercing skin would feel like. This was how the first 6 months of Jays apprenticeship ran!

Jay practicing needle work on an orange.

In February 2022, Jay got to pick up their first needle, and do their first piercing. They started with a mid helix on Aiden (their mentor), which came out pretty good. The entire process was watched and directed by Aiden. Jay then got to do a classic Helix on their manager, Kat, which was also directed and watched over by Aiden. This was then also followed by a conch piercing on Gemma. After a lot of hands-on practice, we then started opening Jays apprentice piercings to the public. We knew they were ready!

Why Choose an Apprentice Piercing?

Booking a piercing with an apprentice can be a little nerve wracking. You’re trusting a ‘trainee’ to alter your body. Its okay to be nervous or have questions! To say ‘thank you’ for your trust, we offer a 50% discount on the piercing fee.

We always have to expect minor flaws with first piercings, and that they might not always be 100% perfect, however no matter what, we will never let you leave the studio with a piercing that we are not 100% happy with.

It’s so important that people are willing to trust an apprentice with their body. Without you guys, they would never learn! Sure, they can definitely learn some skills piercing fruit and cardboard, or even sillicone, but it’s just not the same.

Every apprentice piercing done by Jay is directed by a head piercer. Aiden, as Jay’s mentor, has been present for most of these. Other piercers have kindly gifted their time to help Jay learn! Breo, Gemma, David Angeles, and Andre Nalin have all spent some of their time at Rogue helping Jay learn the skills they need. This means that every apprentice piercing Jay has completed, has been completely supervised by a well experienced piercer. This means there are always two piercers working together on your piercing, while also building up Jay’s skillset and confidence to be an excellent piercer when working independently.

If you’re questioning wether or not to trust an apprentice piercer, check out their portfolio! Have a look at the work they are already producing. Go in for a chat with them, and discuss their work. Ask questions. Get a piercing that they are already fully capable of performing independently. It’s important that you can establish a good relationship with your piercer, and that you can trust them.

If you wish to book in with Jay for any of their apprentice deals, you can book here. You can also contact Jay via email to discuss any ideas for piercings or discuss what they are currently offering, or are planning to learn.

jay@roguepiercing.co.uk

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An Interview with Aiko Hosten – Piercer, Podcaster, Practioner of Suspenion and Shibari

Sunday can be an odd day. A cold Sunday morning at Rogue was quickly warmed up by the wonderful energy facilitated by Aiko Hosten, Alicia and our very own Aiden. Body modification in all its many forms, brings people from all over the world together over their shared interest in the weird and wonderful. Aiko has traveled the world learning and sharing his experiences as a body piercer, suspension practitioner, shibari rigger and podcast host. It was an honor to hang out (pun intended) with Aiko and chat about their experiences on both sides of the pointy end.

Gemma:  Tell us your origin story Aiko

Aiko: I have always been interested in piercing and tattooing since I was younger. I was getting tattooed and pierced a few times before I applied for an apprenticeship at the studio I’m working at now. I never got the apprenticeship but I started piercing at home and then a local studio where I was living was looking for a piercer. I applied for it, and they offered me an apprenticeship which was more like, “here’s a needle, there’s a customer, do your thing.” 

It was a biker shop, so there were a few bikers that did some piercings back in the day, which helped me in the beginning, but was not really an apprenticeship. So I started educating myself through BMXnet, APP etc. I was 22, so that’s about eight years ago. I worked there for almost a year and then quit the job cuz it was too much stress working for a biker. 

That was a gap of a year or two until I found some people to start our own studio. After a few months, the tattooer and the other piercer quit. So I took the studio on myself with my best friend and ran the studio for almost three years right before the pandemic hit. We pulled the plug  because a lot of renovations needed to be done and it was not really worth staying there for me.

Right before the pandemic hit, I switched to another studio where I was piercing. Then I broke my foot so I was stuck at home for two or three weeks. But the good thing was, I was still working part-time at a supermarket so I still had money coming in monthly and I had to work two to three days in the supermarket, which kept me sane.

G: When did you first get into suspension? 

A: My first memory of seeing a picture of suspension was in the library when I was passing through books of ancient history, African culture, North American culture and everything. I think it was one of the National Geographic books about the Sun Dance ritual. So that triggered me when I was young and I always wanted to know more about it. I researched more, got on BME back in the day. I start scrolling there, clicking around ‘Are you allowed to be here? Are you 18? Definitely. Yes.’

And then it wasn’t until I was like 21/22 when I got the opportunity to suspend myself. It was with Indy Voet, a piercer who is now a hand-poke tattoo artists and Kevin Garcia who now works at Contraseptik

Lift yourself up.

They did my first suspension and it wasn’t bad, but it was not what I was expecting it to be. Maybe it was just location wise that wasn’t good enough for me. I wanted more of a ritual and this was more like, ‘Hey, let’s have fun, just being friends together figuring it out’  which is perfectly fine and I can do that now. But for my first time, I was more hoping for a ritual experience.

 It took about another year until I got the opportunity to be suspended by Beto and Eugenia together with the Pink Flamingo Crew, and that blew my mind. To me, that time feels more like a first experience than my actual first time.

G: What made the experience so much better with Pink Flamingo Fly?

A: It all started with the location. it was a squat somewhere in Brussels, it looked like an old ruin. The garden was so filled with plants and nature,it was so beautiful. It was great weather and it was sort of an outside experience because the building was like ruins.

The connection I had with Beto and Eugenia at that time, helping me suspend it was mind blowing to me. It gave me more of an outer body experience, more the thing that I wanted to experience for my first time.

G: How did you get started as a suspension facilitator? 

A: I suspended a few times with the Flamingo crew and it triggered me to learn more about it. I just started talking with a few practitioners in Belgium including a tattoo artist friend of mine and some other practitioners in the world. At first I just did some suspensions with a friend of mine who used to do suspensions, who taught me the basics of how to prep the skin, how to find a great spot and everything. Then I did some seminars at BMXnet, went to some conferences and that’s how I rolled into it.

G: What do you enjoy about facilitating body suspension for people?

A: For me, it’s a look in the eyes. When you suspend someone or help someone suspend, you can see the light change in their eyes. It’s a magical feeling. You can just feel the energy. You put a lot of energy into that person to help them. But you get so much love and connection back and that’s what I love about it. It is amazing to do. I can say the best thing to do in the world for me. I love piercing, don’t get me wrong, I would never stop piercing. But suspension that little more.

G: I can really see that connection between the two worlds of body piercing and body suspension. For me and for a lot of piercers I speak with, our favorite part of the job is after you’ve done the piercing and that client looks in the mirror and they’re like “fuck yeah, I did that scary thing just for me.” And you’ve helped facilitate that. I guess with suspension, it’s a bit like that on a bigger scale. 

A: Yeah because it’s guiding them to get through the pain, to get over the fear. The fear is understandable especially the first time you do something. Guiding them to that next level is amazing. 

G: Can you tell us about some highlights from your suspension journey? 

A: There are a few. A top one for sure is  the first time I met Charlyne. I went to “Hang You” in Galicia organized by Alex Pereiro, I was in Madrid and I got on the plane by myself to fly to Galicia.Charlyne was on the same plane and she already spotted me. I was going to meet up with some friends to take a cab together and I was waiting outside. Charlyne walked up to me and she was like, “Hey, are you going to the Suscon (suspension conference)? And I nervously said yeah, why? I knew who she was, but I didn’t think she knew me but she asked to share a ride. We got a big cab for six of us, me and Charlyne were already talking and she asked if I wanted to do a spinning beam with her. I’d never done it, but sure. And just the connection me and Charlyne made there and during our first suspension together was, it was like brother and sister connecting together. That was one of the best experiences I’ve had during a suspension myself.

Throwing hooks in tandem. Such a powerful moment.

The second top time is also with Charlyne. Well, most of them are involved with Charlyne actually. It was my first Suspension Sunday, like a real small event, I organised because Charlyne was coming to visit. It was at a local club that hosted BDSM parties, and because of that – I was able to rent it to do suspenion there. It was just so fun doing that, organizing that myself and that started me doing it more and more. 

Another top experience was doing a suspension here in Belgium, it was at a huge squat. They had a skate pool and everything built inside. Me, Joan and Charlene went there, and did a few amazing suspensions there. It was fucking cold there, but it was so warm at the same time. All the people living there came to check it out.and some even suspended for the first time. It was amazing to just be able to do that.

Of course the Pirate Piercing suspension hangout was a great time. My boss had bought an old piece of land, a big wooded area, and we did a suspension there. We had a few first timers there. It was nice to be hanging out, drinking, chilling, placing hooks, making mistakes, doing stupid shit.

G: Can you tell us about some of your experiences traveling and volunteering?

 A: The first traveling I did was a Galicia convention, which was actually right in between Covid lockdowns. I volunteered at the APP convention in Las Vegas. I’ve been over to the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands. I’m trying to travel way more cuz I’m tired of just staying in Belgium. I love Belgium, but traveling is so much more fun. Meeting a lot of people and suspension gives me the opportunity to do it. 

G: What’s the body modification scene like in Belgium compared to other places you’ve visited?

A:  Honestly, we’re a little behind. Quality jewelry isn’t that big in Belgium or the Netherlands compared to places like the UK, US or Canada. I was one of the founders of the APP Benelux, which for personal reasons I’m not involved anymore. I still think quality jewelry should be promoted a little bit more.In Belgium, I think there are like four or five studios that really promote quality jewelry. There are a lot of studios that are working up their standards. 

Tattooing is big in Belgium, especially in Antwerp. It’s really huge. A lot of quality tattooers. There’s a lot of other people doing it safely.

G: I’d love to talk about your suspension performances and events.

A: I rolled into it. A  friend of mine here in Antwerp is really big in the BDSM community and he also does some suspensions within BDSM, more hook play and needle play. He was talking to me one day about trying to promote health and safety in the BDSM community and I said if you ever need somebody to talk about hygiene when it comes to blood play/piercing etc, I’m totally up to that. A few weeks later he messaged me about doing a performance. 

I like being on a stage so we worked something out. A friend of mine helped and  we did the first performance where she was suspended in a scorpion position and then we dropped her to a two point back placement, just to show the possibilities. The day after, they got sick so I had to do something by myself. I pierced myself on stage, did everything safely by myself and it just rolled from there.

Suspending from the knee

Now, they keep asking me to come back to do some small performances, which is perfectly fine. I love doing it, it’s fun. I have an excuse to suspend myself. With the performances, I’m not good at shocking people. So I try to do what I would do for somebody in a sort of ritual setting. I’m not gonna say it’s a ritual that I do, but I just try to focus on the suspension and not on the pain and the hooks, which is always involved but it’s not the main attention. 

G: So it’s not performative, it’s not for the shock value, it’s just like sharing an experience with a room of people. In a BDSM club. 

A:  I love the audience but I’m not really involved with the BDSM scene really. But the piercing world, the suspension world, a lot of it became what it is now because of the BDSM world.

G: Any upcoming plans for 2023?

A: Charlyne is coming back in May and we’re doing a suspension Sunday here in Antwerp. I have a lot of travel plans. I’m going to Italy for SusCon as a guest. Then after that there’s APP then I’m going to Oslo. I hope to go back to Croatia to suspend above the sea again, but we’ll have to see. Travel is expensive. I also want to go back to Canada to do some suspensions because I’ve been there in the past. to meet up with Alicia but I want to go back and do suspensions there as well. We’re looking for a location, looking for people who wanted to help, cuz traveling there with all the gear sucks.

Thank you Aiko for your time, your incredible work and your passion for what you do. It was such a privilege to have you visit Rogue and share your knowledge and experience with everyone. Safe travels for the year ahead and we’ll see you soon!

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Kat’s Three Year Anniversary

Well, well, well. Time absolutely flies.

Monday, March 20th marks my three year anniversary at Rogue! If you want to take a trip down memory lane with me, just scroll through the gallery above to see me go from a tiny baby punk to a grizzled, old manager! I’m allowed to indulge myself in some reminiscing, if you can keep your eyes open long enough to read it…

In the Beginning…

I first found Rogue after getting my conch pierced at another studio in Nottingham city center. Once I let it heal for a bit, I really wanted to find some new jewellery for it as they didn’t have anything on offer except plain ‘Titanium’ balls. A few months after getting it pierced, I went back to that studio and asked if they had anything nicer. The lovely lady behind the desk was really sweet (and honest!) and told me that a new studio had just opened a week or so earlier, and that I was best to check there for nice jewellery. I did a quick google, went down the wrong lane (as most people do!) and ended up walking through the doors at Rogue for the first time in September 2019!

It was very quiet. I think I might have been the first person through the door all day! The joys of opening a new business in a new city, I suppose. I immedietely knew I was in the right place. A couple of days later and I was booked in for a few new piercings, and the week after I had my first ever piece of BVLA for my conch piercing! That was quite possibly the upgrade of the century.

I found University quite a struggle. Being Autistic, I had a hard time connecting with my peers. Strangely though, being in Rogue felt like home. I was in and out of the studio a lot after my first visit, not necessarily being pierced but always asking questions. The jewellery really drew me in – I’ve always been a bit of a magpie! I already had an inkling that I’d be spending a lot of my free time here.

Suspension!

Just after that first Christmas at Uni, I popped into Rogue and Aiden mentioned that he was hosting a suspension event. I was quite frankly mind-blown. I’d only ever heard of suspension through the internet, (thank you, years of unsupervised internet access!) and I didn’t think people actually did it. I couldn’t say no!

So in March, I went down to the studio with a friend who had offered to take professional(ish) photos and had my mind officially melted. This was also my first time meeting quite a few people from the industry (shout out to everyone that I met!) and I had never felt so at home. I look back and realise I was the most awkward, uncomfortable looking creature on the planet, but it was absolutely worth it. Also a most excellent afterparty, where at one point I ended up having to scale a 12ft fence and emerge from some bushes to catch an uber. You clearly had to be there.

Cannot believe this was the only photo taken that day!

Lockdowns.

And then, just a few days after the last suspension event… Some global calamity happened. I’m sure none of you remember it, it was super casual and only lasted two weeks…

My uni flatmate moved home and I was suddenly left on my own in Nottingham! No close family, no uni friends… But I did have Rogue. And Rogue became my reason to get up every morning! It was during this time that I learned a lot of what I know about piercing and jewellery. In that first few months, we recieved an influx of jewellery from another studio but none of it was labelled – It was up to us to inspect every single piece and decide what it was! This is kinda where I fell in love with BVLA as well. Not only is their jewellery beautiful, but it has real recogniseability! So I spent weeks and weeks with the macro lens, looking at the fine details of prong-set Swarovski crystals to try and determine whether they were manufactured by Industrial Strength, Neometal, or Anatometal. If that sounds like fun, then you definitely need to get out more! The hardest things were the labrets – It’s funny though, I can still tell an Anatometal threadless labret from a Neometal one, and a WBJ labret from an Anatometal threaded labret just by looking at the side profile of their disc. And who said piercing doesn’t give you transferrable skills!

The part that always makes me laugh is when I first started at Rogue, Aiden asked me if I was familiar with Excel and spreadsheets, because there was a LOT of spreadsheets involved. I said ‘Yes, I love spreadsheets! I am super good at them!’ Y’know. Like a liar. So I had to secretly give myself an aggressive crash-course in Excel/Google Sheets in order to maintain that lie for the first few weeks! In all fairness, I do now love spreadsheets.

Since I lived alone, I ended up in a bubble with Aiden and Anna, who graciously adopted me as a lightly feral nephew-type-deal. I’ll always be grateful for that. So I spent a lot of 2020 on a narrowboat, which was definitely not how I planned my year going.

I was clearly coping very well.

The best and strangest part of my start at Rogue was that I didn’t actually speak to or interact with an actual client until I had been working there for a good few months! Because we were classed as a close-contact service, we were very late to be allowed to reopen. The first time I actually had a client come through the door, it felt slightly illegal. Face-to-face interactions with customers are still my favourite moments though. As much as I enjoy being huddled behind a screen with my spreadsheets and order schedules, talking to real people is the highlight of my day.

At the time I didn’t really know how perilous things might have been, but looking back I am amazed that Rogue survived that time! Since reopening, it feels like Rogue has gone from strength to strength.

Raising the Baby.

Since reopening, it feels like the last few years have gone by in an absolute blur. I’m nearly in my mid-twenties now (I’m sure anyone 30+ is groaning – It feels old to me, ok!), and I’ve ended up as a manager (some may describe me as Supreme Overlord…) with 4-ish employees, a very large business to care for, and a never-ending headache of a jewellry collection! When did that happen?!

I don’t know the exact moment when Rogue became my baby, but it really has. I feel like I’ve definitely poured some of my cold, blackened soul into it and it has repayed me with a career that most people can only dream of (If they know it even exists!) I’ve watched it grow from a one-man show into one of the biggest UKAPP member studios in the country. I’ve been there for the good days and the bad – But I can say with certainty that there’s never a boring day at Rogue!

Since then, I twisted the UKAPPs arm to create a new membership category for non-piercer Associates (of which I was the first!), I’ve taught a fully-packed seminar at the annual UKAPP conference in Manchester, and I’ve won (and immedietely deferred) the Lynn Loheide Front of House scholarship for APP conference 2024 in Las Vegas. International travel may terrify me, but I will be getting on that plane even if someone has to hit me over the head with a rubber mallet first! I feel like I might need to take an actual holiday at some point…

Science!

Nose to the Grindstone

I remember very clearly the day I finished my last undergrad exam. I was sitting it at the front desk at Rogue on my laptop, since everything had moved online. I remember closing the laptop and saying, “Thank Christ it’s over. Never again.”

Famous last words…

So, after taking a year to forget how vaguely awful my undergrad was, I applied to and successfully got a place on my dream Masters! MSc Hons Microbiology and Immunology. A bit of a mouthful but incredibly interesting.

And that’s where I’m at now! Just trying to balance my baby with my degree, while still aiming for 6+ hours of sleep a night. It’s definitely hard work, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I have my own little found family in the Rogues, and I get to wake up every morning and do something I love.

This blog has definitely just been me indulging myself in ramblings, but it’s been a whirlwind of a three years and I’m really looking forward to what the next three years looks like. If the last few years are anything to go by, it’ll be worth sticking around to find out!

Thank you everyone for coming to Rogue, letting me have fun and be creative with your jewellery, and just generally making my passion into something genuinely fulfilling, that can actually pay my bills at the same time!

Back to our regularly scheduled interesting blog posts next week…

-Kat < 3

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What to Expect at your Piercing!

So, you’ve either booked a piercing appointment with us, or you’re considering booking one. Either way, we’re super excited to have you on board! However, what should you expect at your appointment, and should you bring anything? There’s a lot of questions you might have. So, let’s discuss the process of getting pierced at Rogue.

So first things first, book your appointment! Rogue is an appointment only studio, we do not offer walk-ins. You can book via our website here, for any day or time that suits you! You can even choose which piercer you would like to book with if you have a preference! While you’re going through the booking system, make sure you read those pesky terms and conditions! Once you’re all booked, you may want to browse our online webstore too view the hundreds of jewellery options we have! This is definitely a choice though – Most of your appointment time is dedicated to guiding you to your perfect jewellery.

The Day of Your Appointment

Now, it’s the day of you’re appointment! Make sure you’ve had a good breakfast/lunch before your appointment , and avoid caffiene! Caffiene is a stimulant and increase your blood flow. It can also boost anxiety if you’re feeling quite nervous! You’ll need to bring your photographic ID, such as a passport, driving license, or citizen card. Also check your emails! In your confirmation email there will be a link to your consent form. Give it a read and sign it as long as you agree and understand each point. If there is anything you need to ask, or anything you need us to know, then wait to complete the form at your appointment.

Once you arrive we will confirm your appointment with you, check your ID and check your consent form. We only accept valid photo ID. This may be something like a passport, provisional/driving licence, or for the kiddo’s – a citizens card. If you are over the age of 16, you will need your own ID, and your parent cannot sign for you. If you are under the age of 16, you will need to bring your parent or legal guardian witrh you, and you will both be required to have photographic ID. We may also ask for a birth certificate. (Due to insurance, we can not accept copies, or photographs of your ID. It does need to be a physical copy!)

Once all the boring stuff is out of the way, we will then discuss jewellery choices with you. We will show you all our cabinets and discuss ideas on your goal! There are hundreds of pierces to choose from, and our staff will help narrow down the choices for you! Once your piece (or pieces!) have been chosen, we set them up to be sterilised. During this time, your piercer will set up what they require, such as gloves and tools, and our counter staff will talk you through your aftercare advice, and answer any questions you may have.

The Piercing

You then get to go through to the piercing room and do the exciting bit! Your piercing experience can change depending on who you book with – Everyone is different! All our piercers work quite similarly, and are equally skilled, but they all have their own unique way of piercing. This is where the magic lies. For example, Breo likes to really slow down and walk you through the entirety of his process. Aiden will show you his tools and jewellery, and will take time to chat and get to know you. Gemma is super friendly and is amazing at keeping you calm. Jay is super full of energy and makes the process super fun and bouncy!

As soon as your piercing has happened, and both you and your piercer are happy, you get to come back out to reception, where you’ll be met with smiling faces! We’ll go throught the checkout, give you some cool stickers, and if you allow us to, we might take some super cool macro photos for our social media!

And thats it, we’re done! The next stage is your checkup appointment, which is super important. If you do literally nothing else with your piercing, come back for your checkup to ensure a smooth healing process and a beautiful end result! The checkup date depends on your piercing – This could be anywhere from 7 days to 6 weeks. Check your aftercare leaflet and pay attention during your aftercare speech to make sure you are on time.

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BVLA Top Picks – March 2023

We are currently offering our biggest ever collection of BVLA in the studio, and are expecting even more to arrive in the coming weeks! Here we are going to do a little overview of some of our favourite pieces, all of which are available to purchase online and in-studio for both fresh piercings and healed piercing upgrades!

The Mini AJ

Jay has had their eyes on a Mini AJ from the minute they saw it on the BVLA website, and Kat has outdone themselves with this stunning mix of Labradorite and White Sapphires yet into 14k Yellow Gold. Absolutely stunning.

We would love to see this piece in a conch piercing! The fan shape will really be amplified by the curve of the ear – And give it plenty of space to shine.

The Trillion Half-Bezel

Following in the footsteps of the Mini AJ, is the Trillion Half Bezel. Again, these pieces made us fall madly in love the minute we saw them. Love at first sight some would call it. And with even more Labradordite in yellow gold, you can see why these guys have had to make it into our list of favourites. These would look absolutely stunning atop a navel or jestrum piercing, for the adventurous!

The Beaded Marquise

These are such a popular design, and you can really see why. They are so incredibly neat. The bezel, the beading… Everything works together perfectly to make a beautiful piece that looks amazing in lobe, helix and faux rook placements!

The Miel

Rose-Cut Green Tourmaline: it definitely knows how to catch your eye! Every single turn under the light allows different colours to shine through, from deep moss tones through to chartreuse bright greens. We have just one of these left in stock in this colourway, and we would love to see it in a philtrum or labret piercing!

Gemstone Feature: Chrysoprase

Round Cab prongs and a Marquise Seam Ring.

Continuing with the green, is the absolute ultimate neon green: Chrysoprase. We are absolutely hoping to see these guys leave as a full set. We would absolutely love to offer to waive the piercing fees for a set of paired nostril piercings and a septum piercing! Just get in contact via email and we can book you in!

Gemstone Feature: Oregon Sunstone

Now Oregon Sunstone has made Jay fall fast and hard. It’s beautiful, soft, feminine, and absolutely mesmerising. You also can’t go wrong with a Cab Prong. Classics are a classic for a reason! This design has just a little bit of intricacy in the setting, while still letting the gemstone speak for itself.

BVLA are the pinnacle of body jewellery – With over 800 different designs to choose from, which you can personalise with 500 gemstones, the choice can be a little overwhelming! We are here to guide you through the entire process from start to finish, suggesting pieces and curating your own slice of the BVLA pie.

If you want to get your own custom piece, email Kat at kat@roguepiercing.co.uk to get the ball rolling on wearing your own dream body jewellery collection.

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An Interview with Elizabeth Moore – Piercer

I first met Elizabeth around ten years ago when we both worked in a call centre . We bonded immediately over our shared love of piercings, tattoos and all things alternative. Throughout the years, Elizabeth has navigated the turbulent path of ADHD and ASD whilst immersing themselves fully into an industry that they are now thriving in. When we first met, Elizabeth struggled to talk with strangers and now they’re hosting talks at both the UKAPP and Piercer Trade Show events, speaking to rooms full of piercers about Apprenticeships in the UK and Neurodivergence in Piercing! On a personal note, Elizabeth was the first person to encourage me to start piercing and I am eternally and whole-heartadly grateful that they gave me that push and overwhelmingly proud of the person and piercer that they are.
Elizabeth works at Body Alter, Worksop

Gemma: How did you get started in piercing?

Elizabeth: I was being pierced a lot as a teenager, then I got normal jobs because I thought that was what you were supposed to do. I started getting pierced again in my early 20s but I’d never been pierced by anyone who wasn’t a tattooist so I never made the connection that it was a job.

Then I saw somewhere advertising for a body piercer and I didn’t get the job there but it was the first time I was like, ‘oh, this is someone’s job and I could do that?!’ I very much hated corporate life. This was maybe 2016 and it all kind of unfolded from there. When clients ask, I tell them I got started by accident.

G: What started your interest in piercing?

E: I was on MySpace for most of my teen years. There were all these ‘scene queens’, with snake bites and septum piercings, and I was like, shit, I want all of those. Then it all kind of went a bit nuts from there. 

G: We’ve been friends a long time, I know your piercing career and your journey with mental health and getting your diagnosis sort of began simultaneously right? 

E: So I have Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, dyspraxia and depression. I’d been diagnosed in maybe 2014/15. I’d given up work because of what I thought was a mental health crisis and happened to see a GP who was actually understanding. I was like, basically I just need you to give me drugs to get me through this crisis, and then I’ll look for a job again. And she asked if I’d ever considered that I might be autistic. She put that in motion and I saw a mental health nurse, then an autism specialist at a place in Chesterfield. The specialist thought I had ADHD and I laughed at her and said no, that’s not what it is. I’ve been reading about autism and it’s definitely that. 

I had an informal diagnosis from the GP initially, but then it took a long time to see a specialist who confirmed what I had already accepted by that point.

Fred the little terror

G: You’re very open about your experience being neurodivergent both as a person and a piercer.

E:  I’m just not ashamed of it. My diagnosis explained a lot about myself and it feels like a big part of who I am. I think it’s a lot of the reason why I’m good at what I do. It’s the reason why I’m not scared to have an opinion.

I have opinions on everything and I think anyone who’s ever talked to me on the internet very much knows. But that’s because I know myself well now, and I think knowing myself well came from a diagnosis. People are often a little frightened to seek it out. It doesn’t really change your life that dramatically if you know, but it’s a nice bit of validation. I don’t think it’s anything to be ashamed of. I don’t think there’s any condition that you should be ashamed of but I understand people want to keep things private. 

G:  You were diagnosed and then immediately started in the industry under not the most ideal circumstances, how was that for you?

E: I was newly diagnosed, I’d been masking for most of my life anyway so I’d not quite learned how to drop that completely in a way that I feel like I can do now. I was still very much in that headspace where I’d worked in call centers and a corporate world where I felt like I had no choice but to pretend to be a functional human being. 

Masking is exhausting. So it was really hard at the beginning to do it and learn not only how to pierce but also how to interact with people in a customer service setting. Piercing is a customer service industry that happens to have treatments attached to it. But then I also had to learn how not to get too invested.

We talk about imposter syndrome a lot on the internet. People talk about having it a lot and that’s especially true when you’re a neurodivergent person. These people are never gonna forget anything. Every mistake or every weird thing I’ve done in my career, I can remember, I can very much call back to that, but I’ll never remember the good stuff.

That was really hard to balance at first, and now I just dump it all on Paddy and make him deal with the things I’m stressing about

G: Have you found within the industry, there is quite a sub-community of neurodivergent piercers?

E: Yeah, privately a lot of people have reached out and said they’re either neurodiverse and are struggling with it, or they think they might be. But also I just polled the UK Professionals group just to see and yeah, loads of people have various personality disorders,

I think what draws us to this industry is that it’s not necessarily needing to mask all the time. There’s not very many people where I feel like I know they’re not hiding their intentions, but that is true of someone that is neurodivergent. Generally, I know that they’re not hiding their actual intentions because it’s not always something that we can do. Like lying is difficult. Building emotions is difficult, so then you kind of have to be yourself around them. And I think like calls to like in any part of your life. I think neurodiverse people are drawn to each other just because they’re neurodiverse and everyone tends to have a bit of a sense of that in someone else.

Lobe piercing by Elizabeth using the “LA baby” by @buddhajewelryofficial

G: What advice would you give piercers who are struggling with their own mental health/neurodivergence but also who have clients that are?

 E: From a piercer perspective, be kind to yourself and patient with yourself. Understand your own boundaries and recognise what burnout is for you because burnout is not the same for everyone. Give yourself longer appointments. Do whatever it is that makes your life easier.

There’s zero point struggling, particularly when you are in an industry or a job that you have so much control over. I appreciate that not everybody has as much control but particularly if people are diagnosed, autism and ADHD are recognised as disabilities in this country and your employer has a legal obligation to make reasonable adjustments. But you have to know what those reasonable adjustments are. You kinda have to take some ownership of it or advocate someone to speak for you that understands.

My huge, big, giant thing from a client perspective,for anyone who is piercing someone who is neurodiverse, is don’t patronise them. I see so much performative activism on the internet that’s like, ‘oh, we do this thing for our autistic clients.’ It just feels really weird. ‘I’m gonna put lots of different cloud lights in here’. Fuck no. Everyone’s sensory issues are different as well. You’ve just gotta listen to your client. As a client, I just wanna be treated as a person and just be pierced the way that you pierce everyone because I can tell if you are out of your comfort zone as well. I see heaps of people really infantalise people with neurodiversity issues.

I like it when people give the option to have a silent appointment, but again, don’t just assume that your autistic client might want you not to talk to them because my ADHD wants you to chat.

As a piercer, I will try and make those accommodations, but also I can’t make any promises. There’s not always gonna be an option where I can do that either but I’ll try my best. We don’t do small talk in my piercing room. We do big talk. Always big talk. What superpowers would you have? I don’t know how to do small talk. 

G: What’s the weirdest superpower someone has said?

E:  People tend to just go for the power of flight or invisibility. Some guy wanted to make money with his hands and we ended up talking about economics for like 25 minutes. I always wanna ask people what they’re reading, but then not everybody reads

Another good one that I ask people is, what’s the weirdest fact they know. That’s fun because they are always excited to tell you. Did you know an octopus’s mouth was also its anus? It’s true for squid as well. 

G: You’ve been doing some work around piercing apprenticeships in the UK. Can you tell us a bit about that and why you started the UK Piercing Apprentices Facebook group?

E: I wanted there to be piercing specific information for people who were looking to start an apprenticeship either as an apprentice or as a mentor. It’s not a particularly active group, but I think there comes a point where it doesn’t really need to be. I wanted it to be a live-in resource.

I get asked all the time if I’m taking on a trainee and there was nowhere to point people for UK specific information about what a piercing traineeship is. There’s a couple of really good blogs but a lot of them are American so the information wasn’t always relevant to the UK and /UK legislation.  

Also it’s a group where people could ask questions in real time. There’s experienced piercers there, there’s piercers who are learning and there’s people who want to be piercers in there. Before I started the group, all the Facebook groups were for professionals only so we’re in these little echo chambers where we’re saying the best way to learn to be a piercer is to do an apprenticeship and learn from another piercer, but we’re also saying it to each other. That information wasn’t getting any further really. Piercers were also saying, you should find a piercer that you like and hang out at their studio, which was creating a huge issue for me personally. I can’t deal with that so I was having to say no to clients wanting to hang out and I came out of that looking like the bad guy even though I had done nothing wrong.

Performing a tandem piercing with Nathan at The Piercer Trade Show,

G: Unfortunately, the piercing and tattoo industry has a bad history of apprentice abuse. People would take on apprentices who were maybe naive or vulnerable, not pay them for their work and expect them to just be grateful that they’re a part of the industry. 

E: People didn’t know that they were being exploited either and that was the big thing for me. People were being treated appallingly, but they were just being told to expect that because ‘that’s how it’s done, that’s how you learn.’ And it just felt super weird because these people are often women, people of color, disabled people, people who are already vulnerable and who would then be further exploited just for the chance to do something that they enjoyed. I think there’s real ego rooted in it as well, the mentality that a mentors knowledge is enough payment, That won’t pay your bills.

Piercing is a cool job, it’s a fun job and I find myself incredibly lucky that I get to do it every day, but the reality is it’s just not that important. So to abuse someone and treat them poorly, to do that job is bizarre to me. I worked in a McDonald’s and they paid me from day one, even when I didn’t know how to make a Big Mac. Why would it not be the same for piercing training? 

We have got away with whatever we’ve wanted as an industry for far too long, and if we don’t sort this apprenticeship thing out as an industry and teach people what they’re entitled to and what they deserve and what they’re legally obliged to have, the government will do it for us.

G: Under UK legislation in 2023, what should a piercing apprenticeship look like?

E: They should be an employed member of staff who’s being referred to as a trainee or a junior member of staff. But they’re not apprentices because they’re not going to college and they will not receive a qualification at the end of it. We’re not an accredited industry. They should be paid at least minimum wage, not an apprenticeship wage. In the UK, an apprenticeship is a lower paid position because you are learning from an accredited source, usually a college, and you receive a qualification at the end of it.

Hairdressers are a really good example of that. It’s gonna be somebody who’s going to college however many days a week, every week, and then they’re going to work in a salon on other days. That salon is being funded to pay for their apprentice, and their apprentice will be on three or four pounds an hour.

Not to scare everyone off, but if piercing apprenticeship went the same route and we were qualified the same way, it would mean anyone with a teaching degree could teach piercing. My mom has a teaching degree and she was a hairdresser. She refers to labret piercings as chin piercings.

I love Elizabeth’s mom but we don’t need her teaching people how to do chin piercings. Hi Megan! <3

G: So you did a roundtable at the UKAPP conference on apprenticeships and also a class at the Piercer Trade Show, can you tell us what that was like?

E: I kind of wanted to cover both aspects of it. At the Trade Show in Ireland, there was a good mixture of piercers and apprentices already there. For  piercers looking to take on an apprentice, I wanted them to know where they could find that information and to make sure that they’re operating within the laws. 

In my talks, I try to encourage people to rethink their standpoint on if they actually need an apprentice. Do they actually need a cleaner or maybe a studio manager? Maybe you actually need a cleaner to focus solely on that task. Or if you’re struggling to pierce and run your reception, do you need a receptionist? Because your front of house is actually probably more valuable to your business than any other member of staff because they’re seeing your customers first.

I do talk about Rogue a lot in this because I think you’ve got a really good balance of who does what. Instead of people who take on an apprentice to be a general dog’s body.  I think it was Jabba that said this, but he’s totally right, if you’re a piercer who works on your own and you want to take on an apprentice, do you have enough work for two piercers? I want to encourage people to evaluate what they actually want from another member of staff. 

In the talks as well, from an apprentices perspective, I just wanted them to know what they were worth and have people understand what exploitation is in the workplace. And for them to know there’s people that have got their back, my inbox is literally always open if anyone wants to talk about it. 

Question everything applies to everything. So when we talk about technique or why have we chosen to do internally threaded rather than externally? As an industry, we discuss and we work things out. But that applies to the situations as well. No one deserves to be exhausted for the chance to do the job they want.

G: I think for a long time piercers have just sort of gotten on with piercing and a lot of us tend to keep our opinions to ourselves for fear of backlash. But if we don’t have the discussions, there’s no progress for the industry. 

E: I was really scared to speak in the Facebook groups for a really long time, for fear of being told that I was wrong. But also being wrong is really the only way that you learn. I think also not having a fear of being disliked is a hard lesson to learn, but it’s one that I’ve definitely learned a lot in my life. 

I understand that, particularly on the internet, I will seem potentially quite abrasive and opinionated and loud, and I don’t think that’s necessarily true in real life. I’m caring and I will fight someone’s corner if I think that they’re being wronged. I don’t mind if industry peers aren’t my biggest fan because my clients are important to me. My friends are important to me, but also I have a life outside of piercing.  I think that’s really important that we don’t live in this echo chamber where the only people we interact with are industry peers and the only thing we do is industry events. You have to create a life outside of it or it will consume you.

Particularly again, as we’ll go back to neurodiversity. It’s really easy for me to get obsessed with anything, so I have to work really, really hard to make sure it doesn’t take over my entire being.

G: I’ve known you for nearly a decade and there was definitely a time period of a few years where piercing was your entire life. 

E: Yeah. It was constant, All consuming. And it nearly killed me,

 I can’t let it do that again. But I think where I am now, I’ve got a really good work-life balance, which was a thing I didn’t think existed. I’ve got a lot of good support. 

You’ve gotta make those things for yourself sometimes. Be an advocate for yourself. 

I’m so thankful to Elizabeth for their time not only in this insightful and honest chat that we had, but for always being so supportive and caring. It’s been a turbulent decade but I’m very excited to see how much they will continue to grow over the next one! Thank you always.

https://www.instagram.com/elizabethmoore_piercing/?hl=en-gb

https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethMoorePiercing

http://bodyalter.uk/

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Green flags for clients?

We always see a lot of ‘red flags’ posts, and what to not look for in a piercing studio, or how to not be a ‘Karen’ or ‘bad client’. But what do these mean? What should we be doing as clients? What are the green flags studios are looking for? We have previously spoken about what you should look for in studios aswell, which you can read here!

The first one is that we are looking for clients to be respectful. This doesn’t just mean we want you to not shout at us and swear at us when something doesn’t go the way you thought it might have, or if a mistake was made. But it also means you’re being respectful in the way you may phrase things. As a high standard studio we may understand that sometimes you may be shocked by our prices, or something is a little out of budget. Instead of saying ‘you’re too expensive’ or ‘I can get it for cheaper’, we are quite understanding if you simply state that it’s out of your budget tellingl us your budget. This means we can work with you to find something equally as amazing in your price bracket! We want to work with you, not against you.

Clients who aren’t afraid to ask questions are also a ‘green flag’. Wether its a question about aftercare, jewellery quality,or piercing possibilities we’re always happy to answer. Quality piercing studios would rather you ask too many questions and be happy and knowdlegable than walk away feeling unsatisfied and confused.

Respecting our time. This is a big one, and especially for studios that are appointment only. We want our clients to be on time to their appointment as we run a schedule. Missing half of your appointment might mean we won’t be able to continue, or run late into the next appointment. Being on time (or even a few minutes early) means your appointment will go smooth, and our piercers aren’t rushing or feeling stressed about time managment.

Understanding that this is our job, and not expecting us to work for free. This slightly follows on from respecting our time. We have set working hours, and it is absolutely fine to message us outside of those times, but please don’t expect a reply after we close. We have personal lives too! This also relates to in studio hours, wether it’s a ‘small jewellery change’, the piercing itself, us sitting with us to talk about curations or jewellery ideas, there may be a small fee! Even though these appointments might be short, it still takes up time in our calenders and our working hours. You woudn’t expect a lawyer to spend 20 minutes discussing work without payment, please don’t expect us to!

Listening to your aftercare advice! Clients who follow our aftercare advice, andcome back for their downsize are often less likely to come back with irritation bumps, or other issues. Please don’t touch, poke, fiddle or play with your piercings, use anything other than a sterile saline solution, or switch out your piercings to early. These are all ‘red flags’ and means your piercings are more likely to take longer to heal, or are more prone to lumps and bumps along your healing journey.

Not assuming we’re also tattoo artists. Now tattoo artists are amazing, and do some quite incredible work, but that doesn’t mean this is the end goal for everybody. Piercing and tattooing are completely seperate worlds, and the work is so different. Body piercers are piercers because they want to be piercers. They enjoy what they do, and they don’t see it as a gateway into tattooing. It’s really disheartening when clients assume we also tattoo, because our work is just as important. (However, if you are visiting Rogue and are interested in some amazing artwork for your skin, please check out Revenant Tattoo and pick up one of her leaflets or business cards.)

Rogue and Revenant Halloween Special!

We absolutely adore each and every one of ourt clients, wether you only come the once, or you come every single day. We couldn’t do it without you, and you are all very much part of Rogue as we are.

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Gemma – A Retrospective!

Today marks a special day here at Rogue. It’s Gemmas birthday! It’s also over a year since this legend joined the team here at Rogue, so we thought we’d take the time to look back at everything she has been able to achieve in such a short space of time.

Rogue wouldn’t be the same without her.

The Beginnings

Gemma joined Rogue on January 4th, 2021. Having been coming to get pierced by us for a while at that point, we could see it was her dream to take control of her career and join the team. Gemma had been piercing for a long time at another studio, but felt that she needed to move forward to a more experienced, high quality UKAPP member studio to really further her skills. So we took a small financial gamble and she became a Rogue!

Gemma’s first ever piercing at Rogue was this perfect septum piercing. No pressure!

From the first time we met Gemma, we could see her passion for piercing was so great. She had been doing a huge amount of online learning, absorbing everything she could from piercers choosing to share their knowledge. It was an honour on our part to be able to give her the space to spread her wings. It wasn’t long before she was flying!

Gemma’s first piece of BVLA! The ‘Afghan’ in this fresh helix piercing.

Gemma – Historian and Journalist Extraordinaire.

What we didn’t expect was Gemma’s true passion for history, and preserving the thoughts and stories of piercing in the UK. Whilst the USA has the Piercing Archive, there truly isn’t a huge amount of piercing history being preserved in the UK. Gemma has really taken to this challenge with her whole heart, and began the now extensive ‘Piercer Interview‘ series on our blog! Every time she has the opportunity, she loves to sit down with other piercers (some of whom have been seriously overlooked and underestimated!) and recorded their history – Who they are as people, how they came to be in the industry…

Gemma truly has a deep love for the weird and wonderful. As a suspension practicing studio, it’s been amazing to see Gemma take to the sky with her first body suspension only a few weeks ago. It was such a magical, transformative moment. It felt like a new era had begun, and it was an absolute privilege to be able to watch it.

This love for history is now extending into becoming a bit of a local historian for body piercing. Nottingham has a surprisingly long and colourful history with tattoo and piercing. Gemma is now working closely with the Nottingham Archives and Justice Museum to discover, and give context to, some of the piercings and tattoos recorded in their annals.

A little snippet of ‘The Incredible Til’ class, taught by Paul King at UKAPP 2022. History comes to life in these moments.

Piercing Work

Gemma has absolutely blossomed in the last year under the guidance of Aiden and Breo. Moving from cannula piercing to blade needles, clamps to freehand, and moving into the wierd and wonderful world of intimate piercings… Gemma is truly in her element!

Gemma has that rare skill of being able to take a step back, take a deep breath, and allow her hands to do exactly what her brain imagines them to do. From super technical work, to move freely creative piercings… Gemma is becoming a truly amazing piercer.

We cannot wait to see where Gemma goes next with her work, both piercing and history. As a committee member for the UKAPP, she is also working with the industry to raise standards and bring the message of high quality to more piercers across the country.

UKAPP Member! Next step, take over the world…

Happy birthday Gemma! Hopefully we get to celebrate many more with you in the years to come. Thank you for becoming the mum of the studio that we didn’t know we needed.

Love from all the Rogues <3