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Moving into Spring!

As the evenings slowly start to get lighter again, and that frosty chill is starting a steady exit, we begin to make our way into the spring season, which i’m sure we’re all ready for. However, before we say our goodbyes just yet to the winter months I thought we’d have a quick look at how 2024 has started for Rogue, from piercings to jewellery it’s definitely been a fun one.

Aiden started his year with a nice long break from the studio, using his annual leave for a fun adventure. Upon return to the studio though, you guys definitely didn’t make it easy for him! From 2g cheeks to intimate projects Aiden’s been working hard to fulfil all the piercing dreams you guys have given him!

A fresh set of 2g Cheek Piercings.

Breo is another one who has been taking some plentiful time away from the studio, and taking a much needed trip back to his home town in Spain. He was definitely missed though, upon arrival back in the studio his first day back was busy with rooks and helix piercings, and even a large gauge set of lobes chucked in there.

A forehead surface piercing for Phebe!

Gemma’s had a an interesting start to 2024, and has begun to take on more responsibility within the studio! She has been putting out some excellent work, from a classic helix’s, lower navels and fun intimate projects. Next month is Gemma’s turn away from the studio as she embarks on a week long journey to visit Andre in Germany, and progress her body modification journey.

Lower Navel Piericing!

Jay’s 2024 has started off with lots of training, from tongue piercings and septum’s, to VCH and Prince Albert piercings, Jay has started the ‘weird and wonderful’ and has been producing some amazing work. She also put some of her own training into practice when Kade shadowed in the studio, and helped pass on knowledge of bevel theory and blade needles.

A fresh set of paired central eyebrows!

Kat has been working alongside clients to continue to bring their jewellery dreams alive! From placing custom orders and helping put together that one unique piece, to helping curate ears, Kat has been kept on their toes. They’ve also taken a further step into the jewellery side of piercing and is now assisting FLUX Jewelellry!

A Custom BVLA Septum Jewellery

We’ve also had a few guests and shadows join us this year!

We ended January with a two day visit from Phebe, who came up to shadow septum piercings! Phebe is an absolute delight to work with, and we can’t wait to have her back, hopefully to guest next time and put her skills into practice. While she was here, Breo pierced her and gave Phebe a gorgeous forehead surface piercing which suited her set up brilliantly.

A sweet forehead piercing for Phebe!

February started with a week long visit from the wonderful Hika, who came and guested while Breo was travelling to Spain. She helped assist Jay on apprentice piercings and fed her some new knowledge, while also producing her own amazing work. She also got pierced by Aiden and left with a shiny new tragus and lobe duo.

Hika in action! Marking a bridge piercing!

Last but not least, we had Kade come and stay for a week too. He came to do some shadowing, and was an absolute delight to have in the studio, and we can’t wait for him to return. He left with some knew found knowledge and a new best friend (Jay). Not only did he get pierced while he visited, but Jay, Aiden and Gemma all pierced him as part of an ear project consisting of 5 vertical helix’s around his ear. Between them, they pierced three, leaving four and five for his next visit.

Kade putting knowledge into practice with Jay’s help.

Overall it has been an absolute whirlwind of a start to 2024, and hopefully we will see this continue through the warmer months! With two more guests planned in March and a conference, the Rogues are definitely going to be kept on their toes. Don’t forget you can book your own appointment with us here, and discuss anything from piercings to jewellery with us and fulfil your own dreams.

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Stop Touching Your Piercings!

When you walk through the doors at Rogue you will instantly see signs on our main desks, our mirrors and even in our jewellery display cabinets, all telling you not to touch, change or remove your jewellery. You may have noticed both our piercers and counter staff asking you to stop touching your piercings, or to sanitise your hands. We also ask that all jewellery brought into the studio is inside of a small bag or pouch and isn’t handled inside the studio with bare hands.

Image from Jef Saunders Blog courtesy of Dannielle Greenwood

Now you may think this is over bearing, or that we are on a power trip, or even that it might just be a weird obsession over cleanliness/hygiene, but we can assure you that it’s not! We do all of this to avoid the risk of any cross contamination in the studio. Hygiene at Rogue is one of our biggest focus points, and we have consistent measures in place to ensure that we are doing the best we can. From working with aseptic techniques during the piercing procedure, as well as having both daily and weekly cleaning tasks. Every member of the team at Rogue takes annual training in Bloodborne Pathogens (keep your eyes out for our certificates around the studio). This is so we can stay up to date with any changes in standards and protocols to keep both you and ourselves safe.

In the studio we have very careful procedures that we perform every single day to minimise any spread of cross contamination. We thoroughly clean and sterilise any tools and equipment at the end of each working day. We continuously wash and sanitise our hands while also donning and doffing PPE (wearing and disposing of Personal Protective Equipment such as masks and gloves) appropriately. Any of our disposable work tools that may have touched anyone are also disposed of correctly, through sharps bins and dedicated waste disposal bags and services.

So, what is cross contamination?

The definition of cross contamination from Oxford Languages English Dictionaries is: The process by which bacteria or other microorganisms are unintentionally transferred from one substance or object to another, with harmful effect.

Outside of piercing, most people think of cross contamination when it comes to food, especially raw chicken. For example, if you are cutting raw chicken you may end up with some of the raw juices on your fingers and hands, and once dried you may not know it’s there. The bacteria from the chicken can be spread across the kitchen on cutting boards, towels, and reusable wipes. If you don’t wash your hands and touch your mouth or nose or a small/large wound, you can become sick from the bacteria even if you don’t see it. This is because bacteria (such as salmonella) is easily transferable through open wounds and mucous membranes.

The same happens with body jewellery. At some point, the jewellery you have worn in your body has been in direct contact with bodily fluids such as blood. We as piercers have to assume that everyone’s blood, or any other bodily fluids that has been in contact with your jewellery, is contaminated with a bloodborne pathogen that has the potential to carry or spread viruses. The reason we do this is because, just like raw chicken juices, we cannot always see potential threats or dangers, and we’d rather be over-cautious and keep everyone’s health in tip-top shape.

Imagine the journey that bacteria might take across our studio. A client touches their grumpy piercing, and then touches the front desk or a display cabinet, or the arms of the sofa. This is then touched by the next client, who then touches their eye or mouth, or their own piercings! This bacteria can be transferred from one person to the next. Imagine not one client, but dozens per day! By not touching our piercings, washing our hands, and not allowing worn jewellery to touch any of the studio surfaces, then we break this chain of spread.

This is also part of the reason why we cannot reuse, refund or resell body jewellery that has left the studio. We have to assume that any body jewellery that has been purchased has been worn. We also recommend that you never buy and wear pre-used or pre-worn jewellery – You can read more about this in our ‘Sharing Jewellery’ blog. It is the equivalent of clothing stores having a no-returns policy on underwear. It is not safe to risk sharing fluids between clients.

As scary as it sounds, we’re just trying to show you that cross-contamination is super easy to avoid. So, all in all, please top touching your piercings and sharing body jewellery. It is unsafe and unsanitary! Practice regular safe hygiene processes, such as washing your hands and sanitising when and where needed.

Keep an eye on our blog as we post a new informational blog every single Friday! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

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2023 – A Year in Review.

With Christmas seeming like it’s been gone forever, it’s officially time to start celebrating the New Years Season. But how could we do that without ending this year on a warm, soppy and heartfelt look back at everything the team at Rogue has achieved this year!

Solid 18k White Gold Chain Ring from F:LUX Jewellery.

Aiden!

For those of you that don’t know, Aiden is our head piercer and the Studio Owner here at Rogue, and the guy who does all the work behind the scenes to keep the studio running effectively! It’s been a fun and impressive year for Aiden and we can’t thank him enough for everything that he’s done for us and Rogue along the way. Alongside mentoring Jay through the second year of their apprenticeship, and helping round out Gemma’s training, he has been a very busy man.

This year he got the show on the road with F:LUX Jwllry, making some brilliant 18k gold rings, charms and chains. We have had some beautiful pieces come through the studio, and they have looked absolutely amazing on our clients.

A gorgeous and perfect fitted F:LUX chain

Aiden also attended UKAPP this year (again), but the exciting news is this year he was teaching again as well! With the help of Gemma rounding up and wrangling piercing videos from expert piercers all across the world, Aiden made a full demonstrative video on how each and every single piercer pierces differently. Different techniques, jewellery, methods and processes, but as long as you are executing safe and viable piercings, then it doesn’t matter how you do them. We are all human and individual, it would be impossible to do everything the same as the next person. This class was definitely a big hit and left a lot of piercers feeling happy and refreshed, and ready to try new things.

Throughout all of this, running a business, being a mentor, travelling the world, and being a good boss, Aiden has been producing some amazing work this year. From heavy large gauge and intimate work, to shiny nose piercings, he’s definitely blown us all away.

Breo!

Breo is our resident head piercer, piercing full time at Rogue. Breo has done his fair share of travelling and surprising piercers world-wide this year. In the spring he travelled to Madrid for the Spanish APPE and in Autumn he travelled with the rest of the Rogues for another weekend at UKAPP in Manchester. This was an exciting conference for everyone at Rogue as this was Breo’s first ever time speaking and teaching a class at a conference. Over the past few years, Breo has been researching body language and it’s importance to piercing and how we as piercers should be reading our client’s body language to help their time with us go much more smoother. As Breo is originally from Spain, English isn’t always his first language, also working at a studio in Nottingham city centre means Breo works with a range of clientele who don’t always have English as their first (or even second) spoken language. He realised that body language is sometimes much easier to help ease a clients appointments, as it often helps us read in between the lines of missing pieces of information. Of course, being the sweetheart he is, decided to share this information with as many people as he can.

Throughout his busy year, his work has only improved. Both technically, with his techniques, and aesthetically with the finished product. He has been absolutely smashing large gauge work left right and centre, and pulling off some beautiful classic piercings that work great with a clients anatomy. As Breo is often in the piercing room, it’s very rare that he will help a client choose their jewellery, which means often it is a surprise of what he is working with. Yet every single time does a client finish their appointment, does that piece look beautiful and unique, as well as perfectly fitting their anatomy.

A perfect fitted Beaded Baguette from BVLA

Gemma!

For the past two years at Rogue, Gemma has been known as our junior piercer. After not having a great start in their piercing career, Gemma joined Rogue in January 2022 and has been a fantastic addition to the team. Over the time they have been here, they have worked extensively inside and outside of work to further better their skills and learn new things. This year they have been focusing on building their portfolio for intimate work (and oh boy have they done an absolutely fantastic job), but also their large gauge work. They have also helped Jay in their apprentice work, teaching them skills and knowledge that has helped themselves. They have been producing some absolutely stunning work and we couldn’t be more proud of them. From the new year in 2024, Gemma will no longer be our resident junior piercer, but instead will be another one of our piercers leading the studio.

A Micro dermal piercing on the chest area as part of Gemma’s training.

Not only this, but Gemma had a very exciting 2023, especially in the summer. After the UKAPP conference in 2022, Aiden, Breo and a few other piercers had encouraged Gemma to apply for the 2023 Las Vegas Scholarship for the annual APP conference. And of course, without a doubt she absolutely nailed her application and interview process and got awarded the Legacy Scholarship. So off she went to America, by herself, to yet again further and better her skills and knowledge in her career. She came back so full of energy, confidence, and a new found feeling of trust in herself that was absolutely amazing to watch. I hope she is as proud of herself and how far she has come in the past two years, as we are. She also volunteered to work alongside Hika and vendor for Queen of The Ashes Jewellery at the UKAPP conference.

Kat!

Kat is our dedicated jewellery specialist at work. They could recite the entire catalogue of BVLA and their gem list and options if you asked. They are definitely a special addition of the Rogue team. Kat works extensively with clients to build and create custom orders for jewellery, as well as curations that are fitting for the client, both aesthetically and financially. Thanks to Kat, our jewellery cabinets are always full of brand new shiny pieces for our clients to choose from, but it is a struggle to keep the team from buying everything. We can collectively agree Kat has some brilliant taste.

A gorgeous long term creation Kat has extensively worked over.

For the second year in a row, Kat taught a class at UKAPP all about Wound Healing Dynamics. Being the resident scientist in the studio, it was only fitting to use their knowledge and teach it to those who create wounds day in and day our in their careers. It’s beneficial all around!

And while we’re mentioning Kat being our resident scientist, can we all just say a massive congratulations! Last September, Kat went back to university to study and complete their Masters degree in Microbiology and Immunology. They officially graduated two weeks ago, and we couldn’t be more proud of them. While Kat isn’t a piercer, they extensively work with clients and piercers day in and day out through troubleshooting, jewellery management, and jewellery installations. They decided to help further their education and knowledge in the piercing industry to benefit both piercers and clients, and anybody else that may deal with piercings on a regular basis. The entire community is grateful for their tireless work.

Jay!

Jay is our apprentice at the studio! They are the loud and colourful, pink loving chaos gremlin who will be blasting System Of a Down at 9:30am in the morning as soon as you walk into the door. In November Jay hit a massive milestone here at Rogue, and over the next 10 months will be working through their third and final year of their apprenticeship at Rogue. From the new year Jay will be moving up into and offering apprentice rate piercings on large gauge and intimate piercings, as well as microdermals and surface work.

As part of their training, Jay added a second (but more correctly placed) septum piercing.

2023 has been exciting for Jay. They have volunteered and worked with two different vendors at two different conferences. First they worked with Inari Organics at the Manchester Trade Show, and then Queen Of The Ashes Jewellery at the UKAPP in Manchester too! Alongside this, they travelled outside of the UK for the first time to head to Berlin for the BMXNet conference! They took every single class they possibly could, and was very excited to put their certificate on the wall when they arrived back. Hopefully 2024 will bring a lot more travel and fun for Jay!

So all in all, 2023 has been a hectic but amazing year for all of the Rogues, and I haven’t even touched on some of the stuff they’ve been up to. However, we can say we are proud of every single one of them, and we’re really excited to see what they bring in 2024.

We also want to extend many thank yous to you guys, our clients. Without you Rogue wouldn’t be able to run. We wouldn’t be able to do the beautiful work we do, or go to conferences. Our apprentice and junior wouldn’t have been able to progress either. Everything we do, we can only do with your amazing support. So from the bottom of our hearts, thank you, and have a happy new year! Here’s to 2024!

Christmas Rogues

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Piercing Emergencies and What To Do!

There are very few things in the world of piercing that constitute a genuine piercing emergency, but plenty of things that can happen that might be a touch stressful! In this blog we will be going over the most common ‘urgent’ issues that you might have, and what to do whilst waiting for your appointment at a trusted piercing studio.

Piercing Emergency: Losing Jewellery

Our jewellery is high quality, implant-grade, and very secure! However, the universe leans towards entropy wherever possible, and so your jewellery may loosen over time. Picture it: You wake up in the morning, reach up and feel an empty space where your jewellery used to be. You wash your face and hear that classic tink-tink-tink of a metal ball hitting the floor. Dang! What do you do?

  1. Don’t panic! Losing jewellery happens to everyone, even piercers. What matters most is what you do in the next ten minutes once you notice your jewellery is gone.
  2. Check your body. Take a look at your piercing – Is the post still in place? If so, excellent!
  3. Find it! Body jewellery is tiny, so grab your phone torch and have a really good hunt around. The phone torch will be super helpful as quality jewellery is super shiny! If you can’t find it by hand, don’t stress. Grab a pair of tights or a sock and place them over the neck of your vacuum cleaner. Run your vacuum over the room where your jewellery has gone, and you should pick it up!
  4. Clean it. Obviously, you cannot sterilise jewellery at home, but you also cannot reinstall jewellery that’s got floor on it! If possible, clean your jewellery with an alcohol wipe before putting it back in. If you don’t have anything else to hand, wash with antibacterial soap and water.
  5. Reinsert it as best you can. If you feel confident, you can put the jewellery back in! Screw the ball on, or push in the threadless end, and you’re all put back together. If you struggle to reinsert the jewellery, then sometimes the easiest thing to do is to just put the post in backwards so you can see what you are doing.
  6. Come and see us. If you don’t feel confident getting it back in perfectly, don’t stress. The most important thing to do is keep the piercing channel open. If you find it easier to put the labret post in from the front, then do that. Pop a little piece of micropore tape over it to keep it in, and pop in and see your piercer as soon as you can so that we can reinstall your jewellery perfectly!

Overswelling

It happens! Quality piercers will assess your anatomy and estimate how much extra length your new piercing will need to swell, but bodies can be unpredictable. Here’s what to do if you notice you are experiencing an overswelling piercing emergency.

  1. Don’t panic! See a theme here? It’s most important that you remain relaxed – Every piercing problem can be fixed easily.
  2. Assess what happened. Is your piercing fresh? Is it healed? Has it been downsized? What caused the swell?
  3. Assess your jewellery. Does it still have space on it? Is it sinking in at all? If there is still space on the bar, then fear not. You still have room to swell, and swelling doesn’t last forever. If you notice the jewellery is sinking in at all, then keep reading.
  4. Cool it down. A cold-pack wrapped in clean, disposable paper towels can be applied near to the piercing. We don’t recommend smushing the piercing directly, but applying a cool pack to your temple or neck can really soothe any ear piercings and diminish your swelling. If you know that you are safe to do so, now might be a good time to consider an anti-inflammatory such as Ibuprofen. Always speak to your primary care doctor before taking medications if you are unsure.
  5. Stay hydrated. Dehydration can cause you to retain water, making swelling prolonged and excessive. Keep your fluid intake up!
  6. Avoid alcohol. Alcohol makes you swell more – Don’t drink if you are swollen!
  7. See your piercer. If your jewellery is too tight, this can cause more swelling and serious discomfort. The best thing to do is book a checkup with your piercer as soon as you can, so that they can install longer jewellery that allows breathing room for your swelling.
  8. Take it back to basics. In short, keep your piercing clean, keep it dry, and leave it alone!
  9. Get a downsize. Once your swelling has come back down, please come back and have your jewellery downsized again! Wearing oversized jewellery is a common cause of… you guessed it… swelling. Don’t get caught in that wicked cycle!
All jewellery needs a little room for swelling.

Healing Shut

If you have removed your jewellery for a period of time, then there is a chance that your body will have begun the process of shrinking down the piercing channel and healing it up. Our bodies are incredible healing machines! We are often asked, ‘How long before I can take my piercings out and they won’t heal up?’ This is an excellent question. The answer is… Never!

A good analogy is this. Imagine you wear braces. You look after your teeth, your teeth shift into a perfect position, and then you take your braces off. When do you stop wearing your retainer? Never! That is because your retainer is the only thing keeping your teeth in alignment. And it is the same for piercings. Your jewellery is your braces – Without them, your body will always try and heal your piercings.

However, for whatever reason, you have taken your jewellery out and now you can’t get it back in! What do you do to solve this piercing emergency?

  1. Don’t panic! We should definitely make t-shirts with this written on them! Stay calm, and don’t google it…
  2. Don’t force it. The most common cause of issues we see is when people panic, and force their jewellery back into a closed piercing without taking their time. If your piercing cannot be reopened with minimal pressure, then do not keep pushing.
  3. Take a warm shower. The first thing you need to do is soften and relax your skin. A hot, steamy shower is the best way to do this.
  4. Get lubed up. Apply a small amount of water-based lubricant to your jewellery – No lube, no love!
  5. Be gentle and consistent. Apply a gentle amount of pressure with your jewellery – Just enough to get things started. Be gentle and consistent, and your jewellery should slowly slide back into place.
  6. Know when to call it a day. If, after all of this, you still can’t get your piercing reopened, then do not spend the next 45 minutes getting into a flap and causing more damage. If you can’t get it back in after 10 minutes, then it is simply not going to happen. Take a break.
  7. Come and see your piercer. If you can’t get your jewellery back in, then the best thing you can do is book in to see your piercer! We can use tools and skill to gently taper your piercings back open. You would be surprised at how many piercings we have rescued that their owners thought were a lost cause!
Double Lobe Piercings

Help – I can’t get my jewellery out!

Picture this – You have an MRI coming up, a surgery, school, or an important event. You need to take out your piercing! But you just can’t figure it out. What do you do in this piercing emergency?

The first thing to do is to understand your jewellery. If you are trying to unscrew a threadless end, you might be there for some time… Click HERE to find guides for all of the styles of jewellery that we offer.

Tips and Tricks for Threaded Jewellery

Threaded jewellery is the style that screws together. This can be a little fiddly to work with!

  1. Clean your hands and the jewellery. Removing any oils or buildup from your hands and the jewellery will increase your friction and help you to crack that initial unscrew!
  2. Righty-tighty, lefty-loosey. Your jewellery unscrews in the same orientation as any screw-top bottle. Imagine you are holding a milk bottle. Your jewellery unscrews the same way!
  3. Wear gloves. If you are seriously struggling, a set of nitrile or latex gloves will seriously increase the twisting power. And if you are really in trouble, wear two sets of gloves. Double gloving doubles your torque and can help you to crack even the most stubborn of balls.

Tips and Tricks for Threadless Jewellery

Push-fit jewellery is often seen as the easiest style to remove yourself at home. Still, it’s pretty fiddly stuff!

  1. Clean your hands and the jewellery. Like with threaded jewellery, clean hands and jewellery will improve your grip!
  2. Lose the nails. Long nails can make removing threadless jewellery a pain – Get some hands involved that have relatively normal nails. A little bit of nail can help grip snug-fitted jewellery though so there is a midground to be found.
  3. Grip both ends. Get a firm grip on both the labret disc and the threadless end. You can use a set of tweezers if the disc is in a tricky spot like a nostril or forward helix.
  4. Give a little wiggle. A gentle rocking wiggle can help crack that first little movement. It helps, we promise!
  5. Gentle pull apart. Once you have a little motion, then gently pull your threadless end off.

Tips and Tricks for Seam Rings and BCRs

How you remove BCRs and Seam Rings really depends on your end goal. Do you just want to swap the jewellery? Do you want to preserve the piece, or are you happy for it to go in the bin afterwards?

  1. Clean your hands and the jewellery. Again, we need this on a poster don’t we!
  2. Find the seam. This is easy on a BCR – The clip-in will be the seam point. It’s a little trickier on a seam ring, but find that tiny join.
  3. Bend into a spiral, not a pringle! If you can, just flex your BCR sideways until the ball pops out. For seam rings, open them out into a spiral if you can.
  4. If all else fails… You can use a set of nail scissors or jewellery pliers. Put the jaws of your tools into the middle of the ring and open them so that the jewellery folds open. This is a last-ditch move as you will irreperably damage the ring and need to throw it away.

Genuine Piercing Emergency

Although incredibly rare, there are some things that we would consider a genuine piercing emergency. The main things that we would consider an emergency are:

  1. An infection.
  2. Tongue piercing embedding.

Infections are incredibly rare. When following appropriate aftercare, and keeping yourself, your hands, and your piercing clean, then the chances of getting a bacterial infection are almost zilch! That being said, a genuine infection is a piercing emergency. Do not skip go, do not collect £200, go straight to urgent care for antibiotics. There is little your piercer can go to treat an infection – We are not doctors! The most important thing to do is assess if you have a true infection, which you can read a little more about here.

And finally, another true piercing emergency is any issues you may have with tongue piercings. Tongue piercings are generally super easy healers, with a full heal in just 4-6 weeks. However any issues you may have in the first week can very easily become more serious, so please keep an eye on your piercings! If you notice that your jewellery is too tight, please book an appointment with your piercer for longer jewellery. Do not put it off – This is an emergency that we would even recommend calling out of work for if necessary.

Conclusion.

So there you have it! A plethora of information about the most common piercing emergencies and what you can do about them both at home and in the studio.

If you have any issues with your piercings, do not hesitate to get in touch. You can contact us over the phone, via instagram, via email, and you can always book in for an in-person consultation or checkup.

We will see you again next Friday for our next blog! Follow us on instagram to stay up to date with our latest work and announcements.

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Piercing Gift Guide 2023

It’s that time of year again, folks! It’s time for the Rogue annual piercing gift guide, where we show you all the options you have for the piercing lover in your life. And if that piercing lover is yourself, then who are we to judge?

The run up to Christmas can be a difficult time for independent businesses – Who are we to compete with the big box stores and online retailers like Amazon? If you can, always support local businesses. High quality, ethical piercing studios are the lifeblood of this industry. Support us however you can, as we will always be here to help you feel at home in your body. Whether that be through purchasing jewellery, booking for piercings, bringing us your piercings to troubleshoot, we are always here to help in ways that big retailers or chain piercing shops simply can’t.

We’ll talk you through some options for a few different piercing placements, and some more general options as well.

Piercing Gift Cards

The quickest, easiest, and sometimes the most thoughtful thing you can do as part of your piercing gift guide is to purchase a gift card. We know, gift cards have a bit of a reputation… But buying a gift card at Rogue is more like buying someone a personalised service than it is an item – Being able to come in, work with the team, get a piercing or choose your own personal piercing upgrades is a really epic gift. Don’t snub it just because!

Within the realm of gift cards – Did you know that you can use gift cards to place custom orders through Rogue with all of your favourite brands? If your partner, sibling, mum, dad, or any other loved one has been yearning after a particular piece of jewellery, or wanted something that we stocked that has since sold, then getting them a gift card to use as part or all of a custom order is probably the sweetest thing you can do!

You can read all about custom orders HERE.

Buying Jewellery

Buying jewellery is kind of like buying someone perfume – It is really difficult to capture who they are as a person and get them something that they truly love! But if you know the person well, and you get them something that they adore, then… There is literally no better feeling in the world. So if you think you can nail it, absolutely go for it!

You can buy jewellery from Rogue a couple of different ways – Firstly, you can do it in-person under the expert guidance of our jewellery specialists by booking a Jewellery Consultation here. That way you can bring reference photos, inspiration, and generally help us figure out the perfect gift to match their vibe.

You can also purchase our entire jewellery collection online! Simply head to our WEBSTORE and scroll through our vast array of options, with in-depth descriptions on sizing, gemstones, and pricing available at your fingertips. You can also click HERE to find an excellent guide on how to get the best out of our online shop!

Piercing Gift Guide – Lobe Piercings

Lobe piercings are really, really versatile. There are so many ways to style them! See the above slideshow for some inspiration on how you can purchase for your loved one. Some of our favourites are:

Piercing Gift Guide – Nose Piercings

Nose piercings are quite personal – The choices go far beyond ‘ring or stud!’ If your loved one is a ring person, we always recommend booking them in for a checkup where we can measure and fit the right size for them, unless you know the exact size they need. You might be able to do this by sneaking a ring out of their collection and bringing it to us to be measured… Studs however, are a little bit more straightforward. Especially if they already wear threadless (push-fit) jewellery!

We personally love…

Piercing Gift Guide – Cartilage Piercings

Cartilage piercings are a really fun place to buy jewellery! They tend to be versatile placements where a lot of different ends will look really cool. You can do either lots of gems and sparklies, or keep it relatively toned back!

Our recommendations are:

Thank you for reading! We will be back again next week with more piercing related awesomeness.

If you have any questions, just contact us via email or instagram! Follow us on social media to keep up to date.

See you next week!

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BVLA – Fine Body Jewellery

BVLA is the leading designer and manufacturer of fine body jewellery in the world. Rogue also has an entire cabinet stocked with exclusively their jewellery. But why? Why are they so great? What makes them so special, and better than any other goldsmiths on the market? Well, let’s find out.

Who are they?

BVLA, Body Vision Los Angeles. They are designers, manufacturers and innovators based over in the heart of Los Angeles, California. Founded by their owner Nick Martin in 1996, they have proudly built up a business that has exceeded industry standards, provided top quality body jewellery, and defied the status quo. At present, they have 100 employees and five jewellery workshops, all dedicated to the process of turning dreams into reality.

You can find BVLA’s jewellery all around the world. At current, they sell their jewellery to some of the best piercing studios in the world, in over 25 countries. You can find BVLA stockists in New Zealand, France, Spain, Malaysia, the UK, the Netherlands and many more destinations.

Why are they highly recommended?

If you have been looked into a higher quality piercing studio, or different high quality studios, you will notice that there are lots of companies that offer gold, or fun colours and cute designs. But what makes BVLA stand out from the crowd? Why do they have the ultra-lux reputation that they do?

  1. They are ethical: BVLA are arguably one of the most ethical companies in the piercing industry, and consistently make responsible choices in every regard. The Gold that they use is recycled to help minimise environmental impact, and all of their Diamonds are ethically sourced and guaranteed to be conflict free. They are also big believers in equality and diversity for all humans. They currently have a programme called the ‘BVLA Future Stars‘. This programme is an apprenticeship that aims to support and provide full-time paid positions for under-resourced BIPOC, in order to help them forge careers in fine body jewellery and manufacturing.
  2. They have an infinite amount of choice: BVLA is currently the home of over 3000 unique original designs, and this collection still continues to grow and evolve every day. They work with 7 different metals (both 14k and 18k Yellow, White, and Rose Gold, as well as the ultimate luxury: Platinum). They also have the ability to offer over 150 different choices of gemstones, from Sapphires and Diamonds to Labradorite and Rose Quartz. You can find a rainbow of colours a dozen times over. There is also additional choices of textured materials, and the different types of finishes and cuts. Choose between hammering or sandblasting? The choice is truly yours.
  3. They are high quality: BVLA are the basis of high quality jewellery and manufacturing. With every single product being designed, handmade and hand polished in LA. Every part of the the process is intrinsically thought out to achieve the best results. Every time they receive a new order, the responsibility is handed to an individual jeweller. This means the jewellers and makers can avoid the boring tedious task of just making the same design over and over again, and can have pride and joy over their creations, while still keeping their brain active and fresh.
  4. They offer a lifetime warranty: This is a huge factor for piercers. From human errors to machine breakdowns, you can never be 100% certain about anything. Especially with body jewellery. Offering lifetime warranty on manufacturers defects is a big bonus. They take such huge pride in their work and are so confident in their craftsmanship that they will repair or replace any item that they have ever made, totally free of charge.
  5. They offer completely custom work: One of BVLA’s most attractive features is their custom work. Every single piece of jewellery they offer can be customised by the client in hundreds of ways. From choosing between hundreds of gemstones and finishes, to redesigning the minutiae of each item, BVLA really provide the opportunity to be creative. But it doesn’t stop here. They also work with piercers and take on custom order projects and custom designs. If you can think it, they can make it! They also offer a service that is incredibly unique and rare in the piercing industry, and that is reworking. They offer the ability to rework and reset gemstones and traditional jewellery into body jewellery. For example, you can no longer wear your family heirloom Diamond ring because of work? They can help turn that classic earring into body jewellery for you. Fancy something a little different? Lets make it into a septum ring!

Why Do Piercers like BVLA?

Of course, BVLA are not the only jewellery manufacturer making high quality pieces, or fancy gold ends, or even working with genuine gemstones. But apart from the previously listed reasons on why they are amazing, why do piercers have such a connection with BVLA?

Well BVLA work very closely with piercers. Each studio that is a stockist of BVLA has their own personal point of contact. For example, Kat (our jewellery specialist at Rogue) has been in touch with the same personal contact (Hi Phoebe!) for the duration of their time at Rogue. Some piercers will work with the same contact at BVLA for decades. Whether that’s talking about previous or existing orders, any questions or quotes, purchased jewellery etc. This helps provide a truly personal feel between BVLA which creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere, rather than being passed from person to person to find answers.

BVLA also recognise their clients (that’s us!). When we place our jewellery orders, sometimes we like to treat ourselves to something new as well. When piercers or counter staff place an order for a personal piece of jewellery, BVLA offer a small discount on that piece. This helps piercers feel recognised and appreciated, and its a really sweet gesture. We are forever grateful!

They also continue to show their support and appreciation of piercers by attending conferences. They attend the APP conference is Vegas quite regularly, and this year they went out of their way to travel to the UKAPP Safe Piercing Conference in Manchester to be a vendor. They also donated 3x generously priced gift vouchers to the piercers raffle, valued at over £10,000. That could be genuinely life-changing for a piercer or studio!

So, why should YOU care?

Overall, BVLA has arguably the highest level of care for their jewellery, clients, and their own staff and future in the industry. They continuously offer the highest quality jewellery, and a high quality service. They are a consistent pleasure to work with. BVLA offer unique services, not just for piercers and piercees (such as reworking and resetting) but they offer unique advantages such as their Future Stars apprenticeship! Their jewellery is potentially the finest and greatest jewellery that is on the market. While being ‘expensive’, (Price and value are truly personal to each person – What is expensive to one person is not for another) their price consistently matches the quality of the item you receive.

If you are interested in learning more please check out more of our blogs! If you would like to place an order for your own piece of BVLA feel free to contact us at customorder@roguepiercing.co.uk!

Head to our instagram for a full BVLA lookbook of some of our favourite pieces.

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Chapter 2.

I’ve officially finished my second year as a a ‘piercing apprentice.’ So I thought I’d use this chance to talk about all of the fun and exciting things I’ve done in my second year.

The first thing I got to do was my first-aid training. Now, first aid certificates are valid for 3 years, but the UKAPP requires that you retake your first aid training every single year. It helps keeps your memory fresh, so if anything does happen, you can be prepared! This year, we did ours with the wonderful Olly Todd of Cognition BAE. It was his first ever time doing a first aid course, and he did a wonderful job! We got to practice with some dummies for CPR, while roleplaying what to do in emergencies. We also got a vest with a ‘diaphragm’ that had a foam peanut in it, and we got to enact more roleplaying scenarios in event of someone choking. Overall, it was a very fun and educational day.

AND THEN CHRISTMAS ARRIVED! If anyone knows me, they’ll know I absolutely love Christmas, and this year I got to be the official party planner for the official staff Christmas party, and it was epic. I put together google questionnaire after google questionnaire that got emailed to everyone to fill in. That way everyone got to voice opinions on what they wanted to do, where they wanted to eat, what day worked better for them etc, etc. Eventually, I managed to pull it all together and we had pizza from Suede followed by an evening in Pirates Play Centre. It was magical. We got to invite friends as well, and it was a great night out. Being in charge of organising an event was definitely quite stressful, but I enjoyed it so much, and it was so worth it to see everyone have such a great time! I started planning this years party all the way back in April!

Pirates Play Centre

I then turned 21, and spent the day in pyjamas on the sofa, and ordered a Chinese takeaway. Absolutely fantastic.

Around February, I got to witness my first suspension event. This was the first ever time I’d physically ever been around and seen suspension, rather than just looking at photos or videos online. It was… a lot. In a good way. The air was tense, and warm, and it just gave you the chills. It was really inspiring watching people (especially those who had gone up for the first time) completely embrace and enjoy what was happening. There is absolutely no words that could describe the atmosphere, or anything that anyone was feeling. It is its own kind of liminal space. It definitely made me feel something new.

March was an absolute whirlwind, I don’t even think I registered it pass by. The first two weeks were all about moving into my own space. I officially moved into my own flat with a very good friend, and it was a lot to take in! I then gained my UKAPP official membership! After piercing for an entire year, and already working under the high standards of membership requirements, I officially became a member. I got to hang my own certificate on the wall, alongside everyone else’s.

I then headed off to the Piercer Trade Show at Manchester, alongside the Tattoo Tea Party Convention. This time though, I went alongside Inari Organics as a vendor instead of a piercer! It was definitely a weird experience being on the other side of the table, and selling jewellery rather than buying it, but it was an experience I’d 100% do again. I’m definitely classing it as part of my training in the industry. I still got to attend some amazing classes, such as David Angeles ‘Better Basics,’ and Elizabeth Moore’s ‘Neurodivergence in Piercing.’ I even got to come away with a gorgeous new Linear Cluster with Pink CZ’s from Inari!

April was surprisingly a quiet month, well at least at work. With Aiden being on his annual leave for a couple weeks, it was left up to us guys to run the studio and ensure it didn’t burn down, and I’d like to say we did a pretty alright job. During this time, not many people had booked in for apprentice piercings, but the day he came back and we were doing our first day together, the entire day had filled with apprentice piercings, it was like everybody just knew! I got to start working on forward helix piercings, and really started coming into all the fiddly ear work which was super exciting!

May and June were surprisingly chill. As students started exam season and preparing to go home for the summer, my apprentice piercings slowed down. Gemma returned from Vegas APP conference and of course on her first day back I asked her to pierce my navel at 5mm! I am currently still healing it – it is not as easy at it seems!

In July we started thinking about conferences in September, and we booked our tickets for the UKAPP conference. I then got the confirmation that I would be flying to Berlin for BMXNET. July was then focused on trying to pack a weeks worth of stuff (and more) into a “small” bag, and researching all the tips and tricks on how to nail my first trip out of the country!

It was the start of the summer holidays in August for plenty of young children across Nottingham, which mean full days of piercing kids lobes. Piercing kids is always a nerve-wracking experience. Personally, whether I’m piercing or just doing paperwork and jewellery choices, I just want to make sure they have the best experience possible.

In September, conference season was upon us! This year I had the privilege to attend both BMXNET in Berlin, Germany and the UKAPP Safe Piercing Conference in Manchester.

Attending BMXNET was a little bit of a whirlwind. It was my first time ever leaving the country, and I couldn’t be more excited at my destination. I had 4 full days of classes packed in over my time there! I took some really nice and light classes such as the basic ‘Anodising is Awesome’ with Brian Skellie, which dove into all the necessary basics that I needed to know about anodising! I came back to the studio super excited to share my knowledge with clients! I increased my knowledge with Jane Absinth and Andre Berg’s ‘Cartilage 101’ class, which discussed all the basic cartilage piercings, such as nose/conch/helix piercings and much more. It took a dip into different ways to mark, what to look for, placements, anatomy etc. I also took a lot of history classes. I absolutely love learning about the history of the piercing world and across different cultures too. One of my favourite classes was by Jason D’Souza which was ‘The History of Body Mod in India’ discussing how piercing rituals, suspension and scarification has travelled through the time of India for thousands of years all the way up into the current day. I also got to do a little sightseeing of my own. I took the Saturday morning off and travelled into Alexanderplatz to have a small walk around and do some tourist-ing.

A week and a half after being back into the UK and back at work, I was off travelling to Manchester for the annual UKAPP conference. I travelled on the Saturday by train to go visit Holier Than Thou for a quick piercing anatomy check, and got to talk to a few of the guys about pre-conference nerves and excitement. I then headed off the the Edwardian Hotel where the conference was being held. Because I was super early I offered a free hand to the volunteers and helped get a few things ready before heading off to my hotel room for a couple hours of rest and salted pretzels! A few more of the Rogues arrived slightly later that night and we headed off to Brewdog to find more piercers and have a cheeky drink.

And then Sunday morning, it was time for registration and to attend as many classes as possible. This conference I got to take many more technique classes and learned so many new things. One of my favourites was definitely ‘The Advanced Fundamentals of Lobe Piercings’ delivered by Jef Saunders. I personally am not the biggest fan of lobe piercings, and so I thought if I could learn something new or see them from a different perspective, I might have some more fun with them. And I was right! I came away with a whole new understanding of them, and ready to try out many new things. I also took Luis Garcia’s class on bridge piercings, because they’re always super tricky and complex, and I definitely came way feeling a little bit lighter with some newfound knowledge.

Something different about this conference was that I was also attending as a vendor. This was my second time assisting as a vendor at a piercing event, and I can honestly say I do really enjoy it. This time myself and Gemma were alongside Queen Of The Ashes Jewelry. Their stuff is absolutely gorgeous, from teeth to rats to nice and simple hammering textures there’s definitely something for everyone.

One of my favourite parts of conference is definitely the outside the classroom activities. On the Sunday night I went and Karaoke-d with the awesome guys from Neilmed and Peoples Jewellery, as well as the super talented Sam Holmes (she can SING!). And on the Monday night the guys from Junipurr and That’s The Point had set up a firewalking event. The theme of the annual party this year was wrestling, so of course me and Gemma did a fabulous couples costume and ended up doing a super fun fire walk dressed as Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley. It was fabulous.

October rolled around and finished up quite quickly to be honest. I decided to use some annual leave and take a couple of weekends away from the studio. Visiting Manchester (yet again) to go and see Blink-182, visiting Matlock Bath Illuminations, and spending some much needed quality time with the family.

This year has been so fast, and I feel like I’ve done everything and yet nothing all at the same time. It’s a scary thought to think that I am in the final year of my apprenticeship, and that soon I’ll be standing completely on my own two feet holding myself up and forward, but with a team like Rogue, I couldn’t ask for better support.

Thank you.

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Neilmed: Piercing Aftercare

If you have ever been pierced at Rogue, or had your piercings troubleshooted, or even just asked for some help for your aftercare you may have noticed that we highly recommend Neilmed. But who are they and why do we recommend them so highly?

Who or what are they?

Neilmed Piercing Aftercare is a product from Neilmed Pharmaceuticals. You may have seen or recognise their other products from your local pharmacy, such as their Sinus Rinse Kits. After the company was founded in 2000 it wasn’t long before they became the largest manafacturer of saline nasal irrigation systems in the world, and that was when they realised they could make an easy and logical transition into the piercing world.

They realised there was a small gap in the market shining for a high quality product that helped make that cleaning process much smoother and easier for everyone involved. So they began talking to the professional piercing industry, and collaborated together to create their shining new product: Neilmed Piercing aftercare – FINE MIST.

They are also located in over 40 countries, from the UK to Hong Kong, or from Jersey to Finland, you can find Neilmed all over the world.

Why is their product so recommended to clients?

Neilmeds piercing aftercare is a highly recommended and sought after product for a vast variety of reasons.

  1. It’s sterile: Neilmed uses a ‘Bag-On-Valve’ technology which ensures your product stays sterile once opened and used. The solution itself is stored inside of a bag (in the can) which is directly attached to the nozzle to spray out. This means that when you use pressure to spray it onto your piercings (like a deodorant can), any air or bacteria entering the can, cannot mix with solution. This further means you are not spraying any potential dirt or harmful bacteria onto or into your healing piercings throughout the entire cleaning process.
  2. Quality and Recommended Ingredients: The piercing solution is made of two ingredients. Pharmaceutical grade water, and sodium chloride. Pharmaceutical grade water means the water used has no added substances and meets all the required testing for purified water. Sodium chloride is more commonly known as salt. And that is it, there is no added chemicals, or substances that may cause harm to the body. The reason it is difficult to home make salt solution though (despite being able to make and keep it sterile) is because it is incredibly hard to mix the right amount of each product to be beneficial. Too much salt can dry out the skin and cause flakiness and irritation. Too much water can cause excessive moisture, which can cause those pesky red and wet looking irritation bumps. Manufacturers have all the right equipment to ensure the product is perfect.
  3. Easy To Use: The bottle comes with a fine mist spray tip. This helps create a gentle stream of the solution from the bottle to the piercing. The fine mist allows a much more controlled and quicker way to directly clean your piercings. The bottle is also able to spray in any position, including upside down, which can make it easier to reach those trickier placements.
  4. PH Friendly: At Rogue we offer and perform many intimate piercings for our clients. This means we needed to be able to offer a product that was safe to use in those intimate places, especially four our clients with Vulvas (which are much more sensitive to products). Neilmed saline solution is very safe to spray onto any new piercing, including those in much more hidden places.
  5. Available in two sizes: The Neilmed saline fine mist is available in both 75mm and 177ml. The 75ml version was released in 2016, which allowed for clients to clean their piercings effectively while travelling without breaking their regime or changing products.

So why do piercers like Neilmed?

Over the years, there have been hundreds of different piercing aftercare products, from sprays to soaps, to natural herbal products, homemade salt solutions, lotions and potions. You name it, it’s been done. So why do we find Neilmed so important? Surely they’re not the only sterile saline solution on the market?

And that’s true. There are other reputable brands that we can also recommend, Neilmed however have a close relationship with their clients (us, the piercers), and they take the time out to listen to us.

Even from entering the piercing aftercare market, they have consistently made sure they had the best product available and that the quality remained high. They listened to consumer demands and shortly after releasing the fine mist spray, they came out with a full stream version which allowed that classic ‘full on’ application to clean your piercings. They persistently emphasise their commitment by listening to consumer feedback. Any problems, questions, concerns or idea are listened to and taken on board with immediate changes and improvements when needed.

As stated previously, they also released a smaller version of their product in 2016 which benefitted both client and piercer, followed by a brand new item in 2023: The Neilmed Sterile Saline Wipes. Piercers use saline wipes on a daily basis to help manage clean and pierce their clients. Having easier access to a higher quality product that has shown consistent loyalty to their clients was definitely appreciated.

Neilmed have also been frequent visitors and vendors at piercing conferences across the world. They make the annual trip every year to help support piercers during their education times and also take part in each conferences raffle. This year at the UKAPP conference they donated 2x full cases of their saline solution.

Their team of staff are also wonderful. They consistently go out of their way to be friendly and go above and beyond for their clients. The UK representative, Damien, is constantly in touch with his clients and establish and maintains good relationships with piercers both professionally and as friends. This year both him and his team member Terri were absolutely wonderful at the UKAPP conference, and even got some piercers together for a fun evening of karaoke. It’s small acts like this that makes Neilmed not just a great product, but a great business to work with.

So why should you care?

Overall, Neilmed is one of the greatest companies that piercers have ever worked with. They have repeatedly shown consistence with their products, as well as commitment and loyalty to their clients. Neilmed made changes in the world of piercing aftercare to benefit piercers and piercers clients (you!) Their piercing aftercare is truly one of the greatest aftercare products on the market while also being super affordable. Simply, we do not believe that you can get better.

I would also like to extend a thank you personally to Damien, the UK Neilmed Representative. You have have been an absolute pleasure to work with, talk to, and sing karaoke with. You always go above and beyond for all of us piercers across the UK, and further. You are truly a gem to both Neilmed and professional piercers.

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As the Seasons Change.

As we slowly start our transition from Summer to Autumn, and the pace in the studio slowly starts to change with the return of students and the hustle and bustle of city life, the team at Rogue are distracted with big plans. September is officially conference season! You may remember a blog from last September (Conference Time!) that was written by Gemma, detailing everyone’s learning experiences. Well, for this blog post I’m going to be sharing all my excitement from my very first conference (and travel) outside of the UK.

Earlier this year I attended the UK Piercing Trade Show alongside Inari Organics as a vendor. I got talking to the wonderful Damien from Neilmed and StockoThePiercer, who were both trying to convince me to travel to Germany for this years BMXnet. I had absolutely no plans to do any travelling outside of the UK this year, and definitely had my eyes set on the UKAPP’s conference in Manchester once again.

Around a month or two later during a monthly staff meeting, we were discussing this years conference season. It was decided that we as a team were all travelling to UKAPP together. Aiden, Breo and Kat are all teaching classes this year, and Gemma and myself are helping Hika (QueenofTheAshes Jewellery) on the vendor floor, as well as attending other classes. Because Gemma had recently travelled to the APP conference in Vegas (feel free to read about that here) after gaining a scholarship, and Breo has attended the the APPE conference in Spain, that meant that Aiden, Kat and myself got the opportunity to travel to Berlin for another conference.

And so I had to start planning. After only getting my passport in the January this year, traveling to Berlin was going to be my first time every leaving the country AND getting on a plane. I had absolutely no idea of what to expect (which does not work when you are a massive over planner).

I travelled to Manchester’s conference last year with a big suitcase and a big backpack, absolutely overfilled with everything I could possibly need. For Berlin, I had only a carry-on backpack! I genuinely thought it would be impossible. But, I did it! Packing only one outfit for each day, pyjamas, and a spare pair of shoes (which were very much needed in the 30+ degree heat) plus my very thought-out liquids bag. And thus the show began.

Alongside the three Rogues travelling to Berlin, the lovely Anna and her apprentice David from Revenant Tattoo were travelling for the Berlin Tattoo Convention. We got to book our hotel together, and we all got to be roommates in a sweet little hostel style hotel. They had a really good breakfast buffet included (although I did somehow manage to nearly break their toaster and start a fire by losing a slice of bread in the gap).

We also got to travel together, and even go an extra travel buddy with us too! Armelle from Death Ray Tattoo was also attending the Berlin Tattoo Convention and was booked on the same plane with us. We all met at the studio at 8 in the morning before getting a taxi to Manchester airport and flying out. I was super nervous about getting through the airport, it was very overwhelming and there was a lot to take in. Thankfully I was with very experienced travellers so I just had to follow the group and keep my cool. I got through airport security easy-peasy, and after only a small delay in the take off time, we were in the air! I was slightly nervous on the way up due to the pressure pushing me back into my seat, but once we levelled out I was absolutely fine! Well, until the descent… Everyone had forgotten to mention that I needed to ‘pop’ my ears, and on the way down I was not having a good time and was really struggling to hear for a few hours! Thankfully a nice comfortable sleep that night left me feeling well rested and back to normal. Once we got checked into the hotel we went and met Andre and Hika and a few other guys for a cheeky couple of drinks!

Fresh and excited faces! Ready to travel!

And so began my actual learning! Waking up at 7am Thursday morning, Rogue and Revenant split up. Aiden, Kat and myself caught the tram (the S-Bahn) to the gorgeous building where the conference was being held. Grabbing a Redbull on the way, we got to check in, grab our lanyards and some super sweet tote bags before going to town on breakfast. Scrambled eggs and bacon was a very much needed and appreciated start to my weekend in Berlin.

My first class was a really amazing bondage demonstration. We were outside in the gorgeous warm sunny air, and I genuinely couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. I then headed over to Andre and Jane’s class on the 101 basics of cartilage piercings, an Open Piercing workshop with Beppe, Cristiano and Sala, and finished off my first day with Nahuel’s history class on Body Piercing before the 20th century! Overall I couldn’t have asked for a better start. I had some super cheesy pasta for lunch, followed by cheesy potatoes for dinner and way too many Fritz-Kolas and Spritzers. Unlimited access to fizzy pop is a dangerous game!

In the evening Aiden, Anna, David, Armell and myself decided to have another cheeky pint in Berlin. We found a really cool little pub where we tried some German Bier, before deciding it was definitely food and bedtime. Doner Kebab in Germany is so much better than in the UK!

Friday was an absolutely insane day! I woke up feeling super ready, had some more eggs and crispy bacon and got started. I had some amazing classes such as the History of BodyMod in India by Jason (my absolute favourite class I’ve yet taken). I got to meet some amazing people and got talking to some new faces who I haven’t met yet! Friday was promptly finished with an early night in bed, fast asleep for 10/11pm!

Saturday morning I decided to take a browse around Berlin and have a small tour of Alexanderplatz. This was something I was really proud of. I’d never even left the country before and now I’m having a mini adventure in a random European city all by myself! I got myself an iced coffee and headed around. I got some sweet little fridge magnets for my family and got to see just how beautiful the city of Berlin is. I also took a sneaky little trip to the skate shop Titus, and had to stop myself buying a million new things that I definitely would not have been able to squeeze into my backpack!

I shortly headed back to the venue to finish off some more classes. I treated myself to some gorgeous new weights from Symmetry Body Jewellery (Queer/Revenge hearts), and some cute little Hinged Jewellery Hangers (The Ties That Bind) from Queen of The Ashes Jewellery! Saturday night was also show night, with performers from the Hullaballoo Cabaret, and it was absolutely phenomenal. I’m still absolutely amazed at the performances. 10/10!

Sunday was kind of heart breaking. Realising it was the final day, and the weekend was nearly over, I was determined to make the most of it. I attended some more amazing classes and spoke to some more amazing people before making the travel back home Monday morning.

With the sun beating down, and everyone basking in the heat like lizards on a rock, I even got a slight tan! Who would have thought! I had such an amazing time, I could talk about it forever (but this blog is already getting pretty long). A massive thank you to Aiden for giving me this opportunity, and to all the speakers, teams, volunteers and leaders at the conference who made it possible. I can’t wait to return in the future and do it all over again.

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Four-ever Rogue: 4th Annivesary

Four years ago, 6 Bridlesmith Walk was an empty unit. No floors, no rooms, just a man with a set of keys, two dogs and a vision. Today we are one of the largest UKAPP studios with 5 members, 4 piercers and the best clients any business could hope for. Rogue Piercing celebrates 4 years in Nottingham!

Rome might not have been built in a day but Aiden laid the floors, built the walls and had Rogue up and running in weeks. As a founding member of the UKAPP and an internationally travelling piercer and educator, he knew what he wanted Rogue to be. An inviting space for all looking for safe, high quaility body piercing performed by professionals who are passionate about their work.

In the begining there was Aiden.


As the team changed and grew, we’ve attended a number of international conferences, taught classes and met some amazing people. From Machester, Germany, Madrid and Las Vegas, our team have travelled a lot over the past few years. Anna of our sister studio Revenant Tattoo even visited Peru! Jet setting and #foreverlearning.

As our team has grown, so has our jewellery and our portfolios. It wouldn’t be a Rogue recap without a look back at some of our proudest work. Kat works hard as the Rogue jewellery specialist to order each piece of jewellery, specifically with our clients in mind. Catering to all aesthetics, budgets and colour schemes. Our cabinets are filled with hand-picked and hand-made pieces that are selected and displayed by Kat, purchased by our wonderful clients and installed by our piercing team.

Not only have we worked with some incredible pieces of jewellery, but Rogue has also grown to become one of the leading studios for large gauge and intimate piercing in the UK! Under the mentorship of Aiden and Breo, Gemma is now working on expanding her intimate portfolio. Although we won’t be showing any genital piercings here, we are eternally grateful for the trust of our clients and we are privelleged to a be a part of their journey. But hey, let’s have a look at some of the work we can show on the internet!

Jay is approaching their third and final apprentice year! They’ve tackled a lot since starting their journey but there’s no denying they have not only a passion but a genuine talent for body piercing. They are always striving for perfection and taking on board as much as possible to provide their clients with the most amazing experience. Next year Jay will be moving into the most advanced piercings available so keep an eye out for apprentice discounts and help Jay finish up in style!

Rogue has grown to be so much more than the team of five you see creeping around the studio. Over the years, we have welcomed a whole range of piercers into the studio for guest spots, events and general hanging out with industry folks! We’ve hosted Rae and Mari from Wales. Current UKAPP president David Angeles. Flavio from Brazil. Edu from Copenhagen. Jamie from San Francisco. Cat from London. Phebe and Olly from Norwich. Andre from Germany. Aiko from Belguim. And Alicia from Canada! That’s not to mention the amazing artists that Revenant has had visit and produce amazing art in their tattoo studio!

We also welcomed David to the Revenant studio! Although already established as an incredibly talented artist, David has joined Anna to begin his journey as a tattoo apprentice. We’re all very glad to have David and his snazzy shirts on board!

Over a decade in the making, Aiden has worked to create a space for practioners, facilitators and participants to come together do something awesome. Introducing the wonderful world of body suspesion to Rogue has been a long and life changing process but we have been fortunate enough to have amazing guidance and to bring that experience to the fine folk of Nottingham. The events hosted at Rogue have been a fantastic success and we aim to provide many more in the future! It’s been an uplifting journey so far. Pun intended.

Who knows what the next four years will bring. How the team will change. Where we will go next. One thing you can always be sure of, is we will continue to provide high quality, safe body piercings for every one. Rogue is a space you can be comfortable in. A studio where we are always striving for better. And we wouldn’t be here without our unbelievably supportive clients. Thank you to each and every person that has visited us over the years. Here’s to 4 more years!

Don’t forget to book your appointments 🙂


– Gemma