Category: Uncategorized

September only has a singular birthstones, and that is the classic Sapphire. However, don’t be fooled, despite only having one stone – this month still offers a variety of colours to choose from!

The months that are lucky enough to have more than a singular birthstone, these are separated into two lists: Modern and Traditional. The more common of the two is the modern birthstones, which were defined in 1912 by the Jewelers of America in an attempt to standardise (and commercialise) birthstones. This was further updated in the 1950s, to include gemstones such as Citrine for November, or Alexandrite for June. Modern stones are based on what’s easier to sell in large quantities (making it the more affordable choice).

On average Sapphire typically refers to deep rich blue gemstones variety of the mineral corundum, and is available in every single colour except red (the red variety of mineral corundum is reserved for Rubies). Sapphires that come in any colour that isn’t blue are entitled “fancies”. It is trace elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, copper, and magnesium that give naturally colourless corundum a tint of blue, yellow, purple, orange, or green. Hence, the rainbow variety of Sapphires that can be found.

There is a very fine line between sapphires and rubies though, and pink sapphires very carefully tread that line. In the U.S. these guys have to meet a minimum colour saturation to be considered a ruby! Despite this, the pinkish/orange sapphires can actually draw in higher prices than the classic blue sapphire.

Traditionally, Sapphire has been a symbol for faithfulness, truth, and nobility, and for centuries has been adorned by royalties the Robes of the Clergy. It was even believed by the Elite of Ancient Greece and Rome that Sapphire protected their owners from harm and envy! The name “sapphire” comes from the Latin word sapphirus and the Greek word sappheiros, meaning “blue stone” (although those words may have originally referred to lapis lazuli). Some actually believe it may have originated from the Sanskrit word sanipriya which meant “dear to Saturn.”

There are three historically important sources for the September birthstone, which are Sri Lanka, Kashmir and Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) the Mogok area of Myanmar is a local place famed for the production of Sapphire. , however significant quantities of Sapphire can also be found in Australia, Thailand, Cambodia, Madagascar and the United States as well as many countries across Asia and Africa.

Sapphire is a remarkably hard stone, scaling at a 9 on the Moh’s Scale of Hardness, ranking it second to Diamond. It is incredibly tough with no cleavage (which is tendency to break when struck). All of this information makes it an excellent stone for everyday wear. This stone isn’t often treated to improve colour or clarity, but when they are heat treatment is the most common. Warm, soapy water is always the safest method to clean your jewellery, however ultrasonics and steam cleaners can be used for non-treated sapphires. If the stone has been dyed or fracture-filled, then a damp cloth only should be used for cleaning.

We stock jewellery from brands from across the world, and can source items in all birthstones imaginable! If you would like to treat yourself to some meaningful pieces, just get in contact with us.

Make sure to follow us on social media for regular updates, and keep an eye out as we post new blogs every single Friday!

It’s that time of year again where we celebrate another 365 days of Rogue Piercing Nottingham! It’s been a year full of change and growth for our team and we cannot wait to see what the next five years bring!

At the start of the year, we had the pleasure of attending the very first Wee Scottish Expo in Edinburgh. We packed up the suspension rig and drove from Nottingham to Scotland to spend time with new and old industry friends from all over the globe. As part of the Expo, we worked with the incredible Bliss of Pain Suspension Crew and world renowned practioner Eugenia Delphine for the Body Play day, performing body suspensions to raise money for War Child UK, a specialist charity helping children effected by conflict. Special thank you to the team at Bold and Gold for making the event so special!

Rolling in to summer this year, our very own Head Piercer Breo Hoek received the APP Legacy Scholarship! Together with Gemma, they travelled out to sunny ol’ Las Vegas, Nevada for ten days of hard work, sweat and lots and lots of learning. It was amazing to have Breo as part of the Volunteer Family and the experience was undeniably life changing. You can read more about Breo’s first time attending the APP conference in his blog here.
While Gemma and Breo were off on their adventures, the studio had the honour of hosting Elly Tso! Elly really stepped up to help Jay keep Rogue Nottingham running to it’s full potential while the team were across the Atlantic. Big, big thank you to both Jay and Elly for keeping the ship sailing!

Pretty much as soon as Gemma and Breo landed back in the UK, we welcomed Gwen to the team! Gwen has been piercing for a couple of years now and joined the Rogue team to expand her existing skillset and grow her career as a Piercer 🙂
Almost as soon as Gwen started with us, Aiden and Anna flew Gwen out to Berlin for the annual BMXNet conference to really get a feel for the importance of what we do as Piercers (and of course to network and catch up with some dear friends). You can read more about Gwen’s experience of her first international conference here. We are super proud of Gwen for how they have integrated in with the team and how passionate they are about our craft.

Our last big event for this year was the UKAPP conference which was held in Nottingham for the very first time this year! We had a whirwind of a time, volunteering to help run the Audio/Visual for the event, attending classes and keeping the studio up and running throughout. It was hard work for the team but not only did we make it happen, we had so much positive feedback from Piercers all over the globe who came to visit and be pierced at Rogue. It was especially important for Breo who had the absolutely honour of showing the legendary Brian Skellie around our studio and even had him watch Breo perform some piercings! Not nerve-wracking at all!
We also had the fantastic BVLA team pop in to see the studio and it was such a wonderful experience to meet them in person! Travelling all the way from Los Angeles to Nottingham, the BVLA team had their own floor at the UKAPP expo this year to showcase all their amazing pieces!

And finally, just as the UKAPP conference was about to start this year, ROGUE BIRMINGHAM was licensed! Meaning that we now have TWO locations across the Midlands! Rogue Birmingham has been a labour of love and we are so, so impressed with all the hard work that Aiden has put in to make the second studio possible. Nestled in the Custard Factory at Digbeth, Aiden is now available for piercing and jewellery appointments. We picked up some extra special pieces from our conferences just for the Birmingham site, so head over, say hello and pick yourself out something gorgeous! We can’t wait to see our second studio grow and expand over the coming months, and it will be super excited to write a 5 year anniversary blog for our second site!

Congratulations again to Aiden for all his hard work in setting up Rogue Birmingham and for all of his continued support at Nottingham! Rogue wasn’t built in a day, but it was built in the best interest of our clients and Piercers to provide you with the high quality, safe piercing environment that you all deserve!

See you at our 6 year celebration!

Let’s start at the beginning: 

What is an orbital piercing? An orbital is a double piercing connected by a single ring. 

Not to be confused with Industrial piercings (aka Scaffold piercings), which differ in that the piercings are connected by a barbell instead of a ring. 

Where can we place an orbital? Practically anywhere on the ear! We can even connect healed piercings with rings! With a little creativity and taking the right measurements, the options are almost endless!

There are different ways to place an orbital in a piercing and to decide which is the right one, we must do a study of each case with several points to take into account: the person’s daily level of physical activity, sleeping habits and posture preferences, profession, use of glasses/phone/headphones/headwear etc. 

What jewellery is suitable for an orbital? We have several options: We can use a BCR (ball closure ring), we can use a circular barbell, or a seam ring.

Should orbitals be made with the hoop directly, or do I have to heal the piercings with straight jewellery before wearing a hoop? The answer is “YES” to both questions. It will depend on the piercing and the anatomy of that area. We cannot generalise with a universal rule for everyone, when everyone is different in terms of sizes, shapes, lifestyles etc. Every detail counts. 

Some people can wear a ring from the beginning because their anatomy allows it, and other people will be recommended to have two standard piercings, and connect them with a ring once healed. 

What kind of problems are common in orbitals?  At Rogue we don’t usually encounter problems with orbitals, because it is a super stable piercing, the range of movement of the jewellery in the piercing is practically zero and this facilitates healing a lot because there is hardly any mechanical stress.

Still, and as with any other piercing, it can cause scarring, piercing bumps, irritations, lumps and rejection. We always recommend coming to see us for a check-up if you have any issues at all. Most of the time, the problem is a small detail that is easy to fix. 

What size should the jewellery be?

Like most piercings, the size is something we can also choose. We can use fine and delicate jewellery or we can make it ambitious and chunky. The options are almost endless!

Orbitals are piercings that require dedication and attention.

One of the biggest advantages of this double piercing is that if it has been done with a ring from the beginning, you will not need a downsize!  The size of the ring you got pierced with will be the size you will always need. 

If you would like to make an appointment for a consultation, we are open 7 days a week, we look forward to hearing from you!

Easily the most popular vulva piercings we perform at Rogue are those that pass through the hood. In this blog we will break down the differences between the Vertical and Horizontal placement as well as how to look after the piercings and what to expect in terms of jewellery and healing times.
Huge thank you to Jenny at Holier Than Thou for providing beautifully edited images of intimate piercings that we can share online!

Anatomy

Did you know that the anatomy of the clitoris wasn’t fully anatomically described until 2005. Yep, you read that right. 2005! Thanks to Professor Helen O’Connell, Australia’s leading female urologist, we finally have a medical map of the clitoris. Luckily, we’ve had 2,000 years to study it’s penile counterpart as this has been described, documented and detailed since 35BC.

Vertical Clitoral Hood

The VCH passes vertically (as the name suggests) through the hood tissue. These piercings are performed with a curved barbell so that one ball sits at the apex of the hood tissue and the other ball sits just below/on top of the clitoris glans.
In order to check if your anatomy is viable for this piercing, during your Intimate Consultation, we will use a sterile single-use cotton bud and some water-based lubricant to gently lift the tissue of the hood and check the depth. Usually, if most of the cotton tip can be covered then we can perform the piercing.
The ‘standard’ placement for a VCH is nice and central, following the natural folds of the tissue. At Rogue, we pierce from a minimum of 14g (1.6mm) to ensure stability. Depending on the desired result of our client, we can pierce up to 8g (3.2mm) if the anatomy allows for it. Due to the nature of the tissue, these piercings can be stretched up fairly easily. The tissue of the hood is fairly elastic which means over time, the piercing channel can stretch itself slightly fairly naturally so being pierced at a smaller gauge and stretching up later is not a problem at all.
Some clients prefer have larger attachments (threaded balls or cabochons) and a thicker bar to give some weight to the piercing.

Although it is standard practice to pierce central to the clitoral shaft so that the curved bar sits on top of the glans, some people prefer to have the piercing placed by the side of the glans instead and generally performed in pairs. These piercings are commonly referred to as Dukes/Dianas and are a popular alternative if there is not space on top of the glans. When the glans are aroused and filled with blood, the two bars will create light pressure on either side of the glans which can be desirable for some clients.
The use of hormones can increase the original size of the clitoral glans which means that the hood may feel tight over the area, in this case, Dukes/Dianas are a great alternative as they sit comfortable by the sides.

Horizontal Clitoral Hood

Performed using a Ball Closure Ring, the HCH is ideally placed so that the ball of the ring sits central to the glans and has contact with the clitoris. The hood tissue needs to be prominent enough that it can be lifted in order for the piercing to be performed and also substantial enough to support the ring. We generally perform these piercings at 14g (1.6mm) and 12g (2mm), using BCRs although some clients may wish to wear a circular barbell once healed.

HCH piercings do not pass through the clitoral gland. Aesthetically they can look similar to the Triangle piercing, this passes behind the clitoris and is a very advanced piercing that we do not currently offer at Rogue but we can highly recommend our wonderful friends at Holier Than Thou in Manchester if you are interested in Triangle piercings,

Although uncommon, some people do have the anatomy for multiple HCH piercings. In fact, we had the pleasure of completing a triple HCH project and interviewing our amazing client about it! You can read all about that here.

Consultation

As always, we require a consultation to take place at least 24 hours prior to any intimate piercings. At this consultation we will discuss all options available, provide you will a mountain of information regarding the history, process and after care of your piercing before performing a check of your anatomy to assess the tissue and discuss placements and desired results.
For more information on intimate piercings and the consultation process, please visit our other blog pages.
https://roguepiercing.co.uk/2023/04/07/intimate-consultation-what-to-expect/
https://roguepiercing.co.uk/2021/06/11/female-intimate-piercings/

You can book your consultation any time here: https://roguepiercing.co.uk/book-now/
Please be sure to bring valid, government issued, photographic ID such as a passport, driving license or citizenship card. You will need this at your consultation and your piercing appointment.

Healing Times

As we said previously, the tissue of the hood is fairly thin, elasticated and has good blood flow – meaning that you should be in for a nice, easy heal! After every intimate piercing, we request that clients come back for a check up after 2 – 4 weeks. At this appointment we will check up on the piercing and perform any downsizes as needed. A full heal for most Hood piercings is around 10 – 12 weeks and you should feel nice and settled after 4 – 6 weeks.

We ask all clients to refrain from any sexual activity, including masturbation for the first 4 weeks following your piercing. This is to reduce the spread of bacteria and unnecessary stress on the piercing channel while it gets through that initial healing period.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to book your consultation online with one of our Piercers!

Looking for a change? Want to do weird stuff with lovely people? Rogue is growing! Rogue is a UK, midlands based high end studio with specialism on high value gold, large gauge and heavy intimate work. We are looking for Piercers and Front of House for our new studio in the West Midlands. The roles will be full time with pay starting from £12/Hour and 4-5 days per week depending on experience level. Training on handling jewellery, handling clients, unusual piercings, working to industry standard etc will be offered. Applicants will be expected to become UKAPP members and all support will be given to achieve this including BBP, First Aid and attendance of the UKAPP conference.

At Rogue we offer a high end piercing experience with top quality products. Our main suppliers are BVLA, Industrial Strength, Anatometal, Neometal etc for jewellery and TTP, Kiwami and IS LLC for needles. We use sterile gloves for every piercing and use Statims for sterilisation. We are a blade needle studio but we aren’t against cannula and training will be given to convert cannula piercers to blade. It is important to us that you have the equipment you are confident with and the support to be the best piercer you can be.

For Front of House we will train in psychology of sales, jewellery ordering and public handling.

The ideal candidates will be confident at piercing/sales, comfortable in their own style, comfortable with the heavy work that Rogue offers (Intimate, Large Gauge, High value etc), a self motivated person and willing to travel (we regularly attend international conferences and guest around the world).

To check out the current studio and team head to instagram.com/roguepiercing

To apply send a cover letter and CV to iwantajob@roguepiercing.co.uk

Birthstones!

• October – Opal and Pink Tourmaline
• November – Topaz and Citrine
• December – Turquoise, Tanzanite and Zircon
• January – Garnet
• February – Amethyst
• March – Aquamarine
• April – Diamond
• May – Emerald