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Every so often you meet someone who has found their niche in life. They generally seem to glide effortlessly through tasks that most of us find extremely demanding. Carl contacted Pierce Artist in early September. Two weeks later Carl was on a flight to Manchester from Sweden on a mission to begin a new career as a professional body piercer. Carl had never pierced before and admittedly was quite nervous about what the days ahead had in store.
Carl had recently been offered a position as a piercer in a local tattoo shop in his home town of
Örebro. Coming all the way from Sweden, Carl's biggest concern was being able to cram enough information and technique into his eight day stay, to enable him to return home with confidence and start piercing professionally. A month later we touched base with Carl to talk about his training and to hear how his new piercing career was going.
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| Interview with Carl Montgomery |
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Carl Montgomery is not your typical Swedish Name. My family on my fathers side were originally from Scotland and migrated to Sweden many years ago. What did you do before body piercing? I was working as a decorative painter mainly, as well as cabinet maker and carpenter. When did you decide you wanted to become a piercer? I was talking to a friend who runs a tattoo parlor, one day at the beginning of September, out of the blue, he asked me, If I would consider opening a piercing concession in his studio, I thought,. ''Yeah...why not?''. From our initial conversation to arriving at Pierce Artist, the period was about two weeks.
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What was it about piercing that attracted you? I have always had a genuine interest in body modification. I love to see the reaction and the look of satisfaction from people when you finish the job. it's a great feeling. The great thing about piercing is that everyday you get instant gratification from your efforts, as opposed to most other jobs. |
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What is the piercing scene like in Sweden?. It's kind of widespread and people from all walks of life have piercings, very similar to UK or America. I don't suppose you have many 15 year old girls walking around bearing their belly buttons in that weather? Well there are of course a few, some of them have pierced themselves or have been to a studio where they don't care as much about age restrictions. But I think the most common age for getting pierced in Sweden is around 16. Sweden isn't too different from say Britain or Germany. It is a small country, but it's very modern. |
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Why come to England for your training. First of all there are no body piercing training centres in Sweden, or in Scandinavia at all for that matter, so I started looking for a place that was most suitable for my needs and met my expectations. I probably would have travelled much further if I had found a training centre that seemed to be as of high quality as Pierce Artist.
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How did you hear about Pierce Artist and why did you decide to choose them as your training provider? I was initially looking for a place in Scandinavia but couldn't find any, so I started looking online for places in Europe and after I had been looking for a while I found Pierce Artist. From my initial research on their site, I viewed that the company looked serious, clean and from what I could gather had a good reputation and it was much closer than my other options in America and Australia. They taught blade needle technique, which I view was the most efficient method and I also liked the fact that there were lots of photos and feedback from past students. It seemed as though they were very open about the quality of their services.
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What was the most important thing you needed to achieve from the course? CONFIDENCE. Were your goals met by the course? Yes definately, I started piercing within a couple of days of returning to Sweden. My costumers were really pleased with my work and many compared my work favourably to other body piercers they had been to. The most common comments, were how fast and pain free the piercings process was and that I seem really professional and knowledgeable about my work.
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You chose the 4 day course with a block of additional observation days why was this your choice? Well I wanted to get the most out of my stay as I was due back home just eight days later, but at the same time I wanted the most extensive training I could get in the time. So I opted for the full package plus a block of Observation days. The additional Observation days were really cool, as I was able to focus on any piercings or techniques that I was not as confident about and I really began to feel at that point that all the information that I had gathered during the course was beginning to feel quite natural. |
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How did you find the structure of the course and your tutor Tracy Perkins? Great layout, very well structured. We began with Body Piercing Theory, which covered all of the health, safety and medical issues. Then on the second day we began practical piercing lessons. In the mornings there was lots of tool and jewellery positioning training, then the afternoons were spent piercing models. One step at a time, one day at a time. First I was quite nervous, a new country, new people and new experiences, but Tracy was really cool and pedagogical about it all. She stressed me out a couple of times with her mantra of '' Speed is of the essence '', but I totally understand now, how and what she meant. It's tough to start learning a new trade and there are a lot of things to take in but if you are going to learn something new, it's essential to be around a great teacher. When I got back to Sweden and spoke to piercers, I feel that Tracy had taught me some skills and techniques that even many of the more experienced piercers were not aware of. I thought that was really cool. |
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What was it like piercing for the first time. I actually thought that I would be more nervous (I'm definitely not saying that I wasn't) but I felt confident when Tracy was nearby and guiding me through it. What did you find the most difficult piercing? During the training I thought that getting a navel done (on a fairly large person) was kind of tricky, not the penetration of the skin but getting it to look good afterwards placement-wise. Regarding the ones I've done here in Sweden I think it's pretty hard to get two piercings to be perfectly aligned, no problem after a couple of dot/wipes though. And lips (using a ring) can be quite a hassle. Was there enough opportunity to overcome any problem areas. The opportunity was there, absolutely, but there were no major problems, now it all comes down for me to get practice and experience.
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How was it using the Pierce Artist toolset? In my previous life as decorative painter and a cabinet maker, I learnt that high quality tools are essential and can make also make the quality of your work a lot better. From my experience these ones were the right tools for piercing and I could tell a lot of thought and experience has gone into the design! |
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You have now returned to Sweden, do you feel that you have attained enough knowledge to begin piercing professionally and how do you see the future panning out for you? As I said before, I have already pierced several people, I definitely have the confidence and the knowledge to execute the piercing that I have been taught, now it all comes down to practice practice practice. After talking to some other piercers I'm sure it will be satisfying, fun and lucrative. What feedback are you getting from the customer? As I mentioned before they compliment me about the speed, the pain (lack of) and the way I talk to them and explain the procedure. Of course some people don't even want to talk about or see the needle. But they usually comment after the piercing on how quick and pain free the experience was.
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Have you had any contact with the Pierce Artist team since leaving Manchester? Oh yes, lots of support, emailing back and forth. They have been extremely efficient. I would love to some day come go back and revisit the team and do a series of advanced courses. What did you most enjoy about your visit and what did you think of Manchester? It was really cool meeting the team first and foremost and of course the piercing course was fantastic had a reaaaal good overall experience. Truly! Manchester was a cool place I will definitely come back some time soon. When I was there the guys took me to dinner and we did some lounging at a really cool bar. We went all over the city. I really had a great time. The guys also took me to Blackpool Pleasure Beach, I will probably never forget some of the joyrides in Blackpool. The roller casters were amazing. |
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As a person who had never pierced anyone before. What advice would you give to anyone in your position, looking to get into body piercing? Well, the internet can help you with getting information about many aspects of the industry. If you decide you really want to move forward, start looking for a good teacher (like the one I had for example). Once you have been trained, get out there and start persuading the customers that you are the best one for the job. Many people have said it is not possible to get a person piercing well in the period of time that it took you. What would you say to these people?. You won't become a full fledged professional pierce '' artist '' after a weeks worth of training, I agree, but you will most certainly have all the skills you need to start performing body piercing on a basic level and with good results. Once again it all comes down to practice and of course talent and motivation. Sometimes motivation is all you need to become great at something and that is what I brought home with me. Experience, motivation, confidence and lot's of great memories!
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