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What did you do before body piercing? My last job was with the NHS. I worked in the Materials Management department, which involved ordering and managing the supplies for wards, departments and the local community.
When did you first become interested in body piercing. My interest in becoming a body piercer was when my partner moved business from his old premises to where he is now. He owns his own tattoo studio and was in need of a new body piercer for the new shop. The idea really stood out in my mind and so I looked into it further.
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What was it about piercing that attracted you? After spending a lot of time in the studio, and seeing the variety of people that walked through the door, I wanted to become involved in the industry more. The shop was in need of a piercer, and I thought I would like to try it myself. It looked to be quite a technical thing to grasp, which I wanted to learn more about.
What made you choose Pierce Artist as your training partner?. We had been looking through one of our tattoo magazines, and came across the Pierce Artists advertisement. I logged onto the website and read what Pierce Artist was all about. I was very interested in what I read and wanted to find out more. I rang up to make further enquiries. It came about that there was an open day the following weekend, and so we took a trip over to see. We watched demos and listened to the information that was told to everyone. I think it was the open day that made me decide I wanted to train with Pierce Artist
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Who is your typical customer?. With us being a tattoo and piercing studio, we get quite a wide range of customers. However, it tends to be more 18s to 25s that come to be pierced. More women than men usually too. We have a lot of colleges and the main university near by, so we get lots of students.
What was the most important thing you needed to achieve from the course? I think I needed to come away feeling confident in what I was doing and having the knowledge about what I was doing. After the last day on the course I felt a lot more confident and understood the theory behind what I was doing. I think it was just a case of putting what I knew and learnt into practice on my own.
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What did you most enjoy about the training. I liked the way I spent a whole day on theory, before doing any hands on work. It gave me a day to settle in and get my head round what I was going to be doing. It was good that the days were broken down into certain piercings each day too. It gave me chance to practice different techniques a day at a time. I was very nervous at the thought of my first piercing, but having Tracy stood over me, talking me through everything really put me at ease. Its amazing the buzz you get when you have done your first one. |
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How did you rate the teaching methods on the course. I did not really know what to expect when it came to teaching techniques, as there's only so much you can learn and practice without using an actual model. So I think the techniques that we used were as helpful as they could be. It was all about learning the process of doing it and what to look out for as you do it. Once I had picked this up, it was just a case of putting it into practice
How did you find the Pierce Artist Toolset? I think the toolset were extremely easy to use, once you get to grips with how to use them. They have definitely been designed for the comfort of both the piercer and the piercee.
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What was the most difficult thing you found on the course. I always struggle putting the balls on the jewllery!! That's really just practice though. There was definitely time to talk to Tracy about anything I was struggling with or was unsure about. But with it being only a four day course, and having so many piercings to cover in that time, there was not as much chance to physically practice everything I needed to go over. So I will be booking an additional Observation Day to go over some of these minor issues. Though I felt that I had the knowledge to start piercing professionally, but it was still the confidence I lacked. This is now coming with the more experience I have gained since working independently at my salon.
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On Saturday 5th April. We drove up to Liz's body piercing studio ''The Bleeding Art'' in Huddersfield. For their first ever Open Day. The event was a great success with over 30 piercings undertaken by Tracy and Liz.
''The Open Day was a great way to introduce our services to some new customers. Tracy and Tim came over, we did loads of piercings and it really helped get our new business off on the right foot.
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How have you found the support service after the course? Its great that if I have any queries or problems, I can pick up the phone and Pierce Artist will be there to help me out. They have already rung me to see how I am doing and I have placed an order for some supplies from them too. Its nice to have the security that they are there if I need them. And Tracy, coming down for my open day has really helped us get the business off the ground.
What is your overall view about the training? I was very pleased with the training I received on the course. Its just a shame its goes so fast, because there's probably still loads more I would have learnt if it had been longer. But I went on the course for the basic knowledge I need to start off with and that is what I came away with. I think I most enjoyed spending time in the studio, in the clinical atmosphere. And although it was very nerve racking, I really enjoyed doing the actual piercings too. It was great to spend so much time with Tracy over the week too, I found her really easy to get on with.
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What advice would you give someone looking to get involved in body piercing? I would probably tell someone new to the training that the key to learning, for me anyway, was to listen to what Tracy was telling me. I think if you listen in fine detail, then the practical side will come with practice Its something that you have to honestly want to do too. If the interest is not truly there, then there is no point trying in the first place. Its something you have to keep trying at too, and do not give up. Even if you have a bad experience, you have to keep trying until you get it right.
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What kind of feedback have you been getting from your new customers? I have pierced quite a few people since I have been back, and the feedback of what I have done seems to be fairly positive. In fact one customer described it as ''the best experience she has ever had!''
Many people say that the technical aspects of body piercing cannot be taught over a 4 day period and the only way to learn is through an apprentice program. After completing the course what are you thoughts? I would say that that is not the case. It is an intense course and as long as you listen and take in what is being taught, then you will come away with enough knowledge and understanding to pierce well on your first day alone. I think if you go into training with the right attitude, then you will come out with the right results. The rest is just practice and experience.
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