A Piercer's Blog
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Love Us?
Show my shop some support if you like us by voting for Fatty's Custom Tattooz as Best Tattoo Shop :) It means so much to us!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
awesomeness
I got to be on the Modified World yet again. I feel pretty special about this guys! Hope everyone had awesome holidays and ate lots of yummy food.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Hey Guys
So I'm back from my trip to Anne Arbor, and I was lucky enough to make it into this weeks episode of The Modified World. Check it out!
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Friday, November 2, 2012
Halloween Success!!!!
The Halloween sale was so great! Me and Michelle had a ton of fun and were super busy all day, Thanks to everyone who participated, we really had a great time :) The above photo was taken at the end of the day, when we were both totally exhausted and ready to PTFO!!!
Friday, October 19, 2012
Awesome Jewelry and Teens Piercing Teens.
Yesterday the owner of Modifika jewelry came by the shop and sold us some amazing plugs. We've never had any jewelry like this in the case before, and if it sells as well as I think it will then I'm going to be carrying quite a bit more of it in the future.
We are totally ready for our Halloween sale now. I have made lots of goody bags to hand out to anyone participating in our special. Make sure to stop by in costume to snag one! Our new piercer Michelle has been kicking ass so far and I'm looking forward to working with her Halloween day. Everyone at Fatty's loves this holiday.
I was super excited last week to find out that a student at the high school I graduated from was writing a paper on piercing. My old English teacher, the only teacher I liked and have kept in touch with, sent me a message on facebook asking if it was okay for the student to interview me for her research paper. OF COURSE I said yes. I love opportunities to educate kids about piercing. I thought her questions were really good, so I decided to post them along with my answers here;
We are totally ready for our Halloween sale now. I have made lots of goody bags to hand out to anyone participating in our special. Make sure to stop by in costume to snag one! Our new piercer Michelle has been kicking ass so far and I'm looking forward to working with her Halloween day. Everyone at Fatty's loves this holiday.
I was super excited last week to find out that a student at the high school I graduated from was writing a paper on piercing. My old English teacher, the only teacher I liked and have kept in touch with, sent me a message on facebook asking if it was okay for the student to interview me for her research paper. OF COURSE I said yes. I love opportunities to educate kids about piercing. I thought her questions were really good, so I decided to post them along with my answers here;
1. Did you pierce people in high school?
I was
piercing people a lot in high school. I’m pretty ashamed of it now actually. I
don’t tell many people.
2. What were the laws for piercing minors when you were in
high school?
The thing
about piercing in Maryland is; it’s not very regulated. It wasn’t when I was in
high school and it’s not now. It’s the same in DC (where I work now), which is
really dangerous. There is no license or school you can go to like with
cosmetology.
3. What are the laws now for piercing minors (in Maryland)?
(I'm a bit confused- is there a law that only applies to official parlors?
Because a parlor I went to can't even pierce the ears of a 15 year old, but at
Claire's they pierce kids much younger.)
In Maryland, because they don’t regulate
piercing the only real law they enforce is that when piercing a minor a legal
guardian must sign for them. Tattoo shops in Maryland can legally pierce
someone at 15 with guardians consent but a lot of them object for
moral/personal reasons. As a personal rule, the only thing I ever pierce on
minors is ear lobes.
4. Do you agree with the laws in place?
No, I think we need very strict laws regarding piercing. Right now
anyone can open a shop and call themselves a professional regardless of their
(lack of) knowledge. Maryland doesn’t even enforce where you dump your used
piercing needles or whether or not you use sterilized equipment. Half of what I
do lately is fix other peoples hackwork.
5. Do you think that teenagers are capable of cleanly and
safely giving themselves and each other safe piercings?
Absolutely
not. Aside from not knowing where to properly place a piercing so that it will
heal properly; Teenagers have no knowledge of blood borne diseases and do not
have access to sterile equipment. They have no idea how to prevent cross
contamination, and have nowhere to put their used needles. A lot of them think,
“well I did it before and it was fine” or “my friend did it and it was okay”
but if they were informed of all the real risks they put their bodies at they
would probably think twice. It’s really not as easy as “well if it gets
infected I’ll just take it out” because not only can this seal the infection
inside your body allowing it to travel to other places via your blood stream
but a true infection requires antibiotics and a doctors visit. I’ve seen people
need to be quarantined in the ER and blood transfusions from such severe
infections in an improperly done piercing.
6. What would your best advice be for a teenager who is too
young to go to a parlor but who wants a nose or belly button piercing?
Do your
research. Nothing bad can come from informing yourself. A lot of times there’s
a good reason tattoo shops refuse to pierce minors. I get asked almost every
day by minors for piercing, and it would be a lot easier for me to just take
their money and pierce them. I certainly need the money(piercers don’t make
much), but I have a few personal reasons why I find it inappropriate for
someone so young to get pierced. I know it seems like an eternity to wait till
you are 18, but in the end it’s better to do your research and first find out
which shop will truly give you the best piercing experience so you know where
to go when you turn 18. It’s a much better alternative then to have your friend
pierce you in their bathroom and lose the top half of your ear because of an
infection.
7. Do you have to turn away a lot of teenagers at your
parlor who want to be pierced but are too young?
We do, and
a lot of times they try to argue with us. The thing is, we are a high end shop
doing what we feel is best for the customer. Maybe the customer doesn’t see
that because they are immature, but that’s exactly why they need to really
think about what they are doing and maybe wait a little longer.
8. What is your position at the parlor? (head piercer, etc.)
I am the
piercing manager. I work 5 days a week.
9. Why do you think teenagers are so eager to be pierced?
I’m sure it
really depends on the individual teenager. I know from a very young age I just
wanted a ton of piercings. I always loved them, and I felt like I truly needed
them. It was a really strong urge for me.
10. How many piercings do you have?
20(I think)
11. (to your knowledge) Have the laws restricting the
piercings of minors affected Fatty's business in any way?
We’ve
certainly missed out on money due to not piercing minors, but I think it makes
me a better piercer in the end.
12. How did your parents feel about you having piercings in
high school?
They
absolutely hated it. I remember at times my dad wouldn’t even talk to me. They
would try to ground me or take away privileges. I feel bad for giving them so
much grief.
12. Is there anything else you would like to add
A great
place to learn more about safe piercing is the APP’s(association of professional
piercers) web site. They have tons of free info for anyone wanting to get
pierced but doesn’t know where to start. Also, anyone is welcome to email me if
they have any questions about piercing. I really feel like it’s important to
educate kids because I hear so much false information being thrown around.
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