The first time that I had ever gotten a piercing was when I was five years old, then I went on a piercing hiatus for about 13 years. When I was going through my angst ridden teenage years I always complained to my mom about getting a lip piercing, and now that I look back on it I am quite happy that she always said no.
At A Glance Author Tay P Contact Tay P@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Jimi Studio Studio 14 Location Toledo, OH I have always liked my clavicles for some weird reason, but I never knew that you could get them pierced until recently. One day a few months back a friend of mine told me about the BME website and I was instantly intrigued. I went to the ear piercing and tattoo sections first because those were no big surprise, but then I stumbled among the surface piercing which is where I saw the clavicle surface piercing and I instantly fell in love. I mentioned it to the friend that had introduced me to BME and he said it was probably a bad idea because of the risk of infection and it would be hard to find someone to perform the piercing. I, being the amateur that I am, was calling it a sub-clavicle piercing, that's why he recommended I not get it done. Well a week or so later I told him that I meant a surface clavicle and he said it may reject so I might not want to do it, but I was bound and determined.
Now I know that a lot of people spend months or even a year thinking about getting a piercing, but it only took me a few weeks of looking at the pictures and reading the stories and I knew I had to have it done. Some stories said that it didn't hurt at all while others equated it to being in the most unbearable pain of their lives. Not having any other piercing besides my lobes (once) I didn't really have anything to compare it to. So I guess my mindset was go big or go home.
On Thursday I asked the same friend if he would take me to get the piercing done and he said he'd more than happy to so we set the date for a week later. I called Steel Addictions and told them what I wanted to have done and they said they would do it and they had the jewelry and that it would cost about $75.00, I figured that was the average price, so I told them that I'd be there in 1 week.
As the week passed very slowly I began to get a bit more nervous while reading about rejection, migration, and the fact that surface piercing never heal. If I was going to spend $75.00 on something I wanted it to be there for a while. I told my friends about the piercing that I was getting done and I received mixed reactions. No one, except the person that was going to take me, supported my decision to do it, one friend flat out told me it would look horrible. I didn't let that deter me though. I woke up on Friday morning a little nervous but nothing too horrible. 1:00 when my friend got out of class took forever to come around, but when it finally did I was wondering where the time had went. Another friend of mine, Chels, who thought I wouldn't go through with it decided to tag along.
When we arrived at Steel Addictions the piercer informed me that he had used up all the tygon jewelry and it wouldn't be in for another week. Disappointment set it, but at the same time a bit of relief as well. I wasn't going to get away with not getting it done that easily though. There was another piercing shop across the street that Chels had been to before and really liked so we went over there and I walked in and instantly felt uncomfortable, for some reason I didn't want to be pierced by a woman and I didn't like the jewelry that she had because I wanted labret backs instead of the typical bar bell for the jewelry, plus this shop was more expensive than Steel Addictions, so I decided to wait until Steel Addictions got their jewelry in. Chels was still bound and determined for me to get pierced though.
We walked to the nearest gas station and looked up Body Piercing in the yellow pages. That's when I came across the shop Studio 14. I called and asked them if they would do a surface clavicle piercing and how much would it cost. They said yes and $30 for a set. After getting vague directions we headed out in search of Studio 14. Pulling up to the shop there were two guys standing outside sharing a Black and Mild. Even though it was a bit janky looking we decided to venture inside anyway. One of the guys that was smoking the Black and Mild walked in behind us and introduced himself as Jimi, the piercer.
Jimi instantly relaxed me because of his friendly and light demeanor. He was someone I could joke around with. I asked him the routine questions like how long had he been piercing (8) and good I see his portfolio (amazing). When I told him what I wanted done he looked a bit surprised considering I do not look like the typical client (if there is such a thing).Even though I was still a bit nervous I was ready to go. Jimi took me and my two friends back into the piercing room and asked me if I was ready. He marked the first piercing and I liked how it looked as did my companions. He told me I could sit if I could not move around while he was piercing, I took the laying down option because staying still was way too difficult for me when I was nervous. I asked him the clamp off my skin because I had read that it would hurt less and he complied. By this time Jimi had already changed his gloves twice and was going for a third before he unpackaged the needle. Very very professional and clean, which I loved. Jimi told me to take a deep breath and the needle was through. It was relatively painless which I was ecstatic about, it felt like being pinched lightly. After looking at the first side in the mirror I was very pleased. Next came the marking of the second set of holes. This was a bit more difficult than the first because Jimi was determined to make them even. After my friends said they were even as well I said I was ready to go and that I didn't even want to look at them because I trusted Jimi that much. It is true that the second piercing in a set hurts worse than the first one, but as opposed to a light pinch this one just felt like someone who was mad at me was pinching me this time. The jewelry going in didn't hurt at all. After Jimi cleaned me up and I could look at myself in the mirror I was thrilled, my new piercing looked gorgeous. My friends liked them too. After a bit more of joking around and picture taking we were ready to pay. I couldn't believe how cheap it was, and how great the piercing turned out.
When I got home I got mixed reactions from my friends again, a few hated it, a few liked it a lot, a few were too drunk to really have an opinion. All that matters though is that I love my new piercing and feel confident that it looks good on me, which is a relief because I didn't know if I'd be able to 'pull it off.' Well I am off to do a sea salt soak, but have a good day everyone.
Moral(s) of the story, if you think you want a piercing don't wait around to over think it, get it done because more than likely you'll end up loving it. If you're getting a piercing done in Toledo go to Studio 14 and request Jimi.
I think I have found my addiction.