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Episode Highlights 

0:22 - Getting to know Piercer Katie Ragon
4:16 - “It's made to be inside your body, it's not going to wear away over time.” - Katie
4:30 - “I feel good being able to educate people on that because a lot of people don't really know anything about jewelry quality.” - Katie
6:17 - How has this pandemic affected Katie and her work?
8:10 - “ It changes people's lives to get their bodies modified. It helps people see who they are in their true form and it helps them  to connect their inside to their outside.” - Katie
8:55 - What was a typical day like for you in your studio?
10:30 - Katie's favorite and least favorite piercings to perform on clients.
13:23 - “I think if people suffer from migraines they should look into acupuncture and other holistic medicine” - Katie
14:46 - What made Katie want to become a piercer?
19:26 - “I feel like people don't realize how much of a commitment it is to have a healing piercing and how much time it takes for piercings to heal.” - Endy
21:38 - Piercers/artists that Kate look up to
23:09 - “I love that there's a really strong sense of community & camaraderie amongst piercers.” - Endy
26:00 - “Keeping yourself active and physically healthy is such an important thing right now.” - Katie
27:48 - Katie's Social Media and Workplace

Endy: Hi, everyone! Welcome back to the #iamAvanti podcast and you're here with your host, Endy. Unfortunately, I am solo today, but not really because I'm here with Katie. Say hi, Katie!

Katie: Hi, Endy and hi to all listeners!

Getting to know Piercer Katie Ragon

Endy: Yeah! So I reached out to a couple piercers in this group that I am in called Piercer Babes. It's really awesome. It's a really great resource for just the industry in general and I just asked if there were some piercers that want to come and talk to me about their experiences and how are they feeling and how they're doing right now. If you're not aware, we are doing this episode in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic so we are recording remotely. I'm in my home in Portland and she's in her home. Are you in Ohio right now?

Katie: Yeah. Cleveland, Ohio.

Endy: Yeah, and so we are social distancing so don't worry about that, but we are able to utilize technology in a really awesome way that we can still connect and talk to each other. So I have a couple questions that I wanted to ask. Well, I guess we already talked about the first one already, which is where you're from so yeah, where are you from? If you want to talk about that a little bit.

Katie: I'm born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, for my entire life. So I never really left home. I just kind of moved around the area a bit and I currently actually work in the city that I was born in. So I was born in North Olmsted, a suburb of Cleveland and now I work in North Olmsted again.

Endy: Awesome!

Katie: I live in Cleveland, the actual city.

Endy: Cool. Yeah, that was the second question was where you work? So born and raised working in the same place you live - very, very cool. How long have you been piercing for?

Katie: So I've been piercing for three years now and that includes a one year apprenticeship.

Endy: Cool! Awesome. What's the name of your shop?

Katie: The current shop I work for is called Piercing Perfections. We're located inside the Great Northern mall in North Olmsted.

Source: Piercing Perfections

Endy: Oh, cool! Avanti is in a mall too. How's that been working in a mall?

Katie: That's awesome!

Endy: Yeah. How do you feel about having a shop that's in the mall because our shops also in a mall and I feel like it has a very unique---it brings a unique opportunities for sure. They're having like a standing on store so what's that experience been for you being in a mall and being in a piercing shop?

Katie: Yeah, that's actually a really great question because this is the first time I'm working in that type of environment. So with a mall, it's as you know, it's very busy, there's lots of people and there's lots of people like lookie-loos like "Oh, you're here? What are you like do actual body piercings inside the mall?" like that because their only experience usually with piercings and malls is probably their local place that uses a piercing gun like Claire's or Piercing Pagoda, or someplace like that. So they've never even maybe even seen a real piercing studio before they walk into my studio, before they walk into your studio so it's a very unique type of atmosphere in that way.

Endy: Yeah. I totally agree with getting like the lookie-loos. A lot of the time, I'll see people just in the window just looking and they're just like, it becomes almost like a little bit of a spectacle and then they come in and like you guys do piercings here for real? And it's like, yeah, you can buy a T-shirt and then come in and get your ears pierced.

Katie: Yeah, it's also very different because you have a lot of people that know virtually nothing about body jewelry, places inside the mall that sell body jewelry, and they come into my studio and they're like, "Oh my god, this is expensive." And it's like, "Well, yes, I'm sure it's expensive compared to what you're used to but let me explain why." This is all implant grade titanium, it's 14k 18k gold, it's no phillium, it's all super safe to be inside your body. It's made to be inside your body, it's not going to wear away over time and in five years from now, it's not gonna be in irreparable quality where you can't wear it or use it anymore.

Endy: Exactly! I feel good being able to educate people on that because yeah, like you said, a lot of people don't really know anything about jewelry quality, or they see the price and they get a little bit intimidated but yeah, it's like you're investing in yourself, you're investing in this piece of metal that won't turn or won't give you any allergic reactions unless you're actually allergic to titanium and that kind of builds the value of it and it kind of like lets people know a little bit better because I've done it before. I've gotten my ears pierced in places where they use lower quite type quality and I've definitely noticed a difference between now and before with the process of my healing and how much easier it's been and how much more secure I feel in my piercings. So it's great to be able to educate people on that and have those experiences because it's not like your typical shop where you just walk in and you're like, "I want some silver earrings that if I wear them every day, we'll kind of rise."

Katie: That's my favorite question, "Do you guys sell silver earrings?" It's like "No, I don't. I have things that look like they're silver but let me explain why you actually shouldn't be wearing things like sterling silver inside your body." Shine for a ring or for a necklace for most people but actually when you wear sterling silver earrings for instance, you can have discoloration of the skin and that's because you shouldn't be wearing things like sterling silver inside your body. It's not a safe material for body jewelry.

How has this pandemic affected you and your work? 

Endy: Right, exactly! So, as far as the coronavirus goes, how has this pandemic affected you and your work? What was the process like, is your shop still open? If it's not one of you guys close and what was that like for you?

Katie: Yeah, so we have been now shut down in Ohio for 11 days. We were mandated to shut down by our governor Mike DeWine and it's definitely been hard being home obviously, I am not making any money at home because unlike some other people in our industry, I am not a super duper crafty person so I'm not selling artwork or anything online right now so it's just me at home, thinking and wishing that I could be in my studio piercing but before we were shut down, we were very slow for the last two weeks before shut down. So even before we actually got shut down, I took a really big hit to my income, which is something a lot of people aren't talking about right now is this is our busy season for piercers and tattoo artists. This is when we make our money for the year and now that's just gone for us right now. I am very fortunate that I am currently working for a studio that chooses to pay me hourly instead of commission which for the first time I'm very thankful for because if it wasn't for that, those two weeks I would have made absolutely no money.

Endy: Yeah! It sucks and it's heartbreaking because I was seeing one of the posts on the in the group that we're in and someone was kind of disheartened by the fact that what they do wasn't considered an essential business which I think that it is in a way because it changes people's lives to get their bodies modified, and helps people see who they are in their true form and it helps people kind of to connect to the inside to their outside so the fact that is not considered essential was kind of like what does that mean? That's kind of a bummer because people rely on that and of course, the piercers and tattoo artists of course, is essential because that's where you make your bread and butter. I was just behind the counter so I just considered it like another retail job just with a twist but if I were to actually have been a piercer or a tattoo artist, I would be very, very scared right now so it's a pretty unfortunate thing that's happening right now. It's a pretty uncertain time but when the shop was open, what was a typical day like for you in your studio?

What was a typical day like for you in your studio? 

Katie: A typical day for me when I am at my studio is I come in, I open the studio, we do nightly cleaning, but I usually wipe everything down again in the morning just to make sure there's no dust or anything not as fingerprint lingering around somewhere it shouldn't be. I turn on all my display cabinet lights, I get the cabinet that I leave open there during the day opened up, then I go back and I start prepping my tools for the day. I see if they've been ran. If not, I run my cycles on my tools. I clean up my station, I organize my station, I stock my station. I just basically make sure that everything is prepped and ready that I might need for the day. Then I go do regular more retail stuff, I count the drawer down, I count the change box down. Any deposits that may need to be made for the day, that general stuff but that's the start of my day and then most of the day then I am just assisting clients whether jewelry changes, doing piercings, consultations for piercings, troubleshooting problems that they might be having, generally selling jewelry, helping people decide what's going to be right for them and what's gonna ultimately get them to their goal.

Endy: Awesome! Sweet! So, speaking of piercings, what are some of your favorite and least favorite piercings to perform on your clients?

Katie's favorite and least favorite piercings to perform on clients

Katie: I think that's a constantly changing thing for most piercers including myself, because you'll be going really strong with a piercing for a while and then one day, you do one crooked and it just kind of mentally fucks you up for a little bit but right now, I would say the ones that I'm having a lot of fun with that coming out very well and I just like doing them more than I previously have are septum piercings. I was super, super fortunate to be able to do a seminar with Nicholas the Geezer and he did a septum and forward helix seminar and that changed my septum game.

Source: Piercings By Kate

Endy: Nice.

Katie: I always done good septums I think now I'm doing arguably great septums for the ones that I've done recently so I'm super happy about that. Nipples are another one that I previously did not like at all and I found a new technique for doing them and now I feel like they're coming out like butter, and I'm just really happy about that. As far as a piercing that I'm not super hot on right now, daith piercings, which is funny because it's a piercing I previously really like to do, but I had a couple come out less than what I would have wanted them to and I'm just having a little bit of issue wrapping my brain around them which are discussing with the other piercer at my studio right before we close down. So when I get back into work, that's something I look forward to working with him on so I can get back to where I was.

Endy: Nice! Yeah, daiths look cool, but they seem kind of gnarly to do. So I mean, like I said, I'm not a piercer at all.

Katie: Yeah they're trickier one.

Endy: Yeah, I'm not a piercer at all. So I have zero experience about how to do it in real life and everything else but just the idea and the placement and the fact that everyone's ears is different and the fact that people will expect some miracle magic thing to happen after they get it done. I feel like it's a lot of pressure all together.

Source: Piercings By Kate

Endy: Yeah, that's awesome. So what made you want to become a piercer in general?

                                                                                                                                Source: Piercings By Kate

Endy: Nice!

Katie: Hoping get my sleeve done once all this craziness is done.

Endy: Cool. Yeah, I totally remember those tattoos shows like Ink Masters and what was the other one? Do you ever watch the one that was like tattoo fails and they would like redo them for them and they did it like almost in the storytelling way that these do 100,000 ways. I think all this stuff was on Spike TV. So yeah if you watch Spike TV---

Katie: Yeah, [inaudible 24:00] show.

Endy: Yeah, I remember like Spike and yeah Spike is there's like a music one that is completely that I can't think of right now but I used to switch between those two where I'd walk you they're like really cool rock videos or really cool tattoo shows. I totally feel you on that. I used to be into that episode, too. That's super cool. So what are some things that people might not know about piercings that you've learned while you've been in the industry?

Katie: That's a really good question because I think as far as piercing knowledge goes, in 2020 year average client does know a lot more. 10 -15 years ago coming in to see you but there's still so many misconceptions about piercings.

Endy: Right!

Katie: A big misconception I even had until even the last six months was that you need all these extra products to heal a piercing.

Endy: Right!

Katie: Honestly, leave your piercings the fuck alone, don't put anything on them, stop pouring some sterile saline, just set it, forget it, keep it dry, freshwater when you shower. Less is more though, unless you work in a really dirty type of environment like you should really be kind of just leave in that bad boy alone as much as possible and I see a lot of piercers especially less educated or lower quality piercers prescribed their clients use, first of all like an antibacterial soap, which is if you're going to use a soap do not use an antibacterial soap please, please, please.

Endy: Wouldn't that dried out? Doesn't antibacterial soaps, they tend to dry out your piercings a little bit?

Katie: Yes, 100%. So antibacterial soaps in and of themselves, they dry out the piercing, they eliminate all your good bacteria as well as your bad bacteria, which you need the good bacteria to heal. Your body is composed of good and bad bacteria and when your body has too much bad bacteria, that's when things like infection or yeast infections or your pH being thrown off. That's when stuff like that can happen so really, avoid using an antibacterial soap, you're actually doing more harm to your piercing than good and a lot of the antibacterial soaps such as Dial Gold, which was the industry standard, let's say, at one point, way back in the day, it's one of the worst ones it has a [19:00] it that actually destroys healing skin cells. So basically, if you're using Dial Gold to wash your piercings, you're working against your body to heal the piercing.

Luis Garcia, Ryan Oullette &  Jef Saunders

Sources: realtalkapiercingpodcast.com, @ryanpba & @piercingnerd

Endy: Oh! Cool.

Katie: So that was really amazing. Thank you again, Jef, if you ever hear this, the whole APP has been really awesome about this whole shut down, in trying to keep piercers sane and happy and give us something to do we look forward to. Ryan Ouellette just doing two classes today actually. I'm going to try to make a six o'clock class if possible but a lot of piercers and instructors right now are doing a lot of stuff for our community and making sure that we have something to hold on to right now. And I think they're all just doing really amazing things and they're just kicking ass in providing really great services to our industry now and also they've already been providing us with these really amazing services.

Katie: Yeah, this is a very uncomfortable time right now. I have been doing a lot of cooking. I've been doing some baking which is something I normally don't have time to do but really enjoy. My house is cleaner than it's probably been in the last four years so that's something I've been doing. I've also been trying to get exercise. I'm trying to get outside whenever the weather will permit because I think keeping yourself active and physically healthy is such an important thing right now. As someone who already deals with anxiety and depression, trying to not let that mindset win and just keeping myself happy, motivated. I'm really thankful that you wanted to interview me for this because this is something that gets me pumped up, gets me excited, gets me thinking about body piercing and it's something that gives me something to look forward to.

Katie: Instead of that of just watching Netflix or cleaning my house for the 17th time today which I very much so enjoy but you got to break it up.

Endy: Right, exactly! It's important to keep yourself mentally and physically active, especially now. Those are all really good things. I should cook and clean more. I've been too busy  knitting and I have a pole in my house. I've been doing that and just laying around a lot.

Katie: I think as long as you're keeping yourself busy, that's the important part because I think when you let yourself give in to that, okay, well, I have nothing to do realistically, because I can't work, you get bogged down and you get depressed and then once you get into that mindset, it's so much harder to get yourself out and if you can keep yourself above it, which would you feel depression and stuff. It's an ongoing battle, just trying your hardest to not let yourself get to that point is just really important right now.

Endy: Yeah, exactly! Well, thank you so much, Katie for taking the time to talk to me right now out of your schedule. I really appreciate it and to everyone listening, you can find Katie in Cleveland, Ohio at her shop. Do you want to drop some of your social media or where people can find your work?

Katie's Social Media and Workplace

Katie: Yeah, I'd love to. So you can find me on Facebook or Instagram at Piercings by Kate. I had an artist do a little piece of artwork for me so it's a cute little drawing of me half cartoon, half real me so you can find me through that but I'm at Piercings by Kate on Facebook and Instagram and my shop is Piercings Perfections and you can find us online anywhere piercing that perfections.

Endy: Perfect! All right, everyone, that was another episode of the #iamAvanti podcast. Thank you so much for listening and if you have any jewelry needs, we are online at avantibodyjewelry.com.

Feel free to click around and if you use the code “ENDY” you get 15% off your purchases.

Thank you so much for listening, and I will see---well you'll listen to me next time I can't---I always say I'll see you next time but this is the podcast so all right later.

Katie: Thank you, Endy!

Endy: No problem. Bye!