In the piercing parlor warfare, you may. The COVID-19 limitations started to be lifted last summer, and since then, the fast-expanding piercing jewelry market has been swarming with new and revitalized companies.
Then, customers flocked to the online booking platforms of upscale jewelry and piercing studios like Maria Tash and Love Adorned in a bid to commemorate their newly acquired freedom with a new location for jewelry. Piercings are currently in high demand despite formerly being considered a counterculture segment of the jewelry business.
The premium piercing parlor jeweler Maria Tash was founded by its eponymous creator in 1993 and has eight locations worldwide with more on the way. It is the most international and innovative of the group. While Love Adorned in Manhattan’s NoLIta neighborhood may not have Tash’s worldwide influence, it had a similar role in starting the piercings-as-fashion movement that has spread throughout the country.
Due of the long lineups outside of these shops, other jewelers recognized an opportunity to pierce customers’ ears with pieces of valuable metals and gemstones.
According to Pamela Love, who in 2019 accepted a majority ownership investment that funded the debut of her line of piercing jewelry, such designs currently account for around half of her company’s revenue. She started an at-home piercing program in April, sending piercers to customers’ homes in Brooklyn and Manhattan to perform the procedures at the customers’ own kitchen tables.
Alysa Teichman, whose parents established the Texas-based jewelry store Ylang23, opened a new shop concept called Wildlike the following month. In the next years, Wildlike, a jewelry shop and piercing studio that offers its own line of jewelry in addition to pieces by Tash, Love, and other piercing companies, plans to grow throughout the country.
“It is such a dynamic area; it crosses all demographic boundaries. Not simply women or persons of a specific age are affected. Not just really edgy folks experience this. On their 16th birthday, parents have gone in to get their teenagers their second hole, while ladies in their 80s and older have come in to have their ears pierced. Because I’m an innovative person, I came up with the notion to expand on the piercing concept because it’s been such a source of energy for our shop. Teichman said, “I believe the market is enormous.
One pre-COVID-19 piercing shop is now expanding throughout the country. In 2020, right before pandemic-related lockdowns started, Anna Harman and Lisa Bubbers created Studs, a piercing parlor idea targeted toward Gen Z. It is said to have Gwyneth Paltrow as one of its high-profile investors. The firm, which debuted in 2021 with only two sites, is anticipated to have about 10 outlets nationwide by the end of the year.
“People really want to pierce, and after being indoors for a long time, they want to get outside and do something. You can’t digitally pierce your ears, according to Harman, co-founder and CEO of Studs.
Shopping center staple Piercing Pagoda has now raised the stakes by relaunching as the youth-oriented brand “Banter by Piercing Pagoda” last month after realizing the environment it created had seen significant growth. The company’s plan calls for a fresh appearance for its mall kiosks, brand-new, in-demand products, and socially responsible advertising campaigns.
By the end of 2022, Banter’s parent firm Signet Jewellers, which now has 135 outlets, plans to add another 100. Some will have private piercing booths that deviate from the long-standing mall habit of being pierced in full view, as well as smart mirrors that provide virtual try-on possibilities.
