03-09-2008 The Piercing Urge for Channel 31 - Female Genital Piercing Feature
Hi Everyone,
A few months back we did some filming for a local TV station and the lovely Sarah has found some of it on YouTube. Click here to check it out on our blog. We thought you might like to see it and get a great summary on female genital piercing options.
If you have any further questions after seeing this please explore further on our website - Female Genital.
07-05-2008 The Model Register is here!
Well! I must say that the response to our call for models for our Course Trainees was PHENOMENAL! A big Thank You to everyone who contacted me to offer their "bits" :)
Now I did say that places were limited - and I know that there a lot of folks out there who missed out. The people who were pierced left with great piercings, the current Trainees all passed, and everyone was happy. I was a wee bit tired - but very impressed - after all that learning and excitement....and they were fantastic days all 'round.
What I learnt from the success of the exercise was that if I am going to get the new websites finished I need a better system to manage all our great model requests!
So - if you would like to join our Model Register - whether you have already personally already emailed me or not - please click on the link below:
That way you'll get personally updated whenever we post for models - and have a chance to receive a FREE piercing at The Piercing Urge!
Once again - a very big Thank You to everyone who modeled beautifully for us over the past couple of weeks, and we hope you enjoy your new piercings.
28-04-2008 MODELS NEEDED - FREE PIERCINGS 05/05/08
Hi Everyone
The time has come again for all those who missed out on our Free Piercings last week.
We have a lovely woman from country Victoria coming to town who needs models on Monday the 5th of May.
Please see a repeat of the blog post below for details:
I have a special request for those of you out there who would love a Piercing Urge piercing and jewellery for FREE!!!
There are 2 students currently training with us who live outside of Melbourne and need models to donate various body parts to the cause. The piercings are done under full supervision, and filled with the body jewellery The Piercing Urge is famous for.
The only real difference is the piercing may take a little longer, and there will be 2 extra people in the room with you - Peter and myself.
I have been pierced by the trainees many times and it was fine. The nostril piercing I still wear was done by a student during a training course.
So if you are interested in getting a:
Then please email directly louise@thepiercingurge-training.com and let me know. Most appointments will be in the afternoon.
The jewellery is used specifically to develop the Piercer's skills, but may be changed to alternative jewellery once the piercing has healed.
*You must be 18yrs or over to participate in this offer - or 16yrs+ and have your parent with you.
So - first in best dressed folks. Future models will also be required so don't be too disappointed if you miss out this time. I will keep your info and contact you personally when our next student is in town.
Remember - everyone starts somewhere :) - but they don't usually have the owners of The Piercing Urge looking over their shoulder!
19-04-2008 ANZAC DAY
On Anzac Day (Friday 25th April), The Piercing Urge will be open 12noon to 5pm BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. So if you would like to come in please give us a call (9530 2244) or email to make sure we can fit you in.
10-04-2008 Young People, Tattoos, Body Piercing and Hepatitis C
You are invited to the launch of "What is this Hep C thing?"
An innovative, self contained CD resource for secondary school teachers and students that deals with hepatitis C, peer group pressure and discrimination.
Monday 12th of May 2008
10.30 - 11.30am
AMREP Seminar Room
Ground floor, The Alfred
Commercial Rd , Prahran
RSVP to erc@alfred.org.au or on 9076 6993
Project of Education + Resource Centre, The Alfred, in partnership with Hepatitis C Victoria, Department of Human Services, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, LaTrobe University
19-03-2008 HOT OFF THE PRESS
We have 3 exciting announcements for you!
We are trialling a Live chat feature on our websites for you to talk to us over the web. When we are online, you have an instant link for answers to your questions. This will normally extend beyond our standard trading hours so The Piercing Urge is even more available than ever – for YOU.
Our BLOG – "The Inside Scoop" has been launched. The place to go for all the current happenings at The Piercing Urge. It will be full of useful information and any current announcements that You – our clients – will find out about FIRST!
Be sure to subscribe to the feed and receive it straight into your Inbox whenever it is updated. Click here to visit:
The Inside Scoop
Our current website design will be changing shortly, so the News page will be no more. So to stay in the loop checkout the great new blog.
Lou has returned for a short time from the USA. Whilst she is here she has agreed to run the Level 1 Training Course in its traditional 8-week format. It will be held each Sunday at The Piercing Urge.
This is now a rare opportunity to learn face to face with Lou and Pete. Numbers are limited to 6 students so if you want a seat you will need to get in fast! It starts on the 6th of April 2008.
There are 3 ways to register:For further information visit:
www.thepiercingurge-training.comSo as you can see it’s been full steam ahead for us! We look forward to seeing you soon.
Have Fun,
The Piercing Urge Team
13-03-08 Tam Gannon
"The appreciation of fine-handcrafted designs is an ageless phenomenon. A desire for something unique. A secret or unconscious wish to expose an inner association with creative excellence."
The Piercing Urge is extremely pleased to announce that we are now stocking a beautiful range of hand crafted designer jewellery.
The designer Tam Gannon hails from Queensland and spends his time producing amazing pendants, earrings, finger rings and bracelets.
This jewellery is really a cross between art and jewellery and is a must see.
Feel free to drop by the studio to have a look. To find out more about Tam and his jewellery-making, you can visit his MySpace page.
We also have in stock a small range of beautiful hand crafted wood body jewellery by Custom Stretch which is Tam's brother. Make sure you come by and check it out!
25-02-08 LABOUR DAY
Hi Guys, Just letting you know that we'll be CLOSED on the Labour Day holiday (Monday 10th March).
24-01-08 New rules for piercing? read on...
Taken from the Department of Justice Victoria website-
-----------------------------------------------------------In September 2007, the Victorian Government announced its intention to reform the law relating to body piercing and tattooing of young people.
The Exposure Draft Summary Offences Amendment (Tattooing and Body Piercing) Bill (the Exposure Draft Bill) sets out some proposals for reform for public comment.
The proposals reflect the Victorian Government's commitment to protecting the health and welfare of young people, while recognising the increasing popularity of body piercing and tattooing and their potential health risks.
The Victorian Government also understands the need to take into account the complex legal, civil liberty and cultural issues surrounding body piercing and tattooing. Consequently, community feedback is sought to help shape the final Bill.
The discussion paper explains the Exposure Draft Bill and the key issues identified during its development.
The closing date for comments is Friday 14 March 2008.
Comments may be emailed to legalpolicysubmissions@justice.vic.gov.au, or sent by post to the address below.
The links below will launch a new browser window.
26-11-2007 XMAS 07 Trading Hours
Hi guys, just a quick update to let you know that we will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Years Day.
Other than that we will be open our normal trading hours, except that we will be closing 2 hours early (so 5pm) on Monday the 24th which is Christmas Eve.
We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season and a happy new year!
18-10-2007 Training Update
Hi Guys, Just an update for those of you interested in the training that Piercing Urge offers.
We have just recently restructured the Level 1 training course to make it more accessable to those of you who are interstate and international.
We can now offer unlimited places is due to a part correspondence/part practical format. The practical will of course still be done onsite at The Piercing Urge studio with Peter Sheringham � the studio's owner.
For more information please head over to our training page.
Also, don't forget to sign up to the training mailing list to be kept up to date with course information. You can do this at the top of the page.
01-10-2007 WARHOLES
The Hanged Man in conjunction with Caravan Studio's are running Warholes, a Suspension event with an artistic bend.
This event will run in an artist's space in Richmond (details when you get your tickets) it is near public transport, has plenty of parking and will run from 6pm-1am on Saturday the 13th of October.
Tickets are limited and selling fast so don't delay! Make your way to The Piercing Urge to purchase your tickets ($15), which will be available up until the event starts, unless they sell out earlier!
Suspension spots are completely booked out
This event will be for over 18's only.
If you need any more info please ask
07-09-2007 Change is in the air!
The Piercing Urge is excited to formally announce that Peter Sheringham has now become the owner of its retail businesses. He and previous owner Louise Hickman have worked closely over the past few months to ensure this transition has had minimum impact on their employees and valued customers. Peter has been with The Piercing Urge for the past 15 years and has a dedication to the business that will facilitate its continued success. He continues to strive toward the highest standard of body modifications and provides exceptional services to clients of The Piercing Urge. We are looking forward to seeing what his new vision looks like as he takes over the reigns of this Australian body piercing icon.
Louise will never be further than an email away as she moves into the next stage of her life. Her focus will be to provide quality body piercing training all over the world - working towards a time when experienced knowledge will be available to all who care enough to look for it. Her website will be launched late 2007 and provide many never before available resources for the novice and experienced piercer alike. We are looking forward to seeing what she has been working on as she has always held the view that we are a professional industry that can provide the best quality of experiences for all our clients. She will be based in the USA. Hooray for technology!
So to celebrate this change of ownership we are offering everyone who is already on our database a special offer for their support over the past 17 years. Without you all we wouldn't have come this far so come on in and join the party.
Until the end of September if you mention to us that you are a supporter of The Piercing Urge, you will receive a 25% discount off everything - NO EXCEPTIONS. That's right folks! It includes standard piercings, genital work, extreme procedures, dermal anchors, new jewellery - the LOT! It is our way of saying Thank You to you all. But because we intend to be around for another 17 years, this offer cannot be used in conjuction with any of our other specials.
So come and see your favourite piercer - and if you happen to spot Pete give him a big high five. Well done Pete!
16-08-2007 From Saturday's 'The Age' newspaper:
For teenagers, getting a note from your parents to go on a school excursion is one thing. But getting written permission to have your nipple pierced is a whole other story.
Under a controversial plan soon to come before Parliament, people under 18 would be banned from having any part of their body pierced without the written consent of their parents or guardian.
The bill, introduced by Nationals MP Damian Drum, has the backing of the Liberals and the qualified support of the Brumby Government.
Mr Drum said parents have been horrified to find their children coming home with metal rings through their lips and their tongues, which have been proven to damage teeth. He said other piercings had resulted in blood poisoning and serious infections.
Piercing studio owner Peter Sheringham said many unprincipled operators would pierce nipples and genitals of those under 18. If the parents were involved, then the operators would make sure the parents looked after the piercing, he said.
"I could pierce the tongue on a six-year-old today and it doesn't matter who jumps up and down about it, no one can do a thing," he said.
Mr Sheringham said his business, Piercing Urge, required teenagers aged from 16 to 18 to produce a note from parents with a phone number included. It did not perform nipple or genital piercings on anyone under 18.
Australian Medical Association president Rosanna Capolingua said she supported the concept of informed consent because there were inherent risks associated with piercing. Infection was the biggest concern, and tongue and mouth rings could cause dental damage.
But Dr Capolingua questioned whether the parent or the child would be responsible for any repercussions of a piercing performed without consent.
The Nationals and Labor are negotiating over the composition of the bill, which is to be debated in Parliament this week.
A spokeswoman for Attorney-General Rob Hulls said the Government understood concerns about body piercing and was "keen to address the issue of an appropriate regulatory framework". "There are substantial flaws in the Nationals' current proposal and we will work through those issues over the next few months," she said.
But Greens upper house MP Sue Pennicuik said if the point of the proposed laws was the health of young people, they should be warned of the dangers rather than being told what to do.
Opposition spokeswoman on children Andrea Coote said the Liberals would support the bill because children saw the glamour in body piercing without understanding the full health ramifications, particularly of tongue and genital piercings.
"I fully understand that this may cause some additional paperwork for communities who culturally pierce ears and noses," she said.
The chief executive of the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria, Georgie Ferrari, said parental consent would not guarantee safer piercing procedures.
Elizabeth Field, 18, of Doncaster, believes the proposed law is "kind of stupid" for ear or facial piercings and an infringement on rights.
"If it is a major piercing like the tongue, the genitals or the nipples or any major surface, then there should be parental consent because you can get infections," she said.
Sporting a ring through her lip, Ms Field said: "I've had a few friends go to dodgy places and they've got infections and had growths."
Her mother accompanied her when she had other piercings done a few months ago, when aged 17. Her nose, eyebrow, neck and nipples were pierced. (**NOTE** The Piercing Urge did not perform Elizabeth's piercings.)
02-08-2007 NEW ARRIVALS
We hope you're just as excited as the staff at The Piercing Urge about our latest shipment of body jewellery!
In stock this week we have a beautiful new range of navel jewellery (from Industrial Strength), including navel bars with prong-set gems, and the popular favourite with a double-jewelled drop.
We also have a large range of gorgeous gem-set barbell ends in different colours and sizes. The prong-set ends allow a lot more light to get in behind the stone, which makes them sparkle stunningly. The flat disc style ends (not shown below) are perfect for on your surface piercing, microdermal, or even labret or earlobe piercing! And they are now available in any colour that you would like (previously we could only supply clear or aquamarine stones on the discs).
Drop by the shop at any time to check these pieces out, but be quick - they are selling almost faster than we can type this!!
12-07-2007 New Jewellery and New Specials!
We have come up with a new special! Yes, it seems people were not wanting to wait for the piercing they wanted to come around in the half price piercing of the week special, so we now have the:
Half Price Special of the DAY!
This means that each week there is an opportunity for you to get your desired piercing with a bit of a discount, and we all love discounts!
Monday: LABRET
Tuesday: Tight Arse Tuesday special
Wednesday: EYEBROW
Thursday: NOSE
Friday: NIPPLE
Saturday: NAVEL
Sunday: TONGUE
Full details will be put up on the Specials page for future reference!
In other news, Louise is back from her short trip to Body Circle Designs in Seattle, and with her she has brought some much needed jewellery supplies, as well as a beautiful new design from Body Circle - their ear spirals. They are available now from The Piercing Urge ranging in size from 14g to 4g. Here's a photo, but they are 100x more beautiful in real life!
05-07-2007 Hotlinked Images
Hi guys,
We have recently been having issues with other websites hotlinking images from our website, which in turn, does not allow our website to run to it's fullest potential. In order to combat this, we have put some hotlink protection in place.
Any images displayed on other websites directly from our server will now be replaced with a larger version of the image below
If you are a friend of The Piercing Urge and this is affecting you in a negative way, please get in touch with us and we will help you rectify the situation.
30-06-2007 DERMAL ANCHORS
Dermal anchors (also known as 'microdermals' and 'surface anchors') are the latest thing to hit the body piercing world. They are a single point piercing that can be placed almost anywhere on the body. This opens up a world of opportunities, and makes things that were previously impractical, possible! Our dermal anchors are threaded which means that any of our ends will fit them, so the possibilities really are endless!
The fee for a dermal anchor with a standard end installed is $160. For more information please contact us.
05-06-2007 MONARCHY - A Hanged Man Event
Tickets are selling fast for the Hanged Man Team's next suspension event. There's only 6 days to go so if you want to come along, get into The Piercing Urge ASAP to grab some tickets!!
The Piercing Urge will be open from 11am until 4pm on Monday, June 11th - Queens Birthday Holiday. If you would like to come in for a piercing we suggest you book so you don't miss out!
10-05-2007 Underage Body Piercing - How it can affect you or your children.
(WARNING: Contains strong verbal content)
As some of our regular viewers may know we at The Piercing Urge have been trying to get the state government to implement age of consent laws for body piercing in Victoria.
As yet this has fallen on deaf ears, but this has to change before we get even more horror stories.
In the Sun a couple of weeks ago there was this story...
"Brothers charged with abusing 13-year-olds" -
The charges relate to nipple and genital piercing, click the link to read more.
Now there is an state MP by the name of David Hodgett that is trying to push this issue in parliament but who knows how much success one man will have on this.
To make matters worse we received this earlier this week:
�Referring to your article in The Journal (April 23, 2007) my daughter and her friend, both 15, were pierced by a woman at
her home and it went horribly wrong.
The girls had seen a flier advertising body piercing for females and they rang her and made an appointment without my consent.
The girls had a clitoris piercing each with a ring pierced on a vaginal flap and I didn't know until three days later when my
daughter came down with flu-like symptoms.
When I took her to the doctor and on examining her he called me in and gave me the shock of my life. He told me that my little girl's vagina had turned into an infected mess.
Her labia was swollen and smelly and he told me that if I hadn't brought her in sooner he would have had to do a female circumcission to cut off the rotten area.
He said he had done this operation before and that we should put a stop to backyard operators.
The other girl had to also see a doctor who cut off the ring and treat the girls with antibiotics.
My daughter screamed each time she passed urine for at least 14 days.
Her vagina is deformed now. The vagina lips are blue black and looks horrid.
The other girl's boyfriend had a look at her private parts and vanished.
I hope the girls have learnt a lesson and we are telling her mates what happened. When
we went around the tattoo parlour the woman had shot through and no one knew her whereabouts.
We are too shy to give our address or any names. We want you to warn the public through The Journal newspaper.�
So what can you do to help? Well for a start contact your local member for parliament or contact the Dept. of Justice.
Lets get this problem fixed before the stories get even worse, and more children are put in harm's way.
26-04-2007 New Course Dates
We have some new course dates set for Level 1 and the Ear Module
The Level 1 course will be run Sunday each fortnight from June 24th to September 30th.
The Ear Module will be on Sunday May 27th. Only people who have completed the Level 1 course are elegible for other modules.
Remember that there are only 6 spots available in the Level 1 course and we have some people booked already, so if you are thinking about it be sure to let us know and secure your place. For more info visit the Training page.
12-04-2007 Person Needed for Navel Piercing
Hi guys,
We are in need of a model to undergo a navel piercing as part of our training course this Sunday. The Piercing and jewellery (ring - not a barbell) are free of charge, and the piercing is being performed by a current training course participant. It will of course be performed under the guidance of Peter and Louise.
If you would like to volunteer for this you will need to be available on Sunday (15th of April) at 10am. You will also need to be over 18 years old or have parental consent/a parent present.
If you are interested please contact us ASAP as this will be a "first in, best dressed" situation.
31-03-2007 Models Needed (FREE PIERCINGS)
Thankyou to everyone who has volunteered themselves so far.
We are still seeking people to be filmed for our training videos this Thursday (05.04.07)
The piercings available are:
Vertical Clitoral Hood
Horizontal Clitoral Hood
Inner Labia
Cartilage
Conch
Lobe (We need a lobe with no other piercings in it)
Daith
All the piercings will be performed by Peter Sheringham and all jewellery is included free of charge. You will be required to sign a video release form to take advantage of this great opportunity.
If you are interested please contact us ASAP as this will be a "first in, best dressed" situation. You will be required to make an appointment (sometime between 11am and 7.30pm on Thursday).
26-03-2007 RESURRECT
The Hanged Man Team will be holding their first suspension event for the year, 'Resurrect' on Monday April 9 (Easter Monday). If you are interested in doing a suspension or flesh pull, be sure to get in contact with the team ASAP to secure your place, as spaces tend to fill very quickly. (Email melbournesuspension@gmail.com or contact The Piercing Urge).
Likewise if you are interested in coming along to watch or support your friends, you should make your way to The Piercing Urge to pre-purchase your ticket (tickets $20 each) as they will not be available on the door. If you can't make it in, give us a call to arrange to have tickets posted out to you. Tickets will be limited to avoid over-crowding the venue, so make sure you don't miss out!
This event is in a licensed venue so unfortunately is only open to people over 18. The fun starts at around 2pm, finishing sometime around 10.
Click the banner below to visit The Hanged Man Team's website and check out pictures from previous events.
05-03-2007 Labour Day Trading
We will be open from 12 noon until 5pm on Labour Day, Monday 12th of March.
We are often totally booked out when we have shorter trading hours, so be sure to make a booking to avoid disappointment! Call us on 9530 2244 to arrange an appointment.
01-03-2007WANT A FREE PIERCING?
We require some models for some training videos we are putting together.
We need people for the following piercings, Navel x 2 (one with a ring and one a bar), Nipple (with a ring), Eyebrow (with a ring), Labret and Tongue.
All the piercings will be performed by Peter Sheringham and all jewellery is included free of charge. You will be required to sign a video release form to take advantage of this great opportunity.
If you are interested please contact us ASAP as this will be a "first in, best dressed" situation.
01-02-2007New Training Course Dates
Current dates for our course are:
Level 1: Sundays from March 11th until May 6th (with Easter Sunday off)
Ear Module: February 25th and March 4th (one course over those two days).
There is a lot of demand for our course at this point in time, but we do have a maximum of 6 students for each course. So if you are keen it is best to get in quick!
For more information or to register you can call us on 9530 2244 or send us an email. Also check out our training information page.
28-01-2007Currently in the News
There is a lot of talk at the moment regarding the need for age of consent legislation in regards to body piercing.
5 Years ago The Piercing Urge was involved in a discussion panel with the DHS regarding this issue. The Government decided to put it in the too hard basket, but now with the help of Cr Steve Beardon from the City of Casey this issue is back in the public eye.
At The Piercing Urge we have always had a strict policy regarding the piercing of minors and we will not do any piercing on anyone under 16 with out a parent present. Between 16 and 18 a note from a parent with a contact number so we can contact them is required.(No genital or nipple piercings though)
For too long the industry has been able to do what they like and this has led to unscrupulous studios piercing anything on anyone of any age. This has to stop and we hope that the Government will take notice of what is going on and help those in the industry who are trying to do the right thing.
If you feel that the industry needs legislation on this subject please send us an email showing your support and we will forward it on to the Dept. of Justice with the hope that they will act.
12-11-2006 The Festive Season is on it's way!
Christmas is a busy and sometimes stressful time of year for most of us. Why not make it a little easier on yourself by doing some of your Christmas gift shopping with us?
To make it even easier, you can order git vouchers and jewellery over the phone and have us post it out to you!
HOLIDAY TRADING HOURS:
Our Holiday Trading hours stay pretty much the same as our normal trading hours, with the following exceptions:
Sunday 24/12 - 11am to 4pm
CLOSED Xmas day and Boxing Day
CLOSED New Years Day
14-10-2006 Have you seen the latest in body piercing?
Dermal anchors (also known as 'microdermals') are the latest thing to hit the body piercing world. They are a single point piercing that can be placed almost anywhere on the body. This opens up a world of opportunities, and makes things that were previously impractical, possible! Our dermal anchors are threaded which means that any of our ends will fit them, so the possibilities really are endless! For more information please contact us.
03-10-2006 So you think you wanna be a body piercer?
The Piercing Urge are now offering a pre-course sampler for people thinking about becoming a body piercer.
You get to shadow a professional body piercer at The Piercing Urge Melbourne for a couple of days to see if body piercing is really something you want to do.
During your time with us you will see the day to day workings within a studio, learn some stuff and even (with clients permission) see some piercing being performed.
We think this will help those that are thinking about learning to pierce but have no idea what goes on behind the scenes in a busy body piercing studio.
For more information contact the studio
12-10-2006 AusCon4
Sunday December 3rd
Tickets are now available through The Piercing Urge. Tickets are limited to 50 guest spots, so if you intend to come please do not delay getting your ticket or you may be sadly disappointed.
The event is being held in West Gippsland, directions will be given with your ticket purchase.
Unfortunately there are no more suspension spots available, but the day will be lots of fun with some interesting suspensions taking place - not to be missed! Everyone 16+ is welcome to come along.
The Taboo film crew will also be there filming some bits and pieces for their documentary which will go to air sometime next year.
30-03-2006 Piercing Issues?
Do you have a piercing that's causing you trouble? Not quite healing? Or something just keeps going wrong? Why not drop in and see us at The Piercing Urge. We don't mind if we didn't do the piercing- our friendly staff will offer you free advice, that is backed up by over 15 years of experience in the body piercing industry.
Solving piercing problems is a matter of finding the cause of the problem, rather than just treating the symptoms. The best thing to do is come in and see us so we can have a look at the piercing and have a chat to you about what might be causing it to be troublesome. We will give you some advice on the best course of action to get it healed up and healthy once more!
It is important not to self-diagnose and treat piercings problems yourself, because a lot of the products we may use to help with other ailments can actually make your piercing worse-off. The best course of action when your piercing develops a weird affliction is to go back to the piercer that did it (unless you are uncomfortable or unsure about going back to that store), or to a good doctor.
17-03-2006 Body Piercing Training
Have you ever wanted to learn how to pierce? Well The Piercing Urge can help.
We run an eight day training course that covers all you need to learn to safely perform six of the most popular piercings.
We will also teach you about Sterilization, Cross Contamination, Aftercare, Personal Safety, Record Keeping (to comply with the new health dept. guidelines) and proper Studio layout.
Our next course is starting on the 21st of May but is already full, so we have decided to run another course that will start on the 20th of May and run each Saturday for eight weeks.
So if you want kick-start your piercing career or would just like to know what goes into making a piercer join one of our courses!
If you would like to know more please call 9530 2244 or email us on admin@thepiercingurge.com.au