Our primary objective is to provide the absolute safest and comfortable piercing experience, with quality jewelry, in a clean and inclusive environment.
A Safe Space
Our Commitments
Ethical Jewelry
We not only work with the highest quality jewelry manufacturer’s but we also strive to only work with companies who have the highest ethical practices. All of the jewelry brands that we work with source ethical natural gemstones and/or lab created gemstones, and have ethical work practices. They provide us with documentation regarding the materials they work with so you can feel confident in your purchase. We have a zero tolerance policy for any substandard practices including but not limited to fair employee treatment, environmentally friendly practices, and overall respect for the piercing industry and our clients. Want to know more about the brands that we work with and the quality of our jewelry, check out the About our Jewelry page.
Giving Back
Trinity, her partner Elton, and their 6 cats are huge animal lovers so we donate every month to our favorite animal charity, Cuddly. For every animal or animal related piece of jewelry we sell, we donate $10 to Cuddly. From snakes to butterflies, we strive to always have a variety of pieces in stock that contribute to our monthly donation. If you’re interested in a specific animal, just fill out a contact form below and we can help you place a custom order!
Inclusivity Matters
It’s SO important to us to be fully inclusive. If you have any special requests from your piercer, please do not hesitate to reach out and we will do everything we can to accommodate. Here are a few things you can always expect from our studio:
- Wheelchair accessibility: we are located on the first floor and have double doors. Our piercing tables are movable so we can lower or raise it to your comfort level to easily get on/off the table. If getting pierced on our piercing table isn’t comfy for you, just let us know and we can find a safe accommodation.
- Companion seat availability: we have seating available in each piercing room so that your support person can join you comfortably during your appointment.
- Weight accessibility: the recommended lift capacity for the chairs we work out of is 600 lbs. Our tables will not wobble, strain, or falter when you sit in it. We chose 32” for their width so they are super comfortable to sit and lay on. If you’d like more information on the tables we pierce with, check them out here: https://www.earthlite.com/everest-spa-pedestal-electric-table.html
- LGBTQIA+ friendly: our owner is part of the queer community and we want to make our studio a comfortable place. If you need us to have any discretion with your name, pronouns, or transition process, please let us know. We want to call you by your name, even if that name doesn’t match your current ID. For legal purposes, we will need to make copies of your current, government issued ID but this is only for health department and insurance purposes. This information will not be shared with anyone else.
- We are 100% intolerant of any type of racist, homophobic, fatphobic, ageist, or any other type of bigoted behavior. Please be mindful of our staff’s pronouns and refrain from making any unnecessary comments
Education
We are committed to continued education and the adherence to the latest wound care and piercing safety standards. We are proud to be a part of the Association of Professional Piercers (APP) and attend the annual educational conference and maintain membership status for our entire staff. We meet and exceed all regulatory requirements at the state and local level. To ensure the safety of all of our clients, we comprehensively review all safety measures at least twice a year whilst constantly exploring new innovation within the field so that we can provide you with the safest possible experience with your new piercing, jewelry change, or ear curation!
Single Use Studio
Many piercers (including us) use certain tools to make your piercing experience as comfortable as possible. It’s common practice to reprocess (clean and sterilize) those tools for reuse. There’s nothing wrong with that practice when done correctly. However, we’ve decided to take a different route: completely single use.
So why did we decide to be a single use studio?
Simply put, there’s less room for human error. Several steps are involved in the reprocessing process and they all must be performed carefully. If mistakes are made, then it can be unsafe for both the client and the piercer. We’ve decided to cut out the risk of human error in this process and dispose of every tool immediately after use. That means that every single item that touches you during a piercing from needles, to jewelry, to tools is used only on you and no one else.
Doesn’t a single use studio create a lot of unnecessary waste?
Not always. The process of cleaning and sterilizing tools requires hazardous chemicals, personal protective equipment (PPE), and a decent amount of time. The chemicals used are then rinsed down the drain the the PPE is thrown away to be sent to a landfill. By using tools as efficiently as possible, we can minimize the amount of waste required to perform a safe piercing.
How does this affect you and your piercing?
Our main goal is to give you the cleanest piercing experience possible. When you get pierced here, we can guarantee you that you will have just that.
Meet Our Team
Manny
Pronouns: he · Him
Hablo Español
Manny’s favorite color of gold is yellow and his favorite gemstones are Swiss blue topaz and amethyst. His favorite pieces of jewelry at the moment are BVLA’s Mini Kandy and Athena. His curation style is full of full of chains and charms. His favorite piercings are conch, tragus, and stacked lobes.
When he’s not in the studio you can find him hanging out with his dog Athena, working out, and traveling.
He started piercing at a young age but decided to focus on his education and graduated from Berkeley with a degree in integrative biology. While applying for graduate schools he decided that piercing was his true passion and decided to pursue piercing as his full time career. Since then he’s been traveling as a guest piercer and has worked at some of the most prestigious studios in the world.
Manny can be found at AVA typically once or twice a month so make sure you keep an eye on our calendar!
Brandy
She · Her
Knowledge of ASL
Brandy’s favorite color of gold is Rose gold and Brandy’s favorite gemstones are Garnet and Moonstone. Brandy’s favorite piece of jewelry at the moment is BVLA’s Lilac Seam Ring. Brandy’s curation style is maximalism and whimsical.
Her favorite piercings are eyebrows and vertical labrets. In Brandy’s free time she likes to play with anything film. Film cameras, VHS camcorders & tapes, and cassettes – you name it! She also has an impressive record collection.
She was in school for photography when the pandemic hit and it made her stop and think about what she wanted to do with her life. After a bit of soul searching, she decided that she wanted to pursue piercing as a career. She began spending all of her free time researching all things piercing and after about a year of waiting for a front desk position to open up, we’re so excited to have her on our team!
Trinity
She · Her
Trinity’s favorite color of gold is rose and her favorite gemstones are amethyst and rainbow moonstone. Her favorite piece of jewelry at the moment is the “Graduating Tiffany” from BVLA. Her curation style is cohesive with snug rings and chains. Her favorite piercings are conch, faux rook, and septum piercings.
In her free time she likes to spend time with her seven (yes, seven!) cats, create way too many Excel spreadsheets, and spend as much time outside as she can.
Trinity’s passion for piercing began at an early age but her career in the piercing industry started in 2016. While working on a degree studying biostatistics, she fell in love with piercings and decided to put her degree on hold to pursue piercing full time. After a few years, she decided it was time to open her own studio and opened AVA in February of 2020.