aupp conference day 3
6am wake up. definitely feeling the fatigue, but a new wind/breath of life has been breathed into me and i am excited. i skip breakfast this morning, not really out of choice, but i had nacho fries for lunch later on. grace let me take two of her dexies and they actually worked.
class #1 - Needles and Nervous Systems [09.00-10.00]
presented by Kel Hampson
an in depth exploration of trauma and body piercing
how to accommodate for trauma victims
types of trauma (acute, complex, chronic, etc)
how to handle patients that are closing down or having a trauma response in the piercing room without becoming their therapist
class #2 - How to Only Pierce Lobes and Not Go Crazy [10.30-11.30]
presented by Adam Pemberton
really cool class!! less so advice as to how to not go insane but rather an expansion on the idea of earlobe piercings and different ways to do them
in depth information on stacked lobes, transverse lobes, inner lobes (or niece piercings according to Joeltron) and orbital piercings
different methods with clamps, NRTs and freehand
information on needle crushing and large gauge piercings
class #3: Cause and Effect: The Advanced Fundamentals of Troubleshooting
presented by Jef Saunders (MY MAN)
awesome class, discussions on when a piercing is fucked vs salvageable, how to know who's fault it is, potential fixes
98% of the time the issue is with the piercer rather than the client!! even down to things like if they're not doing their aftercare correctly, you need to work out what went wrong and where you need to communicate better
usual suspects for poorly healing piercings are angle, position, jewellery type and jewellery size
the material is RARELY ever the main issue - stop looking at an angled piercing and saying "oh its fine, just pop some titanium in there and it'll fix it"
titanium is not synonymous with safe
lunch break [13.00-14.30]
went to guzman y gomez, had a sit and a chat about piercing (shocker)
class #4: Proper Application of Piercing Tools [14.30-15.30]
presented by Suzanne Hallett
super basic stuff that i did already know, but it was amazing to have it put into words that were so clear and simple to understand
some new stuff like how rubber bands can help for creating tension on tools where necessary and more information on telescopic piercing methods and NRTs
also a reminder that IT IS OKAY TO USE TOOLS
class #5: Gameify Social Media [16.00-17.00]
presented by Adam Pemberton and Ebs/Ebby
super cute social media tips and tricks class presented in game format
gave me some great ideas for managing Grace's socials, including a potential schedule, some website ideas and some new content we could be making
four main types of social media piercers: the educator, the icon, the memer, the trender
so cute, everything was pink and pixel and had nyan cat ears
class #6 - Septums Make Me Sweaty: Conquering The Piercer's Nerves [17.30-18.30]
presented by Sala Cabana
in depth anatomy which was excellent for understanding deviated septums
a lot of demonstration videos
discussion of tools and technique - the four main technique styles are septum clamp, NRT, freehand and telescopic
they all have their pros and cons, i am keen to learn telescopic
PILOT PIERCING FOR LARGE GAUGE - SO COOL! start with 14g/12g needle & jewellery, follow up with BIG chunky needle, bam
some total flex videos and photos from Sala and Joel
After the Conference [18.30 onwards]
from 18.30-20.00 we went back to the hotel and got ready - shower, quick sit down, hair and makeup, get dressed. rocked up to the afterparty, where we drank wine (grace drank an entire bottle, i had three very full glasses) and ate really nice food and chatted to new friends and got kicked bout by 22.00. plenty of tears, photos, hugs, tipsy confessions. the usual.
after getting booted once the party was over, someone (i think Sala or Kaylee) had the bright idea of karaoke, and so off we went to the nearest karaoke place that would accommodate for all 30-40 of us that decided to go. those poor workers. karaoke was amazing, patrick and courtney paid for everyone which was lovely. i picked the song with the loudest reactions (misery business, dancing queen, hotel room service, etc). other people ordered jugs of drinks, but grace and i ended up just drinking gin and lemonade from the jugs. after our hour was up (about midnight) we decided to go to the pub we'd finished every day at, and stayed there until 02.30. i had two vodka lemonades and two vodka redbulls. i got to just chill and chat to people and laugh and cry and soak it all in. jess curated my ear for free - love. i got some dirt on people (patrick, owner and founder of many jewellery companies, was paying some poor young boy to stay tied up in his room all day. that kind of thing). grace and i stumbled back to our hotel and slept until 06.00 to get to the airport.
fucking what a week.