Anna York Joins the Staff

We are pleased to announce that on April 3, 2018, Anna York joins the staff at Infinite Body Piercing. Anna has been a guest at the studio several times over the last few years, and we’re excited she’s decided to leave the Pacific Northwest and make Philadelphia her new home.

Anna says she developed a love of body modification as a young teenager in the punk community. She started stretching her ears at fourteen and got really into wooden plugs from Esoteric (R.I.P.) and was a frequent visitor at the only studio in her hometown of Columbia, South Carolina that ordered and carried them. She eventually lucked into a job at Immaculate, that same studio, as a counterperson, where Sarah Wooten, the owner, ultimately took Anna under her wing and offered her an apprenticeship. She continued working there for six years until she moved to the Pacific Northwest with her band, Nü-klē-ər Blast Suntan. There she worked at a few different studios until settling into Robot Piercing and Tattoo in Portland, Oregon. Soon, Anna will be relocating from her long-term home in Portland to join the staff of Infinite.

Anna has been a volunteer at the Association of Professional Piercers Conference and Exposition for over ten years—attending her first Conference in 2007 as an apprentice—and she has continued to volunteer every year since. For the last few years she has been found working behind the registration booth, welcoming all other piercers into the conference.

Anna tells us her favorite piercings to do are nipples, nostrils, and lining up multiple piercings in the ear. She also gets very excited about stacking multiple pieces in the septum and helping people choose jewelry—so feel free to ask her about recommendations!

Anna will be filling the permanent position left vacant when Robert left last November. Since then, we have had an amazing assortment of guest piercers through the studio covering shifts and sharing their knowledge with the rest of the staff. Some were out-of-town guests who have visited for several weeks; a few of them are local and have been at the studio for a day or two, here and there. They all deserve our thanks for bringing each of their singular personalities through the studio and treating our clients so wonderfully.

One of our frequent local guests has been Sarah Morgan, from Black Cat Collective in Perkasie, Pennsylvania. Sarah has been helping Andru and Zach out on busy Sundays, and will be here Sundays through April as well. Sarah always brings a smile to work, and we’re excited to have her help with what can be one of the busiest days of the week.

Johnross Switz has also been helping with days here and there, on loan from Mean Street Tattoos in Bensalem. He has been a great friend to the studio, and can always be counted on the help us out in a pinch. Jay McColm, former Infinite employee and current piercer at Tattoo Galaxy in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, has been helping us with a few shifts, and he’s always a welcome guest back at the studio.

From New York, both Paulie Rainer and Alex Maiorano have been making the trip to cover shifts as well. Paulie works out of Bound for Glory Tattoo in Staten Island, while Alex recently left The End is Near in Brooklyn to strike out on his own. Frankie Pistone made his second appearance at Infinite, stopping at Infinite as part of a multi-studio guest spot tour.

Lastly, special thanks to Ismael Vargas and Vicki Rose. Ismael’s travels brought him to Philadelphia during the end of January, and Vicki recently visited Infinite from Diamond Heart Studios, and spent a cold, snowy week covering shifts during the first week of February. Both of them made a memorable impression on the staff, and we hope to have them both back again soon.

[Featured photo of Anna York by Shanna Hutchins.]