APP 2026
Last month we attended APP 2026, the annual Association of Professional Piercers Conference and Exposition, which took place at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas June 7-12.
The APP Conference and Expo is a huge educational opportunity. It’s the largest educational event for piercers in the United States—and arguably, in the world. APP offers something not only for piercers, but for anyone involved in our industry. With more and more lectures geared towards front- and back-of-house roles, our APP crew now includes a much larger presence from our Jewelry Specialist and Office teams, and this year was no different.
Representing our Piercing team were Zach, Xavier, Lily, and Infinite’s owner, James. It wasn’t Xavier or Lily’s first time attending the conference, but it was their first time going with the Infinite crew. Zach returned for the first time after a several year hiatus to again serve as a volunteer for the APP, while James has been making the yearly trip to Las Vegas for over thirty years, having attended every Conference but one!
The rest of our crew were (proudly) non-piercers: this was my 10th trip to APP. Laine, our assistant operations manager, attended for the second year and Steele, who works in the office and as a jewelry specialist, attended for the third time. Hau and Philomena were both first-year attendees.
We are lucky to be able to bring such a big crew, but we still lament not being able to bring the whole team. The next best thing was achieved this year thanks to efforts from Steele, Hau, and Philomena. They took on the task of organizing an educational presentation for the rest of our crew covering the most impactful and interesting moments from their week. Since we got back they have been working diligently compiling notes, exchanging ideas, and creating an incredibly comprehensive presentation, geared specifically towards the front-of-house perspective and knowledge. Our team is excitedly looking forward to this and we will be closing the studio early on Wednesday July 29 for their presentation.
Clearly, the traditional counterstaff role in our industry has evolved into something much more than where it began.
With this in mind, this blog post focuses on reflections from three of Infinite’s jewelry specialists: Hau Phan, Steele Knapstein, and Philomena Lithgow.
“Arriving at Conference, I had feelings of being a 'little fish in a big pond.' But rather than becoming overwhelmed by the depth of information, I started to develop an even deeper appreciation for the rich history of modern body piercing and the real people behind it, each with stories rooted in queerness, love, community, and curiosity—the same principles that guide me today.” - Hau
“I signed up for the class ‘Piercing Kids’ because I am historically pretty awful with kids. It can be really frustrating and tiring to deal with them in the studio, but it can also be some of the most rewarding client interaction.
“One quote from the class really stuck with me: An earlobe piercing is often a child's first decision they'll make about their own body. When I think of being a part of a child's piercing service through that perspective, it becomes one of the most purpose-driven things I'll do on any given day.” - Steele
“While some classes were very technique-specific and catered more to piercers, ‘Design Fundamentals of Piercing’ (taught by Bethrah Szumski) spoke directly to the front-of-house / jewelry specialist in me. Our piercers are very creative and are often entrusted with the curation of big projects. However, many times, at the front counter is where our clients see the jewelry for the first time and hear about potential possibilities when it comes to design. The counter is where we intentionally play with jewelry, using our eye and judgement to guide the client toward something both aesthetically pleasing and practical.” - Hau
"The class that had the biggest emotional impact on me this year was ‘Misogyny in the Body Arts: Industry, Culture, and Change.’ I've had a really complicated relationship with womanhood and femininity and I recognize that that is a pretty common experience in our industry. Bethrah’s class made me feel seen and so much less alone, and inspired me to both put myself forward for new opportunities and to advocate for equity for myself and for other women and gender minorities, both in piercing and in life." - Steele
“As a first time attendee, I am so grateful to the Infinite crew for taking me along with them on this trip to the 29th Annual APP Conference. It truly exceeded all of my expectations and more, and it was such a treat to be able to meet other wonderful people within the industry while also gaining an abundance of new insight on both jewelry and the history of body modification. I especially had a wonderful time exploring the expo floor with the crew, carefully curating and picking out precious metals and gems to bring home to our clients in Philadelphia. My heart has a deep passion for jewelry curation, so to also be able to meet a few faces that work hard behind the scenes of our in shop favorites (shoutout Sacred Symbols and Tether!) made this trip feel all the more rewarding. I can't wait for our clients to see what we brought back, while also assisting with how they like to style these pieces within their own jewelry curations. Until next time, Vegas!” - Philomena
A huge part of the Conference experience, especially for our jewelry specialists attending, is the jewelry exposition. This is their domain, after all! Not only do we have the opportunity to shop and buy new and amazing pieces from our favorite jewelers and manufacturers, but we get to talk to the people that make and sell the pieces we carry—people that we communicate with all year but seldom get to actually meet in person.
It was an incredibly fun group effort on the expo floor for us this year. Getting to see our crew thriving and vibing was one of the highlights of the week, and the jewelry we brought back from the expo shows that. It’s a gorgeous cohesive unapologetic sampling of jewelry from some of our personal favorite jewelers and friends. It’s such an educational and empowering experience being (and buying) at the expo, that for me the real win is what our crew got out of it: the effort they put into preparing beforehand, the stellar selections they made individually and as a team, and their dedication to sharing this experience with their coworkers who held things down back home. Across the board, they nailed it.
Take a look for yourself! Check out the amazing hauls from Sacred Symbols, Quetzalli Jewelry, BVLA, Oracle Body Jewelry, Seasons Handmade, Origins Handmade, Ember Body Jewelry, Modern Mood, Tether Jewelry, Black Forest Jewelry, Queen of the Ashes and Symmetry Body Jewelry.
“The most impactful part of Conference to me wasn’t the classes—though I took some that were really wonderful and had a very profound impact on me (most notably Shawn Porter and Brian Skellie’s Jack Yount retrospective and Bethrah Szumski’s ‘Misogyny in the Body Arts’). It wasn’t the jewelry exposition either—though I’m excited to share the really stunning pieces we brought home with the rest of our team and our clients.
“This was the third APP Conference I’ve had the pleasure of attending, and the thing that keeps me wanting to return year after year is the community. The most beautiful part of this experience to me is the opportunity to spend time with other people who share my love of body modification. It's a really beautiful thing to occupy space with people like me, who have built their lives around this gift we share with each other and with our clients.” - Steele
Thank you to our entire crew for making this a week to remember, and sharing photos for this post. Thank you to Steele, Philomena, and Hau for sharing your experiences with all of us.
Flower up. ;)
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