Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Matt Buonantuono. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Matt, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

While the piercing industry has come a long way in the last decade or so, there is still a very large percentage of the population that hasn’t caught up with what should be and needs to be the industry standard. This includes but is not limited to implant grade, ASTM Certified (not just compliant) metals, proper sterilization techniques, and proper piercing room etiquette concerning cross contamination and other medical level criteria. Myself and all of my employees are a part of group called the Association of Professional Piercers. This group is non profit and is built around the education of industry folks about the very basics needed to be performing piercings at a more aseptic level to help increase the chances of proper healing piercings. We attend classes every year all across the country to extend our knowledge and to be able to keep up with the newest procedures to help make not only our job easier and safer but to also keep the client safer and to make the process for the client as easy and painless as possible.
We only use ASTMF-136 Implant Grade Titanium or solid 14k Yellow/Rose/White gold that are not alloyed with known irritants such as nickel and lead.
We all are well knowledgeable with and use surgical level asepsis when perform each and every service including proper cleaning and prep of the piercing site and using sterile gloves.

Matt, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For me personally, I have always been very interested in body modifications across the world and what it means or how it’s used from a cultural aspect. This is where my general curiosity began. I met my mentor in 1999 and started an apprenticeship with him in 2000. I have been piercing since then and a lot of my reasons for continuing in this field have changed. What we do is more than just “poking holes* in people. We can change how a person views themselves, giving them confidence in something that they may not have had previously. We can give them the ability to be the person they have always pictured themselves to be. The amount of joy we can see on someone’s face after looking at their new piercing for the first time can be life changing. We also offer child ear piercings starting at 5 years old. We are very big on body autonomy so when the young person is in our studio, we make it very clear that this is their decision and they have full control of what goes on and what doesn’t. This can in a lot of ways be a child’s first experience where they can 100% say they decided to do something to their bodies. It can be a very personal and intimate setting even for a child and the impact that can have on someone is immense. Our job is multifaceted and the gratitude that comes from the ability to be able to do what we do for people is unmatched. I think one of the things that sets us apart from most piercers is that we guarantee our work. We stick with the client throughout the entire healing period so if they have any issues, concerns, questions or problems we are always available and willing to guide them through the process. This can be anything from basic questions all the way up to irritation that can occur.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

This is a huge issue for me. I have worked in multiple careers and in multiple studios that have created very toxic and harsh environments. I think we’ve all been there, where we dread getting up on a Monday or hate going into work for whatever reason it may be. The best advice I can give is to treat your employees like they own the business too. There is obviously a line that can’t be crossed but I believe that to be fairly common sensical; however, in my experience, the biggest reason for employee turn around is the general treatment of employees. Pay them well for what they do, make sure to let them know they are respected and that they are wanted. Be there for your employees, understand that sometimes people need mental health days and be ok with that. If your employees aren’t happy or don’t want to be at work, then everything will be affected. If your employees are happy, comfortable and excited to be at work, they will be more than happy to do the menial things that need to be done that others may complain about. They ‘ll be more than happy to work as a team and to help their colleagues through rough times or tough situations.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In 2018 I had been working with a Tattoo Studio at that time for about 4 years. I had built up their entire piercing area and had built up their clientele. Unfortunately, as things sometimes go, there was a falling out and to put it bluntly, they tried to blackball me from the industry. They went as far as calling the jewelry companies I use to try and cancel my accounts. I had already had plans to build my own piercing only studio, but now those plans were pushed forward much quicker than we had expected. We had to go full steam ahead to build our business. We had to dump our entire life savings, plus a very large amount of money via credit cards and loans into building everything out. It was a huge risk, there was a lot that had to change in our lives very fast and it was scary. In the end we did it. We pushed through all of that, worked 7 days a week 20 hours a day to make sure we were successful right off the bat and I wouldn’t change anything – it is still the single greatest decision I have ever made.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.freyjapiercing.com
• Instagram: @freyjapiercing
• Facebook: Freyja Piercing and Fine Jewelry
• Youtube: Freyja Piercing