Eduardo Chavarria (He/Him)
I am Eduardo, owner and senior piercer at Safe Harbor Body Adornment.
I am a Salvadoran, first in my family to be born in the United States and the proud son of immigrants.
I have been an Association of Professional Piercers (APP) member in good standing for over a decade. I’m a former board member, instructor and a current member of the APP conference committee.
Good with my hands, I am fortunate to have found vocation where I can use them for something I love, body piercing.
My journey into body piercing started in 1996 when I received my first piercing and sensed right away that it was the beginning of a lifelong journey.
Fast forward a few years and several piercings later, I discovered performance art consisting of piercing and related acts inspired by body mortification rituals.
In 2001, involvement in performance art led me to a piercing apprenticeship and to becoming a body piercer whose practice met and surpassed industry standards.
In 2006, I accepted my first job outside of the shop where I had apprenticed.
Following this from 2008 through 2012, I was fortunate to travel across the country piercing at some of our nation’s best piercing studios.
Then in 2012, I accepted a piercing position in Philadelphia where I found “home.”
After several years, I realized that the next step of my career path was to open my own shop. In 2017, I began to take on the challenge of opening my own studio with focused attention.
At last I found my brick and mortar location in the lovely Borough of West Chester, PA and the doors of my shop opened on January 2, 2020.
Despite challenges through the COVID-19 pandemic, with steadfast positivity, lots of work and incredible supports, my shop, Safe Harbor Body Adornment, has fluorished.
Shop success would not have been possible without those who have helped and continue to help and to you, I am forever grateful.
Keila Zipkin (She/Her)
Keila (Pronounced Kayla) was born on the beaches of Hawaii but raised in a small town in Connecticut with more cows than people. She never really felt like she fit in. So she spent most of her days with the moo-moos, listening to her walkmen, and wandering around the woods looking for bones. As a millennial she had that cool childhood mostly spent outdoors; until the internet invaded her home, and she had her mind blown by the almighty power of Myspace. Here is where she found a passion for expression and body modification. She remembers being transfixed by all the fun hair colors, facial piercings, and accessories. Unable to change her hair at the time or wear anything outside of hand-me downs she just continued appreciating from a distance.
Once out of Connecticut and living in the dorms on her college campus, she met a friend who taught her all about APP piercers versus what she knew from mall kiosk piercing places. That’s when she took her first trip to a reputable studio in Philadelphia, and her world was opened up to sparkles! With a new hyperfixation, she began getting pierced every 60ish days. Which led to her becoming besties with her piercer Eduardo!
Ed and Keila stayed in touch over the years. She was very excited to be the first piercing at Safe Harbor Body Adornment when it opened in 2020. She was a massive cheerleader for the new shop, which ended up landing her the gig of front counter person; and eventually she took on an apprenticeship in 2022. She has since been knighted to Junior Piercer. (Yes knighted, with a needle shaped pool noodle. Yes there is a video.) She is able to perform many services unsupervised, others are being offered at a discount and can be scheduled through her Instagram @pricklykale. She pierces Tuesday-Saturday, but all supervised piercings can only be scheduled Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Her favorite piercings to perform are nostrils and vertical labrets.
Now as an elder emo Keila spends most of her days at home with her cat, 2 tarantulas, turtle, and way too many house plants. She previously worked for a decade in the veterinary field; specializing in emergency medicine, cardiology, anesthesia, and ophthalmology. She loves the new freedom that this career has offered her. She spends her free time hiking, attempting to forage, reading, or listening to live music. Ask her about her cat and be ready for lots of cute photos!
Nate Harer (He/Him)
I’m Nate, full time body piercer at Safe Harbor Body Adornment.
I was born in the Midwest in St Louis, MO. I have lived in all different parts of the country and am always traveling for opportunities.
Prior to piercing, I worked in environmental laboratories and in the aerospace industry. These jobs gave me an appreciation and understanding of sterility, cleanliness, and working with my hands which translated well with piercing.
My piercing journey started as a teenager getting pierced and eventually tattooed. I fell in love with the industry. I felt like I was accepted by other artists while only being an enthusiast at the time. This led me to learn more about health and safety concerning piercings. I was instantly hooked.
I landed an apprenticeship towards the end of 2020 in Texas and hit the ground running. I have always had awillingness to grow and learn. Since I started piercing, I furthered my education by attending piercing seminars and conferences. I am grateful for the Association of Professional Piercers (APP) that has given me standards and helped me to set goals.
I was fortunate to be a Alicia Cardenas Keep Moving Forward scholar recipient in 2022 and a Legacy Scholar in 2023. Both of these scholarships allowed me to attend the Annual APP Conference in Las Vegas to sharpen my skills, meet new piercers and make lifelong friends in the industry. I extend the biggest of thank you’s to Anatometal, Luis Garcia, the APP, and the scholarship board for my direction and for their trust.
Piercing has been my greatest journey. The smiling faces of clients who brave through that piercing they are nervous about, the reclamation of someone’s body, the stylistic expression and decorative aspects of jewelry, and so many more reasons make body piercing fun and rewarding.
Piercing has taught me a lot about myself and how I approach others. It has given me the ground to grow at my own pace and to go after the things I have wanted. I am thankful for my piercing career and for the trust that others have put in me.
Caliyah (She/Her)
Hello people of Earth! Im Caliyah, Safe Harbor Body Adornment’s new front desk assistant. I was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Coatesville, Pa. I am currently a student at West Chester University, majoring in Interdisciplinary studies and minoring in Digital Marketing. I was a long term customer at Safe Harbor Body Adornment and was later given a chance to join the team. I can’t wait to see where it takes me!
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