Picturing a body art studio, you may envision a darkly lit room adorned with gothic artwork, a display of piercing needles beside a worn leather chair, and the faint buzz of a tattoo machine in the background.
What you’ll find at Luar Body Piercing is quite the opposite.
“We work hard to break, and elevate the common stereotypes of body art studios,” says Owner and Senior Body Piercer, Sea Dawne.
“I want to elevate our industry. To raise the bar. To create a safe haven for everyone to be loved, cherished, and celebrated for who they are.”
This month marks Luar Body Piercing’s fourth year of providing professional services to piercing and jewelry lovers in Kelowna and beyond!
Like many creatives, Sea found body piercing to be an outlet and a confidence builder. “I started Luar in hopes of giving this feeling to other people,” explains Sea.
With the beginning of her career taking place in tattoo shops, Sea found piercing was always sidelined to tattooing, and after her sixth year in the industry, she made it her mission to create a space where “body piercing would be the focal point. Bringing piercing into its own light.”
Luar’s bright and airy studio was designed with this notion in mind.
Sea and her fiancé, Goldsmith, and co-owner Gustavo Godeghesi first opened Luar in the spring of 2019.
“We were in a studio suite on Bernard, we didn’t know how it was going to go so we started very small,” says Sea.
To their delight, they were welcomed with open arms, and by the end of the year they outgrew the space altogether.
As 2020 approached, they began gearing up to move to their current location on Ethel Street. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit Kelowna just weeks after Sea and Gustavo signed their new lease.
“It was really hard, we didn’t know if we were even going to be able to open the new studio- thankfully, we had a lot of community support,” Sea explains.
Their business was fortunate enough to survive the lockdown, and when it came time to reopen shop they hit the ground running at their new location.
“Surprisingly, it took off incredibly well, we were booked and busy… we owe it all to our clients and our community,” says Sea.
Luar is now the longest-standing piercing studio in Kelowna- and they haven’t taken the title for granted.
As a business, they try to fuel other local businesses in town- sourcing out business supplies locally, and helping other small brands gain traction when they can.
“What we can buy here we do, we try to support other small businesses in Kelowna and it’s been so cool to be able to use our success to help others.”
Tossing out outdated studio stereotypes, Luar aims to create a safe space where everyone is welcome.
“When you come to Luar you have our attention and our friendship,” Sea reaffirms.
Luar offers expert piercings of all shapes and sizes including facial, ear, oral, body and intimate piercings as well as appropriate and up-to-date techniques and education for after-care.
Once your piercing has healed, you can also take advantage of a wide range of jewelry offerings, including locally handcrafted gold pieces made by Gustavo at Luar’s sister store and goldsmith studio, Luar Gold.
“Gustavo makes all kinds of jewelry,” Sea tells us, “we work one-on-one with our clients and though Luar sells mostly body jewelry, we carry rings, wedding/engagement bands, necklaces, and regular jewelry as well. We ship all across Canada and have clients Canada wide.”
The team at Luar takes their craft seriously, and they're thankful to be able to pursue their passions in Kelowna.
“We would be nothing without our clients, we’re so thankful and we hope to continue elevating the industry and keeping everyone excited,” says Sea “,we would also like to thank our incredible staff, you make our lives a brighter and better place, and we are so thankful to have you with us in this journey.”
To book a body piercing appointment or shop jewelry check out Luar’s website or visit them in the studio at 1665 Ethel St, Kelowna, BC V1Y 6J3!
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