A diamond in the rough
Moses Lake piercer shines in her success
MOSES LAKE - As a client sits on the piercing table of The Hive, a small amount of anticipation is exhibited. That quickly disappears as Rachel Willmorth walks into the room with a smile and calming manner.
She works quickly and confidently while paying careful attention to the piercing's placement.
Within minutes Willmorth is done and her client proudly displays a new piece of sparkling jewelry.
The previous anticipation seems foolish in the aftermath. Willmorth hands tissues to dab watering eyes and kindly apologizes for the discomfort.
On average, five or six clients walk through The Hive's doors daily, past the wall of tattoo trophies, and find themselves at Willmorth's piercing table.
"A lot of people are intimidated to come in here because from the outside it can look kind of scary," Willmorth said motioning around the tattoo and piercing shop. "It's clean and inviting if you can just make it through the door," she says with a laugh.
Piercing wasn't what Willmorth had envisioned as a career. "I definitely love my job. I just never woke up one day and knew that's what I wanted to do," said Willmorth with a shy smile. "I knew I was interested in it, but I didn't think that it was going to come to anything."
Now as Willmorth enters her fifth year as a piercer, clients no longer come to The Hive and ask for a piercing. They come and ask for a piercing from Willmorth.
"It's a good feeling. It's kind of hard because they remember my name and I can't remember what I pierced on them," laughs Willmorth.
As the only member of the Association of Professional Piercers (APP) on the eastern side of the state, her reputation continues to bring clients from as far away as Spokane, Tri-Cities and Wenatchee.
"The APP has guidelines that you have to adhere to, and I'm totally fine with upholding their guidelines," said Willmorth. "It sucks because (piercing is) not regulated at all."
The most formal education is done in an apprenticeship under an established piercer. "Unless you can find someone to take you under their wing, and show you everything they know, it's really hard to get into," Willmorth said.
Willmorth was taught by several individuals including The Hive's owner, her husband Shawn, and former Hive piercer Chrissy Schull who now works for the APP.
Willmorth continues her education by attending conferences and maintaining certifications in bloodborne pathogens, first aid and CPR.
Outside of the APP there are few regulations put on piercers. "You can pierce anybody at any age," said Willmorth. "When a 16-year-old comes down here to get pierced, I photocopy their ID along with their parent's ID."
No laws specifically target piercers, but piercing anyone under the age of 14 can be considered assault of a minor, penetrating the mouth of a minor and branch off into different child abuse laws, said Willmorth.
"We have more parents get upset that we won't pierce their kids because they are not 16," said Shawn.
The most typical piercing depends on the season. "Right now it's navel season," Willmorth said, "During the winter it's anything on the face." As tattoos and piercing become more mainstream, Willmorth no longer notices a slow season.
"They sit back there and tattoo, and I run around like a chicken," laughs Willmorth as she describes her duties at The Hive.
"I'm so glad to have such an awesome place to work," she smiles, "and I have a cool job."