Best Piercer

1. Jared Hill (Area 51 Piercing) 505 Willamette, ste. 100. 541-393-6572. Area51Piercing.com.

2. Kenny Plimpton (High Priestess Piercing & Tattoo) 525 E. 13th Ave. 541-343-3311; 210 W. 6th Ave. 541-342-6585. BestStudioEver.com.

3. Samantha Houston (High Priestess Piercing & Tattoo) 525 E. 13th Ave. 541-343-3311; 210 W. 6th Ave. 541-342-6585. BestStudioEver.com.

When it comes to piercing, Jared Hill, owner of Area 51 Piercing and Fine Jewelry, believes in a philosophy of care, calling piercing a “self care industry.”

“This is an industry where people decide that they’re ready to treat themselves… want to make themselves feel better,” he says. “Whether their day was cruddy, or they want to do something special or it’s a present.”

Piercing is a form of self care, but it also requires a client-piercer relationship built on care and trust. At Area 51, “you have a very loving, caring piercer, no matter who you are,” says Hill. Getting a piercing is “something amazing they can do, and I want to honor and cherish that and make it crazy cool for them,” he says. Hill has been a piercer for 25 years. “We actually create the jewelry in house. We have local goldsmiths and a gold line,” Hill says. “I believe in a community of artists coming together and exploring their different facets of art, whether they’re jewelry or piercing or making cool trinkets.” He points out that “all the art, even down to the benches, the tables in the studio, was made by local individuals.”

“It really is important to give,” Hill says. “I want to give [clients] everything so when they leave they go, wow that was magical.” “What is work?” he asks. “Is work your soul? Is work money? And homie, if work can be your soul and money. That’s amazing.”

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

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