Multiple ear piercings, 'earscapes' are new standout on Long Island 

When it comes to ear piercing these days, a hole in one apparently doesn’t cut it. The decorated ear is today’s fashion standout. Studs, chains, bars, lightning bolts, danglers in multiples can be seen crawling up the lobes and cartilage of many folks, whether they belong to the trendy set or more unexpectedly, the corporate world. 

Retailers — from the mall, to swanky high-end jewelers — are feeling consumer lust for “earscapes,” “ear parties” or “ear stacks” and, to that end, are holding special events and creating exclusive environments where piercers are on hand.

Cosmopolitan’s fashion director, Cassie Anderson, isn’t surprised by the movement. “Fashion loves to push the bar. It used to be considered rebellious to have two or three piercings in the ear.” Now she says, “Having multiple piercings in your ear is classified as ‘cool girl.’ It’s another way to adorn your body without committing to a tattoo.”

MEET THE 'EARSCAPE'

At Kravit Jewelers’ new location in Oceanside, owner Idayne Kaye says, “Ear piercing is a new and exciting category for us. I think of the ear as the next frontier for showing off personal style.”

She’s created a department called “Fierce Pierce” and is collaborating with veteran piercer Dana Krystopher to offer the service within the posh diamond salon. “Once it was considered punk and eccentric, but now it’s a fresh area in fine jewelry where ear design is really a way to express yourself,” she says. Krystopher, who has been piercing for decades, says, “I feel like everybody has a cool kid in them. And now, we look at ear piercing as more of an art, and we are curators of the ear.”

Among Krystopher’s current clients: married couple Tonia and Warren Brown of Baldwin, both 50, who enjoy ear piercing together. Tonia, a funeral director, has six earrings in each ear and is thinking about getting two more. 

“I think it’s kind of cute — my hair is short and you’re able to see the earrings,” she says adding that she does it to convey her style and also sometimes out of boredom.

Her husband, who works for Nasdaq, wears three in each year — all diamonds. His most recent piercing is a bejeweled bar set in his tragus, a prominence on the inner side of the external ear. “I’ve gotten so many compliments on the ‘trag’ ” he says. “Most people think it looks good. It’s not too crazy but it still stands out without being too much.”

In the past, he says, “I used to take them out when I had an important meeting, but I decided that’s who I am. It adds to my character.”

At uber luxe jewelry hub London Jewelers, free lobe piercing is offered at all five of their Long Island locations, and, says vice president Randi Udell, “Ear parties have always been a signature at London, but over the years we’ve noted an increased interest in multiple piercings.  Ears have taken on a whole design element. They’re like a canvas.”

So popular is the service at gift retailer The Paper Store in Massapequa Park, that in March the company created a separate piercing studio, complete with a leafy selfie wall.

“We’ve been focusing on customer experience, and the ear piercing studio is one of those experiences,” explains Lisamarie Sopher, the district manager. Here, customers getting piercings run the gamut from babies to people in their 80s. “People are so excited about it. You don’t need an appointment, and you wouldn’t think doing it is as impulsive as it is, but we’re learning. People are like, ‘Yeah I’ll do it,’ ” right on the spot, she says. It’s been so successful that by the end of August, the company plans for 15 ear piercing studios in other locations.

PIERCING PARTIES AND HOT SPOTS

It’s party time at Penny Lane boutique in Huntington where customers, wooed by an extensive selection of earrings, have been clamoring to do multiple piercings, says owner Gabrielle Banschick. Happy to oblige, earlier this month she hosted a piercing event with Amanda Imperati, a registered nurse who owns a traveling ear piercing service.

“Multiple piercings are so in right now,” says Banschick, who served Champagne, rosé and small bites at the event. She plans to hold several of these soirees throughout the season.

Of course, at Claire’s, ear piercing is nothing new. They’ve been doing it for some 50 years, having bedecked the likes of Kourtney Kardashian and her kids, Brooklyn Beckham and Vanessa Hudgens. But, there’s notable change. “Piercings are such a great avenue for self-expression,” says Priya Bhatnagar, vice president and general manager of piercing. “And in light of that, we see customers coming back more and more for multiple piercings. We like to call them 'earprint' because your piercings are as unique as your thumbprint.”

Additional piercing opportunities will soon abound on Long Island. Rowan Piercing, where licensed nurses do the deed, is slated to debut in June at Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington. And look for Ali Weiss Jewelry/Fine Jewelry and Luxury Ear Piercing to open in Roslyn in August. Weiss, who will unveil a “luxury piercing bar,” already has a store in Armonk and has been working private shows and pop-ups for the past few years at upscale stores on Long Island.

“Piercing was definitely the draw,” says Weiss. She believes multiples work for all ages. “We do a lot of women in their 40s, 50s and 60s. I don’t think there’s a stigma anymore. I think slowly but surely women are saying, ‘Who cares what other people think, if I like it.’ It’s so much fun and you can show so much of your personality along with doing something a little out of the box if you’re conservative.”

DIFFERENT EARS, DIFFERENT TOOLS

Not all ears are created equal. “I don’t look at ears as a pair. I look at them individually,” says Amanda Imperati, an ear-piercing nurse who goes to private homes. Likewise, Dana Krystopher, a piercing pro, says anatomy plays an important role.

“I have people coming in with pictures and I have to tell them they can’t do it because they don’t have the anatomical structure based on the hills and curvatures of the ear,” she explains.

And tools of the trade vary too. At many outlets, such as Claire’s, The Paper store and others, the Studex piercing device is the longtime standard. It features a fully disposable, single-use sterilized cartridge and depends on hand pressure for greater control and precision. But Krystopher, who is a state-permitted body piercer, uses sterilized needles.

She explains, “They don’t cause as much trauma or scar tissue and promote faster healing.” Also note that retailers require customers to be at least 18 years old, or accompanied by a parent or guardian.