This orientation will help any attendee prepare for a successful week of learning experiences and networking. (Open to All)

Our Mentor Program is designed for new attendees. We recognize conference can be overwhelming for first time attendees and have people on hand to guide you through this experience. (Open to All)

During this workshop we will introduce briefly the concept of prevention of cross contamination, which then put into practice with live participants through a simulated procedure. Then we will monitor its effectiveness through the use of a special UV reactive powder that will allow us to see exactly if the protocols of work we have used or proposed are effective and safe for safeguarding the health of our practitioner. (Open to All)

A chance to discuss how piercers (and other shop staff) manage their work lives while dealing with a variety of mental health challenges. (Open to All)

The APP requests that all Vendors attend this informative meeting and open discussion with Vendor Floor Liaisons, Luis Garcia & Ed Chavarria (Open to Vendors Only)

This anatomy course for piercers focuses on the body from the neck down, with a solid overview of skin, tissue types, and the related structures and systems we deal with. We’ll cover relevant anatomy by common piercing sites, and risks and possible complications based on localized structures.Being knowledgeable about human anatomy allows you to make educated decisions about individual suitability and placement, leading to safer and more successful piercings. (Open to All)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. These tours are free and open to all attendees

Inspectors meet and greet with each other and the Legislation/Regulatory Affairs Committee. Discussing topics of concern, and preparing for the week ahead. (Open to Health Inspectors)

The purpose of this round table is to walk piercers through the process of the APP membership applications, as well as to dispel some myths regarding membership requirements. (Open to All)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. These tours are free and open to all attendees

Mentoring, Apprenticeships and How to Inspire the Next Generation of Piercers - It is almost a cliche: "My apprenticeship wasn't very good". We hear it over and over again. This class is about apprenticeships, but also empowering a new generation of piercers to learn, grow, and even stay friends with the people who trained them. (Open to All)

This class has been designed to provide you with essential information from working in, opening or owning a Body Art establishment. The documentation required to keep you in compliance with the regulator agencies that govern our Body Art Industry. Expectations and Goals: The integrity of an Exposure Control Infection Prevention Plan (ECIPP) which covers day to day practices, processes, and procedures. How to handle what should be on your Informed Consent Release forms and aftercare for you clients, etc. Learn the value of: how to say what you do, do what you say and prove it (documentation). (Open to All)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. These tours are free and open to all attendees

NEW CONTENT AND STRUCTURE FOR 2019. A progressive industry means more than just skill with a needle. In this workshop we will explain and demonstrate several key elements of working safe within your piercing area. Storing and handling sterilized instruments, preparing your work surfaces, materials, and client to reduce or eliminate cross contamination, disinfecting your work surface for the next client, and safely storing and transporting used implements. Utilizing various disinfectants, skin preparation, sterile and non-sterile gloves, and more will be discussed. Hands on demonstration will be used whenever possible with a multi-instructor update to this conference favorite. (Open to All)

Many survivors of gender based violence or personal trauma who seek out body modification do so as a way to reclaim ownership over their bodies. Body modification professionals have the potential to help survivors of trauma by establishing a safe and empowering experience during a time of extreme vulnerability. Through trauma informed services, customers can have a body modification experience that is positive and healing. Participates will develop professional skills to decrease customer discomfort, increase customer satisfaction, and improve the studio’s customer retention and referral. (Open to All)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. These tours are free and open to all attendees

Techniques, tools and jewelry for the septum piercing. (Piercers Only)

These days, phones are the primary source of picture taking for portfolios and other social media use. In this session we will help you hone your photography skills, provide insight on how to improve your online portfolio and internet presence, and more. We will be providing information on both the Android and iPhone. (Open to All)

Confidence vs. cockiness in and out of the piercing room: How to command authority with clients and potential clients without talking over their heads. (Anna Beall) Maintaining Professionalism with Genital Piercings (Christine Blossey) Ethics: Exploring the topic of ethics and what exactly that means in the body piercing industry/community (Cody Vaughn) (Open to All)

Effective communications skills to improve your relationship. (Open to All)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. These tours are free and open to all attendees

Nipple piercings are quickly becoming one of the most popular requests from our clients. Join us in exploring several key elements to their success. Anatomical variations including raised, flat, and inverted nipples. How to determine placement and make marks to best suit the client. Selecting appropriate jewelry. Multiple theories on technique, aftercare, and troubleshooting will be explored to give a wide perspective on this multi-faceted staple. (Piercer Only)

This round table hopes to foster an open conversation with attendees about the ideas of reducing waste and the overall carbon footprint of a shop. We will look at ways in which piercers and shop owners can lessen their impact on the environment from build out to everyday operations in their studios. (Open to All)

Artistic Studio Design: Line, dimension, space, color.. These are some of the fundamental elements of intentional, minimalist design. I'm excited to share the experience and ideas behind my approach to studio layout and aesthetic. (Leo Ziebol) Living with an Artist's Eye: Do you curate piercings? Curating and being a walking piece of art has its responsibility, are you approaching it with an Artist's eye ? Do you consider yourself an Artist ? Lets take the journey to using our artistic eye to elevate ourselves and our craft to a new level. (Alicia Cardenas) Creativity, Inspiration and Artistic Expressions in Jewelry Design: A discussion on ways to seek out and harness inspiration and creativity, expressing oneself artistically and how they apply to jewelry making for the body piercing industry. (Dustin Allor) (Open to All)

We'll explain what criteria makes a material "safe" for jewelry and why it should matter to you. (Open to All)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. These tours are free and open to all attendees

Expo Floor Opening - APP Members ONLY

Open to All

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. These tours are free and open to all attendees

In this class we will be discussing how to store, transport, decontaminate, and sterilize piercing equipment while minimizing cross contamination. We will discuss how to manage tools and equipment efficiently to save time money while processing. (Open to All)

Understanding power, privilege, and oppression so that you may evaluate how you show up and how to use cultural competence to create inclusive spaces. (Open to All)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. These tours are free and open to all attendees

Discover new approaches for piercing the vuvla, including pictures, videos, and discussion. (Piercer Only)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. These tours are free and open to all attendees

Discussion of current events, regulation, groups and projects in the world wide body piercing trade. (Open to All)

This course will provide participants with an overview of head, neck and oral anatomy associated with popular piercings in these areas. Included in the seminar will be safety issues and risky anatomical considerations associated with piercings of the oro-facial regions. During this presentation, practical and useful tips will be shared with attendees in order to maximize piercing outcomes. Course participants are encouraged to share questions, comments and professional experiences to enhance the learning experience. (Open to All)

For such a traditional piercing there are still plenty of issues body piercers may not be familiar with. Anatomical variations based on location, jewelry selection and the theories behind it, short term and long term aftercare, common problems and how to avoid or resolve them. We will explore these topics and more, along with multiple techniques you can incorporate into your services. This class will cover upper and lower lip placements, as well as vertical and alternative variations. (Piercer Only)

Advantages of needle control techniques, bevel theory and graduation, and needle choice described and demonstrated. (Piercer Only)

The Art of Ritual: Ritual is a part of life. How you perform a ritual is how it becomes art. We will explore the act of leading and facilitating ritual for all the different types of humans. How ritual makes life easier to cope with and how it can heal you. (Alicia Cardenas) The Art of Skepticism: With new products, companies, and trends coming out in the piercing industry regularly it’s important to look at new information with an adequate amount of scrutiny. An appropriate amount of skepticism is required in order to prevent one from being tricked into using things or applying practices that may be doing more harm than good, and my goal is to inspire attendees to find a new way of looking at things with a more critical eye. (Ryan Clark) The Art of Nothing: A quick guide to avoiding resentment on the internet and elsewhere. (Bethrah Szumski) (Open to All)

Brian Skellie and Lola Slider make it easy for you to anodize your titanium and niobium body jewelry with detailed information and live demonstration. How can this surface finish process make a difference in your client's healing results? How can you re-anodize for client jewelry if the color has worn off? These questions and more answered in this workshop. (Open to All) Attendees are encouraged to sign up but walk-ins are welcome. This is an ATTB (Alternative to the Bar) Offering.

The Canadian Meeting: this discussion is open to all, but will be specifically geared towards Canadian piercers, owners, management and health inspectors. A chance to network and discuss topics including Canadian manufacturers and suppliers, how to minimize shipping and brokerage fees, and the creation and direction of a Canadian branch of the APP (Open to All)

Expo Floor Closes for the Night. Please wrap up all sales to end by this time.

An approach to basic needle bends for various piercings as well as the techniques to bending them. There will be needle blanks available for practice. Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. (Piercer Only) This is an ATTB (Alternative to the Bar) Offering.

This meeting is being held to discuss the International Suspension Alliance. (ISA) Topics will include membership (types of memberships, voting rights of the different types, membership process, etc.), our current and future goals, and to discuss the work that has been completed over the last year. We will also be answering any and all questions that anyone may have. This meeting is open to all. We invite anyone and everyone that is interested in suspension to attend. (Open to All) The International Suspension Alliance (ISA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the unification of the body suspension community through research, education, outreach, and the dissemination of information pertaining to the safe practice of human suspension to practitioners, the general public, and health care professionals.

Jim Ward speaks about his relationship with Fakir Musafar and how their collaboration shaped the modern body piercing phenomenon. (Open to All)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. These tours are free and open to all attendees

The human relations principles used in big business adapted into a class that work for our industry. (Open to All)

Breaking down standard industrial piercings to make everything about them more simple. (Piercer Only)

This course will provide piercers with an understanding of how the body processes wounds, particularly in relation to healing piercings. The phases (or stages) of wound healing will be detailed, along with scar formation and its impact on piercings. Sound aftercare practices to promote the successful healing of piercings will be discussed, along with factors that are likely to delay or impede healing. (Open to All)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. These tours are free and open to all attendees

A look at the various conditions which may interupt the healing proccess. (Open to All)

Follow us in this interactive and engaging workshop in a hands-on session to learn the latest information related to Statim Maintenance, Mill Certificates & Personal protection equipment. (Open to All)

Most often our piercing history has been told from a Westcoast male perspective. For the first time, Annie will take us deep inside the East Coast piercing scene: the parties, publications, films, and crazy personalities of the 1970s’ and 1980s’ New York. (Open to All)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. These tours are free and open to all attendees

A 30 minute meditation to quiet the mind. A moment to look within, building inner peace. This is a time to reset and center yourself for conference. (Open to All)

New attendees are welcome to stop by for a casual discussion about how their week is going. (Open to All)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! These tours are free and open to all attendees

Join us as we bring to light the nuances of diversity in our industry. Let’s tackle the difficult questions and get inspired to increase our visibility for potential clients who may not see themselves represented in our shops. Long time body piercers Cozmo Whitest and Luna Duran will lead a roundtable discussion about the unique struggles and unique triumphs of being a piercer of color in the past, present and future. (Open to All)

A hands-on approach to marking techniques with a focus on marking paired piercings and multiple piercing "projects." (Piercer Only)

Tips and tricks on how to stay grounded and have lovely bedside manner with your clients. (Open to All)

Do you ever even notice how you pierce? How your body contorts, and how we work around our clients? Here’s looking at you! (Open to All)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! These tours are free and open to all attendees

Join us for an evening of remembrance and celebration with Dustin Allor, Ken Coyote, Allen Falkner. This night will feature a powerful presentation by Cleo Dubois titled Fakir, The Bigger Picture. Attendees are encouraged to sign up in advance but walk-ins are welcome at the door. There is no fee. (Open to All)

Expo Floor Closes for the Night. Please wrap up all sales to end by this time.

Bring your own games! Tables / chairs provided. Some games will be provided, but if you have a favorite make sure you bring it. This is an ATTB Event (Alternative to the Bar). These extra curricular activities are a great alternative to traditional Vegas activities and are free of charge to all attendees of the Conference. These are alcohol free options and we ask that all attending refrain from drinking or bringing alcohol to these events.

This presentation will introduce the concept of harm reduction in the tattoo/piercing community as well as provide participants with an in-depth exploration of opiate overdose, prevention strategies, and how to respond to an overdose. (Open to All) This is an ATTB (Alternative to the Bar) Offering.

Dustin and Ken aim to expand your perspective and extend your toolkit by diving into the fundamentals of needles, explaining how bars and rings are safely used as initial jewelry, and providing a detailed analysis of the three principal piercing techniques. (Piercer Only)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. These tours are free and open to all attendees

Glass has a long and rich history of use as a material for piercing jewelry. From the first glass plugs used in ancient Egypt, to the use of obsidian as labrets and earspools in Mesoamerica, to the surprising history of Chinese glass technology during the Warring States period, and much more. This talk will trace across the planet and throughout the ages the little known history of glass as a material for piercing jewelry. (Open to All)

Spend a little time before the meeting starts catching up with old friends and meeting our new members. (Open to APP Members Only)

This meeting is to present information to the membership body of the Association and review its current business. (Open to APP Members Only)

This RT we will see the experience and the different approaches of piercers/shop owners around the world, sharing tips and own points of view of our community around the world. Join us in this international journey it will be fun ;) (Open to All)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. These tours are free and open to all attendees

All members of ongoing committees should attend (Open to Current Committee Members)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. These tours are free and open to all attendees

Topics will include: performance management/ employee reviews, feedback & facebook, asking for feedback (who/what/why/when), and more. (Open to All)

NEW CONTENT AND STRUCTURE FOR 2019. A progressive industry means more than just skill with a needle. In this workshop we will explain and demonstrate several key elements of working safe within your piercing area. Storing and handling sterilized instruments, preparing your work surfaces, materials, and client to reduce or eliminate cross contamination, disinfecting your work surface for the next client, and safely storing and transporting used implements. Utilizing various disinfectants, skin preparation, sterile and non-sterile gloves, and more will be discussed. Hands on demonstration will be used whenever possible with a multi-instructor update to this conference favorite. (Open to All)

Tools and techniques to help you manage your online presence (Open to All)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. These tours are free and open to all attendees

A 30 minute meditation to quiet the mind. A moment to look within, building inner peace. This is a time to reset and center yourself for conference. (Open to All)

A workshop with hands-on demonstration of the latest techniques in body piercing. (Open to APP Member Piercers Only)

Friends and colleagues of Fakir share their stories of body play, ritual, and education under his guidance and inspiration. These unscripted tours are bound to be full of surprises, including special guests! Attendees are asked to sign up in advance but walk ins are also welcome. These tours are free and open to all attendees

An in depth look at high nostril piercings dealing with anatomy, placement, and technique. (Piercers Only)

Investigating how the microscopic world around us influences our studio, our clients, and us. (Open to All)

Adulting Like a Boss: How to find longevity in your piercing career and growing into other roles as your career advances (Georgina Schiavelli); Self cafe as an Adult; It’s not all bubble baths and Beyoncé: A frank and honest talk about the difference between the self care we WANT and the self care we NEED based on my own experiences over the past two decades of adulting. (Kendra Berndt); Business Adulting: How do we get it all done? Lets explore some key habits of successful entrepreneurs and talk about what keeps them moving forward! (April Thomas) (Open to All)

Expo Floor Closes for the Night. Please wrap up all sales to end by this time.

Advanced Fundamentals: Helix Piercings - They might be our most popular offering, but how much do we think about helix piercings? From placement, to jewelry selection, to healing - there's more to consider than you may realize. (Piercer Only)

This is all Bigger than Us: An insight on social media in our industry and how it is driving a bigger disconnect from our clients. (Brian Moeller) How to Gain From Loss: John will present a perspective of loss that allows for personal growth and enrichment through appreciating what we have now and understanding the temporary nature of all we hold on to. (John Johnson) It's Not You, It's Me: An 18 minute journey through ADHD "quarter-life crisis" and how this "industry" saved me from that disastrous life. (Ismael Vargas) (Open to All)

One size (style, or material) does not fit all, but some are more common than others. This class will cover information about jewelry standards for initial piercings, ranging from appropriate materials, styles and sizes commonly used, as well as exceptions to these "rules" in unique scenarios. We invite questions and feedback from industry professionals of all experience levels. (Open to All)