Show A Ocsswcrd 23 Senior Notes 42 The Horatt Journal Logan utan Sunday March 9 1997 A SHOP ON THE A Eric Malmberg walked down an aisle at a Logan hardware store Ik beard “See Dad tint's the kind of piercing! want See Dad it doesn't look that stupid Malmberg tuned to see a teen-ag- e boy pointing across the aisle at the silver stud earring just below Malmbeig's bottom Bp- The boy ’s father Malmberg later recalled abruptly switched aisles Co hide ths bright ted face In addition to the facial piercing Malmberg has dime-siz-ed holes in his ears and a shaved head — but that’s not all that separates Malmberg bom the average Cache Valley resident He is also the sole owner of Hhid Wear body piercing and tattoo shop at 29 W Center It’s the only shop of its kind in Logan Malmberg has been sresdent of Hyde Park for 2fr yean and be began his business in the basement of his home: He quickly teamed he would not be staying long City elections were coming op and one of the candidates' campaign promises was tn get the shop out of Hyde Park When the downtown Logan location became available in December of L995 Malmbcig jumped at the chance to set up shop there — instead of paying IegaT fees to take the city of Hyde Park to court “Now I smile and wave at everybody on the way out of town every day Malmberg said And Hard Wear has a lengthy list of clients even in a conservative town like Logan he said There are even regulars Malmberg said he has one customer that has been "worked bom both ends by having about every part pierced that she could “In a community like this it seems like it (the shop) cant happen said Nick McMillan a tattoo artist who works at Malmberg's shop: “But really there's nothing anyone can do to affect iL Customers entering Hard Wear are greeted by racks of fluorescent-colore- d halter tops and mini skirts There are jelly and platform shoes lining the wall and an abundance of hair dye and nail colors to choose from Racks of touting “Keep your laws off my body are available for sale while The Village People blare over the speakers ff a customer is there for more than just a peek around and a piercing is in the plans he or she is led to a back room resembling a doctor's examination room A large photography umbrella illuminates what looks like an metal cumulation bed and there is dignified-lookin- g equipment on the counters Every thing that touches the piercee goes through an autoclave so it’s all totally sterile said Malmberg “An autoclave is like a big pressure cooker — it's what doctors and dentists use to sterilize equipment Malmberg explained as he cleaned navel rings with fingers whose tips ended in a flash of glittery purple nail polish Other precautions are taken as well like only using needles once Malmberg said And not everyone can get pierced bt addition to having to have parent's consent until the agr of Id prospective piereccs must fill out a questionnaire that asks about diseases and pregnancy Alsot if a person has been drinking alcohol he can't get pierced because his Mood is boo thm Malmberg said Which incidentally is anfortunate because two of Logan’s few bars are dtreedy across the street If the piercing is lo go through the customer must pay - rts set-u- p foe which includes the sterilized needle and the price of the jewelry is added on “A lot of people think it’s a lot of money but it’s basically all for safety stu£L Malmberg said Malmberg got his training in sanitation and piercing at Fakir Musafar’s school in San Francisco At the school Malmberg said he learned basic anatomy where you can pierce and where you can’t and about ail types of skin Muaafer was one of the founders of San Francisco's Gauntlet piercing shop which is “one of tlx biggest shops around” Malmberg said he wishes he would have realized that piercing was what he wanted to do before he spent the time ami money to graduate from Utah State University with a degree in Interior S3) for the initial Iksign “Eric's very professional” McMillan said of Malmberg's piercing work “I respect him a lot” Malmberg said he does everything from fecial piercings to navel piercings — including “lower body piercings Ami he does them on a diverse spectrum of businessmen and I’ve had people “I’ve had kids with their parents' consent he said Tb ease the nervousness of getting pierced or tattooed for the first time Malmberg talks to Ins customers in a low slow monotone He also makes jokesto ease the tension It must work because only one girl has come dose to crying and she was a wimp he said Malmberg said fear of pain is not a good reason nut to experience get pierced and he knows from first-ha“For me getting pierced is a cold sensation instead of pain” he said Brittany Larsen a Utah State University sophomore who recently got an ankle band tattooed on also attested to the pain not being too bad “It felt like being poked with a needle repeatedly” she said “but it’s really not that big of adeaL” People of different nationalities and cultures have been piercing each other since the beginning of time for different reasons and everyone who gets pierced here also has a reason behind iL Malmberg said “I've had women and men come in and say ‘I finally got divorced the papers finally went through and now my body is my own again’” Malmberg said In most cases the reasons fell into two categories: “Either they thought it looked oool or it was some ritual type of thing to identify some specific time in their life” Malmberg said The shop has had roommates come in together to get pierced so they remember that time in their lives Also the shop's busiest season is around Valentine’s Day because couples line up to get “commitment pieremgs” done he said Ritual is a big part of piercing and Malmbcig said when he was going to school in California he particiceremony honoring the Hindu god pated in a of piercing Lord Maurigan In this ritual he was die to sew things like fruit bells and packets of ashes directly onto people's skin He said there was the fell spectrum of costumes at that ritual: boras bugles feathers and other “fiinky stuff” Although Malmberg acknowledges that this might sound strange to some people he said be feels it's not much mure bizarre than some religious rituals like a Catholic bishop wearing a long robe and carrying a ld nd staff “It’s just all ritual” he said “Basically it stirs something inside and makes someone remember an event” Because so many customers want to experience this ritual of piercing Malmberg has little time to himself “I’m basically married to my shop” he said In the spare time he does have Malmberg likes to hang out in the outdoors shoot his gun collection remodel his Hyde Pick home and travel Malmberg also likes to make big plans for the future of HardMfear “We're going to change a bit We're going to carry a lot more leather gear a lot more fetish fashion which is the Ieather-and-lac- e type of look Malmberg said “Low-rid- er bikes we’re going to see how they do Gothic stuff skate clothing liquid latex ” The list goes on As the shop continues to grow and flourish Malmberg said he hopes Logan will become more aware of piercing Last year the Logan City Council passed an ordinance requiring parental consent for all piercees under IS This was the first law governing piercing ever passed in Utah he said Malmberg finds this is not enough and would like to see the city pass more ordinances concerning the safety and health standards of piercing shops Malmberg said there are shops in Logan that violate what he considers the minimum standards of sanitation “Parents should be concerned not only with the age limits but also with the health and welfare of their kids” he said When asked if there were any plans to eventually move the store out of the valley and on to bigger and better things Malmberg replied that he likes it here because he has lived hoe for a long time “We’ll see how the store goes” he said “As long as they don’t run us out we '11 be here for a while” Top left: Enc Malmberg owner of Hard Wear body piercing and tattoo shop performs an ear piercing an Enc Lott Tap right Malmberg sits on his “tow-ndbtcyde He sells parts for consumers to customize their own bikes Bottom: In addition to piercings er Malmberg sells various types of accessanes such as spiked collars and wallet chains ear-pierci- Stay IMe Eriffia fell-blo- Pbatns Sabot Heiriricks Features: Monday Homefront A tough audience for opera 1 1 I II 752-212-1 |