PIERCINGS BY PHIL

Hi. My name is Phil Temer; I am the Co-owner/Piercer at Ikigai Tattoo and Body Piercing in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I currently have 12 years of piercing experience, from basic ear lobe piercing to large gauge lobe piercing, navels, nostrils, ear cartilage, ear projects, and surface anchors. And, we offer scarification – all performed at Ikigai Tattoo and Body Piercing.

I also have 15 years of retail/manager and jewelry experience, which has led me to my current position as co owner of Ikigai tattoo and body.  

My start in modification was when I was 17. That's when I got my first piercing; it was my tongue. I had a friend’s mom sign as my parent. My parents at that time said "no piercings or tattoos until you are 18 and out of our house". 2 weeks later my parents noticed that I had a piercing because I was playing with it and showing it to my cousin, and I had to remove it. Months later when I turned 18, I was back at the piercing shop getting my tongue pierced again legally. From there I got my first tattoo. That led to more tattoos. At the age of 21, I first got my ears pierced in Albuquerque NM. At that point I was hooked.

I started stretching my ear lobes as soon as they were healed. At first it was a contest with my little sister, but after devoting so much time to modifying my ears, I had my conch on both ears punched (where a piece of skin/cartilage is removed), piercings in my lip and septum, and piercings in my nipples and nostrils. I then took it further and had silicone implants inserted into my forehead.   In that time I was also introduced to the art of flesh hook suspensions, which I practiced regularly for about 6 years. This opened up new doors for me; I was able to be on 3 major television shows: Taboo on the National Geographic channel, a Documentary on the Discovery channel, and a little spot on Criss Angel’s show Mindfreak.

Now I'm ready to embark on new more complicated mods like scarification, flesh hook suspensions, and implants. Its gonna take time, money and patience to achieve my goals.  

You can find more piercing pictures @ http://www.facebook.com/phil.temer and on Instagram @PhilTemer

TATTOOS BY NIKKI

Nikki Temer is co-owner and the main tattoo artist at IKIGAI  tattoo and body piercing.  Nikki Temer has been tattooing for the past 9 years and isnt stopping any time soon!! She began her tattoo career in her mid twenties and has never looked at her life the same.  

Nikki started her body modification at a young age of 13 when her mother allowed her to get her first facial piercing, her eyebrow. Nikki did extra chores to save the $60 for her piercing and jewelry. Her mother took her to a local piercing shop named Hardware right off of Central ave. in the Nob Hill district of Albuquerque, NM in the late 90's.  That was the beginning of Nikki loving body art.  She has always been a driven artist.  Nikki never went to art school. Nikki is a self taught artist and has been entering art contests since she was a young child growing up in the Ozarks of Arakansas.  Her passion for learning as much as she can about art hasnt changed yet been transformed into her lifestyle instead of a hobby.

Nikki is a very versatile artist ranging from neorealism, neotraditional, geometric to photorealism.  She loves full color pieces that make the tattoo more than a tattoo they are an art piece for the client to cherish the rest of their life.

Nikki is driven to give a different approach for her clients. She is very personal and wants to know about you, she wants for her clients to relax and have a memorable experience.