"The notion of providing a milestone experience is frequently discussed when it comes to retail and ear piercing," says Retail Dive, a trade publication. Having your ears pierced is memorable - particularly the first time - and retailers want to capitalize on that. Rowan - a 3-year-old startup and Target's ear piercing partner - sells subscription boxes with a new pair of designer earrings each month it says most subscribers are 8-14 years old.Five Below, which sells items under $5 aimed at kids, is rolling out piercing services this year.They're using ear piercing as a draw to attract younger shoppers and as an incentive to purchase jewelry. Why it matters: Piercing mania shows no sign of slowing down, and retailers are seeking to capitalize on the next big thing in beauty. “It just seems to go with everything and is the 1st choice for people who don’t want pink.” Thanks for sharing the photos and tips.Ear piercing startups are popping up in pricey storefronts in New York City and elsewhere, even as big retailers like Target, CVS, Walmart, Ulta Beauty and Five Below also go big on piercing. Kaitlyn also remarked that in addition to hot pink, teal is one of the most popular colors in the store. 2) Start with the smallest pieces, like the insides of letters, first, and work outward. Here’s what she says: 1) Pressure sensitive vinyl is easier to weed if you work on a warm surface.
She also offered a few tips on weeding vinyl and heat transfer materials. Since monograms that are cut with a vinyl cutter need to be weeded before applying, Kaitlyn has become very experienced with weeding intricate logos. Since the store is on a campus with a strong Greek (the sorority and fraternity kind of Greek) presence, in addition to monograms they also do a lot of Greek lettering. Like they do at Heads Up Boutique, this store also uses a vinyl cutter to offer on-demand personalization on just about any item. One of our summer interns, Kaitlyn, also took the time to send me some photos from the personalization store near her college, where she works part time. Baby gifts and wedding gifts lend themselves naturally to monogramming. For men, remember the monogrammed shirt cuff? Just as Brian Sukarukoff and I noticed when we visited Jessica at Heads Up Boutique a few weeks back, monograms are once again trending. However we’ve been noticing a resurgence in monograms, similar to what we saw back in the late 70’s, early 80’s when it was extremely popular to have embroidered monograms on women’s purses and sweaters. As someone who has been in the “lettering” business (and before that, the jewelry business) for many, many years, I can personally vouch for the continuing popularity of monograms.