Celebrating Nicole Holmes – A Champion for the Piercing Community

At Anatometal, we’ve always believed that the best body jewelry isn’t just made, it’s inspired by the professionals who live and breathe this industry daily.

That’s why we’re incredibly proud to acknowledge the work and achievements of Nicole Holmes, a long-time collaborator and one of the driving forces in professional piercing advancement in the UK and beyond.

Nicole has been an active, thoughtful voice in our industry since 1998, with a passion for safe, high-standard, beautifully executed body piercings. In 2009, she co-founded Blue Lotus with partner Adam Holmes (our husband and wife UK distribution team), a studio known for its excellence and commitment to ethical practice. But perhaps most notably, Nicole is the founder of the UKAPP, the APP's sister organization. Built from the ground up to educate, support, and unify professional piercers across the region.

Nicole’s contributions to the UK piercing community have not gone unnoticed. At the recent APP Conference in Vegas, she was honored by outgoing President Becky Dill with the President's Award for her outstanding work in founding and fostering further growth of the UKAPP, an achievement that has helped raise the bar for piercers around the world. Being amongst previous recipients such as Paul King, Jeff Saunders, Elayne Angel, and Brian Skellie

We are grateful and proud to work alongside Nicole and piercers like her. Her voice, insight, and lived experience directly shape the way we approach jewelry design, industry education, and global collaboration.

At Anatometal, we stand by our commitment to working with piercers—not just for them. Nicole represents the heart of that philosophy.

Congratulations, Nicole—and thank you for everything you bring to our shared mission.