The owners of a body piercing studio in South Belfast are aiming to provide a welcoming and safe space for the city's LGBT+ community.
Siblings David and Rebecca Black opened their new Queer space, Pierced by them, on Elmwood Avenue in March of this year.
The pair, originally from Seahill near Holywood, wanted to create a space where people can sit and relax without feeling the pressure to spend money, something they say is rare in the city today.
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Speaking to Belfast Live, David, 24, said: " We are a piercing studio aiming to bring safety and comfort to everyone within the LGBTQIA+ community, by putting first everyone’s right to self expression and the care needed for all body types and gender identities.
"We wanted to create a safe and welcoming space, especially for the Queer community, and somewhere that's open and free.
"We have also been working to support our community through workshops, raising awareness about sexual health and finding other ways to make Belfast a fun safe space for all ages of our Queer community."
Rebecca, 26, is a qualified, passionate non-binary piercer and is based in the studio, which is described as "a welcoming space to express yourself".
With a keen eye, Rebecca is focused on making sure your piercing is exactly how you imagined it would be.
"I previously worked in another piercing studio and a lot of my clients were part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Even though I was projecting that it was a safe space, the people I was working with didn't really understand things like pronouns," Rebecca explained.
"That's why I wanted to go out on my own so that I knew as soon as a client walks in, every part of that space is a welcoming environment.
"All of those previous clients have followed me into the new business, which is really nice, and I think they feel much more at ease.
"One of the main issues for them was being seen for who they are, using their preferred name, which might be different from their ID, and their preferred pronoun.
"Also a lot of those clients are in their teens so I felt we had a responsibility to have this place. We also provide a lot of help and information about the Rainbow Project, safe sex, period poverty and things like that.
"I've always wanted to set up my own piercing studio and David was a cafe manager so we were looking to create a space where we could both do that and merge together," Rebecca explained.
For both David and Rebecca it has been an emotional experience to see their business come together and in a space where young people can come in and be themselves.
At the heart of Pierced by them, they said, is creating a space where people can feel safe and welcome.
"We have quite a range of Pride jewellery and I've noticed a lot of people who haven't come out yet, maybe come in for their piercing and pick a rainbow item," Rebecca added.
"It's almost like a little tiny nudge to express that part of themselves, which I think is really cute. We always encourage people to be really open with us when they come in for a piercing."
"I feel a bit like a therapist sometimes because they come in and say things that maybe they're not able to say at home, especially in terms of their identity," David said.
"Belfast has its gay bars and clubs, which are great, but there's not a lot of daytime sober spaces like cafes where you can just be rather than party. This is just the beginning for us as we'd ultimately like to move to a bigger space where we can also open a cafe," he added.
You can find out more about Pierced by them and keep an eye out for upcoming events here.
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