Beauty is Pain
For Zarah Schieve, the body is her canvas, and empowerment is her art
Ouch.”
For some, the chosen profession of body piercing specialist Zarah Schieve may evoke just such a reaction. For others, her art form is simply one of creativity and self-expression. For many, what begins as an “ouch” later becomes a “wow.”
Schieve is a registered nurse and a member of the Association of Professional Piercers. She is co-owner of an upscale piercing and tattoo establishment called Magnolia Company in Tallahassee. And as an example of “practicing what you preach,” Schieve proudly states that there are “16 or 17” tiny holes in her skin, into which petite chains, glistening metal, and sparkling gems may be mounted.
Magnolia Company is situated in a red-brick courtyard, where an Italianate fountain babbles beneath arching trees. Schieve says that the shop has a “spa-like” ambience, and the practice is as clean as a small surgical center. She co-owns Magnolia with its tattoo artists, Matt Manning (who is also Schieve’s partner) and Chris Villiers. Here, Schieve focuses on the piercings that her clients believe will offer “a certain kind of empowerment.”
Photo by Alicia Osborne
That empowerment describes the draw that led the Wakulla-born nurse to shift careers and devote herself to the ancient practice of body piercing, an art that began 7,000 years ago in Babylon and Mesopotamia and was ubiquitous among the Mayan and Aztec aristocracy. Now age 39, Schieve says that her introduction to the needle was at around 9 years old with her earlobes that she was already beginning to stretch. Piercing friends’ belly buttons would follow. And, “at 14 or 15, I had my lips pierced, too.” She even spent time during high school shadowing professional piercers, getting a feel for that life.
Schieve graduated from Tallahassee Community College and earned her license as a registered nurse. But working in a cardiac unit just wasn’t her cup of tea. What was, however, was the creativity she’d experienced earlier in piercing studios.
“Later, during a full-year apprenticeship at Body Piercing by Bink, I learned techniques, best practices, and how creative this work can be,” says Schieve. She and her partners opened Magnolia Company in 2020, building an establishment known for its “health clinic–like” standards.
Photo by Alicia Osborne
Dressing for the workday in soft jeans and boots or sneakers, Schieve says that because she has many intricate tattoos, she avoids clothes with busy patterns or colors that clash with the art on her skin. Besides, when you have nearly 20 piercings, the eye is drawn to what’s in them.
“I love heavy jewelry, especially earrings. One of my favorites is a Megalodon shark’s tooth, split in two. I wear half in each ear.”
As she does with her own jewelry pieces, Schieve curates her clients’ jewels—be they precious or semi-precious stones, delicately carved gold bangles, or heirloom pieces—in collaboration with them to ensure that the design suits them. And the process isn’t about speed. “I take photos of the ear, discuss design, weight, and the budget of the client, and then I am able to Photoshop different jewelry onto their ear before any piercing takes place.”
Photo by Alicia Osborne
Schieve says that while a big city might call, she remains a Tallahassee girl all the way. “I love the trees, nature, and proximity to water.”
At home, her own aesthetic plays out not only in her jewelry but in an environment filled with plants, arrowheads, and a taxidermist’s masterpiece of a “bobcat on a log.” Laughing, Schieve says that she loves thrift shop antiques and vintage clothes, too. Even her makeup is minimal, and her clothing color palette leans toward earth tones that spotlight the more elaborate artistry on, and in, her skin.
And what will Magnolia Company look like in 10 years? “I’d like to have two full rooms for piercing,” says Schieve. “I’d like to be creating not just jewelry designs but making my own pieces.” And as she spends her days evaluating the “geography” of the human body to adorn it, she says she’ll continue finding her inspiration along Tallahassee’s rivers, forests, and hills.
