Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaymes Lombardi.
In 2005 Jesse Dobbs opened the first IRIS Studio in Salt Lake City, Utah. He knew that IRIS was going to accomplish something special, but the degree to which the experience of IRIS would spread across the country wasn’t fully envisioned yet. Several years after opening in SLC, Jesse relocated to Denver, Colorado and that’s where the next establishment was opened. A few years after, two new members join the crew. Steve Briggs came on board in Denver and Jaymes Lombardi joined in SLC. It was around this time that the idea of a third Studio started to manifest itself. The collective of IRIS was stable and ambitious. Jaymes moves to Boulder, Colorado and is instrumental in establishing this newest location. It’s during this time that Jesse, Jaymes and Steve all begin to ask how far they could really bring this experience. Jesse had recently relocated to Brooklyn, Steve was entertaining the idea of returning to the Portland area, and Jaymes was fostering the desire to finally get back “home” to Chicago.
Within a year of the official decision to run after a crazy idea, IRIS managed to double its size and turn the lights on in all three cities. It was on January 16th, 2017 that IRIS first opened its doors in Chicago, just a few doors down from historic Davis Theater on Lincoln Avenue. While maintaining the boutique size and always-up-for-a-good-time attitude, IRIS Chicago also took a giant step into the aesthetic world of high-fashion and designer wear…all for body piercing. Breaking entirely free from the traditional concepts of body piercing establishments, IRIS wanted to push the envelope as far as they could in creating a sense-stimulating experience from start to finish. At the end of the day, IRIS is a collective of people who happen to love body piercing and have made it a life-passion to share the best this experience has to offer.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Any accomplishment that was really worth going after, will inevitably be accompanied by circumstances that may not be what we would have hoped for. This is also true of what has been poured into IRIS. There are sacrifices that were made, expectations which are sometimes not met, any number of circumstances. But in hindsight, none of these events ever led to anything catastrophic. And we have celebrated. A lot. The times we have been able to get together and laugh and appreciate how all of the hard work has paid off have far eclipsed any faint memories of the not-so-great. We have so much to be grateful for. And it’s that gratitude that only furthers our excitement for getting to share the experience of body piercing.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about IRIS Piercing Studios & Jewelry Gallery, Chicago – what should we know?
Body piercing is a unique experience, which is inherently linked to a lot of different human emotions. A person can be met with any combination of excitement, thrill or even trepidation and nervousness. This reality has shaped every aspect of how IRIS operates. From the methodology and attention to detail in the actual procedure of a Body Piercing, all the way to adventure of discovering the perfect piece of jewelry. The ethos of IRIS is to help our clients discover their own passion and love for body piercing, whatever that may be. This manifests itself in our staff through their active involvement and membership with the Association of Professional Piercers. This reputation of IRIS staff has even given different members of the team opportunities to lecture at the APP’s Annual Conference in Las Vegas and also Jaymes and Monica Sabin (currently at our SLC Studio) both being nominated for Board positions with the APP in the same year. Within the Studios themselves is the introduction of five different exclusive lines of piercing-ready jewelry from a collection of high-fashion jewelry designers. Partnered with the expertise of our piercers, there is now an offering of jewelry from some of the most progressive jewelry designers from around the world. It is the investment of Jesse’s initial passion and love for body piercing that has produced the experience that is an IRIS studio.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Fun. Without a doubt, hands-down…let’s have some fun. We truly feel like we are some of the most fortunate people who get to spend our work days doing something we love. It’s kind of hard not to just want to party the whole time.
Pricing:
- Most service fees start at $35 dollars, plus the cost of jewelry (variance of prices)
Contact Info:
- Address: IRIS Piercing Studios & Jewelry Galleries, Chicago
4630 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, IL 60625 - Website: www.irispiercing.com
- Phone: 773.654.1423
- Email: chicago@irispiercing.com
Image Credit:
Little Calamity Photography
