Maria Tash Has Just Invented Two New Piercing Placements

When it comes to getting a new ear piercing, it's always difficult trying to decide where you want it. There are so many options, from the lobe to the tragus, and it's about to get even harder to choose. American jeweller and luxury piercer, Maria Tash, has just invented two new piercing placements, alongside her new collection of innovative jewellery, which has 'been several years in the making'' Maria says. So, we had to find out more from the woman herself, as well as ask her those typical piercing questions we all think about.

The ‘Tash Helix’ and ‘Tash Hidden Rook’ are the two new piercings that Maria Tash has developed, which stemmed from her thoughts on the 'under-appreciated, under-utilised areas' of the ear. Both are hidden piercings, which really rely on the jewellery that's paired with it to create beautiful movement and the illusion of floating. ‘There’s a flap of cartilage and I wanted to tuck the mechanism hidden under that flap and just have some soft movement emerge out of there,’ said Maria. ‘It’s very difficult to come up with new piercing locations, of course that’s part of my job and my passion, but also the jewellery design to fit that.’

Maria’s new collection features the largest amount of new pieces ever introduced before. She reveals there’s always a sketch pad at hand, particularly beside her bed. Ideas even come to her mid-flight, as that’s when the drape design hit her. But her work is also influenced by interior design and architectural techniques, such as hidden lighting. 'A part of it is building on certain jewellery elements that are know as part of the Maria Tash foundation, but it introduces new ideas and new movement, and it riffs off of and improves on the existing designs,’ she said.

With the addition of the two piercing placements, we asked Maria what advice she would give to someone who’s unsure on where to get a piercing. ‘There are a couple ways to approach it’ she said. ‘Sometimes you see a piece of jewellery that you fall in love with, and then you decide on a place you might what to put it.’ Alternatively, ‘another way is to do some research, look on instagram, and you may think of an area on your ear that is very flattering or could detract from a scar or perhaps enhance your eye colour,’ said Maria.

Piercing in the covid era is obviously a little different to before, but in terms of aftercare, it’s actually made us more aware of what we’re touching with dirty hands. Maria said, ‘we’re all much more mindful that we’re not touching our face, and that’s an extent to your ears.’ She added more aftercare advice when it comes to cleaning, and said ‘some people have it in their minds that more is better, like the more I clean it the quicker it will heal, that’s not true. You don’t want to irritate the skin. Cleaning it twice a day is plenty.’

If you’re still stuck on what ear piercing to get, we asked Maria what the most popular one she’s asked to do is. She said, ‘the ear lobe is very, very popular because there’s a lot of versatility and it’s a quick heal.’ ‘Tash rook is very popular, it’s a great plane of tissue. It’s thin as far as cartilage goes and when you look in the mirror it’s very easy to see the jewellery.’

Maria Tash’s new collection launches on 14th September, and will be available at Liberty and Harrods, as well as online. In the mean time, here’s a sneak preview of some of our favourite pieces from the upcoming collection...