Welcome Back!
Wholesale news articles belowDiamonds & CZs - FAST!
SHIPPING IN 3-5 DAYS OR LESS! We are thrilled to announce that Bezels and Prongs with Diamonds and CZs are now part of our successful Quick Ship program! All are available in 14KY, 14KW, and 14KR gold. You can find these in the Quick Ship section of our portal Collections. Other sizes, karats, and gemstones will continue to be available via normal ordering. The industry’s highest quality jewelry - Fast! Thanks for your continued support! Team BVLA!
Quick Ship Beads & Shapes!
Following the success of our Quick Ship Seam Ring program, we have expanded our offerings to include Beads, Tri Beads, Quad Beads, Discs – flat and hammered – Flat Stars, Flat Hearts, Flat Triangles, and Flat Rectangles. These are available both threaded and threadless.
Seam Rings In 3 Days Or less!
Our seam rings are without a doubt the best in the business! This applies to orders submitted that only contain seam rings, as well as parts of larger orders with seam rings grouped separately! Most sizes and all colors of gold are available! We sincerely hope that you enjoy the benefits this program provides. We hope that this service will make it easier for you to keep your favorite BVLA items in stock!
BVLA & The Piercing Industry in 2019 - By Nick Martin
Hello! The release of our new website prompted me to put pen to fingers to keyboard and share some of my thoughts. I am amazed when I think about how far the piercing industry has come. What a wild ride! It seems only a few short years ago (shockingly it was 24! - 1995) when I was working at a jewelry shop in Provincetown called Exuma – too shy then to do high pressure sales – I would hide in the back and taught myself to make things. People would come in and ask for strange pieces – unlike regular jewelry – Disc Back Labrets with 1/4in beads for example – mostly the BDSM community in those days – I was intrigued and started working on some designs. This is where I met my lifelong friend Adam – who now owns the beautiful store Ahimsa in Brooklyn! He encouraged me to make a line. Fast forward a year – I moved to Lake Tahoe to ski – I worked in kitchens and as a children’s snowboarding instructor! That ended abruptly after a very serious dirt biking accident. Not having any other income and wanting to stay in Tahoe - I strapped my crutches to my motorcycle and headed to San Francisco with my fledgling line. Nervous and excited – I could hardly believe it when Body Manipulations actually purchased some pieces!!! And I was off!!! “Body Vision Jewelry!” Next stop and again on crutches I found myself poring through the yellow pages in Pershing Square Subway station here in LA looking for tattoo shops – back then it was a lot of rejection – “I don’t like gold” – “What the hell is that?” and “Get the **** outta here” were common refrains. Undaunted I kept pushing – as there was no other option – my injury and subsequent giant medical bill forced my hand. I sometimes think what would have happened had I not injured myself so severely – would I be an aging snowboard instructor and marginal jewelry hobbyist? Crazy to think! Paying for the materials was another matter entirely – writing checks when I knew there was no money – making fake deposits at B of A (back then in envelopes) – they would allow half the amount to be drawn out instantly – there was a $35 penalty each time so in effect I was getting high interest microloans from the bank on a weekly basis!! My later to be wife and then good friend Kerry would teach me the ropes of simple finance!! I am so glad she did – all the while helping me heal and rehabilitate. I owe her so much. My second account was Black Hole Reno – I was so scared of Angela back then – she pushed me to make my jewelry better and better – I would drive to Reno and hand deliver her orders – 3 or 4 pieces! – chewing my nails whilst waiting for the “constructive” criticism of my work that was sure to come!! Now Angela and her team sell a staggering amount of BVLA! That is how it went for a while – adding clients slowly, one shop at a time – I was doing all the work in those days – soldering, setting, polishing, invoicing, shipping. All from my house in Squaw Valley. It was a big deal when I signed a lease for a little workshop on the banks of the Truckee river – I remember feeling panic at the pressure of having a $250 a month bill to deal with! Soon after came my first hire – Clifton – an older man and a good jeweler – he never got over the fact he was making “piercing jewelry” as he and many in those days thumbed their noses at this new type of jewelry which they did not really think WAS jewelry. We were the FIRST and for a very long period the ONLY precious metals manufacturer of body jewelry that was made in the US. Others had small lines of gold but no one else was fine jewelry only. People said we were mad! The traditional jewelry industry treated us like pariahs. At gem fairs I would be ignored once the vendor read my name tag! Despite the rejection – I thoroughly believed in what we were doing – I could see small signs the tide was changing. It became apparent in the spring of 1999 that if I was to grow the business – I would have to move from Lake Tahoe – My couple of jewelers and even the FedEx guy would be M.I.A. anytime there was a decent snowfall – that coupled with the fact the closest drop-off was 12 miles away – which during the frequent winter storms was insurmountable. Additionally - I needed to be in a place where I could really find some skilled artisans to help in my endeavors! Los Angeles was the obvious choice – a jewelry district, good weather and a labor pool that I knew would help me achieve my then stated goal of “Becoming the Tiffany of Body Jewelry”. I rented a workshop in the “Jewelry Trades building” – back then DTLA was a crazy place – I saw stabbings – a few dead people and was chased upstairs by an angry pimp on one occasion! Despite this – I LOVED it!! Things were going great! I was finding good jewelers – all of who are still with me today! And Kerry decided to move from Tahoe to help me – we went from friends to partners. Every year we would visit and show at APP – every year from the second convention. All was good! The industry continued to grow – The World Trade Center attacks slowed progress as it did with so many other things. Even then - we were so busy that I would hide in my workshop at 9pm Friday evening as the building closed – huddled under my desk with all the lights off waiting for security to sweep the corridor. There I would stay all weekend making jewelry – unable to leave the workshop until 7am Monday armed with all my food and a portable camp toilet!! I often think what would have happened if there was an earthquake or fire. I would travel the country visiting shops each summer. My schedule was brutal – I would try to see three to four shops a day – then drive to the next city. I had to make this time count. Typically, I would visit between 30-44 states on my giant loops. I learned so much and feel this was invaluable to me as an individual and to BVLA. (The new name of Bodyvision!) I met so many wonderful people and saw, over time, the evolution of our industry shop by shop! I ate a lot of bad food but had some amazing experiences! I fondly remember (well kind of remember!) such moments as my trip to the Iowa State Fair with Leo Ziebol of Mint and his lovely partner Kate or picking Dandelions and making tea with Chari from Ritual Evolution in Ashland Oregon! A few years later – with the hipsterfication of DTLA – we were forced to move out to the suburbs! We settled on a smaller area called La Verne. It was safe, had great freeway access to the whole county and was close to a small airport which was a real bonus as I had worked hard to become a private pilot. It was around this period that we started to see a real upswing in the acceptance and use of gold in body jewelry – the industry was really shifting in my opinion from anti-establishment to adornment. I believe there were some early adopters that provided the real catalyst for this change. People such as Melody Hart – who can forget her wearing that beautiful oval white gold labret – looking confident in photos – People like our very own Jill and Niki who fell in love with diamonds and gold. Social media completed the recipe! Fast forward to 2019 – how far BVLA and indeed all of us have come. On our clients: I have watched many clients and friends attain a great standard of life through their businesses. Vacation, houses, college for their children – all from piercing!! At the outset this would have been very hard to imagine. I distinctly remember owners fretting about placing a $500 order during my visits – those same people now routinely order $10-20,000 at a time!! I cannot begin to explain how happy this makes me feel – it is a sublime pleasure watching your friends succeed! On Me!! I look back at all of this and realize it has all been quite an adventure. I came to the USA in 1986 with $70 and a one way ticket! (You could do that back then). Accompanied by two friends! Brendan - who lives in FL. and Alex - who works with me today as our facilities and metals manager. I had just turned 18. Our first night was spent sleeping in a doorway in Queens - soon we got jobs on a farm in upstate NY - the pay was $3 a day! Later I would hitch hike to Key West and otherwise run wild. I worked many dishwashing and cooking jobs in those days - I only opened my first bank account when I started Bodyvision! The point is - I came from nothing - like so many in the US. I am living proof that hard work and tenacity can pay off. I am very thankful for the life I have made. Now as I get older, my focus will shift to giving back. The US has its problems to be sure but I am forever in its debt. As I am to all the awesome people that helped and inspired me along the way. On BVLA: BVLA currently employs 122 people full time. We have remote staff in Minnesota and Colorado – we have 5 factories – 3 in La Verne and 2 in DTLA (Yep we went back!!) We pride ourselves in providing a clean, happy and respectful working environment for everyone. We pay very well and offer a top-notch suite of benefits. We have flexible start time, as much vacation as needed. I was illegal once (even when I started BVLA) so I understand how important it is to treat people with dignity. Our staff have the ability for real advancement in their careers. We have 0 turnover of staff. In fact - we have many employees that have worked over 10 and up to 20 years with the company. Almost all our management and department heads are female. We hire for and encourage diversity. We will ALWAYS help an employee in need – I could point to numerous occasions my wife and I have co-signed leases, provided financial help and more. We allow staff to bring their fur babies to work! BVLA currently has over 48,000 – yes 48 thousand individual design/gemstone combinations in our database. At last count we offer 233 different gemstones – not sizes (that would be much more) but actual types. Aquamarine to Zircon!!! We have more than 2500 original designs (including various sizes). All of our jewelry is handmade in Los Angeles County USA. Our custom designer helps people build their jewelry dreams! We pride ourselves on our customer service. When we do make a mistake, we will go to great lengths to make it right. I believe that one of our biggest assets is the fact that you can stock your whole store from our library of designs, recently we have started to offer threaded and threadless gold backs for a very reasonable price. On price: We are sometimes asked why our products are more expensive than some of our competition. Being able to have a piece – let’s take for example a marquise fan – available with 60 or more gemstones types or combinations thereof. Genuine naked cut gems – like Chrysoprase – sandblasted too!! costs money. Each setting must be manipulated for that type of gem. It is true – if we were to just offer CZs and Synthetics, we could make things less expensive. We do not want to do this – we take pride in and love producing and maintaining a large library of designs. As mentioned above – our line is more than 2000 pieces – most of our competition have lines around 40 pieces. 40 not 400! I realize we are not the company for everyone, but we work hard to make the best, most diverse and original product line in the industry. All the while treating our staff with respect and dignity. Our mission statement is this: BVLA wishes to provide beautiful expertly crafted pieces that allow piercers and the shops for which they work to generate a good livable income. I truly believe we have had a big hand in doing this for many. Piercers are making money; shops are making money – We have had a large part in building the current precious metals expansion. I am told this by friends and clients almost every week. I have a deep, deep love for our industry and the people in it. I have made so many friends – good lifelong friends. I have watched as these friends and peers have taken their dreams, their shops and really make great lives for themselves. On innovation: My team and I have worked tirelessly to provide a level of service and innovation that we can be proud of. From things like our customer portal, platinum products, professional displays, wholesale ordering from our new website including online custom designer, giant gemstone line (with pictures), multiple grades of diamonds and precious gemstones, @bvlalove Instagram customer promotion page, traditional jewelry, sandblasting metals and gems, hammering, black rhodium, many hundreds of original designs – not copies and so much more. On the state of our industry: I believe we should all be very proud. This has been a collective effort, shops, vendors, piercers, stylists. Together we have taken a niche industry and really made it something very special. We are at the forefront of fashion. No one person did this – it has truly been a group effort. Other elements of the jewelry and fashion trade want in so badly but have no idea where to start. People have careers they can be proud of – “Counter staff” are now the front lines – stylists – responsible for so much positive change. We (all of us) have taken the traditional Victorian model of jewelry sales and turned it on its head. 20 somethings are spending hundreds on beautiful pieces while traditional jewelry store clients are aging out. The future belongs to us! We are internet proof – we offer a product that MUST be married to a service for the sale to be made!! Genius!! BVLA has made a conscious decision to never sell online or directly to the end user. We feel that doing so breaks the trust that so many have placed in us. Lately popups have been all the rage – this has been a good entry into our industry for small traditional jewelry designers that want to try their hands at piercing jewelry – these invariably seem to fizzle out. On BVLA moving forward: As any business – we are faced with challenges and decisions going forward. One of my most important tasks here at BVLA is to protect the livelihoods of my team. I will have failed them if there is not enough work or worse. Every time I make an important decision – I think how they might be impacted. For example - there has been an upsurge of piercing stores producing their own jewelry of late, also many other companies are trying their hands at “Gold”. I completely respect this and recognize it as normal business practice – of course these stores and vendors are now our competition and will be treated as such. I must continue to find market for our products if I am to take care of our wonderful staff. It is to this end that we have been working diligently to secure distribution of our jewelry, Sacred Gold in London for example is a gold only BVLA exclusive location. There will be a second location coming soon. Recently we have been negotiating with the department store Neiman Marcus. They will almost certainly be carrying our jewelry at a piercing store inside one of their locations. We will NOT be running the piercing store BUT it will offer BVLA jewelry only. It WILL provide work for good piercers and stylists within our industry. I thought long and hard about this and the conflict of interest that might be perceived. In the end – I came to the conclusion that Neiman Marcus customers would rarely, if ever find themselves in a normal piercing store. Their shopping and indeed living habits are way different from those that have helped us all grow. In effect this is a different market altogether. I strongly believe that selling at Neiman can only help push BVLA brand awareness, which, in turn will only serve to help existing stockists. Part of me does not like to be involved in any way on the shop side of things but the flood of piercing store micro jewelers who are also selling to others give us little choice. Again – I want to firmly state that I respect people’s right to do this. I just have to react accordingly. In the end – I feel that selling to the department store most synonymous with luxury items will help propel our industry forward. I mean – they sell $900 flip flops!! We will continue to refine our business – try to make your experiences with us better and better. Make new and innovative designs. Look forward and not back. Help the industry grow wherever and however we can. I would like to end with a plea of sorts. I have met so many of you in the last few years and hope to meet many more. I am struck with what a warm and caring community we are in person. However – online is a different story. I have seen takedowns of other vendors that caused me to stop using Facebook – personal insults and a mob mentality for an error one of my competitors made in business. It was mean spirited and nasty. I see others criticize peoples work – not in a constructive way but rather in a snarky small and bitter way. We have come under attack occasionally, mostly from other vendors but occasionally piercers based on completely factually incorrect information. Often these are on closed groups where no one can defend themselves. Please know I am not talking about those among us that have shown poor judgement and behaved egregiously with regard to toxic masculinity on employees and even their customers – those stories need to be heard. I realize that free speech is important. I want to highlight the fact that many people see these ugly slurs and slanderous comments. End users, clients - collateral damage can be done that far exceeds the focus of the vitriol. Real damage to real people – their jobs, their customers. I am very concerned about the public and end users that sometimes see us squabble like a bunch of children. It does not project a good image of our industry. Internet bullying is a real problem in our society these days. Do we want to act like the politicians that so many criticize yet mimic too? I encourage all to take their problems and concerns to the source. Not attack and belittle. Call that vendor – message that piercer. My point is this – we are all doing well – our industry is thriving – we have created something really special – please can we celebrate our achievements and not exploit our differences? We have so much to be proud of and so much to look forward to. Where will we be in the NEXT 20 years? I hope all on a beach somewhere talking about the good old days!!! Much love, Nick Martin BVLA PS – If anyone has questions about anything BVLA, suggestions, complaints or anything else with regard to our practices, standards or policies – please email me – nick@bvla.com Sometimes, we are able to accommodate tours of our factories – if you are going to be in the LA area and are interested – drop me a line – we would love to show you what we do! I look forward to hearing from you!
@ 2026 BVLA.
Ethically Handmade in California USA.
Ethically Handmade in California USA.