We have been performing body piercing and sold body piercing jewelry since 1991.
Joakim and Marika started the company Barbarella and opened the first piercing studio in Sweden and were some of the ones that shaped the Swedish piercing to what it is today.

We had the interest for body piercing a long time and decided to open Sweden's first public piercing studio. Before that, there had been only a few body piercers working  out of their apartments. We felt that without a proper public and serious piercing studio, piercing would never develop.

The shop opened 1991 on Andra långgatan 22 in Gothenburg, but it was first when MTV showed a video with Faith No More and the vocalist Chuck Mosleys eyebrow piercing it really took off. Another milestone was Aerosmith's video with Crying 1993 when Paul King who then worked at Gauntlet New York performed a belly button piercing. Today he owns Cold steel San Fransisco.

We published our first jewelery catalog 1992 and started our wholesale business and provided most of Scandinavias piercers and tattoo artists with jewelry, needles,   studio equipment & aftercare products etc.

A few years later we also started a workshop for our own production of body piercing jewelry. Jewellery production was gradually increased, and we provided most of the body piercers in Scandinavia with jewelry. Our specialty was jewelry in gold with precious stones and special orders.

1997 we became members of the APP (Association of Professional Piercers) www.safepiercing.com. APP is an international organization that started in the USA, 1995. APP is working to enhance the safety and standard in piercing and to spread knowledge about body piercing, both to customers and bodypiercers. The goal is that the customer should feel assured of getting a good body piercing done in a hygienic and safe environment and to be absolutely sure that he can not get infected by hepatitis, or other blood-related diseases. Once a year a big convention is held in Las Vegas with workshops and seminars, where we exchange experiences and knowledge with other piercers and shape the piercing for the future. This is something we recommend everyone who works with piercing to visit.

Later in the winter of 1997, we founded APP Europe together with Grant Dempsey Cold Steel (London), Dominique Minchelli Gaunlet (Paris) and Jack Rubini Gorlubb (Copenhagen). APP Europe lasted for some years, but was shut down when we realized that it was too complicated to run an organization that included the whole of Europe. We decided that it was better to create national organizations with a European collaboration.

It was not until 2003 that any organization was formed in Sweden. ASAP (Association for Safe Body Piercing). ASAP was founded by Joakim (Tribe), Marcus (East street piercing), Lex and Bjorn (Federal) and Stefan Gidlöf (Body hole). ASAP is working for the same things that APP but with a focus on Sweden.

2012 we celebrated  our 20 year anniversary with Scandinavia's first piercing seminar for three days, primarily targeting piercers. We held lectures and workshops with several well-known names such as Elayne Angel, Paul King, Bethra Szumski, Christiane Löfblad, Håvve Fjell and Brian Skellie.

In the evening there was a dinner and a fakir show by Håvve from Pain sollution. It was great to have over 50 piercers from Sweden, Norway & Denmark present to take part  and celebrate with us.

APP Europe was founded 1997 by Joakim (Sweden), Grant (England), Jack (Denmark) och Dominique (France).