Last Monday, we kicked off the Urbandbodyjewelry.com Giveaway, and as promised, we plugged in the names of all those who commented in our Needles & Sins Syndicate Group on Facebook or who had hit us up @NeedlesandSins on Twitter; then we put those names into Randomized.com, which picked ...

Miles Golightly and Sasha Goldstein. Congrats! Miles and Sasha each won $25 gift certificates to UrbanBodyJewelry.com.

Even if you didn't win, check their huge selection of plugs in wood, stone, acrylic, bone, horn, silicone, and stainless steel. They are seriously affordable and they offer free shipping in the US for any order over $20.
 
More contests to come. And remember, all of you reading this are winners to me, you beautiful freaks!  

Our friends at Father Panik Industries have clothed and bejeweled me for over a decade with their hand crafted badassery, and every year they keep coming up with more designs to put on my wish list.

The latest in their jewelry collection is this anatomical skull pendant in antiqued brass with 18" chain. [The skull measures 5/8"x1/2"x7/16" (17mm x 12mm x 10mm).] According the the Panik peeps, "The skull spins around slowly as you move, so you get to enjoy the skull 360 degrees. The wax model for this was carefully hand carved after studying human skull anatomy, then cast in brass in NYC. Each one is hand polished, antiqued and assembled here in Brooklyn USA."  The brass pendant sells for $48 and you can also purchase it in sterling silver for $116.

Also be sure to check out their long standing favorites like the knuckle tattoo gloves (which I'm modelling here), their brass knuckle rosaries, and their towels, tees and hoodies, among others.

You can also find Father Panik online at Etsy. To catch them in person, check their events listings, which include NYC independent artist markets as well as tattoo conventions throughout the US, throughout the year.

Congratulations to the winners of our last Eargauges.net contest, Kellie D. and Aaron Pascual Ortiz, for being the chosen ones of Randomized.com. They'll each receive $25 gift certificates for bling at the Ear Gauges online store.

Thanks to everyone who played along on our Needles & Sins Facebook page. Many more contests to come!

We survived yet another holiday, rather unscathed albeit with lighter wallets. Sucked into the consumer industrial complex, we have fulfilled our shopping list for friends and family. Now it's time to treat ourselves. Our Holiday Gift Guide has been filled with goodness from largely indie designers and artisans, and for this last Guide posting, we want to give a shout out to these tradespeople who help keep Needles+Sins running.

An advertiser who has been getting a lot of media attention is MIR Russian Criminal Tattoo Apparel, not just for their sexy clothing but for the info they offer on all the tattoo designs featured on their shirts, dresses, jackets and accessories. Check out their newest ShtrafBat military line.



Offering an extensive selection of plugs and ear stretching jewelry at a low cost is Ear Gauges, run by a group of people who are a part of our community looking to promote safe and beautiful body adornment. [I'm wearing their organic spotted wood plugs right now.] Also check their forums on healing and aftercare.

And of course we love our trouble makers Father Panik Industries, who have been kicked out and banned from a number of indie markets for their blasphemy, particularly in the form of their brass knuckle rosaries. Their latest rosary piece is the hand-carved, sterling silver tattoo machine charm on semi-precious stones shown above.

So hit them up and show some self-love for making it through another Festivus.

The Needles & Sins crew is grateful to our most fabulous advertisers who support us, so we can give you the tattoo goodness for free -- even better is when they offer you special deals on their own brands of goodness. Here's the latest offer:

Eargauges.net has new plugs, including wood with pearl inlay, and black & red hearts (perhaps a gift for your sweetie) at reduced prices. Plus, all orders will receive 15% off if you use the N+S coupon code:  NAS15.

I've gotten feedback from readers who've told me that Eargauges.net shipped fast, and they were happy with their order. The prices are affordable, and there's free shipping for all orders over $25. Stretch safely and beautifully.

Carved bone spirals by Ebone Designs.

Our Holiday Gift Guide ends tomorrow, and I hope we helped tattoo lovers with their lists this week, but we haven't forgotten our pierced pretties out there. Here are picks for top body jewelry available online and off.


* Ebone Designs has been my long time favorite since my old Needled.com days. Owner Dy Robbins in Bali works with local artisans who carve and shape organic materials into gorgeous designs, like the Garuda spirals above and this Dragon loop I love. The prices are very reasonable for these materials and craftsmanship. Check out their clearance page for even better deals. My go-to place for my stretched lobes.

* One Tribe Organics is also an eco-friendly small business comprising young artisans. Their showroom/workshop is in Richmond, VA, and they have a Bali workshop as well. Their wide selection of products are also reasonably priced. My recent faves are the Saraswati Swan in Bloodwood and the Chrysanthemum Moose Antler Plugs [see their statement on using animal byproducts here). Also check their selection of vegan friendly jewelry.

* Reign Custom Design specializes in large gauge plugs and weights that have more bling for ya buck. Their Copper Death Bowls are legendary for being beautiful and badass at the same time. [I'm trying to cut down on my "badass" usage but I'm at a loss for a better word to encapsulate the, well, badassness.] To buy online, download their catalog and email your order or head to BME Shop, which carries much of their merch.

* Venus by Maria Tash will always hold a special place in my heart because, a billion years ago, before Christina, Britney, & Jessica got pierced and adorned at Venus's luxe Broadway studio, I was at their local East Village shop, just a few blocks from my bachelorette pad, getting multiple holes in my body and filling them with gorgeous gold and gemstones. Maria was doin high-end body jewelry from the beginning.

* Le Roi is a larger company with a massive catalog of decently priced jewelry, from surgical steel to niobium to 18k gold. LeRoi Manhattan, which has been around since 1995, recently shacked up with DareDevil Tattoo, so you'll now find piercers in the back of their LES lair.

On a final note ...

A must for long-time piercing lovers and newbies wanting to know more is Elayne Angel's The Piercing Bible, the definitive piercing guide by a practitioner who revolutionized body art.

Oh wait, just one more thing ...

For piercing and tattoo care (and a variety of vegan skin products), check back on our Punk Medics post.