Edgecomb will soon be home to Lincoln County’s only body piercing and tattoo studio.
The Edgecomb Planning Board approved a land use application for Kat’s Piercings and Tattoos at 17 Dodge Road, next to Twisted Iron Customs on the evening of Thursday, July 1.
The owner, Kat Stewart, has worked as a piercing practitioner since 2013, and has been an employee at True North Tattoo in Augusta since 2017.
According to Stewart’s application, the studio will feature a full-time body piercing practitioner and two full-time tattoo artists.
In a phone interview on Friday, July 2, Stewart said that she and Twisted Iron’s owner, Michael Benner, have been friends since they were children, and he had urged her to pursue the business venture as a way to turn Twisted Iron into a destination on the Midcoast.
During her time working in Augusta, Stewart noticed many of her clients were traveling all the way from the Midcoast for piercings. Six months later she decided to try opening her own piercing studio in earnest. With most tattoo artists and piercing practitioners booking out into November, Stewart plans to capitalize on the high demand in the Midcoast.
The building itself is a former residential space off of Route 1, which Stewart had completely gutted, from the wiring to the plumbing.
Stewart said that she is eager to become part of the community as a business owner, and intends to use her business to benefit local nonprofits like Midcoast Humane as well as local food pantries.
Stewart expects to open her studio by the end of July and will be accepting applications for tattoo artists as well as apprentices.
For more information, call the shop at 687-8046. A Facebook page for the business will soon be active.
