Family-run piercing business has been going strong for 30 years
Ben Harris says piercing is back in business and is planning to open a new flagship store
What do Kate Moss, Rhianna and a rabbi have in common? They have all been pierced by Metal Morphosis, the rebel jewellery brand run by father-and-son Matthew and Ben Harris.
Founded in 1991, Metal Morphosis has gone on to pierce around half a million Londoners, aged between 6 and 88, including a host of well-known names. Kate Moss, Rihanna, Little Mix, Kelly Osborne and Gordon Ramsay are just some of the celebrities who have walked through its doors.
From launching on Old Compton Street to placing concessions in Selfridges and Topshop’s flagship Oxford Street site, Metal Morphosis recently opened a stand-alone store in Carnaby Street.
Trendy for sure. But not the most conventional of family-run Jewish businesses? “Indeed, it’s very unconventional – I think we could be the only Jewish piercing company in the world,” says Ben, who joined his father Matthew in the business in 2013. Matthew had been working as a jeweller at East London’s Petticoat Lane Market. “Customers started to ask if he could pierce them, so my dad decided to enlist the expertise of his dad Ivan, a pharmacist, to do just that.”
The big break came when Metal Morphosis secured a million-pound concession with Philip Green’s Topshop. “This really projected us into the limelight,” recalls Ben, 33. But when Covid hit and the store was forced to close, the company lost everything. “It was really scary and an extremely worrying time. Lawyers and accountants were telling us to liquidate and call it a day but I didn’t want to let the business die – there was too much heritage there. I also had a baby on the way and a team of piercers whose livelihoods were in our hands.
“I took a big risk and secured a bounce-back loan. I signed a lease when no one was signing leases and then the floodgates opened.” With a lot of dedication, a rebrand and 20-hour days, Metal Morphosis re-launched on Carnaby Street.
Not even a year on, Ben says business is back to pre-pandemic levels and he is eyeing up some other sites, notably a flagship store to open in the second quarter of next year, for Metal Morphosis has a loyal clientele based on 30 years in the trade. Besides, long gone are the days where piercing was seen as a subculture. It has exploded onto the mainstream. “It’s really changed from what it was back then,” notes Ben. “Piercing was quite a judgemental thing. It’s the norm now – everyone’s got piercings. It’s great. Everyone should be accepted if they want to look a certain way.” The trend has in part been driven by celebrities and social media, a growing part of Metal Morphosis’ business. “When Mel B had her tongue pierced, there was a huge demand for that. And we had Millie Bobby Brown from Stranger Things come in a few months ago and when we posted about it on social media, we then sold out on all the pieces she had got.”
Last time Ben, a former Jewish Sportsman of the Year, was in the Jewish News was close to 20 years ago when he won the European barefoot water-skiing championships, aged 15. He no longer competes – “life got too serious for that” – but he still enjoys the sport for fun when he can.
Watching his father and grandfather in business, Ben has long had an entrepreneurial streak. “I’ve always been ducking and diving and thinking about how to make money. I used my barmitzvah money to buy a load of DJ equipment and would DJ at barmitzvahs and weddings, and I was always buying and selling things on eBay.”
Ben got involved in the company after graduating from Nottingham Trent with a degree in Sport and Business. “I never really wanted to go into it as I saw how stressful it was but I had just lost my mum and my family was going through a hard time. My dad was under a lot of pressure so I felt I needed to help him.”
He says: “It’s been a long journey, the developments in procedures, equipment and licensing since 1991 have been huge and we’ve been there every step of the way as body piercing has moved from subculture to global industry.”
Any notable piercings? “Many!” They include priests, politicians and a rabbi, who had his nipple done in 1995, which is halachically against the Jewish faith. “He didn’t want anyone to know.”
Ben himself? Just the earlobe. “And no tattoos!” he adds. “I think people expect us to be covered but we’re not. My dad looks more like a doctor than a piercer, I think customers like that. They find it reassuring.”
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