A new studio's first jewelry order usually goes one of two ways: too little, so the piercer is turning away nostrils on the second weekend, or too much, so a year later there are boxes of 12g barbells no one has asked for. This checklist is the middle path: enough to pierce every common placement, in the sizes most clients need, with variety kept shallow until your own numbers tell you where to go deep.
Quantities below assume one piercer working full time. Scale up for more chairs. Everything referenced is ASTM F136 titanium.
1. Posts: the foundation
Labret posts are the most used item in any studio. Order them deep and in pairs of lengths so you can downsize.
- 18g: 6mm, 7mm, 8mm. 20 each.
- 16g: 6mm, 8mm, 10mm. 30 each.
- 14g: 8mm, 10mm, 12mm. 15 each.
- Base size: 3mm discs for 18g and 16g, 4mm for 14g.
Decide press fit or internally threaded before you order, and keep it consistent. If you're unsure, press fit for 18g and 16g, threaded for 14g is the common split. See threadless versus threaded. Shop labret posts.
2. Plain ends: the healing ends
- 2.5mm and 3mm balls, 30 each, in your post connection.
- 3mm and 4mm flat discs, 20 each.
- A few 4mm and 5mm balls for 14g work.
These go in with the post at the initial piercing. They're cheap, they're boring, and running out of them stops the studio. Shop tops and ends.
3. Rings
- Hinged rings 16g: 8mm and 10mm, 15 each.
- Hinged rings 18g: 6mm and 8mm, 10 each.
- Hinged rings 14g: 10mm, 10.
- Circular barbells 16g and 14g in 8mm and 10mm, 5 each, for septum clients who want a horseshoe.
Shop hinged rings and circular barbells. Why hinged as the core: hinged versus captive bead.
4. Curved and straight barbells
- Curved barbell 16g, 8mm, 10, for eyebrow and rook.
- Navel curves 14g, 10mm, 10, in plain and one or two CZ styles.
- Straight barbell 14g: 16mm and 19mm, 8 each, for tongue; 12mm and 14mm, 6 each, for nipple.
Shop curved barbells, navel rings and straight barbells.
5. Decorative tops: wide, not deep
This is where over-buying happens. Order the range in small numbers and let the counter tell you what to restock.
- Bezel-set CZ in 2.5mm and 3mm, clear, 10 each; one or two colours, 5 each.
- Prong-set CZ 3mm clear, 10.
- Three or four shapes such as stars, moons, hearts, 5 each.
- PVD gold versions of the top three sellers only.
Shop tops and ends and PVD gold.
6. Supplies
- Insertion tapers in 18g, 16g and 14g.
- Silicone o-rings in a size run if you do any stretching work.
Shop tools and supplies.
7. Sterilization: decide before you order
If the studio autoclaves in-house, order everything unsterilized and process it yourself. If autoclave time is tight or you want core stock ready for the drawer, add pouching and sterilization to the posts, ends and rings at the time you add them to the cart. It's an optional add-on per item. Our sterilization process is documented step by step.
After the first month
Pull the reorder list. Whatever you reordered twice, double the next order. Whatever you haven't touched, don't reorder; leave it as counter stock. Most studios settle within three orders into a pattern where a handful of posts and ends make up half the volume, and that's when it's worth going deep on those and adding variety elsewhere.
Ordering from us
Everything on this list is stocked in Squamish, BC, ships in one to two business days, and is free shipping over $500 CAD. Wholesale pricing is visible once your studio account is approved, and approved accounts receive a $50 credit toward that first order. Apply for a wholesale account.
Part of our wholesale titanium body jewelry guide for piercing studios.