'I struggled at school, now I run a studio with more than 1,000 glowing reviews'

Lewis Millard had dreamed about running his own business since he was 14

When Lewis Millard launched his Diamond & Dagger piercing studio a year ago, he’d sunk almost every penny he had into it and even put some costs on credit cards.

The young entrepreneur, who grew up in Swarcliffe and Seacroft, was just 24 when he opened the independent piercing and fine jewellery studio in the Grand Arcade in Leeds city centre. After paying the landlord’s deposit and contractors and placing his first jewellery orders, Lewis had exhausted his savings. He even had to smash open his piggy bank because he had only £200 to his name.

"It was a massive financial risk, but I'd spent years working in the piercing industry and had a vision of creating something different for Leeds," he told Leeds Live.

Twelve months on, the gamble has paid off. The studio turned a profit within three months of opening and Lewis is now looking to expand.

Diamond & Dagger has welcomed thousands of clients through its doors and has more than 1,000 Google reviews with a 4.9 rating. It has also become a stockist of BVLA, a fine body jewellery manufacturer which Lewis counts among the most prestigious brands in the piercing industry.

He said: “I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve managed to achieve in such a short space of time, particularly with the challenges facing independent businesses on the high street.”

Lewis, who is now 25, has wanted to run his own business since he was 14 but really struggled at school. He said: “I’ve actually been in the piercing industry since I was around 15, so almost 11 years now. I’m turning 26 in December, which is quite crazy to think about considering how young I was when I first started.

"I struggled massively throughout school due to my ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

"I just couldn’t get on with the normal school curriculum, and traditional education really wasn’t for me. Luckily, when I was around 15, I started helping out in friends’ tattoo and piercing studios and quickly found something I was genuinely interested in.

"From being around 14, I’d always wanted to run my own business. I knew I didn’t really want to spend my life working for other people, and I was always trying to find ways to make something of myself.

"I started teaching myself web development and worked on quite a few websites to make money. I also attended business courses and spent a lot of time trying to improve my knowledge of how businesses actually work.

"Over the years, I worked in different tattoo and piercing studios, building up my experience, and eventually went on to manage a tattoo and piercing studio from around 2020."

Gap in the market

Opening Diamond & Dagger was something Lewis had wanted to do for a long time after he spotted a "massive gap" in the market. "After spending so many years in the industry, I started to notice what I felt was a massive gap in Leeds for a dedicated piercing studio that focused entirely on professional body piercing, high-quality jewellery and doing things to the highest possible standards.

"I wanted to create somewhere a bit different from the traditional tattoo and piercing studios, somewhere people could feel comfortable whether they were getting their first ever piercing or something a little more unusual."

Lewis says a friend helped encourage him to open a studio.

He said: "I think the person who pushed me the most to open Diamond & Dagger and take that leap was my best friend Brett, who owns a studio called THAT PLACE in York. He really encouraged me to move away from the traditional tattoo and piercing studio environment and create something of my own.

"Brett was also a massive influence in pushing me towards higher-end jewellery, particularly solid gold and some of the more prestigious jewellery brands in the piercing industry. It’s something I’ve become really passionate about, and we’ve now built a huge part of Diamond & Dagger around that side of the industry.

"We mainly specialise in 14kt and 18kt gold jewellery and have built what I believe is one of the largest displays of high-end piercing jewellery in Leeds.

"We stock some of the most prestigious brands in the piercing industry, including BVLA, Buddha Jewelry and Junipurr, alongside pieces from other independent jewellery makers.

"Some of the jewellery we stock is genuinely incredible, with real diamonds, precious gemstones and designs you wouldn’t normally expect to find in a piercing studio. I really wanted to bring that side of the industry to Leeds and show people that body piercing jewellery can be just as beautiful and luxurious as traditional fine jewellery.

"My apprentice Abi also pushed me a lot to go down the route of focusing solely on piercing rather than combining it with tattooing, and honestly, it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made. I’m really grateful to both Brett and Abi for encouraging me to take that chance."

Fear of failure

Lewis recalls being worried that the studio might not take off.

"The scariest part for me was always the fear of failure. With my ADHD, I’m quite impulsive when I get an idea in my head. When I want to do something, I want to do it there and then rather than sit around waiting. I can get completely fixated on an idea and want to make it happen.

"I didn’t really have a massive amount of money to lose, so that wasn’t what worried me most. What genuinely scared me was the thought of letting down the team I’d built and the people who had put their trust in me.

"I’ve always been quite ambitious, but when you’ve got other people relying on you, it’s a completely different kind of pressure. I wanted Diamond & Dagger to work not just for myself but for everyone involved.

"One thing that’s always been really important to me is that you never stop learning, no matter how long you’ve been doing something.

"Myself and the team regularly attend training courses to improve our skills, and we travel to piercing conferences where we get to learn from some of the best piercers in the world. The industry is constantly evolving, and I think it’s really important that we keep up with it. Even after almost 11 years, there’s still so much I want to learn and improve on."

Clients' requests

Leeds Live asked Lewis about what's hot in the piercing world at the moment.

"As for our most popular requests, ear piercings are definitely our busiest, particularly curated ears where clients choose different placements and jewellery to create something completely unique to them. It’s become a really popular side of piercing, especially with the beautiful gold jewellery that’s now available.

"We also offer a lot of more unusual and specialist piercings that aren’t commonly available in most studios.

"One of my personal favourites is high-gauge piercing, which is a more advanced area of body piercing.

"This involves using much larger piercing needles to create piercings up to 8mm in areas such as the earlobes, conch and helix, rather than starting with a smaller piercing and gradually stretching it over time.

"It’s something that requires a lot of experience, precision and a really good understanding of anatomy, and it’s definitely one of the areas of piercing I enjoy the most.

"We’ve now got a team of four, including myself. Amy is one of our piercers, Abi is our apprentice piercer, and Sian looks after our front of house.

"Building the team has been a massive part of the journey, and it’s something I’m really proud of. We’re a small independent business, and everyone plays a big part in making Diamond & Dagger what it is."

Lewis says he "couldn't be happier" now the studio has been open for 12 months.

"We’ve been really lucky with how well Diamond & Dagger has taken off. We managed to reach profitability within our first three months of opening, which was a massive achievement for us, especially as we honestly didn’t expect things to take off as quickly as they did.

"The support we’ve had from people in Leeds has been incredible, and it’s honestly just getting busier and busier. Seeing clients come back, recommend us to their friends and leave such lovely reviews has been one of the most rewarding parts of the whole experience. I’m really grateful for everything we’ve achieved so far, especially the amazing team we’ve built and the clients who continue to support us."

And he's delighted to be creating something in his home city.

"It’s really nice to be building something of my own in the city I grew up in, especially after struggling so much with school and not really knowing where I’d end up.

"We’ve got some pretty big plans for Diamond & Dagger over the next few years, and we’re already exploring the possibility of opening a second location here in Leeds.

"Nothing’s set in stone just yet, but we’d love to bring the Diamond & Dagger experience to even more people. Hopefully, we’ll have some exciting news to share in the not-too-distant future.

"I’m just really proud of how far we’ve come in such a short time, and I’m excited to see where we can take it next."

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