Meet Iliana Kennedy

Iliana Kennedy serves as Kids Piercing Specialist and Professional Piercer at Tribal Expression, and represents the second generation of professional piercing at the studio.

She has nearly four years of professional piercing experience and was personally apprenticed by her father, Keith Kennedy, whose professional piercing career spans more than three decades.

Her apprenticeship was deliberately focused on more than the technical mechanics of performing an ear piercing.

Keith trained Iliana in professional piercing technique, children's ear piercing, anatomy and placement, jewellery selection, sterile procedure, client communication, consent and the child-focused philosophy Tribal Expression describes as The Tribal Expression Way.

A second-generation approach to children's piercing

Iliana Kennedy is the daughter of Keith Kennedy, founder of Tribal Expression. She grew up surrounded by two very different professional environments.

Her father built his career in professional body piercing, jewellery manufacturing and Tribal Expression.

Iliana's mother built her career as a behavioural therapist, including work with children who required additional developmental, behavioural or communication support.

Watching both professions from an early age gave Iliana an unusual foundation.

Rather than simply following one parent's career path, she developed a specialization that brings together elements of both: professional piercing technique and child-centred communication.

That combination has become particularly valuable in her work with children who may:

• be nervous about needles
• need additional time
• ask many detailed questions
• prefer very little explanation
• have sensory sensitivities
• be neurodivergent
• become overwhelmed in unfamiliar environments
• need predictable step-by-step communication
• prefer quieter interaction
• benefit from greater control over the pace of the appointment

Iliana's approach is not based on expecting every child to respond in the same way. It is based on understanding the individual child sitting in front of her.

Formal medical device reprocessing education

Iliana's professional education has also extended beyond a traditional body-piercing apprenticeship.

She completed the Medical Device Reprocessing Technician program at SAIT, receiving formal education in the systems used to clean, prepare, package, sterilize, handle, store and document reusable medical devices.

her education included practical hospital-based sterile-processing clinical placements, where she gained direct experience working within medical-device reprocessing environments.

That training provided additional practical exposure to decontamination workflows, instrument cleaning and inspection, preparation and packaging, sterilization processes, aseptic handling, cross-contamination prevention, sterile-storage principles, traceability, documentation and separation of contaminated, clean and sterile workflow areas.

This background is particularly relevant to Iliana's work at Tribal Expression because the studio operates its own dedicated sterile-reprocessing systems.

Sterility is a system

One of the principles reinforced through Iliana's medical-device-reprocessing education is that sterility is not simply a machine or a single step. It is a complete workflow.

For a professional piercing environment, that means thinking about the entire sequence surrounding the procedure:

1. how instruments are handled after use
2. how contaminated items are separated from clean workflow
3. how reusable instruments are cleaned
4. how instruments are inspected
5. how they are prepared and packaged for sterilization
6. how sterilization cycles are performed
7. how processed items are handled afterward
8. how sterile items are stored
9. how the piercing room is prepared
10. how aseptic technique is maintained during the procedure

Tribal Expression's specific body-piercing procedures are governed by the studio's approved reprocessing protocols.

Iliana's hospital-based education does not make body piercing identical to hospital care; rather, it gives her additional formal education in the principles and discipline behind medical-device reprocessing.

Why this matters in children's piercing

Children's ear piercing requires strong technical piercing skills, but it also requires communication, patience and an environment that both the child and parent can understand.

The child needs to feel listened to and involved.

The parent needs confidence that the preparation and technical systems behind the appointment are being handled consistently and professionally.

Iliana's background brings those responsibilities together: child-centred communication on the front end and disciplined sterile systems behind the scenes.

Child participation is part of the procedure

One of the central principles Iliana was trained to follow is that parental permission does not replace the child's willingness to participate.

A booked appointment does not mean that a piercing must happen.

Children are encouraged to:

• ask questions
• understand what is happening
• participate in jewellery selection
• participate in placement decisions
• communicate discomfort
• request additional time
• pause the appointment
• change their mind

Children are introduced to three simple words:

YES — I'm ready.

PAUSE — I need a minute.

STOP — I don't want to continue.

These words reflect a larger philosophy behind Tribal Expression's children's piercing program: the child should remain an active participant in what is happening to their body.

Working with nervous and neurodivergent children

Children respond very differently to piercing. Some arrive excited and eager to begin.

Others may benefit from:

• more conversation
• less conversation
• a room tour
• seeing the piercing chair first
• time to look at jewellery
• a parent close beside them
• a comfort item
• a quieter environment
• step-by-step explanations
• fewer unexpected transitions
• additional time before proceeding

Iliana has developed particular experience adapting appointments for neurodivergent children and children with differing sensory, communication or support needs.

There is no universal neurodivergent piercing appointment.

Parents are encouraged to tell the studio beforehand what approaches tend to help their child feel comfortable and informed.

The goal is not to label the child. The goal is to understand what helps that individual child participate comfortably and communicate clearly.

Technical piercing training

Iliana's apprenticeship included the professional responsibilities expected of Tribal Expression piercers, including:

• anatomy assessment
• placement
• jewellery sizing and fit
• appropriate jewellery selection
• aseptic workflow
• cross-contamination prevention
• sterile setup
• single-use needle procedure
• instrument handling
• jewellery preparation
• aftercare education
• documentation
• professional judgement
• recognition of situations where a piercing should not proceed
• client communication
• long-term follow-up

Children's piercing adds another important layer to those responsibilities: the piercer must assess not only whether the anatomy and jewellery are appropriate, but whether the child understands what is happening and is willing to participate.

Jewellery is part of the procedure

At Tribal Expression, jewellery selection is not treated as an afterthought.

Initial jewellery is selected with consideration for:

• anatomy
• placement
• fit
• healing
• comfort
• lifestyle
• material
• finish
• design

Children are also encouraged to participate in choosing a style they genuinely want to wear.

Tribal Expression manufactures its dedicated children's first-earring collection at its Calgary facility, where its in-house team combines precision machining, goldsmithing, polishing and hand-finishing.

For Iliana, jewellery selection therefore brings together two questions: “What does this child love?” and “What is technically appropriate for the initial piercing?” Both matter.

More than completing a piercing

Iliana's objective is not simply to complete two earlobe piercings as quickly as possible.

For many families, first earrings are part of a birthday, family tradition, special outing or important milestone.

Children may arrive with parents, grandparents, siblings, extended family or friends.

The piercing itself may take only moments. The memory surrounding the appointment can last much longer.

That is why time is spent talking with the child, answering questions, choosing jewellery, checking placement and helping them understand what will happen before the procedure begins.

Why Iliana specializes in kids piercing

Iliana discovered early in her professional career that one of the areas she connected with most strongly was working with children.

It allowed her to combine:

• the professional piercing environment she grew up around
• the child-focused behavioural perspective she observed through her mother
• formal medical-device-reprocessing education
• patience
• communication
• jewellery
• technical piercing
• family interaction
• the satisfaction of helping create an important memory

What began as a specialization during her apprenticeship has become one of the central focuses of her professional work as a second-generation professional piercer.

From Keith Kennedy

“I've spent more than three decades piercing, and I had the unique privilege of apprenticing my own daughter.

I wanted Iliana to understand that kids piercing is not simply about becoming fast at piercing earlobes. It is about understanding the child sitting in front of you.

Watching her take the principles I taught her, combine them with her own personality and develop her ability to communicate with children has been one of the most rewarding parts of my career.

She has taken what we call the Tribal Expression Way and made it very much her own.

As her father and the person who apprenticed her, I believe she has developed into one of the finest children's ear piercers I have had the opportunity to work with.”

— Keith Kennedy, Founder of Tribal Expression, Professional Piercer. This is Keith Kennedy's personal professional opinion.