Desi Arellano is the proprietor of The Vault Piercing Company and also owns and operates the Artifact Piercing team in Santa Clarita, CA. and Laguna Gold in Laguna Beach, CA and The Gold Bar Piercing in San Luis Obispo, CA.

Desi was born and raised in Southern California. After acquiring his Master's degree in Psychology, he worked with at-risk youth and young adults while apprenticing in body piercing and body modification.

His career pivoted to full time piercing in 2012 when he started with Artifact Tattoo and Piercing in Santa Clarita. Desi eventually grew and took over the piercing program and developed and trained the Artifact Piercing Team. A few years later, Desi developed the piercing program within the Cast of Crowns Art Collective in Laguna Beach. As that piercing program outgrew its space, Desi opened Laguna Gold and from there went on to consult for many other business owners and eventually opened his third location, The Gold Bar Piercing in the heart of San Luis Obispo and now his fourth location The Vault Piercing Company in Lompoc, CA.

Desi has a true passion for body piercing and body jewelry and has brought together an amazing team across his three programs in California that work together to provide great customer support, client experience, and rotating jewelry selection. Desi also has a great eye for jewelry curation and flow and creative work-arounds for anatomies that may be more limited.

His favorite piercing is the one you waited forever to get and believes that body piercing is the pursuit of a sense of completion. “People have this idea of how they want to look to fit in or stand out or belong, but the body piercing studio is a place for anyone to come explore that closer sense of completion.”

Desi has a few personal favorite pieces of jewelry but his absolute favorite jewelry is the piece he was able to help make special and custom just for you. Something no one else will ever have and something that has never been made before. Desi aspires to continue to grow his programs and staff and eventually help them achieve their dreams of growing their own studios and continuing the practices and art we learned together in the studio.

I started piercing in 2003 in a small town in California, then bounced around to places like Salt Lake and Las Vegas, before finally landing back in Santa Barbara. There, I teamed up with Josh Parkhurst to create Golden Eagle Body Piercing, which is now known as Above and Beyond. I stepped away from piercing in 2015, I was lucky enough to dive into the photo world, meet some incredible folks, travel, and learn a lot about life. I also met my wife, who jumped into my L.A. dream with me, and we decided to come back to our roots and settle down. I wouldn’t change a thing. It feels great to be back in a studio, helping younger piercers grow, supporting my friends, and using my skills where they’re needed.

Jason Mosqueda is a Santa Barbara County native from Lompoc, Ca. One of his favorite activities is skateboarding, something he’s been doing since he was 7 years old. He loves spending time with his daughter and plays a Baritone guitar in his band CatacombsCA.

Jason’s favorite piercing placement is a Flat but he also really loves working with different elements of BVLA, Local Natives and Tether to create a unique look for clients. Jason aspires to travel and network within the piercing community! One of the many fun things you can do with this career!

Annie Padayao is our Senior piercer and studio manager! Annie hails from the beach cities of Southern Orange County. Annie has always been surrounded by the ocean, art and great community. A college drop out, she got to work until she found something she loved doing, she just didn't know it would be piercing. 

Annie started her apprenticeship in West Hollywood, Ca in late 2018. A little over a year into her apprenticeship was interrupted by the COVID pandemic and she found herself at a studio in Canoga Park where she ended up wrapping up her learning and traveling a north to Camarillo where she dedicated 4 years of her craft. She currently pierces and is studio manager at Pierced SB in Santa Barbara and manages The Gold Bar Piercing in San Luis Obispo.

Having the opportunity to travel and perform work that she loves in multiple places is something Annie has been recently exploring and has come to love. One of her favorite moments was having the awesome opportunity to pierce at Coachella in summer of 2024.

Annie’s favorite jewelry is your missing puzzle piece. That one piece you’ve been looking for to complete the picture, continue the journey or take back that part of you that you've been missing. One aspect of the piercing industry that has been a big draw for Annie is the multiple ways you can express yourself through jewelry and placement. Whether it's a large multi-gemmed statement piece or a simple solid gold ring to tie the whole look together.