Hidden Gems: Meet Eugene Kim of Vital Piercing

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eugene Kim.

Hi Eugene, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started selling body jewelry on Etsy as a side project. Over five years it grew into something much bigger than I expected — 179,000 orders and over 40,000 five-star reviews. I was one of the top body jewelry sellers on the platform.

Then Etsy suspended my shop without warning. No clear explanation, no appeals process that led anywhere. Five years of work, gone overnight. It was devastating — that shop was my livelihood.

But instead of giving up, I decided to build something I actually owned. I launched Vital Piercing on Shopify, starting completely from scratch — no customer list, no traffic, no reviews. Just the experience I’d built over five years and the determination to not let one platform’s decision define my business.

It’s been a grind. I’ve had to learn SEO, paid advertising, email marketing, content creation — all things Etsy handled for me before. I’m based in Suwanee, Georgia, and I run every part of the business myself — sourcing, photography, packing orders, customer service, marketing, everything.

We specialize in implant-grade titanium body jewelry — the safest material for piercings, the same grade used in medical implants. It’s what I wish every piercing shop carried, and it’s what I built my reputation on.

We’re still growing, but we’re profitable and building momentum every month. The Etsy shutdown was the worst thing that happened to my business and the best thing that happened to me as a business owner. It forced me to stop renting space on someone else’s platform and build something that’s truly mine.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not even close to smooth. The biggest challenge was obviously losing my Etsy shop — my entire business disappeared overnight with no warning and no real recourse. I went from a thriving shop with 179,000 sales to starting over at zero on a brand new website with no traffic and no customers.

The early months on Shopify were humbling. On Etsy, customers came to me — Etsy’s marketplace did the work of bringing in traffic. On my own website, nobody knows you exist unless you figure out how to bring them there yourself. I had to learn Google Ads, Meta advertising, SEO, email marketing, content writing — all from scratch while still running day-to-day operations.

Advertising was expensive and frustrating at first. I was spending $100-300 a day on ads just to keep revenue coming in, and the margins were razor thin. It took months of testing and adjusting before I figured out what actually worked and could scale back to profitable spending levels.

There’s also the challenge of being a one-person operation. I handle everything — sourcing products, photographing inventory, writing product descriptions, packing and shipping orders, answering customer messages, managing ads, creating content, posting on social media. Some days it feels like running five businesses at once.

But honestly, every struggle taught me something I needed to know. The Etsy shutdown forced me to build real business skills instead of relying on a platform to do the hard parts for me. I’m a better business owner today because of it.

We’ve been impressed with Vital Piercing, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Vitalpiercing.com is an online body jewelry shop based in Suwanee, Georgia, specializing in implant-grade titanium piercing jewelry. We carry about 700 products — nose rings, septum rings, cartilage earrings, belly rings, threadless flat back studs, and more.

What sets us apart is our focus on materials. Our core collection is implant-grade titanium (ASTM F-136) — the same material used in surgical implants. It’s biocompatible, completely nickel-free, and the safest option for anyone with piercings, especially healing ones. Most jewelry sold online is generic stainless steel with no material certification. We think people deserve better than that, especially for something that sits inside their body.

We also publish in-depth piercing education on our blog — over 45 guides covering everything from aftercare to healing timelines to jewelry selection for every piercing type. We want customers to feel informed and confident, not just sold to.

What I’m most proud of is the trust we’ve built. Before launching our own site, we completed 179,000 orders on another platform with a 4.9-star rating from over 40,000 reviews. That track record carries over into everything we do — the product quality, the packaging, the customer service. Every order still gets personally packed and shipped by me.

We ship across the US with free shipping on orders over $50 at vitalpiercing.com. Our goal is to become the go-to destination for safe, high-quality body jewelry online.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I’ll be honest — I haven’t had a traditional mentor. Most of what I’ve learned has come from doing the work, making mistakes, and figuring things out as I go.

That said, the best “mentors” I’ve found are online communities and tools. Reddit communities for e-commerce and Shopify sellers have been surprisingly helpful — real people sharing what’s actually working for them, not just theory.

My advice for networking is to just be genuinely helpful wherever you show up. I answer questions on Reddit, Quora, and in piercing communities — not to promote my business, but because I actually know the answers after 7 years in the industry. People notice when you’re helpful without an agenda, and it builds credibility naturally.

For anyone starting out, I’d say don’t wait until you find the perfect mentor to take action. Start building, start learning, and the right people and resources show up along the way. The best education I’ve gotten has come from solving real problems in my own business, not from courses or coaching programs.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://vitalpiercing.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopvitalpiercing
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopvitalpiercing
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/vitalpiercing

Image Credits
Vital Piercing