Olaf Growald
Way out in Aledo, in what some may consider “the middle of nowhere” along East Bankhead Highway, the most unlikely of businesses sits between a collection of warehouses and a Mr. Jim’s Pizza — the Elevated Tattoo and Piercing studio, where piercer Sam Montgomery makes her livelihood.
Montgomery is a piercer, and while her clientele can range from 20-somethings to grandmothers, she’s perhaps best known for her way with young children, particularly those getting their ears pierced for the first time.
Which comes as no surprise for someone with a personality as electric as her neon yellow hair. Montgomery was born in San Diego but says she’s always felt like a Texan, moving around with her military parents until they settled in Fort Worth and retired out of Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base. She got her start in makeup and pursued piercing later in life; her fiancé, Sean Riley, is a tattoo artist at Elevated, which they opened alongside their business partners in May 2020.
A fan of striking colors and offbeat fashion, Montgomery has a young-at-heart energy about her, decorating her piercing space with Funko Pop! figures and other trinkets from shows and sports teams she’s a fan of. There’s a spunky rasp in her voice as she speaks, and she’s never met a stranger.
That said, she also has an intuitiveness about people — and dealing with kids — down to a science. When they walk in, she gets a sense for how they’re feeling, whether it’s excited or anxious or both. To help ease their nervousness, she builds rapport by getting them to talk about themselves — their brothers or sisters, their likes and dislikes — and finds ways to connect on their level.
Olaf Growald
Sam says colleague Ariana Young is “a big part of my story.” Ariana started as one of Sam’s clients, who ended up becoming a protégé, who ended up becoming a full-time piercer at the shop. “As much as I’ve taught her,” Sam says, “she’s taught me.”
When it’s time for the big moment, Montgomery talks them through the entire process, and then, it’s over.
“If they need to squeeze out a couple tears, I’ll act silly, and I’ll cry with them,” she says. “Next thing you know, they’re laughing, and they’re like, ‘Ms. Sam, you’re so silly.’ It’s just about getting them through this thing, letting them know that I get it. If you want to cry, if you’re so nervous, I get it. But you can do this.”
Sam’s most favorite pair of earrings
For Montgomery, getting one’s ears pierced goes beyond style and aesthetics.
“It can be incredibly empowering for someone young,” she says. “This is one of the first times that someone is full of fear, doubt, and all this anxiety; knows something is probably going to be slightly uncomfortable for them; but they really want to do it and have to conquer their fears … if they come in here, and I give them what they need, they can get there, and they can leave feeling so proud.
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Sam’s treasure box with goodies for her young clients.
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Sam has kids of her own: Char, 10; Harrison, 7; and Elizabeth, 5.
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A recent ear project, pierced in full gold.
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The family cat, Pearl.
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Some of Sam’s many plants.
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Sam’s logo — herself as a Funko Pop!.
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Working with a little client.
