The Field Test: Prototyping in the Real World

When you’re over-engineering a product in a lab, it’s easy to get lost in the specs. You can calculate shore hardness and material density all day, but none of it matters until a professional artist or piercer actually puts a needle to the material.

At Stab Lab Designs, the "Lab" isn't just my 3D printing and silicone setup—it’s the studios where these prototypes are put through their paces.

The "Destruction" Phase

Before a product reaches the shop, it goes through a rigorous testing phase. For the Multi-Gauge Piercing Stands, that meant finding the real-world limits:

• The Grip Test: How many times can a pad be swapped between different jewelry sizes before the hold starts to fatigue?

• The "Scramble" Test: We physically knocked these stands over and shook pads upside down to ensure jewelry stayed locked in place—solving the "jewelry on the floor" problem once and for all.

• Thermal Resistance: We chose a high-purity silicone rated for 200°C, specifically because it is designed to withstand temperatures far exceeding a standard autoclave cycle. While we haven't begun formal autoclave cycle testing yet, the material properties were chosen specifically to meet that future requirement. (If anyone would like to trial this and give me some feedback that would be greatly appreciated!)

Artist Feedback: The Apprentice Skins

For the Apprentice Series, the testing was even more personal. I handed prototypes to my partner and other local artists with one simple instruction: Try to ruin it.

We looked for:

• Stencil Ghosting: If a stencil was placed crooked, could it be wiped clean in that 10–20 minute window without leaving a mess?

• Ink Packing: Would white ink actually stay on the first pass, or would it require the artist to overwork the surface?

• The "Feel": Did the multi-density layers actually provide the tactile feedback I was aiming for?

  
  

Why We Test

I’m a maker. If a prototype fails, it goes back to CAD, the mix is adjusted, and we start the print over. I don't release features unless I’ve seen them validated in a studio environment.

We don't launch products that are "good enough." We launch products that have survived the daily grind of a professional shop.

Join the Field Test

As we move toward our official launch, we are looking for 5 professional piercers and 5 Tattoo Artists to join our final durability test for the Apprentice Tattoo Skins and Multi-Gauge Jewelry stands. This includes helping us validate the long-term performance of the silicone pads through real-world sterilization cycles. If you want to put our engineering to the test in exchange for an honest professional review, sign up on our home page next to the Piercing displays section.