HWY 169 & Main St, Anoka MN
28 15th ave S, St. Cloud MN
Wingnut first opened the doors to its Anoka location on April 5, 2004. The St. Cloud location followed shortly after on August 5, 2005. The owners are Shane Post, Dave Wittwer, and James Hansen.
Shane began piercing 24 years ago at the age of 18, on the east coast of the United States. He was lucky to get into piercing at the time because there weren’t many apprentice programs, and not many shops were hiring.
He eventually moved back to Minnesota, piercing at various locations, including Pin Cushion in St. Cloud. He had been piercing for ten years when he decided to open his own shop, first pitching the idea to his long-time friend, Dave Wittwer, during a game of cribbage in the basement of Rising Phoenix Tattoo.
While Wingnut provides tattoo services and has three full-time tattoo artists, the primary focus of the business is piercing and the associated jewelry. They are trying to build an awareness for quality piercing in St. Cloud.
The world of piercings is always changing, so keeping up to date on the best quality jewelry is an important factor in their work. Piercing is just as heavily regulated as tattooing, but varies from area to area. For instance, the shop in St. Cloud follows the state’s body modification statutes. However, in Anoka they follow the county ordinance due to its stricter guidelines.
Wingnut’s current tattoo artists at the St. Cloud location are Clayton Rizor, Shane J., and Mitch. Microblading artists are Jessica Sparks and Kim. Their artists at the Anoka location are Daniel, Jesse, Jo, and John. The microblading artist at Anoka is Becca.
The current body piercers at Wingnut are Shane and Justin—who both split their time between the St. Cloud and Anoka locations—and Paxton in Anoka.
See more photos from our visit to Wingnut below!
