While I was growing up, my parents started their own funeral business. My dad was a sacristan and had several jobs to make it happen. In those times, we were stereotyped as crows who wore top hats and long, black frocks. My mom was the one with all the necessary licensing and qualifications, but she wasn’t allowed to perform funerals. The industry was accustomed to funeral directors being men, so initially my mother worked mostly behind the scenes. In this farmer’s region, change is not accepted quickly. Being the first female funeral director in the area, it was difficult for my mother to prove herself to others in the funeral business locally. We were viewed as the competition, rather than colleagues or friends. As an example, a group of pallbearers were shared between several undertakers; we were often last when it came to planning. As a result, we were often short on people when pallbearers were needed. It was a constant struggle and respect was not easily earned. Yet, my parents persevered and built a name for themselves in the region.

As a kid, I always helped out after school to earn extra allowance, so I already knew the ropes. When my parents expanded the business with a new hearse, my dad asked me to become the driver. At the time, I had no formal education and was working as a bartender; I took his offer. Despite my past involvement with the industry, I had to prove myself to the men who drove hearses for other directors, similar to what my mother had to do. As a young woman in the role normally assumed by men, I worked hard to earn that respect. They saw how well I could handle the car – I could turn, twist it in any corner or small road. The competition was still intense between funeral directors. No one would offer any guidance, and even though people are free to choose their funeral homes, if rival directors noticed you were encroaching on their territory they would go so far as to slander you to potential clients.

After over eighteen years of working as a licensed care and body restorator and manager of the company, when the time came my brother and I didn’t want to take over the business. We grew up in the field, but it was never the career either of us would have chosen. We stayed at our jobs until our mother retired in 2012. In preparation for her retirement, I started to seek a new career path and began an apprenticeship at a local tattoo shop in 2010. Tattoos and piercings always inspired me. Even though I had to hide my body art, I loved having it and always dreamt about owning my own shop. It might be weird to say considering my previous line of work, but I guess I have always had an interested in working with bodies.

So I started to seek and absorb every piece of information that I could find on piercing in an attempt to gain as much knowledge about it as possible. I quickly established that I couldn’t find much about it in Holland. Thankfully, the world seems a whole lot smaller thanks to things like the internet and Facebook. I started to read all kinds of educational forums and websites, as well as befriend other piercers via social media. The longer I dug around, the more amazed I became in regards to this industry. Colleagues have been very friendly, taking time to answer any questions I have. I’ve sent countless messages through Facebook and gotten many helpful answers from so many people. I was nervous to attend my first BMXnet Conference because I didn’t know anyone, but again, people were friendly and caring, right from the start. Piercers are genuinely interested in you and open for a conversation, which is so much different than what I was used to from the funeral industry.

After almost seven years of piercing, meeting many more people, and learning what they all do to help the industry, I’m still impressed by it. Colleagues work together, educate each other, and share information, no matter who you are. Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been a piercer for years, there’s always someone that will cheer for you or push you harder to reach your goals. In our industry, people will make you feel at home while reminding you that if you stand still, you don’t get anywhere. If you really want to get somewhere you need to work hard and fight for it. However, most piercers understand that it’s a whole lot easier if you have help. I know there are many different industries out there and competition can be hard, but after comparing my experiences in these industries, I’m happy and proud to be a piercer!

The idea of being a more environmentally conscientious business is not new, although it is not necessarily the first thing you think of in reference to tattoo and piercing shops. At home maybe you are already living a greener life; upcycling, sorting your curbside recyclables, and buying your food locally. Meanwhile at work, the computer stays on all night, you use only one side of printer paper and the climate controls keep it a constant 68 degrees all year long. It’s easy to let the green routine slide at work, since it’s not technically your space. However, you may fall on the other end of the spectrum, being the shop’s outspoken green warrior. The nicest thing about working towards more sustainable business practices is that these changes can be eco-friendly while potentially reducing overhead costs. So even if the benefits to the planet are hard to see, those benefits to your bottom line may be more visible.

It is hard to know where you can improve if you don’t take a measure of where you are currently. Some areas of your shop may be very green, while you may have room for improvement in other areas.  Rather than just going into this with guesswork, I would encourage you to keep measurable data on how well you are doing in the sustainability realm. The simplest way is to use any one of many online carbon footprint calculators. Once you have done the calculations you will have a great baseline to work from. Although some of the ideas listed are small and easily implemented, others are larger and much more in depth undertakings. This means that it is important to remember this is not an all or nothing scenario and in fact each small thing you do to create a more sustainable shop environment will add up over time.

Let’s start with the physical environment and structure of the studios we work in and own. This can be as easy or in-depth as you want it to be. On the simple and easily accomplished end of the list you can start with switching to LED and other energy-saving light bulbs; even a small change like this can create a measurable difference in your building’s energy usage. The shop can purchase energy-saving models of office equipment, such as Energy Star-approved computers, LCD monitors, printers, and photocopiers. When your electronics have reached the end of their life, make sure to recycle them through e-recycling companies or manufacturer take-back programs. Make sure the option you choose has some sound data-wiping procedures in place to keep your data secure.

You aren’t working all hours of the night (at least I hope not), so why does your computer need to be on? Turn off everything you possibly can before you leave the office each day. Make sure to keep lights off in unused rooms throughout the day and turn off all lights when leaving. This can be simplified by installing motion sensor light switches where applicable, or consolidating electronic plugs so you are able to turn off minimal power strips or switches at the end of the day. Make use of power management options on electronics, such as programming the computer to turn off automatically at a certain time each night, just in case it is forgotten. You can also set your monitor to turn off after a few minutes of inactivity. And never leave things like cell phone chargers plugged in when you’re not using them. They still draw energy, regardless of whether there’s anything plugged into them.

One of the easiest things an office can do to reduce waste is to keep an eye on paper. Paper makes up about 35% of the waste stream – even though it’s one of the easiest materials to re-use and recycle. You don’t need to print every e-mail. Just organize your inbox to make e-mails easier to find and reference. You can encourage others not to print unnecessary paperwork as well. Make back-up copies of important files and keep them on an external drive or cloud storage, instead of storing boxes of paper files. When you do need to print important documents, make sure you use a sustainable paper, and set your printer or copier to print on both sides of the page.

The idea of going paperless is still a future reality for many places. That being said, many shops throughout the world have successfully gone to paperless options for waivers and aftercare. There are well known programs which will allow you to sign PDF files digitally, as well as create PDF documents with signature fields for clients to sign. There are also different digital programs made specifically for tattoo and piercing shops. In fact we even offered a class taught by Alicia Cardenas at our 2015 APP Conference about going paperless.

Second to the paperwork we create in our shops is the paper that just shows up. Junk mail may be one of the most wasteful things known to man. There are free services that will remove you from mailing lists, in hopes of eliminating waste before it starts. If recycling bins are not already easily accessible, this can be another quick, easy office upgrade. Put them near water coolers and next to the photocopier.

Another super easy addition to your sustainable shop arsenal is a digital thermostat with program functionality to lower the temperature when no one is in the shop. Take your heat conservation the extra step if your shop is located in a climate that would benefit from some winterizing; seal windows and doors so heat or cold air is not escaping and seal gaps in floorboards.

If studio structure improvements are possible, there are many things that can be done to increase the building’s energy efficiency. Install insulated windows for better temperature regulation. Look into a tune up for the heating/cooling systems to make sure they are operating at peak efficiency. Buy energy-saving appliances that are Energy Star-rated or look into upgrading old equipment like inefficient boilers or furnaces. If you’re lucky enough to be able to afford a shop remodel, go green from the floor to the skylights. Use eco-friendly flooring options made from renewable or recycled materials. Use sustainable fabrics made from hemp or bamboo for window coverings, or get them second hand. Lengths of bamboo make great curtain rods, too. The sustainable options are only as limited as your imagination.

Now that we have looked at a few simple things (and a couple more involved as well)
let’s step outside of our own shop and look at what our neighbourhoods and cities offer. Working with other like minded businesses to support and cross promote one another is a great way to not only decrease your carbon footprint, but to increase your business. As an added bonus, you’ll be building great relationships. Chances are, there are businesses in your area that are also trying to improve their sustainability. Network with them and use their services when you can. Part of being a green business is ensuring that your supply chain is green too. Seek out green vendors for your business needs, whether it is printing business cards, hosting your website, or manufacturing the products you sell.

Of course there are always additional steps you can take to make any shop more sustainable, and the only way to make progress is to know where you’re headed. It is important to keep up with environmental news and green business trends to identify areas you can improve on. Making checklists of green business practices to implement and setting deadlines can ensure that things get completed in a timely manner. As you make changes, small or large, it is important to keep measuring this progress. As you make a major change, review energy consumption reports of the building and re-evaluate using carbon footprint calculators. It’s easy to get gung-ho about being greener, only to have the efforts fall by the wayside when a busy time hits. Create a positive environment where positive change and growth towards sustainability is embraced even in an industry where being disposable is encouraged! Revel in the many ways we can work to reduce our carbon footprint.