We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Carola Locke. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Carola below.

Hi Carola, thanks for joining us today. Any thoughts around creating more inclusive workplaces?

I am a tattoo artist, and I have been in this business since 2016. When I first began my tattooing career at Ink Life DFW, then named Mild 2 Wild, I found myself to be the only female in an, otherwise, all male shop. I kind of preferred this, as I never thought of myself as someone who got along with other women. But as my career progressed, I found myself being drawn to support other females and alternate lifestyle persons in the industry. I didn’t know if I could do it, but I wanted to try. Time passed, and three years ago I was able to move into a management position. I then began my mission. I first hired a female piercer, and found to my amazement, that I could work with, and be friends with, another woman. I then began to take on apprentices.
Teaching was new to me, and very intimidating. I really wanted to make a difference though, and give young tattoo artists a safe environment to learn in. (Many tattoo shops will haze their apprentices, and bully them to prove they want the job. I don’t find this type of training to be necessary. I prefer to train through encouragement and healthy challenges.) And so I began to teach, albeit roughly at first. But with patience on all our parts, I began to magically see my young apprentices tattoo, safely and correctly.
The hard work has paid off. Our shop now consists of one dude, six ladies (one beautiful trans), and one non-binary person. We are able to work as a team, and are able to support each others goals and dreams. We are able to welcome, and make to feel comfortable, people who would be uncomfortable in a more traditional tattoo shop.
I consider this vision to still be young, and I have many years ahead of me to continue working on it. It is wonderful to be able to impart my knowledge to another person, and to see them grow, but for my part, the reward has been discovering that I can do something that I had previously thought improbable. I can make new friends. I can connect with people different from myself. I can create a vision in my head, and with work, I can make it happen. In a male dominated industry, I can create a safe space for young women etc. to grow and create a career. It feels good.

Carola, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I began tattooing at Mild 2 Wild (now Ink Life DFW) in 2016. Over the years I have grown a skill for cover up tattoos. I can take an old tattoo, no matter how dark, and I can tattoo something new over it. This is a style of tattooing that many other artists never learn, and so I consider it to be a specialty of mine. I also have learned to reconstruct nipples. Many women have mastectomies or other reconstructive surgery and their nipple area is left distorted and discolored. The incisions can get infected and will sometimes scar over in an unattractive manner. With careful work, I am able to give some dignity back to these women. In some cases the women want their breasts to look natural, but in other cases they’d prefer flowers over their nipples, or another design. I am able to provide either of these solutions. I also tattoo over burns and skin grafts. Many artists are unwilling to tattoo over such uneven skin, but, like all things, with patience and attention to detail, it can be done and it can look wonderful.
With all of my tattoos, my main goal is quality and originality. I do not copy other work, but insist upon creating my own original art. I love to work with realism, geometric designs, and watercolor. I love large projects that are detailed and intricate. If you are wanting an original tattoo design, or to cover your old tattoo or scars, I’m your girl.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I believe the first key to managing a team and maintaining high moral is to hire workers who can work cohesively as a team. There must be diversity of skill sets, yet similarity of work ethics and morals. I have been lucky to be able to build such a team. With that as a foundation, the next thing is to lead with enthusiasm. I have found that when a project needs to be done, or an improvement made, presenting it in a positive manner and emphasizing the benefits is usually all it takes to get the team behind me. Once deliberation is done, we then get to it. People like to follow excitement and progress. I have found that when I do something new and inventive and am excited about it, before I know it I have people interested in what I’m doing, wanting to be a part of it. Another key part of managing a team is handling problems and disagreements in a timely manner. It does no good to ignore problems, or to let animosity build up between team members. Talking openly, respectively, to my employees allows me to address any issues at hand and to work with them towards a resolution. This allows for them to feel heard and respected, while still managing to make the necessary changes. While I am on this subject, I will say that personally, managing my own emotions has helped greatly in my ability to communicate with my coworkers. This is why I say to address a problem in a timely manner. Do not wait for the offense to be repeated until your emotions are out of hand. If a coworker/employee makes you angry, wait long enough until you can respond in an intelligent, calm manner, but don’t wait too long or they will do it again and then you will fire them over something minor. That’s not good. Deal with the issue when you are calm… but deal with it.
Lastly, I would advise that you listen to your team. Listen to their ideas, listen to their criticism. Take what they have to say seriously, and, within reason, consider their needs in your decision making. How do you know what they need, and what their goals and dreams are? How do you know where they’re struggling and need extra training? You listen. This practice will allow others to feel safe and heard, and to trust you as a leader.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I grew up being a people pleaser. In the beginning of my career, I didn’t care what I was tattooing, so long as I was tattooing. But over time I found myself doing tattoos that I did not want to do, simply because I didn’t want to make someone unhappy by telling them “No” Now there is a problem with this practice, and that is that it makes you resentful of the art and the client. No good work can come from this. So I have unlearned people pleasing. I have learned how to tell people “No” and how to only take on tattoos that I will love, and that will consequently turn out good. What has helped me is the awareness that I owe it to my client (and myself) to let them know what I am best at, and where my highest skills lie. If their idea does not align with my talent and goals, I owe it to them to send them to a better artist for the project. Once I took on this mind set, I quit being concerned about disappointing clients, and began focusing on finding the right clients with the right projects. This has been liberating.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: carolla_deville
• Youtube: Inkwifetv

Image Credits
Headshot provided by @glamworksphotography