Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sonya Grenell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Sonya thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you have any thoughts about how to create a more inclusive workplace?
Do you have any advice for creating a more inclusive workplace? Are there any moments from your journey that shape your view? Perhaps moments where the workplace wasn’t inclusive or where it was and why you think it was impactful/ important/etc…
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My professional journey in creating a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment was ignited during my initial work experience in the tattoo industry 23 years ago. Shortly after being hired, it was explained to me that I was not there for my talent, my intelligence or my work ethic, instead, I was there as eye candy the misogynistic and racist employees and clientele, but also as an inappropriate distraction for my boss.
When that occurred, almost a quarter of a century ago, sexist and racist tattoo shops were common place. I honestly had no business attempting to work there, much less thinking I should build a career as a tattoo artist. During that time, as a women or member of the LBGQAI+ community, working in a tattoo shop commonly meant you were degraded, manipulated and sexual harassed constantly. Success in the industry required learning to maneuver and deal with those you were surrounded by in order to accomplish your goals and make a name as a professional artist. With the growth of the tattoo industry, those like myself have persevered, leading to an ever evolving change, mostly for the better, and I am absolutely here for it.
Ten years after that first interaction, having worked a few different tattoo studio job while studying at Ferris State University and holding down an additional job at a local boot factory, I applied for a full time artist position at Lighttouch Tattoo. The industry hadn’t scared me off and instead, made me even more determined to succeed. Three months after being hired on the spot, I was running the studio for Jeweler Jack, and now possessed the influence and control to slowly begin implementing my vision of a safe place for anyone who walked through our doors.
The first significant change was a visually impactful one. The shop was decorated with standard, street art flash sheets covering each wall and extending to ceiling. These served as ideas for the permanent artwork many would choose for their tattoos and some of the designs were blatantly racist. As soon as the boss was away, I took down every single one, consequences be damned. This led to an evolution in how we interacted with our customer base. We no longer provided the flash, explained why when we needed to and took the opportunity to decline creating anything racist or hateful. This success led to additional small changes and today, as the proud owner of Lighttouch Tattoo, I encourage new goals, both professional and community based that we work towards as a team. It is now part of our work culture to organize and participate in events that raise awareness as well as money and supplies for local charities which align with our beliefs. We are huge supporters of organizations working toward improved mental health (including suicide awareness), LGBTQI+ Pride, food equity, and caring for local animals, among others. These events don’t just allow us to serve the community, it also keeps us, as a business and individuals, opportunities to learn and grow through the needs of others.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Since I could remember, I have been attempting to push my ability in exciting new directions in all aspects of life and business.. I am extremely grateful to my amazing clients, who have allowed me to hone my skills on fresh new projects regularly.. I have earned my bachelor’s degree in graphic design from Ferris State University. That has formed my creative process into a melting pot of traditional media and digital media. It also helps with creating visually unique compositions that utilize, in turn I am now passing on my skills along side Shawn Flagg to the next generation of lighttouch tattoo. My studio is filled with talented and supportive group of artists, who I couldn’t be more proud of.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
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I’m going to come right out and say it: THANK YOU COVID! THANK YOU WEAK and DAMAGED SPINE! Both the events surrounding COVID and my back physically failing MADE me go looking deep within myself, it MADE me make choices that, at the time, I had no idea would impact my current life so drastically. These two, simultaneous events led me to my understanding that unless I worked on healing my mental and physical health I could lose everything I’d worked toward.
I have never considered myself resilient but instead, would describe myself as determined. Once I set my mind on a goal I create the most honorable path possible until my goal is achieved. As an individual, it is easier to make changes and adjust direction. With employees, changing work culture takes time, understanding and patience. Inevitably, it also requires making difficult decisions.
Life is complicated. It is difficult to stay true to your passion and vision of who and what you stand for especially when there are those who stand in front of you, projecting their negativity on you, not wanting you to succeed. It has taken faith in myself as well as my healing to understand the constant need to surround myself with those who align with the same passions, sense of honor, ethics and desire to succeed.
My determination helped me physically heal. My resilience helped me mentally heal.
Therapy was an integral part of this process, allowing me to properly heal all my traumas. I began to learn better ways to communicate with the different types of personalities that surrounded me. This included being okay with axing out anyone or thing that stood in my way and tried to dim my light. his led to changes in relationships, both personally and professionally. Even now, I’m becoming more aware of the protective trench I’ve dug around those who are indeed walking beside me, allowing me to support them in return, while creating a path forward together. This continuous work is now allowing me to mentor the next generation of artists. I’m able to teaching them what they need to know in becoming the best version of themselves as artist and as people. This also ensures the legacy of Lightouch will live on as a place where obtaining artwork is an experience that will leave you better then when you walked through our doors.
As human beings, we will always be works in progress, we will always have to fail in order to succeed from the moment we take our first breath. We must learn to embrace everything that is wrong and right within us, what was damaged and heal it, and accept it. We must embrace the dark and light side of ourselves. If we do so, we will find balance within ourselves becoming that light and positive influence on others. We never take this journey alone, all connected somehow.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Can you share the story of a time when you had to pivot (in business, career or life).
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As every entrepreneur can attest, this comes with many failures. Over the years, through those failures, I’ve learned that success demands you, as a person, care for your mental and physical health while prioritizing your family. If this balance is off in anyway, you’ll lose yourself or damage your physical working body. This hard lesson came in balance came for me a few years ago. My determination manifested in a relentless need to tattoo for hours on end, day after day. After nearly two decades of this, I lost all function of my leg and eventually required two major back surgeries. The first surgery was 2 days before COVID-19 shut down the world, the second was right after the world opened back up.
During my recovery, I was forced to stop working in order to heal my physical body. The doctors told me if I ever returned to tattooing, I would end up lose all function of my leg again. This was unacceptable. Laying in bed motionless after surgery, I lost myself for a brief moment. In this darkness I realized who cared for me truly. I also realized that my path forward was not blocked permanently, but that I would need to forge a different way. Their words along with my optimism, resilience and determination allowed me to realized I needed to properly take care not only my physical heath also my mental health. I also knew that although I would find a way to continue working I would need to approach it differently. If I wanted my business to grow and succeed, I had to find myself metaphorically first, heal my physical body next, and then figure out who was truly on board with my goals and aspirations for the future of Lighttouch.
Contact Info:
- Website: sonyagrenell@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonyagrenell/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/sonya.grenell
- Other: Tic tok https://www.tiktok.com/@sonyagrenell Website Sonyagrenell.com
Image Credits
Laura Dark Photography