Meet Our Tenants - Flanderz Tattoo

Emma is a business owner and one of the tenants at Broadstone Mill. Her business, Flanderz Tattoo, specialises in creating beautiful tattoos for her clients.

We met up with Emma to find out about her business, and her experiences in the mill.

HI, EMMA. TELL US ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS.

I started tattooing in 2015 with the goal of opening up a private space where people who wouldn’t normally feel comfortable going into a typical tattoo studio could come! I want to make a safe LGBTQi+ tattoo studio that feels welcoming and break the stereotype that being heavily tattooed is a masculine thing instead of a way to express yourself and feel more comfortable and confident in your own skin. Thanks to Broadstone Mill I’ve been able to open my own little studio and start my dream!

What attracted a company like yours to Broadstone Mill?

The flexibility is amazing, I can end up working on a tattoo into the late night so this place is perfect, also the transport links and free parking for me and my customers is great. I wouldn’t have been able to afford to open my own studio in a high street shop without drastically upping my prices so it was perfect when I found here, it’s more space than I even need and I can keep my prices cheap!

Has being within the communal space helped with any business challenges?

At first I was wary of the communal aspect of the Mill but now I love it! I never get any judgement from other tenants towards me or my customers just support and love! Because I work by myself it can get quite lonely so it’s really nice when another tenants pops in to see what tattoos I’ve been doing or when I run out of printer ink there’s always someone to help you.

What benefits do you get having your business based in a non-city centre location?

Obviously the main one is the free parking and it’s a lot cheaper! I also found it a lot easier for my customers, as they come from all over the country it’s a lot easier for them to get off the train at Stockport than faff around in the city centre and if they’re driving it’s just off the ring road.

What’s your favourite thing / hidden gem from the local area?

Brinnington park is my favourite place in the area, if I’m every stuck for inspiration I go walking and look at the flowers or sit and paint birds.

We have a range of tenants in the mill, ranging from IT support to podiatrists, to builders, to clothing exporters. Are there any other types of businesses you’d like to see in the space?

I would like to see more creative businesses open, it’s such an amazing space that took quite a bit of searching to find and I think it would be great to see it become more of a creative hub for individuals who want to get out on their own and work for themselves.

You can get in touch with Flanderz Tattoo on any of the following channels:

Facebook: @flanderztattoo • Instagram: @FlanderzTattoo

If you think your business would benefit from being within the Broadstone Mill community, email us at info@worksmartservices.co.uk.