Founders, Lee and Ryan, speak to INKED MAGAZINE about how they found each other and why they started Good Judy.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
“From the beginning, the founders understood something tattoo artists understand well. Intent doesn’t matter if a product doesn’t perform.”
-Inked Magazine
“It was a small tattoo, maybe three inches,” Lee recalls of a session in 2018. “When we finished the client looked at the tray and said, ‘That’s a lot of plastic garbage for such a small piece.’ “The way they said it so plainly just stuck with me”.
-Inked Magazine
Around this same time, Lee was tattooing Ryan, an eager entrepreneur and consistent client. During one of their sessions Lee spoke about the burden of their plastic output and quickly the two began imagining a tattoo industry that did not rely on plastics. What followed was multiple conversations, heavy research, and eventually Good Judy's first product, biodegradable gloves.
While the two did not have experience in eco product design, shipping logistics, or managing a business of this size, they had the burning desire to make a real difference and were willing to do the necessary work to see this idea come to fruition. Lees experience tattooing provided vital insight to create products that actually worked and Ryans entrepreneurial spirit continued to encourage them to push forward amongst learning curves and greenwashing.
“We were sold products that claimed to be eco, and when we asked for documentation, it just wasn’t there,” Ryan explains. ‘That’s when we realized verification had to be part of the mission not an afterthought.”
-Inked Magazine
Since Good Judy's inception in 2019, its been an uphill battle between Covid 19, the tariff war, and now; a tattoo industry that is struggling to retain consistent appointments. Through it all one thing continues to remain clear, Lee and Ryan are not alone in their vision. Every day we hear from folks that are making consistent efforts to transition to an eco setup; and even better, are questioning the integrity of the eco products they see in an industry that is teeming with greenwashing.
For more insight into how we built integrity into the biz and the roadblocks we encountered along the way, read the full article. Thank you to Inked Magazine for the feature!
