Interview by Emily Hessney Lynch.

Published December 13, 2019.

Where are you from? How did you end up in Rochester?

I’m from Rochester. I was raised in West Irondequoit, so I’m a born and bred Rochesterian. I’ve stuck around, though I’ve traveled a good amount. Rochester has been home for as long as I can remember, and will be for awhile. I like it here a lot.

What is your favorite part of living in Rochester?

It’s super affordable. It’s easy to have a nice place at a reasonable cost, which affords me a lot of time to travel. I have friends who live in NYC, and they’re doing okay, but a lot of their money goes towards living expenses.

I also really like that Rochester has a small community feel. I attribute that to all the big businesses that disappointed us by going belly up. It encouraged small businesses to thrive because people became distrustful of big businesses. If you shop at the Public Market or Brighton Farmers’ Market, you have a connection with the people you’re buying from. If something’s not great, you can tell them that. What are you going to do, complain to Kodak that they screwed the whole thing up? Our craft scene is so big here because people want to shop local, keep their money local, and know the humans behind it. There’s a really great sense of community and the tide lifts us all higher.

What are some hidden gems you've discovered around Rochester?

It’s hard to describe the graffiti art I find around town. I ride my bike on the El Camino Trail and the Wall Therapy pieces are beautiful. There’s that little spot on the canal trail near U of R with the bird on its back holding an egg. On the canal trail east, there’s what I call “the party deck.” There’s no obvious tie or dock, nowhere you could tie a boat to easily, but you could ride right off of it onto the water. I like to stop and hang out there. I love little nooks and crannies like that.

Obatalo Shango is a cool place, with coffin candles and unique stuff in there, located in a less populated area. Also, Brooklyn Ramen’s dumplings are overlooked. They’re made by the guy’s 84 year old Japanese mom, and they’re so good.

What are some of your favorite local nonprofits to support?

Yoga for a Good Hood, for sure. I found yoga when I was going through a tough time, and I go back to it every time I’m going into another tough time. Yoga for a Good Hood has a teach training that prioritizes people of color, making training more affordable for lower income people who want to become teachers. They’re going out into the community and making an impact.

Pitty Love is another great one. They became our community and support network for me and my husband when we rescued a pitbull and had no idea what we were doing.

What are some of your personal coping mechanisms for cold/gray weather? 

It’s a big challenge for me, but I try to make it warm and cozy. I love using my crockpot in winter, throwing in something and coming home tired to something warm to eat. There’s something nice and comforting about that. My dog also loves the snow, and it’s hard to be sad when you see someone so happy about the situation. 

When I bought my house, it had to have a garage. Not having to shovel off your car is really awesome. When I bought my first new car in 2016, I had two non-negotiables, 4-wheel drive and auto-start. It’s just a matter of being prepared for winter.

My husband has a theory that Rochesterians are different breed of people because you have to help others when they get stuck in their driveway. You form stronger bonds because you have to weather the storm together, literally and figuratively. It enforces a sense of community because you’re in this together.

What's one memory that captures what Rochester means to you? 

Being able to offer healthcare to my employees was one of my proudest moments as a business owner. I’ve grown Dorje Adornments from me as a piercer who never thought about running a shop as a long-term career, to 14 years later, in a building much larger than our original space, with 8 employees who get paid time off and health benefits. I’m super proud. The support of other small business owners makes it possible. We bounce ideas off each other, check in, compare notes, learn, and grow.

Tell me a little bit about Dorje Adornments and how you got started. 

I was really frustrated that the quality of piercing jewelry was not what I thought it should be and what people in Rochester deserved. I wanted more than that. I was getting tattooed at Love Hate Tattoo, and my friend was like, “Hey the record store is closing, you should open a piercing shop.” I laughed it off, but a few weeks later, he was like, “Hey, did you think about it?”

But tensions were escalating between my employer and I, and it was time for something different. I figured if I could get a loan, I’d go for it. Long story short, I got the loan, and the first thing I thought was “Shit, now it’s gotta happen.”

We opened underneath Love Hate on Good Friday of 2006. The space was super small, about 800 square feet. We had room for one piercer working with a client and another to be with a customer at the counter. We grew quickly- now we have three full-time piercers, myself as a part-time piercer, two full-time counter people, and two part-time counter people. We moved into a stand-alone building on Park in November of 2018, and now we have 4x the space we once did.

What's the best part of owning a business in Rochester? 

Rochester is such a supportive community. I also love that our work is making people happy all day long. People leave feeling good about themselves! Piercing is a form of self-care. You’re finding jewelry for you, going through the experience and healing for you. We’re empowering people, and it’s incredible to be able to offer that. So many of us were made more comfortable by decorating our bodies. It’s so incredibly gratifying to offer that at Dorje.

What are some of the challenges you face as a business owner? 

One of the biggest challenges early on was finding banks to invest in me and to rent to us. On pen and paper, when you see piercing shop, you think of heavy metal music and a dark, grimy space. There’s nothing wrong with any of that. But we specialize in 14 carat gold and genuine stones. Now that we’re established and have a credit history, it’s a little easier.

We had a big learning curve from our expansion, too. There was some turnover because the job was different with the increased volume we had. It’s a whole new experience now. Hiring employees is a big challenge- it can be hard to find the right employees. Once you do, it’s incredible and beautiful and you all grow together, making the shop and each others’ lives better. But who do you trust not to drop your baby? We’re settling into a groove now after a period of explosive growth. It was an overwhelming amount of blessings to have at once.

What advice would you give to up and coming entrepreneurs in Rochester? 

1. Get a good accountant. The IRS is a lot to navigate. One of my friends gave me their accountant’s number when I opened my business, and I’ve passed it along to others since. It’s absolutely necessary.
2. Open up a bank account for sales tax only. When you’re selling products and collecting tax, the sales tax is never your money. You’re just holding onto it. You can never overspend and not have that money.
3. Be authentic. Rochesterians can smell bullcrap from a mile away. We’re real people who live in the real world, and we can smell your fakeness from a mile away. Dorje means “an unshakeable foundation built on truth.” Being completely authentic allows you not to fail. It’s key.