Port Side Tattoo Collective plans Toys for Tats charity drive
By phone. “After I started looking into it a little bit, I realized there were a few shops in the States that had a great deal of success doing slightly different types of charity events, but with the same kind of outcome in the end.”Port Side Tattoo Collective is a new tattoo shop that took over from Sacred Heart Tattoo’s West End location this year.
“We worked here together at Sacred Heart for many years, and they let us purchase the shop in May,” Hutchings said. “The artists Trish Bevz, Pat Berube, and Geoff McCann all purchased the shop, and then we hired on a few other folks to help us get rolling.”
Those interested in getting a tattoo are asked to bring an unwrapped toy or several toys valued at $40 with a receipt, which will be donated to the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau. In return, clients will receive a small tattoo by one of Port Side’s four artists.
“We’re putting together a great deal of designs… at least 100. There’s going to be things that we know, over the years, people have come in to look for, things like little symbols and kanji, things that we know people like to get,” Hutchings said. “The artists here are also working on their own flash sheets, just sort of keeping in mind with things they’ve been asked for in the past, or been asked to do smaller. So I think Trish is working on cherries or flowers. I think some of the fellows are working on some really beautiful traditional style pieces.”