An Ipswich tattoo team have completed more than 200 tattoos in 13 hours in their bid to tackle stigma around mental health.
Lucky 13 Tattoo Studio in St Margaret’s Street held an event offering people the chance to get a free tattoo on Saturday, July 6,
The three artists at the parlour worked a 13-hour day and inked 250 people - which equates to around 19 tattoos every hour.
Many chose to have the tattoo having struggled with their mental health or know someone who has.
To reach their goal the three artists had to collectively ink 19 tattoos per hour. (Image: Lucky 13)
The design was a semi-colon, which is a symbol that represents personal strength to overcome internal struggle.
Jamie Hart, who co-owns the studio with Paul Standby, explained that the idea came from one of their tattoo artists, Amy Peck.
For Amy, and the rest of the team mental health is a topic very close to their hearts.
They inked semi-colons on the customer's hands. (Image: Lucky 13)
"We have done this event as we in the studio have lost loved ones due To mental health and have suffered with it in some way or another," Mr Hart said.
"Mental health is such a huge part of people's lives and can cause so much pain we wanted to give them a symbol of hope and show them that they are not alone and that Lucky 13 & Black Saint London is here to support them and the community."
This is not the first time the tattoo parlour has done something like this.
In November, the studio gave away more than 200 tattoos to parents who had suffered a baby loss.
Queues of people snaked around the shop and down the road, with the team putting in a 13-hour day to make sure every person who arrived could honour their loss.
They have also been marking every special occasion in the town, like Ipswich Town's phenomenal promotion to the Premier League.
They had seen a huge rise in people wanting to commemorate the Blues’ historic win against Huddersfield Town, giving around 300 ITFC-themed tattoos in the days that followed.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel