Tattoo shop to raise money for LGBTQ camp

A Cochrane tattoo shop is helping LGBTQ kids feel comfortable in their own skin by hosting a charity ink event for Camp fYrefly next week.

“My best friend when I was a kid is transgender, ” said Jessica Pare, co-owner of Sink or Swim Creations tattoo studio. “Throughout my life, I’ve met a lot - a lot - of really nice people, and I know that there are still sometimes people who are judgmental.

Rebecca Pare, a semi-permanent makeup artist, and her tattoo artist partner, Jordan Shea, are originally from Jasper and recently opened Sink or Swim Creations tattoo studio.

She said they wanted to give back to the community in some way by hosting a charity event, and was immediately drawn to the message and mandate of Camp fYrefly - to give Canadian lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-identified, two-spirit youth a safe and welcoming place to embrace diversity, and develop resiliency and leadership skills.

The concept was founded in 2004 by two doctors and has taken place every summer since in locations around the country, including for four weeks this year in Calgary and Edmonton, Saskatoon, Sask., and Peterborough, Ont.

“I think it’s really great that kids can feel free and comfortable in their own skin, ” said Pare, who has four children with Shea under the age of eight in their blended family. “I don’t really ever want them to be pushed toward something that they don’t want to be.

To raise money to help send a young person to the inclusive camp next summer, Sink or Swim is offering “flash ” tattoos - one- by two-inch body art - for $85, with $25 from each inking dedicated to Camp fYrefly.

“It’s a quick piece, ” Shea explained of the term. “They’re done in a flash.

The charity event starts at their shop at 205 1^st Street East on Monday and continues until the end of the week.

Shea will have a number of designs for charitable clients to choose from, like keys, hearts and other miniature motifs - or Pare said people can bring in their own, ready-to-go ideas for a tiny tattoo.

“I love the way that art looks on the body. It’s a form of self-expression, ” said Shea, who developed a passion for ink when he was 12 and apprenticed at Blacksheep Tattoos in Calgary at 19. “When you can take someone and give them something … and it made them feel better on the inside - it’s a big deal to me."

Clients can book a tattoo time for the Pride Flash event by calling (780) 931-6429 or on Sink or Swim’s Facebook page at facebook.com/sinkorswimcreationscochrane.

Shea said he is also drawn to the positivity that Camp fYrefly offers kids, who he knows will only thrive by being given an opportunity to express their true selves.

“I had friends when we were younger that were trying to come out ... I know how difficult it was, ” he said. “To support a kids’ camp where they can be free ... is a stepping stone that kids my age didn’t have when we were growing up. ”