Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the “disruptive” global ad agency with a creative hub in Boulder,
has puts its weight behind a Pinterest pinboard that promotes body ink options for post-mastectomy breast cancer survivors.
Image of tattoo covering mastectomy scars on a breast cancer survivor.
CP+B launched P.INK as a means for breast cancer survivors to gain inspiration and creative tattoo options for their bodies that have scarred or left without nipples following a mastectomy.
The nonprofit “passion project” was the brainchild of CP+B’s Noel Franus, whose sister-in-law Molly Ortwein was left scarred following a mastectomy two and a half years back.
After being told she would lose her nipples as a result of the operation, Franus’ sister-in-law flipped the situation on its head, and sent out an e-mail seeking suggestions for tattoos.
Franus was inspired to take her idea, reinvent it and share it with others. A web-based
platform
“It felt like a disruptive enough idea that it the kind of project that the agency would take on,” he said of CP+B, an agency that has developed unique and sometimes controversial campaigns. CP+B’s latest slate of clients include Domino’s, Best Buy, Burger King and Coke Zero.
P.INK’s fuse was slow burning as officials wanted to give time for Molly to heal and time for its employees to do some work around the sides.
After a soft release at the end of 2012, the site marked its full launch this week. As of now, p-ink.org’s Pinterest board has more than 350 subscribers, among them tattoo artists.
In addition to having the board gain momentum, Franus said he hopes the initiative could evolve through sponsorships and also via crowdsourcing efforts to help fund tattoos for breast cancer survivors.
“Everybody wants to change the world, but we want to see evidence of that,” he said.
Is it safe to have permanent ink near an incision site like that?
I was wondering the same thing.
What a great idea! Facebook recently had a photo floating around of a woman who had her chest tattooed after a mastectomy. I thought it a very strong "I will survive" statement.
Tattoo Inks contain heavy metals to make the colors. Red color reportedly contains mercury.
One theory that depression has increased the last 25 years is the mercury in tooth fillings. So some are having mercury fillings removed.
Sort of ironic – Removing one piece of mercury and replacing it with another.
"Manufacturers are not required to reveal their ingredients or conduct trials, and recipes may be proprietary. Professional inks may be made from iron oxides (rust), metal salts, plastics.
Heavy metals used for colors include mercury (red); lead (yellow, green, white); cadmium (red, orange, yellow); nickel (black); zinc (yellow, white); chromium (green); cobalt (blue); aluminium (green, violet); titanium (white); copper (blue, green); iron (brown, red, black); and barium (white). Metal oxides used include ferrocyanide and ferricyanide (yellow, red, green, blue). Organic chemicals used include azo-chemicals (orange, brown, yellow, green, violet) and naptha-derived chemicals (red). Carbon (soot or ash) is also used for black. Other compounds used as pigments include antimony, arsenic, beryllium, calcium, lithium, selenium, and sulphur.
The FDA and medical practitioners have noted that many ink pigments used in tattoos are “industrial strength colors suitable for printers’ ink or automobile paint.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoo_ink