The Christmas toy a Sumner resident recently donated earned her a 25-percent discount at a Gallatin tattoo shop.
Melissa Epley, 27, received the discount on her sidepiece, rib tattoo when she contributed a toy gun to the Tatts for Toys drive at The Addiction Ink tattoo and body piercing shop in Gallatin.
Since Nov. 1 the shop’s toy drive, its first, has collected from customers close to 100 toys to be given through the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots Foundation to less-fortunate youngsters for Christmas. Addiction Ink owner James Rollin said plans are to make the drive an annual event.
“We were trying to think of something to give back,” Rollin said. “A lot of people think bad about tattoo shops. That was true a long, long time ago, but that’s not the way it is now. If we can do it, then any business can do it.”
Simple message, big returns
The shop’s message was simple: customers receive 25 percent off on any tattoo in exchange for an unwrapped gift for a boy or a girl. If they ride in on a motorcycle in the cold to bring the gift, they get a 50-percent discount.