Smile Train UK Fundraising Enters Digital Universe

Smile Train UK is delighted to announce a special collaboration with Dark Inc Studios. It’s founder, Mark Moore (@Dark_Inc_Studios on Twitter) from Huddersfield, felt compelled to give back after his son, Joseph, now a thriving 18-month-old, was born with a severe unilateral cleft lip and palate.

The full-time digital illustrator, graphic designer & professional tattoo artist, wanted to use his creative passion to honour his son in the best way that he knew how.

Mark has created a full digital tattoo art NFT collection, called “Pink Panther Five-Eye & Friends®” and features 100 hand drawn 1:1 rarity NFT’s of unique custom tattoo art. For every artwork purchased, the NFT contains a hidden unlockable that means a percentage of the final purchase goes directly to Smile Train UK. Mark is hoping to raise thousands of pounds for Smile Train UK.

An NFT (Non-Fungible Token) is a digital asset that exists completely in the digital universe — you can’t touch it, but you can own it. An NFT can be any type of digital file: Music, an article, or in this case, a collection of artwork.

Mark said: “Our son Joseph was born with a severe unilateral cleft lip & palate.  He was lucky enough to not only live in the UK, but to have an awesome NHS team operate on him at Leeds General Infirmary. Joseph’s first operation was just over a year ago.  The impact this had on me as a parent was overwhelming and I felt compelled as a professional to give something back for the generosity and kindness the NHS showed us.

“During the last 12 months we have created an NFT project for Smile Train UK. We are the first UK studio to release and exhibit a full digital tattoo art NFT collection called ‘Pink Panther Five-Eye & Friends®’. The reason for the panther is my son at the first scan, looked exactly like a baby Panther as he was developing in the womb… so he’s always been my baby Panther.”

Ian Vallance, Smile Train UK Director, said: “We are absolutely delighted that Mark is on a fundraising mission that will make such a difference to cleft-affected children around the world. A cleft is the most common facial difference globally, affecting around 1 in 700 babies each year. In the UK, our wonderful National Health Service (NHS) support babies like Joseph on their cleft journey. However, there are hundreds of thousands of children worldwide who are not as fortunate. Mark is extremely passionate about using art for good and fundraising in a totally different way. We’re thrilled to be supporting his NFT collection!”

Mark’s collection can be found here.