TOPICS: Aussie tattoos in Newcastle for wildlife, bushfire relief

FLT Tattoo Studio at Hamilton is putting a unique spin on bushfire relief fundraising efforts, pledging to donate all profits on February 15 to animal welfare organisation WIRES and the Red Cross disaster relief fund.

The tattoo artists are working on Australian flora and fauna designs for the flash day - when people walk in off the street and choose from a collection of pre-made designs.

There will be a first-in-best-dressed policy - no appointments, no custom tattoos and it'll be a cash-only situation.

One of the artists, Eddy-Lou, told Topics on Thursday the designs would be posted to social media before the event.

She and her colleagues are all passionate about animal welfare, so they chose WIRES as their first charity, and decided to donate to Red Cross after speaking with a friend who had to fight fires to save their home recently.

"We came up with the fundraiser after a discussion about feeling so helpless watching our country burn and feeling so hurt that our government isn't taking action," she said.

"We all believe in the importance of taking action against climate change and protecting the land and animals on it.

"We wanted to help and so we decided to do a flash day to raise money, using what we do best to help where we could."

The fundraiser will go from 10am until late. Don't forget your valid photo ID if you look a bit on the young side.

Last August, the Newcastle Herald brought us the story of Andrew Burns and John Norton - a couple of inventive blokes who were able to combine comfort with practicality by sticking wheels and a motor on their recliner chairs.

As far as we knew, the chairs hadn't been spotted recently until an eagle-eyed Topics spy saw the boys taking a ride through Hamilton on Tuesday.

Topics wasn't too keen on the latest warning put out by the Australian Reptile Park this week - the Hunter is experiencing prime funnel web spider conditions.

The crew at the Central Coast park said wet weather followed by heat was just what the poisonous arachnids thrived on.

They are encouraging people who spot a funnel-web spider to catch it - if it's safe to do so - so experts at the park can milk it to make anti-venom.

A funnel web spider bite hasn't killed anyone in Australia since the 1980s, when the anti-venom program was introduced.

"If you are an adult and feel safe to do so, please catch the funnel webs using a big glass jar and keeping your hands away from the spider, coax the spider into the jar using a long stick and bring it to us at the Australian Reptile Park or one of our drop-off points in Sydney, the Central Coast or Newcastle," spider-keeper Jake Meney said.

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