Process
Your tattoo project, step by step
I review every request personally. No automatic acceptance, no price worked out by an algorithm: I look at your idea, the area and the size, then tell you honestly what can be done. Here is how a project unfolds, from your first message to the session at the Cœur de Vaurien studio in Mulhouse.
You send your project
In the request form, you describe your idea, the body area and the approximate size. You can attach up to 8 photos of no more than 10 MB each.
- Your reference images: a photo of your pet or of the person to be portrayed, the mood you’re after.
- A close-up photo of the area to be tattooed, with your face out of the shot.
- For a cover-up or a rework, a sharp photo of the existing tattoo.
- No medical information in the form – we’ll talk about it at the studio.
- I don’t tattoo minors: requests are open to people aged 18 or over.
I review your project
First I check that the idea suits my work (black & grey realism, fine line or one of the other styles I do), and that the size and placement leave enough room for the detail to stay readable over the years. I also work out how much time it will take to do it properly. If the planned size is too small to age well, I’ll tell you. You’ll usually hear back from me within 3 working days.
You receive my proposal
I send you a personalised proposal by email, with a link to your booking page. Prices start from €80, depending on size and complexity, with a personalised quote (level of detail, placement, number of sessions). If I need more information, I’ll ask; if the project isn’t right for my work, I’ll tell you plainly.
- Estimated duration: a few hours, half a day or a full day.
- Estimated price.
- Number of sessions planned.
- My availability for that session length.
You choose your slot
Your booking page shows the slots I have opened for the length of your session: you pick the one that suits you. I offer dates up to 3 months ahead; the link stays valid for 14 days.
- Once you confirm your order, the slot is held in your name while you pay: 48 hours by bank transfer, about 30 minutes by card.
You pay the deposit
To secure the date, you pay a 50 € deposit, by bank transfer or by card, as you prefer. The amount is the same, with no fee, and it is deducted from the final price.
- By transfer: my bank details and the reference to include in the transfer appear on your booking page and are also emailed to you. An instant transfer arrives within seconds, even at weekends.
- By card: you pay straight away on SumUp’s payment page, without your card details passing through this site, and your booking is confirmed immediately.
- If no payment arrives in time, the slot is released and the order cancelled, at no cost to you. The deposit rules are the same whichever way you pay.
- Before confirming your order, you accept the booking terms (deposit, rescheduling, withdrawal).
Confirmation and appointment
As soon as your deposit is received, I confirm your booking by email with every detail: date, time, address, estimated price, deposit paid and balance due. You’ll receive a reminder a few days before. On the day, I welcome you at the Cœur de Vaurien studio, 10 rue Poincaré, 68100 Mulhouse, France.
- A realism piece is often done in one long session, sometimes a full day: keep the rest of your day free.
- The balance is paid at the studio on the day of the session, in cash or by card.
- At the end of the session, I give you written aftercare instructions.
The deposit, explained
To book a date, I ask for a 50 € deposit, paid as arrhes under French consumer law. It is not an extra charge: it is deducted from the final price of your tattoo.
A realism session often takes half a day or a full day. The deposit commits us both: you know the date is yours, and I set it aside for you without offering it to anyone else.
If you cancel outside the withdrawal period, I keep the deposit. If I cancel, I refund twice the amount, 100 €, unless you freely choose a new date instead, in which case your deposit is carried over to it.
You can move your appointment once, free of charge, if you let me know at least 72 hours in advance. After that, a request to reschedule counts as a cancellation and I keep the deposit. If a health or skin contraindication gets in the way (sunburn, infection, pregnancy, medical treatment…), rescheduling is free on your word alone, with no medical certificate needed.
If you don’t turn up, or arrive more than 30 minutes late without letting me know, the deposit is also forfeited.
Because the booking is a distance contract, you have a 14-day right of withdrawal from payment of the deposit. Simply click the ‘Withdraw from the contract here’ button on your appointment page, linked from your confirmation email: the deposit is refunded in full within 14 days, by the means you paid with (transfer or card), and you receive an automatic acknowledgement. If your appointment falls within that period, you must expressly ask, by ticking the box provided when you book, for the service to begin before it ends; your right of withdrawal is then lost once the tattoo has been fully completed.
In the event of force majeure, you choose between a refund of the deposit and a new date. All the rules are set out in the booking terms.
Preparing for your session
- Sleep well the night before: a rested body copes far better with a long session.
- Eat a proper meal before you come, and bring something to snack on if the session is long.
- Drink plenty of water in the days before.
- No alcohol in the 24 hours before the session: it increases bleeding and makes the work harder.
- Keep the area out of the sun: I don’t tattoo sunburnt or irritated skin. If it happens, let me know and we’ll move the appointment at no cost.
- Wear comfortable clothes that give easy access to the area and that you don’t mind getting ink on.
- Bring photo ID.
- At the studio, before we start, tell me about any health condition, treatment, allergy or pregnancy. It stays between us and never goes through the online form. If in doubt, ask your doctor first.
Aftercare
- Always wash your hands before touching your tattoo.
- Clean it gently, without rubbing, with lukewarm water and a mild, unscented soap, then pat it dry with clean kitchen paper.
- Apply a thin layer of the aftercare product I recommend: the skin needs to breathe, not sit under a thick coat.
- For three to four weeks: no baths, swimming pools, sea, saunas or sun. Showers are fine.
- Don’t scratch or pick at scabs and flaking skin; let them come away on their own.
- Surface healing usually takes two to four weeks. For a while the tattoo may look dull or milky: that is a normal stage of healing.
- Once healed, always protect it from the sun: a high-SPF sunscreen preserves the contrast and the soft gradients of black & grey work.
- Spreading redness, swelling, heat, increasing pain or fever can signal an infection; severe itching or a rash, an allergy. In either case, see a doctor and let me know.
- At the studio, I give you detailed written instructions: those are the ones to follow.
Tell me about your project
Describe your idea, the area and the size, and attach your references. I usually reply within 3 working days.