A quick rewind back to when you discovered tattooing ?
I discovered tattoos very early! I've wanted to tattoo since I was a kid. My older brother was interested in Hog Bikes and Harley magazines. In these mags, I only looked at pictures of bikers and the sidebars with the tattoos. I drew tattoos very early on my buddies with ballpoint pens. I’ve been drawing since I was a kid so sticking it on my skin always interested me. Very early on I searched how to become a tattooist, except that at the time it was a little complicated. When i was 18, my brother got a tattoo from Vincent (editor's note: Vincent Baudry, with whom Jon still works today at the Bretzel Tattoo Club). I was thirteen, I had drawn his design and he offered to accompany him.
Did you put a foot in the door at that time ?
Yeah, well, there were tattoo icons like Martial that I also went to see with my father when he got a tattoo. But with Martial, it wasn't quite the same approach, he was more like a "craftsman" to me. Vincent had more of an "artist" side. Being at the heart of drawing, it was more impressive to approach Vincent for me. He, who has been on the scene for a long time, was the only "tattoo artist" in my region. I showed him my drawings, he sent me strolling, but it was fun! (laughs).
It didn't discourage you too much, I think...
No ! (laughs). I really wanted to become a tattoo artist but I had to choose a branch. I didn't necessarily want to do the « Beaux-Arts » and finally I trained as a computer graphics designer, it was, for me, the closest thing to drawing and at the same time I kept checking out the tattoo world. At the end of the 90s I went to see Valentin (TattooMania, Mulhouse). I asked him if he wanted to train me, he asked me to make a few drawings and he also sent me away a little (laughs). I made phone calls everywhere, especially to Bruno in Pigalle who offered training courses at the time. He couldn't tell me how long it would last and I thought to myself « it's fucking 15,000 francs anyway" (laughs).
And how did it start ?
When I finished my studies, I no longer wanted to work in advertising. I made three horrible tattoos on myself with a friend's machine, and later we went to the tattoo convention in Châlon-sur-Saône. I bought my first machine there and a bottle of blue ink. I bought some pigskin and started to ink a little. In the morning I was a postman, in the afternoon i tattooed my friends and kept trying to solicit the studios around. I went to see Mathias Bugo (Artribal) who did my first tattoo when I was studying in Lyon. I also went back to see Vincent for a new piece in order to get a bit more in touch with him. As I was returning to Alsace, I asked Vincent again for training. He worked at Memory Steel in Altkirch. I showed him my drawings and he accepted. Pierre, his boss, was setting up a studio in Mulhouse. I was propelled from the shop now a tattoo artist, whereas in reality, I had only made about twenty tattoos on my friends. Vincent continued to teach me the trade in parallel, quite a bit on the technical side. He has a particular way of teaching things but it works well, it’s pretty laid back. It lasted two or three years. You attend conventions, meet people and learn different ways of working: I told myself I had made my mark and I wanted to go and see a little elsewhere. I set up my own company, I worked in Jean-Marc's shop at the Belfort Tattoo Family as a regular guest, at Fred Laverne's place, at Tabarck in Brest or ArtCorpus in Paris. When I returned to Alsace I tattooed at Vincent’s shop who had set up « Encre et Tradition » in Colmar where he continued to train me.
So Vincent has been a real mentor to you?
Yes, absolutely! I've admired him since I was thirteen, he's impressed me on a lot of things! I even have a hole in my ear because of him, at the time he had flesh-tunnels and I thought it was cool. So I did the same thing but a little too fast. Now I have a chicken ass in my ear (laughs). Vincent is really my Jedi master.
Is that where the Bretzel Tattoo Club shop was born ?
Vincent's shop wasn't very big. There were three of us (Editor's note : with Nico, the apprentice at the time), we wanted to remain independent, without hierarchy. It took us a long time, a lot of money, but we found and refurbished a tapas bar that was in a horrible state. It became the « Bretzel Tattoo Club » in 2008, a great adventure. We moved into an old Alsatian house five years later, keeping the same spirit. Ten years later, we still feel good there, and the people too, it's important.
Something you've always attached some importance to, I think?
When you get a tattoo, fundamentally, you mark something, it's a ritual. It's important to make a nice drawing, but tattooing isn’t just that. The tattooist-tattooed relationship is important. People are there to have a good time, but also to "ink" something. On their skin, but also in their lives. You don't get a tattoo anytime, anyplace just like that, and even if it looks completely stupid for the person across the street (except Fat Manu).
When did you start to develop your own style?
I managed to develop a "style" from the moment I understood that tattoo was not just about illustrations. The problem was there: I immediately had a strong ego. I was stubborn and no longer wanted to bend to making flash tattoos. I tried to impose what I wanted to do, even if it wasn't very suitable for tattooing. Vincent worked doing free-hand tattoos, so I did the same, but I was much more of an illustrator than a tattoo artist. I would have learned faster and better if I had confined myself to doing what the customers wanted. I would have learned to lay my lines properly without worrying about drawing, and I would have worked on my drawing little by little. Flashes are conceived in a certain way, so you can learn to work on your drawing differently. I've lost a lot of years, but well, I'm slowly getting there.
Did you already have that new-school influence at that time?
Coming from illustration and comics, I was already influenced by new school. I was immediately inspired by the pioneers of the style such as Dimitri HK, Stef D (Octopus Tattoo, Pontoise) and Vincent Baudry. Furthermore the style has evolved a lot thanks to technique and many other tattoo artists such as Jee Sayalero, Jesse Smith, Jim Littwalk, Olivier Jullian (Glamort), Amy Mymouse and many others! It's a pity that this style has never really been put forward since the 90s…
This mixture that defines your work with the Japanese rules, old school mixed with new school, did it come gradually?
I tried to do my own thing for too long, I didn't have enough sense to do like... Alix for example. She has been able to put aside her style to eat old school traditional technique and traditional Japanese which are the main pillars when it comes to tattoo solidity. She has made her style even stronger. It took me a long time to do that. So yes, it's really progressive, because even today I continue to refine my style while keeping in mind the basics of these schools.
Are there any things you've changed in the way you work on your drawing?
Yes, I've changed methods many times! I am more and differently interested in the basic style of tattooing. I try to look more at the images to see how they’re constructed. Before I had a tendency to fly over it and didn't analyze enough. I let myself be swept away by everything and anything, it was a mess. Through the old school and Japanese tradition, I learned to simplify and purify as much as possible. Sometimes I struggle not to place a shading. All you need for a good drawing is a beautiful shading and a solid color rather than three colors! Both work, but one of them holds up better over time. This is the school Vincent taught me, working on the tattoo for a solid result. But simple is the opposite of easy. It also conditioned my drawing, even in terms of composition. There are also meetings, when I accompanied Lionel (Monsieur Biz, Aix en Provence) to get tattooed by Filip Leu, I took my tablet with me thinking I was going to draw... in fact, I only watched him work, it taught me a lot of things.
Rather traditional influences in the end?
Yes but not only because, for example « Electric pick » : so he's a guy who really bluffed me with his tattoo and not his illustration, what he does it kicks ass. It's simple, effective. There was also a big period of Lars Uwe (Loxdrom Tattoo, Berlin). For me it was one of the first to synthesize « art nouveau », the technique of Japanese tradition and old school with a colorful new school style and movement. I also look at a lot of pieces from Justin Hartman (New Idols Tattoo, NYC) or Markus Lenhard (Lux Altera).
Through conventions and the tattoo public, have you seen the world of tattooing evolve ?
In good and in bad. Good because there are people who’d never even consider having one, now do. Tattoos have become a thing in codes, and therefore more open-mindedness to different projects. That’s what i was looking for when I started tattooing.
For the less positive aspect?
You feel it when you have people who come a little influenced by their own environment. They do it in order to blend in, not because they really want or need it. No judgment, but sometimes that I believe when you tattoo them they might regret it. You can't get them to change their minds. And they don't even necessarily live their session well sometimes. It brought back all this « grease », this star system that revolves around the tattoo and a new generation that knows nothing about nothing, it's difficult.
What do you think it's caused by?
TV, among other things. It's a little rebellious, it's classy, it's "swag" to tattoo... I don't know if they still use that word (laughs). I have to say, it pisses me off a little bit and I'm not interested. Some people come by and ask me to train them. One of my first questions is about their references. They answer me "uh...you...Tin-Tin..." ... but Tin-Tin, man, my grandmother knows him, everyone knows him! Before I became seriously interested in tattooing, I looked at magazines, the works of Sabine Gaffron, Dimitri HK, Filip Leu, Hernandez, all these guys. I was trying to learn about the scene I was trying to get into. It's a environment that I really like for the values it conveys. We’re losing them a bit, because of all this "fat". But it's also up to us to make this thing last.
Were there any key moments for you technically?
Not really, I'm starting to tattoo again with steel grips, at least for the lines. I tried rotary but didn’t stay long. I'm still old school. I have big hands so I don't have tendonitis problems. I'm sticking with Coils because you feel them better. I often compare it to a car, when you have an automatic, you can’t feel the road properly . With rotary machines it's a bit the same: you can’t feel the skin. With a Coil, you can feel it better even if it takes a little longer to adjust it, at least you can tinker with it, like old cars. I heard an anecdote about a tattoo artist working Cheyenne-style. It broke down, so he couldn't finish his tattoo, it's a bit stupid (laughs). If my Coil breaks down, I know how to fix it. I always bring gear with me in case a spring breaks or something. It's the handcrafted side of tattooing that I like as well.
We're asking you for a lot of cover ups and you told me you like it. That's enough of a counter-current speech, isn't it?
I don't know if it's against the current, but what I do know is that I like cover ups for several reasons. First of all, there is the technical challenge that I like. Starting from a stain forces you to think about the different directions you can take, that wouldn’t happen on virgin skin. I find it interesting to bring a rotten old tattoo back to life. A lot of people came to me confiding me that they had a complex with their mouldy tattoo. They don’t dare to show it, or even go to the beach or the pool. A real complex. They take a big step by coming to see me. They have often been disappointed by a tattoo artist and must trust another again. It's not always easy for them. But once the session is over, seeing their reaction honours and gratifies me. It is a mixture of relief, deliverance, re-appropriation of their bodies.
How do you live your job today and how do you see next?
I’m passionate about it, I’m living my childhood dream. That's what I've always wanted to do. I'm letting myself be carried away for the moment, there are ideas, desires, things that will change, that's for sure. I love tattooing, but a lot of things got me thinking about a potential break to orient myself towards other things. Maybe more illustrations or build another structure, we'll see, it's just projects for now. www.facebook.com/bretzel.tattooclub
