Get What You Get – Tattoos from the gumball machine

I am now offering tattoos from the gumball machine.

And this is how it works:

All tattoos are randomly selected, you throw 20 cents into the machine, spin it and poof you get your new tattoo design ejected.

The tattoo:

All designs are approximately 8 cm x 8 cm.
Arms, legs and back only.
No changes.
Each design is tattooed only once, and there are no refunds.

At the moment there are the following design clusters: linework tattoos (mainly animals and plants), shoes and wild roses.
 You can choose one design cluster, or all designs will go into the gumball machine.
New design clusters will be added regularly, and I will post them on Instagram.
Drop me a line if there’s a theme you’re interested in.

And this is what your tattoo from the gumball machine will cost you:

One spin: €130 plus 20 cents for the machine
Second try: €20

Here’s what else is important:

To book an appointment, I take a deposit of €40.
Please send me an email to with the subject GWYG.

G.O.B.S-23

I am showing some illustrations in the G.O.B.S-23 group show.
The opening will take place on Saturday, March 25 at 5 p.m.
The exhibition can be viewed until May 3, 2023, every Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at bildwechsel-dynamo, Kirchenallee 25, 20099 Hamburg.
Come by and see the exhibition around vegetables.fruits.flowers.seeds to lure the spring and fill the time until the start of the gardening season in an uplifting and exciting way.

On Saturday, April 15 at 5 pm, as part of the exhibition, there will be a SEED BAG EXCHANGE DAY.
come! bring! swap!

Botanical Illustration

Please join me on Sunday, the 26th of February at 6 pm for the opening of my show at Plantenköök in Bremen.
I will be showing botanical illustrations that I made this winter. The series consists of 10 illustrations, all drawn on eco-friendly, natural paper.
The show is up from February 26th till April 30th, 2023. You can visit during Plantenkööks opening hours.

Plantenköök
Am Wall 201
28195 Bremen
www.plantenkoek.de

tattoo colors 2.0

Update 21. December 2022:

Several tattoo ink manufacturers have announced that there will be REACH-compliant colors. Wonderful news!

Hello,

At the beginning of January 2022, only part of the EU regulation Tattoo-REACH came into force. I wrote something about this in September of last year: unterstrich.ink/tattoofarben

Starting January 3, 2023, the pigments Green 7 and Blue 15:3 will be banned throughout the EU. According to the Save The Pigments initiative it can be assumed that up to 65% of all tattoo colors will be prohibited as a result. There is currently no information from the ink manufacturers as to whether the pigments can be replaced. And so we tattoo artists are again faced with an uncertain future.

I would therefore ask everyone who has an ongoing color tattoo project to contact me so that I can finish the tattoo this year.

You can find more information here:
feelfarbig.com

Mit Haut & Haar

As part of the MIT HAUT UND HAAR art laboratory in Lübeck, I will be exhibiting two drawings from my mark series.

MIT HAUT UND HAAR: EIN KUNSTLABOR

Installation, painting, object, drawing, photography

The works exhibited by the international group of artists are experiments, interventions and statements on the association field of skin and hair.

Exhibition opening:

Friday, October 7th, 2022 from 7 p.m

Artists:

Roswitha Baumeister, Christin Botzenhard, Liz Crossley, *durbahn, Stef. Engel, Claude Förster, Arnaldo Gonzàlez, Marianne Hopf, Swen Kählert, Lilia Tirado Rosales, Angelika Ronnè, Heike Schader, Mesaoo Wrede, Louis Zoller and others

Open:

Wednesday to Saturday 3 p.m. to 6 p.m

Location:

pop-up showroom
Breite Straße 11, 23552 Lübeck

Cooperation/Support:

gutergrund künstlerinnnenggmbh lübeck
fund:us lübeck
bildwechsel hamburg
seifendealer, bad malente
hairs for ocean e.v.
kulturfunke lübeck

2G-Plus & Mask

Pleas read the updated Corona rules for the studio here: Information and rules of conduct during the Corona time at the tattoo studio

As of January 10, 2022, the 2G-Plus model will come into effect in Hamburg: This means that you either have to be fully vaccinated against Corona or have recovered from it. If you have not received a booster vaccination yet, you will have to show a negative Corona test which is not older than 24 hours. Furthermore, you must wear a FFP2 mask during your entire stay in the studio.
E-mail me your vaccination record or positive test result, as well as the daily test result before your appointment or bring it with you. Due to the current Corona numbers, I appriciate everyone taking an official rapid test prior to their appointment. I also get tested regularly.

Information and rules of conduct during the Corona time at the tattoo studio

tattoo colors

Hello,

As some of you may have heard, the EU Tattoo REACH regulation will enter into force at the beginning of January 2022. The law is intended to regulate tattoo products throughout Europe in a standardized way.

For tattooers this means that we no longer can use a lot of tattoo colors. Unfortunately, it is not yet clear which ones. My hope is that the companies that produce tattoo inks will soon offer REACH compatible inks. For now it looks like we have a colorless time ahead.

Everybody who has an ongoing color tattoo project, please contact me, so we can make appointments for this year.

You can find more information here:
www.safethepigments.com
www.feelfarbig.com

There is also a petition you can sign.

Take care,

Claude (September 2021)

I will be tattooing again starting next week

Hello everyone,

as of May 22nd, 2021 tattooing is allowed in Hamburg again. Yeah!

Here’s what happens next:

I will contact everyone whose appointments have been cancelled due to the lockdown by e-mail to arrange a new appointment.

For new tattoo projects, feel free to e-mail me at with the usual information (motif, placement, size, color/black).

If you have any suggestions or ideas on how we can make this work in the safest way for all of us, please write to me.

Many greetings and I look forward to seeing you!
Claude

Information and rules of conduct during the Corona time at the tattoo studio

Closed

Update: tattoo shops remain closed.

Starting April 2nd, 2021 tattoo shops in Hamburg have to close again, probably until April 18th. If the closure of the shops will be extended, I will announce it here and on Instagram.
For everyone who had an appointment in this period, I will contact you by e-mail.

Until then, take care of yourselves.
Claude

Open for Business

>> Up-to-date Information and rules of conduct during the Corona time at the tattoo studio

Information and rules of conduct during the Corona time at the tattoo studio have been updated. Please read the current post about it.

Hello everyone,

from today on tattooing is allowed in Hamburg again. Yeah!

Here’s what happens next:

I will contact everyone whose appointments have been cancelled due to the lockdown by e-mail to arrange a new appointment.

For new tattoo projects, feel free to e-mail me at with the usual information (motif, placement, size, color/black).

Since Corona infections are on the rise, I have decided to only tattoo clients who have a negative PCR test that is not older than 36 hours or who have a negative self-test with them, in order to be responsible with my and your health. more

Closed

Update: tattoo shops remain closed.

Since November 2nd tattoo stores in Hamburg must be closed again, probably until the end of the month. If the closure of the stores is extended, I will announce this here and on Instagram.
For now, all tattoo appointments for December will remain. For all those who had an appointment in November, I will contact you by e-mail.

Until then, take care of yourself.
Claude

Open for Business

Since May 13, 2020 tattooers in Hamburg are allowed to tattoo again. If you had an appointment with me that had to be cancelled due to the corona restrictions I will contact you to reschedule. If you would like to schedule a consultation, please contact me via e-mail.

>> Up-to-date Information and rules of conduct during the Corona time at the tattoo studio

Information and rules of conduct during the Corona time at the tattoo studio have been updated. Please read the current post about it.

more

Sorry, We’re Closed

Hi everyone,
thank you for dropping by!
Due to the coronavirus the tattoo shop is closed until further notice. Hopefully in the beginning of May I will know more about a possible re-opening date. But chances are that it is going to be a while.
Right now I am working on setting up a web shop, so I can sell some prints and t-shirts for the time being.

So please come back soon and check out what I have to offer.

Take care, stay healthy and #staysafe
Claude

About

I founded Unterstrich Tätowierungen in Hamburg in 2018 after having apprenticed at Mermaids Tattoo Studio in San Francisco for several years. As a queer, trans person it is of great importance to me to create a space with a calm, relaxed working atmosphere, where all clients can feel comfortable.

As a trained illustrator I am always curious to hear your ideas and am able to translate (almost) everything into a tattoo.
The styles in which I mainly tattoo are: botanical illustration, neo traditional, blackwork/linework. If you’re into decorative flora and fauna and queer subculture motifs, you’ve come to the right place. I also love motifs influenced by woodblock printing and etchings and enjoy translating your ideas into strong linework tattoos.

If you have a question, want to make a consultation appointment (of course also digital) or if you want to get tattooed, please send me an e-mail.