1. Acceptance of These Terms
By accessing this website, submitting an enquiry or engaging the studio for any service, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, please do not use the site and do not engage the studio. The terms apply together with any engagement agreement that you sign with Bud Lafleur Inc., and where the two documents differ, the signed engagement agreement controls for the work it describes.
These terms are written in English and govern every page of this website, including the homepage, the services page, the contact page and the legal pages. They apply whether you browse the site, send a message through the contact form or work with the studio over a long engagement.
2. Definitions
A few words appear repeatedly in these terms, so we define them here to avoid confusion.
- The studio means Bud Lafleur Inc., its employees, contractors and authorised representatives.
- The website means every page served from this domain and every file that supports those pages.
- The services means the studio work described on the services page, including Bloom Side Desk reviews, Stalk Row Rounds, Ribbon Band Weeks, Vase Fit Days, Seasonal Mix Sessions and Wrap Paper Evenings.
- The client means the person or organisation that engages the studio under an engagement agreement.
- Deliverables means the documented output of an engagement, such as maps, runbooks, diagrams, notes and configuration records.
- Confidential information means information that is not publicly known and that is shared in confidence between the studio and the client.
3. Eligibility and Authority
The studio services are intended for businesses and professional organisations. By engaging the studio you confirm that you have reached the age of majority in your jurisdiction and that you have the authority to act on behalf of the organisation you represent.
If you are engaging the studio on behalf of a company, you confirm that you are authorised to bind that company to these terms and to any engagement agreement. If you are not sure whether you have that authority, please check before you proceed.
4. Permitted Use of the Website
You may read, print and share the pages of this website for your own professional use, provided that you do not remove any copyright notice and do not present the material as your own. You may link to the homepage or to any of the informational pages, and you are welcome to quote short passages with a clear reference to the studio.
You may use the contact form to ask genuine questions, request a consultation or start a conversation about a project. You may also use the phone number and email address published on the site for the same purpose.
Any other use requires the prior written permission of the studio. In particular, you may not copy large parts of the site into another publication, use the studio name or branding to suggest an endorsement that does not exist, or present the studio content as part of a competing offer.
5. Prohibited Conduct
You must not interfere with the normal operation of the website or attempt to gain access to parts of it that are not intended for public view. You must not use automated tools to send a flood of requests, you must not submit malicious code through any form, and you must not attempt to probe or test the security of the site without written permission.
You must not send content through the contact form that is unlawful, defamatory, abusive or designed to harass another person. You must not impersonate someone else or misrepresent your relationship with an organisation.
If the studio becomes aware of prohibited conduct, it may block access, delete offending material and, where appropriate, report the conduct to the relevant authorities.
6. The Studio Services
Bud Lafleur Inc. provides services in computer integrated systems design. The services are described on the services page and are delivered by people who are experienced in system mapping, integration work, documentation and handover. The descriptions on the website are accurate summaries, but the specific scope, cost and timeline of any engagement are set out in a written engagement agreement between the studio and the client.
The studio may decline an engagement if it is not well placed to deliver the work, if a conflict of interest exists, or if the request falls outside the practice. A florist who accepts every order ends up doing none of them well, and the studio takes the same view of its own commitments.
7. How an Engagement Begins
An engagement begins when both the studio and the client sign a written agreement that describes the scope, the cost, the timeline and the responsibilities of each side. Until that agreement is signed, no work has been commissioned and no obligation to deliver exists.
The first conversation, including a Bloom Side Desk review held in person or over a call, is normally free of charge. Any written proposal that follows describes the work clearly and remains open for the period stated on the proposal.
Where an engagement is small and clearly defined, the studio may confirm it in a short written note rather than a long agreement. The note still forms a binding contract once both sides accept it, and these terms apply to it.
8. Client Obligations
A successful engagement depends on the client as much as on the studio. The client agrees to provide accurate information about the systems that exist today, to nominate a person who can answer questions in a timely manner, and to give the studio reasonable access to the people and systems that the work requires.
The client also agrees to make decisions when decisions are needed. An engagement that stalls because nobody will choose between two options drains the studio time that the client is paying for. When a decision is genuinely difficult, the studio will help to frame it, but it cannot make it on the client behalf without written authority.
The client agrees to pay invoices within the period stated on each invoice and to tell the studio promptly if something has changed in the business that might affect the work.
9. Fees and Payment
Fees are set out in the engagement agreement. They may be fixed for a defined piece of work, calculated at a daily rate for open ended engagements, or structured as a retainer for ongoing Seasonal Mix Sessions. The studio will never add a charge that has not been described in writing in advance.
Invoices are normally issued at agreed milestones and are payable within thirty days unless the engagement agreement states otherwise. Where a payment is late, the studio may pause active work until the account is settled, and may charge interest at a reasonable rate disclosed on the invoice.
All fees are quoted in Canadian dollars unless the engagement agreement states a different currency. Taxes are added where the law requires them and are shown separately on each invoice.
10. Scheduling and Timelines
Every engagement has a proposed timeline, and the studio works hard to meet it. Timelines depend in part on the client, so the studio will set out clearly what it needs from the client and when. If a delay arises, the studio will say so early and will propose a revised schedule rather than waiting until the deadline has passed.
Studio visits are arranged in advance and are held during weekday business hours. If a visit must be moved, the studio will give as much notice as possible and will work with the client to find a new slot quickly.
Where an engagement is paused at the client request, the studio may resume it when the client is ready, subject to availability. A long pause may require a short reorientation session before the work continues.
11. Changes to Scope
Good work often reveals new problems. When a discovery during an engagement changes the shape of the work, the studio will explain the change and its effect on cost and timeline before proceeding. A written change note is prepared for any material change, and the original engagement agreement is updated to reflect it.
Minor adjustments that fit within the spirit of the original scope are absorbed without a new charge. The studio will say clearly when a request is minor and when it has crossed into new territory, so that the client is never surprised by an invoice.
12. Intellectual Property
The text, design, code and visual arrangement of this website belong to Bud Lafleur Inc. and are protected by copyright and other applicable rights. You may use the site as described in the section on permitted use, but you may not reproduce its design or copy its content for a competing purpose.
In an engagement, the client owns the deliverables that are created specifically for the client and paid for in full under the engagement agreement. The studio retains ownership of its general methods, templates, internal tools and know how, including the six named services, and may reuse those elements in future work.
Where the studio incorporates open source software into a deliverable, the licence of that software continues to apply. The studio will identify any such components in the handover material so that the client knows what is included.
13. Deliverables and Handover
At the close of an engagement, the studio provides the deliverables described in the engagement agreement and presents them during a Wrap Paper Evening. Deliverables usually include a system map, a set of runbooks, diagrams, configuration notes and a plain language summary of the choices that were made.
The client is responsible for storing the deliverables safely once they have been handed over. The studio keeps its own copy for the retention period described in the privacy policy and can provide a replacement copy on request.
Handover is treated as a formal step, not an afterthought. The studio will not declare an engagement finished until the client has had the chance to walk through the deliverables and ask questions.
14. Confidentiality
Each side agrees to protect the confidential information of the other. The studio will use client information only to deliver the engagement, will limit access to the people who need it and will not disclose it to a third party except as described in this agreement or as required by law.
The client agrees to treat the studio methods, templates and internal documents as confidential and not to share them outside the organisation without permission.
Confidentiality obligations survive the end of an engagement. They do not apply to information that is already public, that the receiving side already knew before the engagement began, or that is independently developed without reference to the other side.
15. Third Party Materials
An engagement may involve third party platforms, libraries or services that the client already uses or wishes to adopt. The studio will work with those materials carefully, but it cannot change their behaviour or take responsibility for decisions made by their vendors.
If a third party service changes its terms, raises its prices or discontinues a feature during an engagement, the studio will explain the effect honestly and propose a sensible path forward. Any additional cost arising from such a change is discussed with the client before it is incurred.
16. Warranties and Disclaimers
The studio warrants that it will perform the services with reasonable skill and care, in line with the standards of the computer systems design field, and that the deliverables will substantially match the description in the engagement agreement.
Beyond that, the website and the services are provided as they are. The studio does not warrant that the website will be available without interruption, that it will be free of errors, or that any particular outcome will result from reading its content. The material on the site is provided for information and does not constitute professional advice for a specific situation.
No warranty is given about the performance of third party platforms or about the accuracy of information that the client supplies.
17. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, the studio is not liable for indirect or consequential losses, including loss of profit, loss of business opportunity or loss of goodwill, arising from the use of this website or from an engagement.
The total liability of the studio for any claim arising from an engagement is limited to the fees paid by the client for the work that gave rise to the claim, or to a reasonable amount set out in the engagement agreement, whichever is lower. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, such as liability for fraud or for death or personal injury caused by negligence.
These limits exist so that a small studio can take on ambitious work without being exposed to risks that would otherwise make the work impossible to offer.
18. Indemnity
The client agrees to indemnify the studio against claims, losses and costs that arise from material supplied by the client, from the client use of a deliverable in a way that the studio did not recommend, or from the client breach of these terms.
The studio agrees to indemnify the client against claims that arise from the studio infringement of a third party intellectual property right in work that the studio created specifically for the client. This indemnity does not apply where the infringement arises from client materials or from a combination that the client directed.
19. Termination and Suspension
Either side may end an engagement by giving written notice in accordance with the engagement agreement. If the client ends the engagement, the client remains responsible for fees for work completed up to the date of termination and for any non cancellable commitments already made on the client behalf.
The studio may suspend or terminate an engagement if a client fails to pay an invoice after a reminder, if the client asks the studio to do something unlawful, or if a situation arises that makes the work unsafe or impossible. In every case the studio will explain the reason clearly and will do what it can to leave the work in a sensible state.
On termination, the studio will hand over any completed deliverables that have been paid for, together with the working notes that are needed to understand them.
20. Force Majeure
Neither side is responsible for a delay or failure caused by an event beyond reasonable control, such as a natural disaster, a widespread power failure, a serious illness affecting key people, or a change in law that makes performance impossible. The affected side will notify the other promptly and will resume work as soon as it reasonably can.
If such an event continues for an extended period, either side may end the engagement on written notice, and the client will pay for work completed up to that point.
21. Privacy and Data Protection
The studio collects and uses personal information in line with its Privacy Policy, which forms part of these terms by reference. The privacy policy explains what is collected, why it is collected, how long it is kept, how it is protected and how a person can exercise their rights.
Where an engagement involves personal information that the client controls, the engagement agreement describes how the studio handles that information and the safeguards that apply.
Please read the Privacy Policy before sending personal details to the studio. If anything there is unclear, ask us and we will explain it in plain language.
22. External Links
This website may contain links to external resources. Those resources are not under the control of the studio, and the studio is not responsible for their content, their availability or their privacy practices. A link does not imply that the studio endorses everything on the destination site.
If you find a link that appears to be broken or inappropriate, please tell the studio and we will review it.
23. Governing Law
These terms are governed by the laws of Canada and of the province of Quebec, in which the studio is based at 3900-1 place Ville-Marie, Montréal - H3B 4M7, Canada (CA). The courts of that province have jurisdiction over any dispute that cannot be settled directly.
If a provision of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to apply in full, and the unenforceable provision is read in the way that most closely matches its original intent.
24. Dispute Resolution
If a disagreement arises, both sides agree to talk first. A short meeting, held in person or over a call, resolves most issues. If talking is not enough, the sides may agree to a short mediation with an independent third party before any formal legal step is taken.
The studio would rather solve a problem quickly than defend a position. If you are unhappy with something, please tell us directly and we will treat the concern seriously.
25. Changes to These Terms
The studio may update these terms from time to time to reflect changes in its practice or in the law. The date at the top of the page shows when the current version was published, and a material change to an active engagement will be communicated to the client in writing before it takes effect.
Continuing to use the website or to work with the studio after a change means that you accept the updated terms. If you do not accept them, please tell the studio and we will discuss how to proceed.
26. Contact Information
For any question about these terms, write to styling@budlafleur.hair, call +19255594477 during business hours, or send a letter to Bud Lafleur Inc., 3900-1 place Ville-Marie, Montréal - H3B 4M7, Canada (CA).
Thank you for reading these terms carefully. A clear arrangement at the beginning makes for a calm engagement in the middle and a clean handover at the end.