Filed under: Ponderings
I’ve been reading some interesting things online lately in the Face Painting community.
Mostly it is comments from vendors about increasing negativity online.
Let me explain something.
Face Painters are Small Business Owners. We understand marketing concepts because we use them ourselves.
We don’t like to be marketed AT. We can smell a twist coming a mile away.
And we are also a bunch of loud mouths.
We aren’t going to sit still and take the “Beat your customers over the head with a club ’till they love you and want to buy everything you sell!!!!” tactics. We actually stand up for ourselves and for our fellow community members.
The Face Painting world extends internationally. But we are also a very small community.
Word gets around. Quickly.
So go ahead and take the grumblings with a grain of salt. But keep in mind that the very small community that is grumbling is the same very small community that you are trying to sell to.
May 6, 2010
what would you do
if you knew
you could not fail?
(possibly ripped off from a Robert H. Schuller quote)
March 26, 2010
I *think* I’ve narrowed down the classes I want to take at the 2010 FABAIC.
Wednesday
Pre Class : Lori Hurley “How to Make a Living as an Artist or Entertainer…Even in a Recession!”
Ok, I will admit that I wasn’t super thrilled with how Lori described her pre-class. On the FABAIC website the description sounds a lot like advertising and not very much like a class write-up.
I don’t like to be marketed “at”.
I have and looooooove her book by the same title and I just didn’t want the class to be a re-hashing of the same things over and over again. The Kapital Kidvention taught me that family entertainers love to sell stuff to their fellow entertainers and no way in heck was I going to pay $150 to sit through 8 hours of sales pitches.
So what did I do? I emailed Lori and then we had a telephone discussion about what the class is actually going to be on.
And now I’ve plunked down $150 to go to her class.
I’m expecting a one-on-one experience with her. I need help with my phone skills and business organization. And I’m totally willing to pay for that kind of help.
Thursday
Beginner Airbrushing @ 1:30 But Margi’s class looks amazing too. Gah!
Glitter Tattoos @ 3:30 I can’t pass up Glitter Tats!
Friday
Graffiti and Tribals @ 10:00 With Wiser
Painting Teeth and Facial Expressions @ 1:30 Wolfies!
Butterflies and Fairies @ 4:00 Lynne!
Saturday
Spray and Wash Stencils @ 10:00 Yay!
Stencil Savvy @ 1:30 I think I’ll do this one but still undecided
Power up your Princess Parties @ 4:00 Love you, Kerry Ann!
Sunday
Highlights and Shadows @ 10:00 Jinny!
The Value of Entertainment @ 1:30 Yes!!!!
Anyone want to sit next to me??? Please?
March 25, 2010
Here is my theory on why people like to watch face painters in action.
Folks are under the impression that Art Takes a Lot of Time.
When we paint a fast, recognizable spiderman in 3 minutes (on a moving target) - that is impressive!
My Favorite - You can't really add much!
That’s why I was always fascinated watching Bob Ross whip out a cottage in the middle of a forest in less than 20 minutes.
“Did he really just paint that picture while I watched?”
Happy Trees? Anyone?
It’s also like watching a name painter do their thing. They are so efficient with their strokes – it’s as if they are on auto pilot and barely touch the paper.
The impressive face painting designs are the ones that look like ANYONE could do them – except that they are perfectly executed and not a single brushstroke is wasted.
And that’s why folks enjoy watching face painters. Fast Art – what a thought!!
Show me your favorite efficient design.
You can put a link to it in the Comments Section Below.
I promise to rip you off and make a video w/o your permission :)
Juuuuuuuuuust kidding… maybe.
March 23, 2010
Why would you want to read my Face Painting Blog?
Let’s examine the list below:
1. I am not selling anything
And that’s it!
I’m not pushing ‘guides’ or ‘templates’. I don’t have any DVD’s, marketing material, or e-books for sale. I am not an affiliate with any company.
I also make no promises that I won’t offer these in the future – I just don’t want to right now.
I have my own biased viewpoint as someone who started painting for my daughter’s fourth birthday party back in 2007. I like what I like because I’ve spent my own money on lots of interesting products and books and I know when I’ve wasted that money.
I plan to spend lots of my own free time writing about what moves me as a face painter.
Here is what you are probably in store for if you stick around:
1. Product Picture Comparisons – I can’t believe there aren’t more resources that compare colors within brands and between brands
2. Business Resources that I have come to Trust – mostly from outside the “Entertainer” world but also some from within
3. Product Reviews – books, DVD’s, the latest DooDads, whatever I can afford and whatever strikes my fancy
4. Convention Pictures and Reviews – again, whatever I can afford to attend
5. Pictures – my own work, inspiration, whatever is tickling my funnybone
My grandiose plan is to post twice a week to up the Search Engine ranking for my actual Face Painting business website. So there- I am selling something :P
What do You want to read about on this new blog? Are you most interested in Industry News? Do you want lots of design photos? Do you want mostly product reviews? Leave me a comment and let’s get down!
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February 9, 2010
