Pilferage proof setup?

Okay, this might just be my pessimistic/fatalistic personality coming out, but I've been a little worried about going through what Cassandra (and quite a few other face painters here and there) went through with supplies growing legs and walking away.

Right now, I have my paints securely snugged into foam holders, but I don't have any such secure system for my glitters, mica powders and rainbow cakes. I have this black box with drawers that I keep them in, but it seems to more of a hinderance to have to open a draw to pull out my glitter and such to use and if I leave one opened, the other is blocked. But even that isn't fail proof because sometimes I leave a popular (glitter/rainbow cake) out because I know the next person will be getting it as well. I did that this weekend and this little girl almost walked away with my "sparklies" as she called it (bottle of glitter to us old farts).



So my question is: How do you arrange your set up to discourage theft from the sticky fingered passersby or over curious tots? I love my little black box for storage, but in the working environment, I don't always have enough room to have that AND my paints & Brushes out. As pretty as it may look to have my glitters and cakes lined up on the table for ease of use, I know that I'm a victim waiting to happen. Has anyone else had something snatched from their table or "borrowed"? How do you avoid that risk AND have an efficient set up? Is it possible?

You know, it's amazing to me how someone always posts something I'm thinking about. I haven't had sticky fingers, but curious ones. Completely age appropriate behavior, but one I must discourage.

With my setup, I don't have a table, I have three small trays that line up on top of the FatMax. I used a clamp to hold each one to the other. A curious little girl wondered what that clamp was for on Saturday, grabbed it, and off tumbled my brush holder and assortment of glitters. Thank goodness for screw-on lids!!!!!!!!!

So, how does one keep an eye on the line, ones belongings, and manage to paint a face too? Electrified Barbed wire?

I'm leaning towards an over electrified cattleprod that sparks and arks...
that would scare ME off... maybe it would work for other people as well?

I've put too much into my kit to have pieces and parts of it nicked because someone thinks my stuff is "cool" or "nice".

To be honest I have all of my glitters in the same place, which is the 2nd "pocket" in on the middle shelf of my Fat Max.

I make the lid & top of my Fat Max into a table with 2 pieces of hardboard, then place my table cloth on top, with my paints & water on the table.

As I paint sitting down they are near enough to be away from fingers, but I can still pick them up easily.

I try & keep the placement similar with each job as then I do not loose things.

are there sides to your tent? if you set yourself up in the corner so that people can't get around your table, then you should always be between them and your stuff. I never look at the line... I look at the person I'm with at the moment and my stuff.

I don't have a tent of my own...yet. The events I've been painting at have been 'open air' events where the painter is 'vulnerable' on all sides but one.
So, nothing short of an electrical force field with dna recognition will keep hands out of my stuff.

I got my EZ Up tent at Walmart for $130... of course we're getting out of season now so there may not be any left. It came with screen sides which I don't generally use because there are usually other vendors on the sides and a wall behind me, but even screen walls would at least indicate to people "don't walk here."

In order to fit my whole operation in my Honda Civic - I bought a smaller tent. (Perry - I have the EZ Up tent with all four sides too - that I use for large events). The tent I bought you can get at Walmart for Like $68 and one person can set it up and it fits perfectly behind the seats in my car on the floor board. I use that construction marking off tape (that you see on stakes on the side of the road) in Hot Pink, Orange, or Green and rope off my tent except for one entrance. When kids hover, I kindly ask them to step back as not to interrupt the child in front of me - for their painting session. Usually parents adhere to this - sometimes not. I had a girl JAB one of my brushes into my palette and create a crater in my paint pot!

I had just bought that paint and it ticked me off.

I don't see where they have that particular tent at Wal-Mart anymore. But it was made by Ozark Trail. It's not the 9x9 dining canopy - I didn't want that one because you have to tie it down and I often work on concrete and I don't want kids tripping over the lines but - if that's something you can use, it's only $30

My problem is that I don't always have the option of erecting a tent, even if I did have one due to space. A good example is the PTA Face Painting gig next month. we're set up in the middle of the gymnasium with kids running all around. In that setting, I'm not so much worried about the kids getting to my stuff as the other moms 'borrowing' what will be in easy reach. Now that it's getting cooler, many events are held indoors and popping a tent indoors around here gets some eyebrows (and tongues) a waggin'.

Hmmmm.....guess I'd just have to tell the other moms to keep their hands out of my stuff. Sorry. If they get offended that's their problem. You paid for it. I'd situate myself in such a way that they couldn't "borrow" my stuff. Actually, I'd just tell them flat out if it was me.

if it makes you feel any better, I've never had anything walk away, except for my mirror a few times... but it always came back with apologetic parents!

Also, is it just me, or am I not seeing any orange in your kit?! why skip that one?

If it is other painting people, there isn't going to be much you can do that doesn't seem rude. If it is children at an event like that, you may try setting up another table next to yours so that they'd have to obviously reach across that table to get to your stuff? Short of having "private" painting sessions behind curtains, any barriers to other painters will seem very rude.

Thanks guys,
I have requested to have a separate table, but have yet to hear anything back. The way it is set up for that event, the kids purchase tickets and different "activities" require a certain number of tickets (usually, 2 for face painting). I've run into the pouting mom's in the past who don't understand why they can't just "borrow my brush really quick" or "borrow my paint since they don't have that color". I'm just trying to avoid a "situation", but I don't see how I can.

Ashley, I do, I do! I have Sparkle Orange, Orange and Dark Orange... I think at the time of the picture, I hadn't received my shipment of Snaz paints yet. now my set up is mostly split cakes. I was trying to show the cumbersome black box without having to crop a photo. I'm just lazy like that!

I use a cart that is closed on three sides, and I usually place it with the opening facing me, and the kids lined up on the other side. (See my gallery for pics of cart.) My chair is set so that I am sort of facing the cart as well, and can keep a close eye on it. I have an occasional curious toucher, but not too much of a problem. I've never had anything stolen. *knock on wood*

Oh I love the cart idea! (more for the storage aspect) Is this like the kind of cart they use in hair salons?

you could just get a Fat Max at Home Depot.. it's what I use when I feel like bringing a truck's worth of supplies with me

Amanda H. wrote:To be honest I have all of my glitters in the same place, which is the 2nd "pocket" in on the middle shelf of my Fat Max.

I make the lid & top of my Fat Max into a table with 2 pieces of hardboard, then place my table cloth on top, with my paints & water on the table.

As I paint sitting down they are near enough to be away from fingers, but I can still pick them up easily.

I try & keep the placement similar with each job as then I do not loose things.

I had thought about getting something like that to make a table top, but I was going for self contained, and my 3 trays fit perfectly in the bottom of the top section. I paint standing, so I think I need to move the chair so my supplies are on my left side.

I use a FatMax now for my stuff... mainly because I can fit ALL of my clown stuff in there too. All of my face painting stuff fits in the top section and the bottom holds all my balloons, parachute, balls, puppets, colouring books, etc.

I got a 4 ft folding table from Staples for about $40 (I think) and it works well for me.

I luvs Lucille... my fatmax. The painting stuff fits in the top (except extra sponges and my bucket) But I keep the tent-y set-up stuff in there... twine, duct tape, extension cords and lights, apron, extra sunglasses, protien bar. It's almost like a clown car!

I'm doing a park event w/ K this weekend and I'm just trying to figure out how to keep one eye on my stuff while having it out...you know eye candy...it's not the safest

I lost a glitter once... not sure how or where.

I don't actually have stuff out that interests the kids and if they make any attempt to touch anything their butterfly turns into a bloody stump....

I put out a small plastic tray which holds my can of q-tips, the bottle/s of glitter and liquid paint I decide to put out - it keeps it handy, stable and they don't "see" them because of the sides of the container....

I try to arrange it so the line/queue starts several feet away and I am able to LOUDLY tell them to move back when it starts to move too close...

Being able to get extra tables to create a corral helps.

I'm going to have to look into getting another table, or police tape, perhaps some cheap barbed wire I can add some 'juice' to.

Remember the Soup Nazi on Seinfield?

You eyeball my stuff too long... NO PAINT FOR YOU!!!

Check these out. When you don't have a tent and are surrounded on all sides these would work to create a barrier.


http://crowdcontrolstore.com/deluxplasticstanchions.aspx?gclid=CKCIscuxkJ0CFRshnAodiH292w

This past weekend I had to tell many kids and a few parent to please step back out of my work (personal space) area. No one cared about the sign "line starts here' that was up. Should I really complain though?