Denise's Annual Summerfest Report

At least that's what it feels like! 

So, I invited Laura "Fairy Fox" to come and paint with me and my painting ego shrunk a bit because she's fabulous. She does tons of PPF and her festival type designs and lots of swirls and curls made my paintbrush go a little limp....LOL! She's got a very illustrative style and makes wonderful cartoon faces on her unicorns and dragons, etc. She did teach me her "nose-i-mal" type masks so that we could do 1/2 animal faces...but I digress.

Well, my wonderful "no competition" fair no longer was no competition. I still got a great spot in the shade, still a low booth fee but several people mentioned there was another face painting booth and an insider told me THEY were ticked too. (Good...it's my fair! but I know how they feel.) Sigh...that's one of the reasons I invited Laura so it was a bummer that they let others in. However, even with sharing the booth, we kept busy from 1:00 pm onward with a constant line. I made about $300 less than last year but having another painter there kept my sanity intact when I needed a bit of a break to wash up or TRY to eat and the wait was pretty minimal (but they still complained but at least they weren't ready to pass out when they finally got to me!)

So, I got my full face boards done (FABULOUS) and we tried the $5.00 and $10.00 pricing the first day and it didn't work very well. I used my new corporate boy board (super quick) and even pulled out my quick one-stroke boards from last year but I wasn't really proud of anything I painted. The girl eye designs were great but the other designs were just intended to give a little something to kids at free events and were pretty stinky at a PPF. Every parent only wanted to spend $5.00 and so we did about 30 spidey eyes, 20 one-stroke kitties & tigers, blah....

So, I couldn't sleep the next morning and I took into consideration what Laura had told me about having a mid-price point but knew $15.00 wasn't going to work in my town. I printed some of the blank faces on a sheet and then circled 1/4 face, 1/2 face & full face and I made the pricing $5.00 for 1/4, $8.00 for 1/2 & $12.00 for full faces and wrote that we could adapt any design and that 1/2 face was the best value. I didn't put up the boy board...I did leave up the eye design board because they are huge sellers but I put the 3 alternatives board in the middle, and then my full face boards on the sides of that.

Well, it was amazing. I explained the beauty of it to my husband, the line manager and he worked it and LITERALLY the first customer bought an $8.00 face. We didn't have a boy board but what happened is we said we can adapt any of the designs down a notch...well we ended up doing TONS more 1/2 face masks, we got to do a LOT more beautiful girl designs because suddenly they became "affordable" because most of them were already 1/2 face so they became $8.00. The higher $12 price was "too high" so they would ask if we could make boy designs half face. So with Laura's "nose-i-mal" design (Christie from Daizy does something similar, pic below) we were able to do a lot of 1/2 animal designs and even though the price was less from the $10.00 the day before and not as quick as $5.00 one-stroke animals, it was better than having things I wasn't proud to have walk out of my tent.

I loved that I had my designs to reference in a book. I copied them for Laura and made myself a book and I turned to it everytime and it was so nice especially later when I was getting dehydrated and couldn't think straight. I also used the photo of the eye design board constantly because by the time they got through four waiting chairs they couldn't remember the name so I'd have them point in the book...time saver.

I tried sitting this year and I'm really glad. I had to get used not being able to get around the person to paint (read slower than usual) but for some reason the only pain I had was literally the pain in my butt!  I bought a $35.00 clearance padded office chair and had the kids sit on my stool and I painted them. When an adult came, I had them sit in the chair and paint them. I don't know why my back isn't killing me but maybe it's because I was bent over enough to stretch my spine.

I did the same tent set-up as last year except that I forgot to tell Laura to leave room for the mirror on the opposite corner so we just attached it to the beginning of the line tent leg. I still used my camp kitchen as a barrier, storage and someplace for the wipes and bobby pins and tip jar but I ended up painting with my tailgater table on the low setting so it was CROWDED in the tent. But after we got the menu boards up Laura even saw how nice it was to keep the siblings and parents out of the painting zone. I can't recommend this set up enough for painters that have a line manager. We ended up using Laura's poker chip idea for keeping track of faces instead of bracelets and I would recommend that for shared painters. We used the white for $5.00 and red for $8.00 and blue for $12.00. Then at the end of the day we could add up (and also see what the best sellers were.) They also made a nice CLINK when dropped in the jar.

Another cool thing that worked nicely is when the tent got stuffy I was going to roll up a side but that would expose us to walk in. Laura suggested that I used the velcro tabs to hold up the sides and pull down from the top...brilliant! I used a bit of tape to make sure they didn't slide down but it was a fantastic half wall, gave the parents somewhere to watch their kids from and exposed our painting to another side. It's nice that our fair uses the four square set up so we only had two shared walls. So I guess that's going to officially become part of my fair set up when possible.

Here's the photo of me in the booth and I'll post the "map" of the set up we had. Not an ideal but it will give you an idea of what you see in the pictures:



Here's the "We can adapt any design" sign with the 3 options:



Here's the artist zone: Camp kitchen and menu boards attached to electric fence posts make up the "L" shape. Notice the big water jug at the end of the camp kitchen. Big plus for hot guests and for us to TRY and keep hydrated:


Laura at work:


Nose-i-mal design:


Most popular design..sold 100 between the two of us I'm sure:


Half Darth Maul is an example of our adaptations:


Map of our crowded setup but it worked. There are wipes, tip jar, cards, bobby pins on the top layer of the camp kitchen and the water on a lower level.



Map of Ideal single painter setup:


Here's a couple of more photos. I wish I had a picture of the half wall:

Thanks for the details Denise.  Love reading other peoples adventures.  I  have heard a lot on mid point pricing and it seems to be the way to go.   When you say you took it down a notch to accommodate mid point pricing...could you explain that a little more?  How did you bring your full faces "down"?  Turn them into halfs?

We do one price, all face painting is $8.  We put up the smaller faces, and some of the more elaborate faces, but end up with no debates about what the child can get, and get to move quickly.  Makes it super easy and also the parents feel like it is a value, if they want less, they get it, if they want more, they get it.  Works for us.  I so love your set up as always...

invest in some floor mats so you can roll easier, I use a drafting type chair that I can raise or lower for myself and found a rolling chair smallish that goes up and down and use it for the kids, they both swivel and they have saved my back, the only complaint I have is my chair isn't quite deep enough for my big butt and I am constantly slipping forward gets really irritating about the 5th hour of a 12 hr ppf gig. Our set ups are similar.

Wow.  This post is a friggin' treasure trove of information!  Great job ladies!

I did like the single price system we ended up doing last year Martha. It does make things easier. I just wanted an excuse to show people my full faces. Honestly, I'm tired of people over-inviting for birthdays and having to do quick designs on everyone. Maybe this way I can entice them to have a full-face party for less children. I was wondering about doing a deluxe face painting package where the base price is the same and then charging $7.50 per kid. Right now I'm charging $5.00 for what are basically $8.00 faces. I think I'll do that on the new year.

Maxellbia, we did exactly that. Like for Hulk I would ask them if they wanted the face split in half or have a Hulk eye mask with their own teeth...and that's just what I had on the "adapt" sign.  On the animal faces we would end up doing a mask with the little nose art. And if they wanted an $8.00 face brought down (like a cyborg) then I wouldn't do the eye part (That's the time consuming thing) I just did patches of silver on their brow bone and cheek. Next year, if I do this, I'll have a spidey eye, spidey mask and full faced spidey to illustrate the difference.

I know what you mean about wanting to do the full faces! Today I booked a party that wants 30 kids in 1.5 hours, and I am almost thinking that the fast faces should be more, not less, at a party.  Just being able to move that many kids through your line is a skill they should pay for.  I recently raised my price for a one hour party to try and get at this issue.  finding that 1.5 hour party is banging on that same door

I don't do 1 hour parties.... my minimum is 2 hours, I used to get enquiries to paint for 1 hour, while the drive there was also 1 hour....

This is awesome, and I love that you break down what worked for you and what didin't. Truly a learning experience for everyone, thank you Denise!

Such a wealth of information , thanks DeniseDenise

THANK YOU Denise!  You are just so fabulous, helpful, and generous with information...I don't think there is a face painter alive who doesn't love you.  Your post prompted me to look up the Cabella's camp kitchen...that thing is cool!!  I've been doing a county fair for 15 years and last year I had a $5 board (quickest cheek art), a $6 board, $8, and then one that has full faces at $10-$15.  I find most of the time the parents will say "choose from the $5 board!"  Then the kids' eyes veer to the right and they spot one that they just HAVE to have, and the kids sell the more expensive designs themselves.  But there are always different groups of customers...the ones who want nothing to do with full face painting, and those who only want full faces, so this way I get them both and a few in between!

As usual Denise: you generously share your experiences & we all benefit. You are a master @ zeroing in on the things that matter. Thanks, w/much love from your devoted FP community!!!

Isn't pricing funny! I was spazzing over it the night before. My husband forbid me from talking about it anymore and then I changed half-way through.   Just goes to show you that you can adapt and the world won't end. 

Last year, because I was working with Emma as an assistant, full faces were messing up our mojo so I told hubby to pull the boards and we just did $5.00 faces the rest of the night.

This post is indeed amazing, Denise. YOUR work always makes MY brushes go limp, by the way!

I am quite curious though; do you happen to have any photos (or sketches?) of the Hulk Eye Mask and the $8 Cyborg "without the eye"? (Was the Hulk Eye Mask $8 as well?)

Thanks again for all of the great info.

Hi Mark, yes the Hulk Eyes are one of my favorites. I used them a lot this year and boys always look great in them. I'll post a picture from the event. As far as the cyborg I'll post one similar from Halloween this last year but it's just basically putting silver on a bone high spot as if it got scraped off and putting red around it and then scrape effect on the surrounding skin. I use the rake brush a lot for the Hulk for the eyebrows and hair and for the cyborg for the scrapes. (Oh, I only charged $5.00 for the patches cyborg...and $8.00 for the 1/2 face with eye.)

Here's the 1/2: 


Here's the whole:


Here's a partial no eye cyborg. I just used the Wolfe Brother's Extreme Facepainting cyborg for the full face one. (I did too much scraping on this one but you get the idea. The scraping should be coming from the patches...not all over.)

Thank you for posting these, Denise! They're plenty cool. Now I see what you meant about the Cyborg! It piqued my interest because I'm working on a Terminator design; endoskeleton parts showing from beneath torn flesh. I'm not good at all with the "girly" stuff, but Terminators, zombies and monsters I can do all day long. :-)

Thanks again.

Oh, I like that half face hulk, I always do him full face.
And I never add the hair, that hair really makes  a difference!

Thank you Denise for sharing - I echo everyone else - amazing wealth of informationa and you are so generous to share

Denise, what do you mean by "electric fence posts"? Are those from the electrified barbed wire fence posts that keep cows in the pasture??? (evoking childhood memories of my summers on a family farm!) LOL...help me out here. I really need to try your "traffic flow" for my next big event.

As for pricing, I always scope out the concessions first and go from there. Whatever it costs for a bottled water is my lowest price. Sometimes this doesn't work and I never have anything lower than $3. 
I try to have three prices. 
The last festival I did helped me to realize that even that is too low. So now I will price $5,$8,$10 or $5,$10,$15 depending upon venue. 
I couldn't believe it, but faces I usually charge $5 for, people were paying $12! I made sure to make them better than I do when I charge $5, but honestly, even that only took me a minute more, usually. 
I'm so over under-pricing myself. I didn't have one. single. person walk away due to high prices. 
Spring festivals are over and I have one more PPF event before fall festival season, so I'll have to let you know later if implementing that new understanding works for me. 
Also, to get the line moving, I put up a temporary sign that says "Happy Hour: $1 off any design" and I take it down once I get a line. I mark the last person in line and anyone after that pays full price. This gives me the option of raising my prices without causing a revolt. I've been known to leave it up all day on slow days.

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thanks for sharing Denise..I use the one price method and they have 18 girl designs and 18 boys to choose from. my tent has 3 walls and they come in one way when im done they get up look in the mirror on the back of my design board and exit out..works really well here is a pic.

Oh, that's a nice set-up too, Barb! The A-Frame sign with your design board on the front and mirror on the back is a great idea. Very nice!

Silly question, but I'm curious; do you have kids walking in through the exit and the entrance both, and crowd around when you're trying to paint? Your booth has a very nice, open feel, but I'm wondering if that also may make it easier for curiosity-seekers to "swarm" you?

They were like $2.50 or something like that at Lowe's Home Improvement. They were by the roll up fencing for chickens. I was actually going to build a cinderblock and rail wall...this is MUCH better. You have to be on the lawn though. I think that is my criteria for fairs now: Cheap booth fee, on the grass, shade for the line, no unfair competition, carnival (they don't go where there are no kids), two days or more with security and electricity for fan & lights. Wish me luck, right?

http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/fi-shock-4-ft-step-in-fence-post-white/0000000064595

That's a nice fantasy Denise . Still, reach for the stars and you'll probably catch a few ...

Shade for the line would be VERY nice, and it usually doesn't happen. And low fees!

I don't have photos to post (yet) to show this year's county fairs set-up.  I have 4 of them in July - all back to back.  I am working solo this year, too - no booth partner at all.  That means I have to pay my booth fees all by myself.     I have yet to find anyone who has the time to work for (or with) me.  So, I'm doing my face painting, glitter tatts, temporary hair stuff (synthetic feathers and clamp in color extensions and Color Rubs all by myself.  Not to mention that I give away a free Mardi Gras necklace to each customer (no expense to me, since they are given to me free) and also selling handmade fairy wands, headpieces and tutus....plus hand painted glow in the dark monster rocks

and a few novelty toys.  I do the face painting and tatts sitting down, with my paint set-up on my camp kitchen to the right of me and my glitter tatts on my wagon with the table top on my left.  I'll have a simple folding tray that will hold my hair stuff set up alongside the camp kitchen - so I'll have to stand up and go over to the tray and turn the customer's chair around so I can work from the tray.

I do have one friend who may be able to come to one fair - she's a friend from high school who just wants to hang out with me for the week and doesn't want to be paid. 

My goal is to NOT end up in the hospital this year - LOL!

I have bought the foam faces and intended on preparing a board this year with them - but that ain't gonna happen.  I've run out of time.  But I'm not gonna sweat it, since I had a huge response to my photo menu last year.  

I have a brand new tent this year - please pray for me that this one doesn't get destroyed!  I am crazy to be doing this... seriously crazy...