"Are you the Designer?"

When your business has an online presence, you receive all kinds of visitors.

The man on the other end of the phone had a faint Texas drawl.

"Are you the designer?" he asked. "I found you on PartyPop".

Faces & Fortunes is an advertiser on PartyPop, a site set up to help people find entertainment and vendors for parties and weddings.

Not sure of what he was looking for I asked him a general question I ask of most people who inquire about our services.

"What kind of event are you planning?"

"Uh, no, I'm not planning an event. I'm looking for someone to design caricatures for mugs."

I explained that that we are not an illustration or graphics studio. Our business is providing party entertainment.

Most people looking for illustration and design services seek out artists who market themselves in those areas. But, occasionally, people unfamiliar with those markets will stumble into caricature artists who specialize in live party entertainment.

That seemed to be the case here.

I had made the decision some time ago to focus on the spontaneity of live party work because I much prefer it to the solitude of the studio. And I didn't want to stretch the resources of Faces & Fortunes too thin.

But from time to time we get requests for sign-in boards and stand-alone individual caricature drawings to be used, primarily, for gifts.

And, so, as a courtesy for people like this gentleman and others looking for gift caricatures, sign-in boards, or other caricature commissions, I built in a referral mechanism on our facesandfortunes.com website.

I asked talented Chicago based humorous illustrator, Marlene Goodman to take on this work for us. View samples of her gift caricatures.

The page contains an online form so you can contact Marlene directly. She will email you or call you to discuss your project and give you a quote.

And she responds quickly!

If you want an individual caricature drawing for, say, a birthday or retirement gift. Or you have a full blown design or illustration project, consider Marlene.

See our Caricature Gifts page.

What is all of that Stuff We Carry?

Many people, especially kids and artists are curious about our set up and materials.

We have to be mobile. We travel to all kinds of party sites ranging from outdoor parks and fields to host's living rooms to ornate hotel banquet rooms. We have to be able to get in and out quickly-sometimes we work at more than one event in a day and the schedule can be tight.

But most important, we have to work quickly when we draw. Party caricatures should take no more than 5 to 10 minutes per person drawn.

So economy of speed, economy of motion and a set up that facilitates this is important.

So, how do caricature artists set up and work at a party? Although there are individual and regional differences, the arrangements look something like this.

The artist's set up begins with a portable drawing surface. Some artists rest a drawing board on their lap. But most artists in the Philadelphia area use easels of some sort. French easels are popular among artists because they are portable and have neat fold out drawer to store pens, markers, chalks, etc.

Some artists may have a small box or table to rest their drawing paraphernalia while they work.

Then they use some sort of bag or satchel to cart in the drawing paper, clip-on lights, bags, etc. I use a roll-aboard suitcase for this purpose. It keeps me very mobile. I can just carry my easel over my shoulder with its shoulder strap and roll my suitcase from my car to the party-site.

Most of us carry clip on lights we use when we are indoors. They are a lifesaver when working in dim banquet halls and restaurants. Because we can provide our own light, the party host can keep light levels anywhere they want for purposes of setting a desired atmosphere. We just ask to be placed near a location by an electrical outlet.

You can read more about how caricature artists work here.

RIMS Reception: Part One

The weather this past Sunday was so perfect, you just wanted to pour it into a bottle for safekeeping. Then you'd wait for a dreary day to take it out and pour it all over you. The sky was crystal clear, the temperature in the low 70's, low humidity... Perfect.

The RIMS convention, a gathering of risk management professionals, was opening the next day. Today's gig was an insurance company's pre-convention cocktail reception for staff and prized clients.

As a result of the many discussions with the event planner, I recruited 12 performers; 3 Tarot readers, 3 palm readers and 6 caricature artists, to be part of the entertainment for the 400+ people expected to attend.

Recruiting the performers was easy; the gig was on a Sunday evening on a day when few other events were happening. And so my first choice artists and readers were available.

Had the date been even a week later in the month, I would have had to compete against scores of Delaware Valley area Communion parties for the availability of my performers.

Sometimes it is easy to know when a given date will be busy. Certain times of the year are predictable. For example, December with its holiday parties, June with its graduations and other functions are, without fail, periods of high demand.

And sometimes it seems, for no discernible reason, that everyone in town is throwing a party on the same date.

But, the sun was smiling on us.

I arrived an hour-and-a-half early for set up. I didn't need all of that time to physically set up. The event planner had already arranged for the layout and placement of tables, chairs, etc. But it was important to be there to scope out the 'lay of the land,' greet my performers, hand out their checks, show them their stations, and give them last minute instructions. To ask for changes if necessary, and equally as important, to let the event planner and coordinators know I was on-site and prepared.

I had already had a number of discussions with each performer so they understood what was expected of them. Each was a veteran of many years of performing in a special events setting, so, if necessary, she could roll with the punches.

A smooth running event is the result of lots of preparation and organization. That is why many event planners and other events professionals are on the anal side. Small details can trip you up and throw things out of kilter. Lack of sufficient communication will do that, too.

Like the time an agent booked me to draw caricatures at a family event in a restaurant.

I was booked at the very last minute and, in the flurry of activity, no one thought to notify the restaurant.

I broke the news myself when I called the restaurant the morning of the event for driving directions. My late announced arrival called for a hurried revamping of the room's layout to accommodate me.

But that event went well and so did this one.