2015 Year in Review!

Paintertainment has had an amazing year in 2015!!

Paintertainment 2015...a busy year!

In light of it being New Year's Eve, I thought it might be fun to reflect back on the last year, and found there was a lot going on in 2015!

 

In February I released my 5th book, "Realism for Face & Body Artists!" It was a full year in the making, and has been very popular worldwide.  This year I am working on new options to make it more available in Europe, as everyone is selling out, so stay tuned!

In March our local newspaper, the Laker, did a wonderful story on my business and the release of my new book.

In April I was quoted in Woman's World magazine, though didn't fully agree with how the article was handled!

May brought the release of my 6th book, "Painting Boys," a book that focus on a subject that I thought the current market was really lacking.

The end of May and beginning of June brought my first season doing henna at several senior overnight lock-in parties!  Thanks to A Touch of Magic for giving me those opportunities this year to really get more henna experience under my belt...I had SO much fun!

In June I also released my new photo prop boards which have been really popular!

Fun with friends & colleagues in 2015!

August is always a busy month, and this year was no exception as I enjoyed my 3rd year at the Carver County Fair, which turned out to be the best year in my 17 years of county fairs! 

My role as an agent also grew a lot in August as I had my first really large event that I was not able to attend myself due to the fair.  Thanks to my reliable and talented artists, and my wonderful husband who was willing to stand in for me and connect with my client, it turned out great!  I sent out more of my artist friends to events in 2015 than I ever have before, most of them being events I was not personally at, which is a big step for me into the world of acting as an agent.

In September I was invited to speak to my local Rotary Club, topping off my presentation with a balloon dog 101 class!

Just a couple weeks later, I had the opportunity to give two presentations at the first ever Minnesota Professional Family Artists and Entertainer's Business Conference in St. Paul. The experience I had speaking, and the information & inspiration I took away from other presenters were invaluable!

2015 Balloon Art!

In October we released another new Paintertainment exclusive product: PainterTemplates! Finally, some wipe-off face templates that don't look like creepy, stoic mannequin faces!

I also had the fun assignment to paint an entire family for Halloween, which was great! I don't typically take many Halloween sessions as I'd like to spend it with my boys while they're still young, but this year it worked out great on a weekend during nap time!

In November I had the opportunity to work with Charlie & Violet Photography to help launch their new prenatal henna photo packages, and see some of my work photographed beautifully by a professional

I also created a new assortment of new Christmas word menu designs for our custom word menu design service, just in time for everyone's Christmas gigs!

November also brought a new transformation of my company, from a sole proprietorship to an LLC. 

My December was full as always, and usually ranks right up there with August among my busiest months.  I had an array of events, including public and private parties, malls and corporate events. I also had more opportunities to do Christmas balloons this year, not just face painting!

2015 contest entries, paintings, and henna!

In 2015 I also published many new and useful blog articles, which can also be found amongst my ever growing "learn" page:

• "Do This, Not That: How to Achieve Speed & Detail in Cheek Art Designs"
• "Henna is Never Black!"
• "Face Painting & Hygiene: The Nitty Gritty of Keeping it Clean!" 
• "Face Painting Contracts: What do I Write?"
• "My Gutted Guitar Case"
• "White Paint Comparison"
• "Tip Jar Security"
• "Never Settle for Being the Best: My Journey from Cheek Art to Full Faces"
• "Crowd Control Tips"
• "When Can I Call Myself A Professional Face Painter?"
• "Face Painters' Glossary of Terms"
• "I'm an Introvert: What's Your Superpower?"

In addition to blogging, this year I've published 11 free e-newsletters! Yes, I know, there are 12 months, but August gets SO busy, it often gets left out! ;-)

I've also hosted countless paint and balloon jams, and hope to continue doing this regularly in 2016. 

I refreshed my branding, which of course meant refreshing all of my other collateral!

Every year I invest as much back into my business as possible.  A few of the new things I invested in this year included my first full year's subscription to FABATV.  I've also invested in an amazing assortment of crowd control gear which came in very handy almost immediately.  I've invested in software, hardware, and tools to increase my product quality and efficiency. I've also invested in new equipment to streamline my work process at events.

My store continues to grow every year, in customers and product assortments! 2015 brought with it a big increase in henna products, paint brands and colors, gemstones, glitters, balloons, stencils, custom kit tools, and Paintertainment exclusive package deals.  We've shipped products, inspiration and 1 on 1 advice all over the globe!

So what's left to come in the new year?  A LOT! I have many new things coming up in 2016...in May I will be flying to New York, to speak to the New Jersey Face And Body Art Guild, and will be holding an all day workshop the next day!  I am also already working on my 7th book, and those who attend my workshop will be getting a sneak peek at the content.  I have a few other big things in the works for the new year, and am excited to see the early stages of everything already coming into place!

THANK YOU so much to all of my loyal customers, all of my Facebook, blog, Instagram and Pinterest followers, my talented team of face painters, balloon twisters and caricature artists, and my supportive family and friends.  Without you this wouldn't have been such an awesome year. I can't wait to see what 2016 brings, and what more I can bring to help better YOUR business in the new year! 

Happy new year!!!