Let's talk Uniforms. I know, I know, you’re an artist, you don’t want to wear a uniform. You want to wear whatever you want in your studio. Well that's all fine for those of you that work by yourself in a home studio and not out in the general public.
However, looking professional is an important yet over looked aspect of those who own an airbrush business that deals with the general public on a daily basis.
At Anything Airbrushed plus we implemented the “uniform shirt” years ago for a few reasons.
1.) the dress code got a little out of hand for some of our artists who were showing up wearing some things that were just completely inappropriate for a Mall, Waterpark, Event location.
2.) artists were complaining about their clothing that gets ruined while working.
3.) at Events, we HAD TO look professional and look like a team.
The best solution for this was “uniform shirts”. After all we are an apparel business so why not take advantage of it. So we created simple shirts with our logo on them in the front “crest” area and a bigger version on the back. We decided on Polo style shirts as well as V-neck shirts which most of the female artists preferred. We also have regular t-shirts for the studio location which is a lot less “formal”. We also have jackets to wear for slightly chilly out door events and we also have “name tag lanyards”. We went with Black for our main event shirts as well as a royal blue for our Summer and outdoor events. We also carried this into our Beach Waterpark location with the same style shirts except we chose blue and bright green shirts to go along with the “tropical” atmosphere.
We created our shirts just using opaque transfers. Very simple, inexpensive and we can make them at anytime for any artist as needed. The artists do not have to pay for them and can replace them at any time if they get paint on them while working, which as mentioned above was one of the other reasons we introduced them. Now the artists no longer have to worry about ruining their own clothing.
As far as pants, they are required when working at an event to wear clean, dark colored pants. Shorts are allowed at outdoor Summer events if applicable. At the Waterpark location, clean long or short pants are allowed, preferably khaki colored.
The most important reason for doing this was actually the “Event Entertainment” aspect of our business. When you are getting hired by Fortune 500 companies as well as some pretty “well off” individuals. These are times when you really do not want to be showing up in a plain white t-shirt, shorts, Flip Flops etc… which is pretty much what most “artists” like to wear…lol You want to look professional and more importantly you want to convey to your clients that you respect them and their event. You don’t want to come across as a broke, poor starving artist….which we all probably are…lol…but we don’t want the client to know that…lol
On a less formal note. Creating a “uniform” or “shop”, “Studio” shirt is also a great way to advertise your business on a daily basis while you are out and about. Everyone reads other peoples t-shirts and quite a few people will comment on someone’s shirt which makes for a great conversation started with a complete stranger who can possibly turn into a future customer.
Also, it’s important to note that even if you are just a one person business, wearing a uniform shirt still helps you present yourself in a more professional manner. People take you more serious when they can see that you are serious about your appearance which helps show them that you are serious about your work, which in turn shows them you are someone they can trust.
So let’s hear your thoughts.
