Mastering Event Workflow for Live Artistry & Brand Activations

Having an efficient workflow cultivates a better experience for you, for your client, and for event attendees — so let’s do something about it! In this episode, Cat of Cat Lauren Calligraphy + Alex of Signs of our Lives discuss:

-strategies for figuring out how to determine your production rate
-some differences between in studio work versus on site work
-setting up your event space
-how and what to educate your clients and event attendees about
-different types of order forms, and how they can help you manage your event
-setting and communicating boundaries on site
-and so much more!

Listen in for all the tips on managing (and mastering) event workflow for live events as an artist.

Transcript

Okay, we have our very much highly requested episode, which is workflow at events. So there are lots and lots of factors that contribute to this. There are slow paced events, there are very high volume events, and there are three things that I think that we think are like kind of the major factors in what's going to affect like the things you do and how you do it, which is the amount of time that is allotted for you as the artist to be at the event and provide the activation itself, right? Like the art activation.

And so typically, I don't know about you, Cat, but I feel like I typically get hired for like three to five hours. Yeah, I would say on most events, I would say between like three and four hours with a handful that extend into five to six on more popular dates and things like that or like weddings tend to be a little bit longer. But yeah, I would say we're typically between like that three to six hour range. I have had a handful. I would like more than just a few like I've definitely had a handful that were two hours. Just because that's all that was either needed or that's all that fit or like, maybe it was like a workshop or something like that. I was like, doing like some gifting for whatever. But yeah, most of them three to six hours, I would say. Or not. Yeah. Within the range of three to six hours.

Yeah, same. I weirdly have like a 10 hour one coming up and I already know I'm gonna hate myself. Your face right now. It's like a full day. It is eight to six. And I'm like, what did I get myself into? I don't know. I don't always think these things through, but here we are. Anyways.

That goes to our next thing, which is the number of guests, which is also a really big factor. And of course, which hopefully is self -explanatory, but the service that you're offering. So whether, so engraving is much quicker than, for instance, painting on a leather journal or something, right? Like taking a brush, sticking it in paint, and then doing the brush strokes, right? It's very different than engraving.

Or damn near anything is faster than foiling. Oh my gosh. Yeah, foiling is an interesting one. That has its own fun factors. But yeah, so if you're like doing fashion illustration and you're just doing the face versus whether you're doing the face and the whole body and you're doing like intricate things about the people's clothes and accessories and things like that versus if you're like embroidering just like a line drawing, versus are you filling the whole thing in.

Like there's so many things that are impact what you're doing. But yeah, like I think the amount of time that's allotted, the number of guests that you have at the event, which is kind of hard to tell whether it's like a retail event. I think that's one of those things where it's like, if you're at like Nordstrom's or Bloomingdale's, like, is it one of those weekends that's going to be super busy? Is it one of those weekends that they're just trying to get people in the store and that's why they're having the event, right? So you can't really anticipate a lot of people that are going to be walking, like a lot of foot traffic.

Right. I think that kind of ties in. So like the number of guests, if they already know if it's like a private event or something like that, that's a little bit more straightforward. But if it is something that's maybe more of like a retail event or something along those lines, I think the kind of additional thing you would want to consider is like, what is the guest's access to that item or like the client's access to that item? So for example, like in retail, I would say most times it's not just like anybody can walk up and get it. It's typically like a gift with purchase kind of setup. So because they have to purchase something that typically slows it down more so than if just anybody could walk up regardless of if they made a purchase or not and then just like walk away with the thing. So you might still be jam packed busy again, if it's like a, crazy busy weekend or sometimes people see you're there and they're like, I'm gonna buy like nine things. You do all of them. So it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be a slow event. At retail, it just means that it's not like free access, but there is something required of the guest or the client or the customer or whatever else to access your service.

As opposed to like a whiskey festival where the like the ones that we've done where they're literally handed a rocks glass and they literally bring it immediately to get engraved and it's free, you know, it's like, well, not free. It's like part of their ticket, right? so very different. That line is always very long and which kind of is also another thing that I think leads into the next thing, which is, you know, what are you offering? That is when I limit my word count.

So that's a conversation that you have with the client where you're like, okay, if there's gonna be this many people and I'm only there for this many hours, kind of like knowing how many can you actually do within an hour given whatever medium that you're doing, right?

Right. And I would say that's kind of something that is going to depend like artist to artist. I think everybody we've talked to has had way different numbers for like engraving, for example, how many they can do per hour. So I think, you know, if you're maybe newer to this and you don't already have that number in your head about what that looks like and how to modify that a way that you could come up with that number. I've heard in the past, like do one, you know, in your studio or at home or, you know, wherever you're practicing. I personally don't feel like just doing one is enough. Of course you don't.

I personally think you should try like practice doing multiple, like you would be on site. I think that gives, not that just doing one is wrong. I just think you get a more realistic estimate when you're trying to do a couple different things back to back. So again, if you are engraving, for example, engrave like three or four different items, if you have it available, or if you're doing fashion illustration, you know, do three or four different drawings back to back. So you get a general idea of maybe how long that's taking you for each one, maybe mix up the style a little bit so then you're able to kind of see, okay, something more detailed takes this long versus something, you know, more simple takes this long. So then you're able to kind of generate, this is about how long it takes me to do each item. And then I would take that time and then I would multiply that by like time and a half, or even double that for on -site. So for example, if I engraved something and it took me 30 seconds to make that finalized and presentable where the client could walk away with it, I would recommend accounting like 45 seconds to a full minute per item on -site just because you are the whole point of why we're Live Event Artists is typically we are there to do some type of like entertainment or interaction.

So you want to account for that time where you might need to explain what it is that you're doing there to have that time and space for the reaction when they get it. Like, my gosh, that's amazing or whatever else. Right. We don't want to just be like, okay, thanks. Bye. Like shoving them away. Right. So all of that takes time. So that is where it kind of differs versus like in studio on site. So yeah, I would a lot like if you're trying to figure that out, like time and a half or double time when you're trying to figure your best estimate out there.

Okay, sidebar, like, please tell me why this when you were describing that it took me back to like childhood like playing like teacher or like some sort of thing. Like in your little playroom. I don't know. I was just like picturing doing it at home and like set having your little setup and then like having like if you have kids or like pets or like, I don't know roommates but like them coming up to you handing you a glass or like whatever they want and having that interaction. I don't know why for some reason, my brain was like... Just like imaginary play. Yeah, like just cosplay at home. It's funny.

I love that. So if you're cosplaying then another thing to do is kind of like make sure that if you are doing your whole little setup at home, which is actually something I did like and I'm sure other artists have done before, like if they do any sort of like vending situations or like if you're if you have products and you're bringing it to a market you kind of like do your little setup at home right before you go to the actual event. You can kind of do the same thing with events, right?

So, you know, get your sign out, make a little sign that says what you're doing, have your order forms, and have your whole, like, how would you set it up? Like do that whole thing, right? So that you make sure that A, it looks nice. and B, like you kind of prep yourself for the event, making sure that you have everything that you need. Yeah. And like things are accessible. Like if you're left -handed, like not putting your item on your right side where you're having to like constantly reach over your body or you know again like if you are right -handed for example putting any like pens that you need like easily accessible so you're not again like crossing over just like not being as efficient as you could be.

The amount of times I've put my paint like so far away from me and then I say to myself like my god and then I move my paint like so much closer to the item. Sometimes you don't even want to put it close to the item because you're like, I don't even want to like, I don't want paint to spill. I don't want to accidentally whatever. But gosh, that makes such a difference. It really does. Yes. 

I do want to go back something else that you had said about. Yeah, the signage. So I feel like that is definitely something that could be helpful is just like having some promotional signage or like informational signage about what it is that you're doing to help limit some of that back and forth. You can use it kind of to supplement the very brief description that you might be giving somebody. Sometimes I would say for me, it's probably been 50 -50 even for private events. That you're like whoever's hiring you might already be developing their own marketing signage or like their own promotional signage that's just something that you might want to ask if not, I think just having kind of like a generic signage that's just like explaining what you're doing, like calligraphy customization, you know, hand engraving or, you know, whatever it is that you're doing is something that can help with questions.

I think it's always best to assume that people don't know what you're doing, right? So assume that they've never seen what you've ever done before, and how would you educate them? How do you make it accessible for them to interact with you, and how do you make it accessible for them to understand what the hell you're doing? Because it takes the guesswork out of it. And I think that also makes people feel a little bit more knowledgeable, as opposed to when people walk up.

Although I will say, even if you have a sign, sometimes people walk up and be like, what are you doing here? As they like see you literally like engraving a fragrance. So anyways, it's really important, I think, just to kind of like tell people in an easy way with a sign that says like on -site fashion illustration or portrait painting, something where people know exactly what it is. Also like saying it's complimentary versus not. For our services, me and Cat, we don't do things that aren't complimentary to guests. So if you are meaning that our client is paying us for our time, we are not charging per item. Correct. Yes.

So like writing complimentary, that's something that you can also add if you seem to be getting those questions a lot, but obviously it like depends on the type of event. So like for you and your VIP or influencer thing, like those people usually know that they're not going to have to pay for whatever activations are happening at an event, as opposed to if you were doing ornaments at a craft fair and someone paid you to be there, that might be a little bit different. So yeah, just making it easy for people.

As well as order forms, I don't know about y 'all, but someone can tell me their name six times in a row and I'm still going to be like, how do you spell that? Please spell that again. Please double check. So making sure that someone can like have a place to write something down and this can be as basic or as extra as you want with this. I'm pretty basic just having like paper for people but I know of things also for like VIP events like when I did something with Netflix I had like a very personalized order form for people to fill out because it was more elevated event so I think it kind of just depends on the event.

It just depends on your preference. I would say a lot of people use Post -it notes just because you don't need a whole lot of space and that way you're not like using a bunch of paper. I would say Post -it notes are pretty common. And then you can stick it on the item. And Extra is... Yeah, I'm Extra as fuck, so I make custom Post -it items. We also have directions and my branding on it. Did I not tell you this? You did not. I have not seen these yet. I am looking forward to seeing them. Custom Post -it notes that have all the things and that way like when things are laid out too, they like look way better because it's all like nice and uniform. Oh my gosh. All right. Well, yeah, slide into my DMs if you want to figure that out. Oh my gosh. I'm like, you're going to have to build out a template for that. We're going to have to do a little download. I love that.

But yeah, so either that or even, I know you and I have done like a form on a clipboard before when just like post -it notes start getting crazy or if it's like outside and post -it notes aren't like strong enough to stay attached to the item. Like when people will act like goddamn kindergartners and like cut in front of each other and be like, excuse me, can I have this thing? And you're like, you'll be, you know, I've literally been at events where people will like push their post -it in front of the other post -its or like something like that. So, that's also having some sort of clipboard with a form where it's in order can also kind of really help mitigate that for when people do those sort of things. Because then you have an order and you're like, no, I clearly have this other person first, right? Right. Has that all happened to you?

Yeah, I feel like, yes. And it's very wild to me. Nothing makes people more feral than free things. Okay, same. Yeah. That's what I'm saying. I feel like to when I'm looking at Post -it notes, like if it's a really, really, really high volume event, I just like I have a hard time judging how many Post -it notes I have sitting in front of me. So if people are asking me if it's not something that they're necessarily like having to stand there and wait, and it's something that they can pick up at the end of an event, or maybe they want to stand there and they want to watch their item being done. I just have a really hard time having a frame of reference of like this fucking crazy stack of Post -it notes is like 30 Post -its for me to then do the math to be like, I'm not going to get to yours for another like 20 minutes if you want to come back. So sometimes the like form on the clipboard is a little bit easier because then I can literally see the numbers and be like, hey, and it just sounds better. I feel like I can be like, hey, I have 15 people in front of you. You know, I can give more of a concrete answer. I was like, sorry, I have this like ginormo, crazy pile of Post -It notes. I'm not even confident where yours is at in here. 100%. So sometimes I do like Post -Its. I think they serve a purpose, but not to overshadow an actual like form on a clipboard.

Okay. And then like something else to provide on your order form I think is also like you can note like the word count. So some events, depending on the amount of guests, depending on what you're doing, you can kind of like limit what you are doing. So and that's something that I do when I'm educating my clients. I'm like if you want everyone to have like free for all, they can have a full sentence on their glass, then great you're gonna need this many artists, and this many hours and all of the things, right? But if you want to make sure, and that's like if you want every single person to get a customization. However, if there's like six other activations happening at the same time, you might only have like a few people and then you don't really need to limit it versus also when you can just limit it to like one to two words or a monogram or initials or something like that. So that's also some things that you can do to educate your client for like how much you can realistically do within a certain time period.

I do think limiting the word count and or providing a suggestion for what the customization is. So again, like monogram, date, first name, first and last name or whatever. I would say a lot of my workflow is impacted by a very uncontrollable variable, which is people standing there trying to figure out what they want customized. Nothing takes longer in my workflow than someone standing there trying to be creative because they just don't want to write their name. Yes. Because then they have no frame of reference for anything else that they might want on it at the time. And that's where I'm usually like starting to generate examples. So sometimes already having those suggestions up front in addition to a word count. Just sometimes people do need to be put in the box a little bit and know the whole point of customizations is like, we can do anything, which is great. For people that aren't going to take five minutes to figure out what that is. Some people like walk up and they're like, I immediately know like this very out of pocket thing that I want you to do. I do think that is a way again, like giving people examples, like a word count to help cut down the amount of time that people are taking to figure out what it is that they want.

Yeah and just note that even if you do give people word count sometimes they'll still go over that. So that's really fun that actually happened to me recently at an event and it was like we were packing up and this guy comes out comes over and he's like you just do these two more. And I was like, absolutely. If you can keep them to two to three words, I can do those super quick for you. This man has the audacity to write like six words each. And I was like, literally, I was like, sir. He's like, what, what? I was like, my gosh, I cannot. Like, I still did it, but I was like, sir. And I, you know, I kind of gave him shit for it. I was like, you know, in a fun way.

I was like, sir, this was this was more than what I said you could. I just want you to know. I have not held my boundary, but I'm letting you know. Yeah, exactly. I'm like, it's easier, honestly, to just have done it than to have gone back and forth with like edit. Yeah, then to wait for him to come up with. Yes, I was like, this man has I think he had been like a few drinks in, you know, and I was like, there's no way that he is going to come up with a 3 words or less thing. Yeah. So it was much easier.

But yeah, so just pro tip that people might push your boundaries. And it is sometimes up to you to hold fast and true to those boundaries that you set. And that's something where you can be the one who does that you can, depending on the event, sometimes there will be like a brand rep or like an artist assistant on site. If you're really lucky, you can hire your own assistant to be on site to help you. Sometimes you can utilize your partner for free labor or some family members. So yeah, I think that's something where that's really, that can also help mitigate some of those event flow things is having someone to talk to customers. However, again, that is usually an added cost. Whether it's somebody's time or if you are actually paying someone and not just utilizing free labor. Because you know, you can't bring your partner or your roommate or your sibling to every event, right?

Another example too, before we move on, I feel like for kind of like similar to workout, maybe, I don't know, I don't do these things, but I know a lot of people that do fashion illustration or like watercolor portraits to help with like workflow will work not from. No, like portrait people like they'll take a photo on their phone of the person so that way that person doesn't have to like sit there for the you to kind of like do the portrait of them. So that way they can again if it's retail maybe they can go continue shopping. You know, while they're working from the photo on their phone or if it's like an event that they're able to go and mingle and have drinks or, you know, whatever it is that they're doing, have a little snacky snack and then like come back to the item being done. So I know that is something that a lot of live artists like portrait artists will do to kind of help with work.

That's a good tip too. And that's actually something I've done as well when someone I've gotten it so many times, I don't know why. But someone wants me to copy either their tattoo design or a very specific thing they saw on Instagram or Pinterest. And I'll be like, yeah, so I'll take my phone out, take a picture of whatever. Take a picture of their picture so that they can go do the thing and work on that for them. 

So I think those are pretty much the main things that I think could really impact your workflow. Again, do some cosplaying at home, do some imaginary play, figure out what you can do. And then that can kind of give you like gauge how to educate your client on those things as well.

And sometimes listen, like you're not gonna know all the information before you go into your event. There's many events that I have walked into where the expectations have changed. So I think that's good to know as well that a huge part of being an event artist is being flexible with that change and or, you know, setting that boundary and communicating with whoever you need to communicate to make sure that it's kind of like a good compromise. So yeah, I think whether you are engraving, painting, foiling, doing pointed pen – there's lots of things that you can do to kind of help you with your workflow as well.

Early on, it would take me a really long time to do anything because I would sketch out every single thing. I would draw lines. I would use tape. I would literally write out the entire like word and then I would engrave over that and then I would engrave over it and do the down strokes and do every little thing and I think it took me like 10 minutes like per whatever bottle that I was doing, whether it was like a fragrance bottle or whatever. And to put that in perspective I could probably do like 10 and 10 minutes at this point, probably more. Yeah, it took a really long time initially because I was taking the time to do all of that. Cat, I don't know if you had the same experience.

I did. I wasn't necessarily doing every single thing, but I would definitely do some type of drafting or a sketch of some sort. I loved the look of filling in a down stroke. So that had a choke hold on me for a very long time, but it just like didn't work for certain things. And that's not to say you can't do those things, because I don't want it to seem like we're saying that's bad. Like you can't do that because it's not the case at all. It's just something to, yeah, it's something to consider in terms of your workflow. If you're able to kind of like draft it super quick, like, because you just kind of need a, you know, you want to make sure it's centered or you want to make sure your flourishes, your balance or whatever else. And that's just kind of like a quick thing you're able to do – you know, no harm, no foul.

But again, if it is moving in now we're like five, 10 minutes and it is not a slower pace event. It is a fast paced event. Like people are waiting. People are waiting, one, they're losing interest. But also I do think because live event artistry is growing. and it might not be the same in your area. I think it is maybe specific to our experience in like Southern California. I do think our clients have an expectation of about how long something should take. And that can be something that would make them consider hiring somebody else next time if you are not kind of like quick enough to keep up with the event. So again, no harm, no foul. It just might not be depending on where you're at in your experience, if that's something you're needing to do for each one or every one or whatever else that just might not be the right event for you, which is something we've talked about in our previous episodes. So that is something that you're going to want to do some reflection on and kind of identify your readiness for maybe some of the higher volume events. 

And without like losing the quality of it too, right? Like obviously everyone can go super freaking fast, but you have to be able to do it without losing that quality of your work.

Yeah, if that's like looking shaky. I remember. I remember getting that like as a compliment and I was like, yeah, like I didn't really like think about that of someone being like, wow, like I've only ever seen engraving and it kind of looks like, yeah, like that shaky, like that line where it's like not smooth. And this again was in the beginning, but that was like, yeah, cause I went over it like 7,000 times. So that it would look smooth. That was super heavy, like carving it like a caveman. I do listen I do have a very heavy hand so I am actually you are I'm heavy -footed I'm just I don't know really fucking aggressive I guess but yeah but yeah so I think like adding those down strokes is something that is something to consider it also I was like it just looks so much better but I think a lot of it was because I wasn't practicing having a good style with a monoline look. So that's where you're not adding those down strokes and all your lines are looking the same. And it wasn't until I practiced monoline a lot where I was like, wait, no, this is actually, I like this a lot better.

And I, in my experience, I don't know, like, I don't know if this is wrong or not. But in my experience, like, there is a noticeable difference when you're engraving and you have like a lighter hand versus a heavier hand. It's obviously not as like notable as when you're doing like pointed pen. And you know, the ink is doing the different things on like the thicks and the thins and the upstrokes and the downstrokes or whatever. But there is like a contrast that you are able to do if you're varying pressure, if that's something that you're comfortable with, like, because you've done some engraving and stuff like that and you're a little bit more experienced in that way. Like there is a way to have some variation that reflects similarly to something like that. So you're not having to fill in the down strokes as much or whatever else. So that is something I have come across. That's a good point though. Mostly on accident. Mostly on accident. Mostly because my hand was getting tired. Lordy.

So funny. Happy little accident. Also, again, I know that there's more people than calligraphers listening to this. However, I do feel like it's really important to note also that I would say 9.9 out of 10 times at events do not offer Rub-n-Buff. This is because, so this is when you're kind of like doing that like gold or silver inlay. Like the fill. The fill. The color fill. For engraving. And there's another thing that's not Rub N Buff. What is it? I feel like you just bought some. The gilding wax. The gilding wax, thank you. Pro tip, if you hate Rub N Buff like the rest of us, there's also gilding wax. I haven't tried it yet. Have you tried it? Nope, I just have a bunch of it sitting in my bag. Great, amazing, we love that. I literally don't use color fill. I think it's mostly because my volume, like my high volume events just like don't. Yeah, there's no way. A lot of times they're not for me. There's no way.

But I've recently been doing, and I know you do a lot of drinkware or like glassware and obviously that's not food safe. So a lot of times I'm not always engraving things that are able to have color fill. So I'm really mostly only using that for like fragrance, retail, perfume, engraving. Yeah, I just haven't done a lot of that recently. So yeah. Yeah. Same. I don't know that I would put it on a lipstick even. Ohmy god, no. I might. Depending on the cosmetic. I don't think I would. I just, yeah, I don't know. Depends, probably not. I usually don't either unless someone specifically asks. And I've seen people use permanent marker or some sort of paint marker as well. I just, I don't feel like it looks great to fill in with that either. There are definitely, I think you can make it look really good with the acrylic paint fill. That also just takes a long fucking time. I truly, half the time, it's tough for me to even do a second pass of something because I'm like, I gotta fucking hit this line correctly. And I want to nail it. I want it to look right. And that's just, that takes me too long. I could do it. I just don't always want to sit there and I'm already so close to it. And then I have to look even closer to try to figure it out. Wild child.

It is, it is something you can offer. It is not something I necessarily like openly share that I'm doing. Yeah, I would also say, yeah, that's not something I even like share with my clients because it's like also I have this other thing that I can do. But it's like the only time you would even offer it is if you can get an assistant or someone to be helping with that sort of thing or like depending on the product, because I just feel like that takes way too long.

And I think it is gorgeous. Don't get me wrong. Like I love me a gold fill but it also like especially at a high volume event just like gets so messy. It gets fucking everywhere. Like that Ashley Benson fragrance event I did. I don't know what I was thinking. I lost my damn mind but I did the first one with fill. So then they all had to have and so fast, even though it was like a private event, like, I ripped through so not ripped through. That's like a bad way of phrasing it. But like, I just worked through so many of these bottles. My, I have a photo of it, actually, I just like can't share it because I was like, very recently postpartum. And it's just like, all chest photo, but there's a photo of my workstation and my hands are covered in it. Like, my entire workstation is just like, covered in Rub-n-buff. There's like q tips and paint like brushes and microfiber rounds and like all it's just fucking everywhere and it was so messy. And they didn't care like they were fine. Like they just like really liked how they were turning out but I felt so stressed out because it was also like so dark and I even brought my own light and it's like still not enough. And I like couldn't see to make sure it was like all wiped off when like, yeah, and all that it was like, but he complained after everyone was fucking pumped about it, but it was a nightmare. And I feel like that was maybe my turning point that I was like, okay, I am not, not offering it unless people ask because this got crazy.

Yeah. And it is, it's definitely one of those things where once one person sees it, it's, it's, it's like espresso martinis. It's like they see it and they, they smell it and they're like, that seems like something I want. Especially if they find out you have like more than one color. Like if someone like everyone sees you have gold and I'm like, well, do you have silver? I like smells like, do you have rose gold? And I'm like, yes, I do. But I don't want to get out of my bed. 100%. Just kidding. That is my internal thought. But my outward behavior is, oh my gosh, yes. Let me get it. 

But I'm sure it's like the same thing for like, OK, again. Not everyone's a calligrapher who's listening to this, but I'm sure it's the same thing for like painting and stuff like that. It's like, no, I'm not adding these other things. Like don't even offer it as an option. Cause I know like, for instance, you could do water. No, I'm not adding this other color that's not on my palette. And I don't already have a brush for. Exactly. Or like, you know how sometimes you can do like watercolor and then like the top of it is like those black lines to kind of outline.

Like that sort of thing, right? Like it could be like two different styles that you offer the client or something like that. Yeah, like a multimedia. Yeah. But again, yeah, like accounting for drying time. Like there's times where I'm like, okay, well, you have to kind of like pick this up later. And that's also something that you - Or even like pointed pen, like for like Mother's Day cards and things like that. Like they're like, how long does this take to dry? I'm like - TBD.

I don't know, it could be like up to 10 minutes, dude. Like, just don't put it in the envelope. Yeah, I'm always like, just hold it maybe. Please. Don't do anything with it. Yeah. Especially if they're like standing there, I feel like could impact your time. If it's something that you're able to kind of like, and this kind of goes for anything, right? Like if it isn't necessarily like a retail where they're like, I got to walk out of here with my stuff, like, I always ask for someone to kind of like display the items out. So I also don't have to take time like hoarding all of the items that are done behind me. And then I am managing new people coming up to me. And then like the people that have already finished being like, Hi, where's my thing? And I have to like, I have a pretty good memory. So I can remember like, you are this bottle here you go or like whatever else.

But again that like Ashley Benson event, like we've also packaged all of them, which like that's another thing ask them if they're expecting you to package things and be like, hi, yes, I need an assistant. And if it's packaged, it needs to have some sort of person's name with it because if you fully put it in the packet. Yeah. So then I like had my post -it notes and I was like packaging these things, but then like all the bags look the same and I like couldn't see. So then like people were coming up to me being like, and I was like, okay, yes, like your bag is like kind of over here. And there wasn't a way to do it. They were just like on the floor behind me. So I was like, my gosh.

OK. Yeah, that sounds like chaos and would definitely stress me out. I was going to say, though, like going back like a minute ago, you were talking about the dry time thing. And this is very dependent on the brand and the event. So for instance, like if you're inside, I don't usually recommend this. Unless you're inside and there's a lot of noise that would cancel it out. I have sometimes, like for instance when I did JuneShine like denim painting, I thankfully solicited my family and partner to help me dry things. But like I brought a hairdryer and like the little like embossing dryer thing too. Yeah, because I was literally painting on people's like butts while they were standing there. So I'm like, well, now you can't sit down for the night. I did not realize they were wearing them. Not everyone. OK, well, some people knew the assignment and they brought denim items. And then some people were just there for the event. They didn't know. They were like, well, can you paint the jeans that I'm wearing right now? And I'm like, yeah, why not? Like, let me see. Yeah, literally. So I was like, well, I'm just going to stand here and dry your butt pocket.

But it was an outdoor event and there was a DJ, so it's not like you just hear the dryer. I wouldn't be taking that shit into Prada. Excuse me, please hold everyone while I dry this real fast.

I'm dead. But like that, it can make a difference when you're like trying to cut down on dry time too, to just have a little dryer. No, totally. But yeah, like don't bring that, don't bring that into like your luxury client places. Yeah, like know your audience for sure. Oh my gosh. Okay. Well, those are the only things that I can think of off the top of my head and by the top of my head, I mean our list of notes that we wrote down. LOL that we did not even reference.

So yeah, I think those are some things that we would recommend, which was a whole lot and it was all integrated in between a bunch of other things sandwiched in. So if there are still some questions, definitely let us know. We're here to help. But I feel like we kind of covered a lot between what to expect, how to educate your client, doing some cosplay, some imaginary play, some practicing at home, and like some other factors that could kind of cut down on your time for when you're on site in an event and trying to get through things fast. Or just be more efficient, because not everything is about being fast. It's just like kind of working on your efficiency so that you don't have like 700 steps for every single item that you have to do, you know?

Yeah, or you don't feel chaotic as fuck like I did. Yeah, it definitely like helps your zen when like you have a process down, like it's definitely helpful. So yeah, and it just it takes practice.

Start off on a better note than we did. Yeah, absolutely. That's what we're here for. So yeah, if you have any other questions or even like any tips that you are on site and you're like, wow, this is like something that I do that could be really great for people to know, like we are so happy to share that publicly or, you know, if you even just want to give back to the community in some sort of way. Definitely let us know.

Yeah, do that. How should they let us know Alex? I know I forgot my notebook so I don't have the little thing. So okay. If you have any feedback or anything like that if you are already following us you can find us on Instagram. We are at Keeping Up With The Calligs. So follow us, DM us any of your feedback, your questions, your stories, all of the things there.

If you want to find us each individually for whatever reason, you can find me. I am Kat. No, that is my name. But my Instagram handle is at CatLaurenCalligraphy. That is Cat with a C and Alex, what is your handle? My handle is signs of our lives on Instagram. And I did want to note, definitely follow our Instagram. But if you're still at this point right now where you're like, okay, I already follow all three accounts. But maybe you haven't left a review. Now's a great time to do that. Click that five star button, write, love this podcast or your favorite thing that you've learned or literally anything. Because the more that you do that, the more people see what we're doing. Share it with a friend, share it with another Caligra-bestie or another artist that you might know. Because we're here for you and we also want to be here for everyone else too, and help and support the community. I think that's it for today. Thanks for keeping up. Bye, everybody.