FABAIC Haul…New Products that debuted at FABAIC

by Heather Green

FABAIC 2015 was amazing! We spend a year planning, stressing and obsessing over our convention, that has become one of the most coveted events for face painters. I have this relentless pursuit to live up to the expectations and I am always pleased when its all said and done and the attendees leave with a smile.

When we plan the FABAIC we try to include a little bit of everything artists love. We have classes, and “jams” (large painting parities in the evening) parties, music, competition and of course lots of shopping. The FABAIC marketplace has become a painters candy land. We invite the manufacturers of the brands we use  to come and meet the painters using them. We felt that even though Silly Farm carries most of the brands represented, its always good to meet the people that make and design the products. Most of the brands that attend wait until FABAIC to launch their new goodies. Its the perfect time because painters are enthusiastic and ready to explore the marketplace.

My Rainbow bar
My Rainbow bar. This year was NO different. The hardest part about the marketplace was trying not to go broke.

The vendors room was ON FIRE this year. I had only 5 minutes to browse the room in between teaching and jamming and OMG I was so excited. So once the craziness died down I got a chance to walk around and see all the new exciting products my self. I have always prided myself on the way I shop for Silly Farm. I buy the items I am interested in and test them before they make it to our shelves. I do that to make sure that I am advocating for the products that will be a good fit for my company and audience. I hate selling crap, so I make sure to give all new stuff the crap test first.

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My inspiration for the Silly Farm booth

And each year I try to elevate and improve my Silly Farm booth. As one of the main sponsors of the event I try to make sure my companies have a welcoming look and feel to them. So I did some surfing on the net and found a layout for a Sephora booth that I loved and then hired a friend to help me bring my vision to life. In the past years I have always had long rectangle tables and this year I had a vision for a Bling Bar and Rainbow bar with round tables. The coolest part was seeing my vision in living color and for the Bling bar to rock!

Bling Bar where you could fill baggies with an assortment of different bling
Bling Bar where you could fill baggies with an assortment of different bling

I am a very visual person so I felt it was necessary to have a full service station where painters could touch, feel, and browse through rainbow cakes and bling. I also told you about a line of brushes I have been working on for a while now. I flew to Germany to design the brushes and test them and even though all the brushes weren’t ready by FABAIC my great friends at Superstar surprised me with a few from the line. They were just as beautiful as I imagined. the beautiful fuchsia handle and silver tip looked awesome in any kit. Cant wait for the rest of the line to launch next month!

Bling on FLEEK
Bling on FLEEK

But as I walked around the marketplace I noticed all the new exciting products and I just couldn’t wait to take them home. As a face painter we are always looking for ways to improve our kits and set up. I had been hearing about Craft N Go Cases for a while and finally getting to see Craft N Go and the Artist on the GO cases in person was incredible. I am not sure what took me so long to find them but they are definitely  game changers.

Awesome rolling kit and table all in one
Awesome rolling kit and table all in one

The idea of a rolling table that sets up and looks professional just made my life a lot easier. Sometimes we get stuck in our ways that we are comfortable with, but the truth is we can all use a make over every now and then.

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I loved Aubries unique colorful aprons great for any painter

As a female business owner I am always excited and supportive of other artists that go beyond just face painting. New to the market place this year was Aubrie Jean and the Apron Boutique. She hand makes the cutest most colorful aprons for painters, artists and twisters. I watched her post about sewing and new fabrics leading up to FABAIC, but until I saw them in person I had no idea about the quality and cuteness.

There was only ONE person missing from the FABAIC this year. Sadly our beloved Jinny from Paradise and Mehron came down with a terrible stomach flu. It was so sad not to have her there especially because she is a staple at FABAIC, but also because Mehron premiered 4 new Prisma cakes. I cant wait to see what Jinny creates with them! Sadly, they were in such high demand I didn’t even get to snag some for my kit.

Zen Love Bliss - Funky Zen filled with love
Zen Love Bliss – Funky Zen filled with love

The staff at Silly Farm have many talents. One of my dearest friends and travel partners, Lisa Pizza started a jewelry line a couple months ago. If you have had the pleasure of meeting Lisa in person then you know she emits the best energy. So Lisa pours a little of that sparkling positive energy into each jewelry piece she creates. I have been pushing her to create more and introduce her colorful zen pieces to our community. So Zen Love Bliss table was also a hit in the vendors room. I felt like a proud mama watching everyone love her jewelry art and feel great as they wore her bracelets around convention.

 

This year Jest Paint joined the FABAIC marketplace and brought Global Colours in abundance. They also premiered the NEW Global Fun Strokes palettes. The talented Anna Willinski and Laura Oliver were demoing the new palettes and the results were fabulous.

a back piece by Laura Oliver
a back piece by Laura Oliver

Another awesome product to see in person was the new Encore palettes by EBA. EBA teamed up with both Skin Wars and Face Off to create palettes that rock the designs face and body artists love without sweating off. The Encore palettes are amazing to use for waterproof face and body art and to paint on top of silicone prosthetics. I have used other versions of this palette to do temp tattoos and none of them have the vibrant colors like the Encore.

I will definitely start practicing with them to get myself ready for Halloween :)

NEW Monster Pasties
NEW Monster Pasties

Its hard to pinpoint which products were the biggest encore_ad_facebookhits at FABAIC because across the board everyone loved everything but  one product that really stood out was the all new Monster Pasties. Using pasties has always been a dreading moment for body painters because of the glue, the bunching, the application and then blending them into the skin. But my good friend John Place, creator of Monster Paste and producer of FABAtv, changed the game with Monster Pasties. They go on smooth, without glue, no bunching, no peeling and look perfect on the skin. Monster pasties were flying off his table, because they take the stress out of covering up the chest. I cant wait to stock them at Silly Farm too.

NEW stencils available this week!
NEW stencils available this week!

If you have ever met Andrea Odonnell creator of the Bad Ass stencil line then you know she is full of amazing creativity and her stencils changed the face and body art world. She also launches new stencils at every FABAIC. I anticipated her new collection and they are just as awesome as I imagined! She launched several new sets including a fairytale collection. I cant wait to play with them!

So if you are like me then you could go on forever about the truly awesome marketplace. If I missed anything or you want to share your marketplace find PLEASE share with us. I was so engulfed with hosting that I had very limited time to play but many of you shopped till you dropped and can share your top 5.

Thank you again to all our vendors. We count on you to keep us motivated with new goodies and thank you for producing amazing products that help us be the best artists possible.

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Thank you to our amazing sponsors

 

I hope I was able to shed a light on all the cool products if you have any questions or need help finding vendors don’t hesitate to hit me up. I am always happy to help. Also, if you did not get a chance to follow all the fun, art, and new products from FABAIC- click here to view our social media feed that combined posts from all of our friends at the convention this past weekend!

Cant wait to see everyone again. <3 <3

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