Silly Farm Across the Pond

Last year I had the pleasure of touring England teaching classes courtesy of the amazing Illusion Magazine. I got a chance to meet so many talented artists and many of them had the same complaint. That it was hard get Silly Farm products in the UK.

I kindly explained that if any of the lovely Essex ladies could introduce me to David Beckham and figure out a way to get him to marry me then I would gladly move Silly Farm to England, being that David and I are both married. It seemed easier to find someone with the same love and passion as I to help us expand our product reach to the UK. As faith would have it, I met the second best thing out of Essex (after David of course), Miss Nathalie Farmer.

I am entering a decade as the owner of Silly Farm, but it still feels like my baby. I read every email, I cry when I ruin someone’s order, and the thought of trusting someone across the globe to present my products with the same passion and enthusiasm seemed impossible.

Then I met a glitter-iffic, customer service junkie, business woman ready to make it happen. Nathalie is the owner and operator of TheFacePaintingShop.com and she is your UK source for Silly Farm supplies. Nathalie approached me with a vision of providing service with a smile, service with support, and servicing those that want quality supplies. I have watched Nathalie grow her business through her personal touch and concern for her customers. Nathalie makes it a point to work directly with Silly Farm to find out about new products, investigate best shipping options to be able to keep costs low, and never forgets to say thank you. Even though its hard for me to understand every third word she says with her fancy Essex accent, I found that her passion is infectious.

I hesitated expanding Silly Farm because I feared losing the personal touch and involvement I try to give to all my customers. However, I feel confident that Nathalie will take care of painters in her region. Entrepreneurship is scary and the paint industry is not as easy as some may think. There is a lot of inventory and investment involved in starting a business, but Nathalie took the plunge. Her dedication and commitment to our industry is why I am so excited for this partnership. Please take a moment to visit my beautiful friend Nathalie, drop her a line and let her know which products you want, love, or want to see in her shop.

Thank you for supporting Silly Farm and helping us expand across the globe. Happy Painting!

Posted on December 31, 2012
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Letter from the CEO

Hello friends,

I want to take a moment to express my gratitude and overwhelming appreciation for painters worldwide. 2012 has been a whirlwind year. It has been filled with many highs, lows, new beginnings and endings, but through it all our Silly Farm supporters have been the guiding light. So, for that I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I hate the word CEO. I still blush when my staff calls me their boss in public, and I still feel like the excited college grad ready to take on the world of face paint. Its been 10 years since I took hold of that title and 2012 was the first year I felt comfortable adding CEO to my name.

I am writing this letter to say thank you, but also remind each of you to be proud of what you have accomplished this year. How can we expect anyone to value what we do, when we don’t put enough praise and effort into accepting our accomplishments? If you ventured into the world of entrepreneurship and started your business, or made the investment in FABAtv, the FABAIC, or purchased some new equipment… take a moment to be proud. You could have jumped ship when things got hairy or you could have put it off another year, but you didn’t. You are responsible for helping our industry grow, for helping Silly Farm and FABAtv expand, offer more benefits to our employees, and hopefully our products & services have helped you bring more income home.

The world of face painting is built on creative spirits and a love for people. After all you can not want or continue to face paint if you aren’t someone that likes people. Your energy has established face and body art as a real art form, a legitimate business and has birthed thousands of entrepreneurs. I am proud and grateful for the part I have played in it.

My wish for you and your business for 2013 is that you don’t give up, that you set goals, meet them and exceed them. I made a promise to myself to make 2013 more about giving, receiving, and taking time to be proud. When we realize how far we have come, it’s a motivator for how far we can go.
Thank you again for helping me make my dreams come true with FABAtv, to all the painters that have done stellar work for My FAB Events and helped us gain national accounts; to my FABA Blog team and subscribers, to the supporters of Silly Farm and to all of the amazing painters that invest in their careers and attend the FABAIC.

Your support has helped us in more ways than you can imagine. It gives me great pride to offer my staff benefits, to be able to have an outlet to fundraise over $70,000 for our dear friend Brian Wolfe, to have the means to create free face painting youtubes that help painters worldwide, to have great friends across the pond like Illusion Magazine and Superstar, and for allowing me the opportunity to meet such great painters and give lessons, to be involved in an industry that shares, creates and in one big family. I consider each of you a friend and my door and ears are always open to you. I want to know if I can do better, how I can help you reach your goals, and how we can meet your needs. I built this company on customer service and you have my promise that we will work hard every day to be your one stop, full service, friendly, family-oriented company with the products you love, want and need.

Please keep my personal email, heather@sillyfarm, use it when you need it and if you are ever near our store please accept my personal invite to come and see us, take a picture and join the family. There would be no us, without you.

I wish everyone a Happy and safe New Year! We will be back in full swing next year! See you in 2013!

Heather xoxoxox

Posted on December 17, 2012
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Silly Farm Christmas Commercial

Just in time for the Holidays. This is our very first commercial for Silly Farm and Santas little helper just can’t wait to give you some Silly Farm gifts! Have you been naughty or nice this year?

December only!
Get a free bonus $5 added to your gift card of $50 or more only at Silly Farm Supplies – Everything Face & Body Art. Get yours now!

Posted on November 29, 2012
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Silly Farm Supplies – Throwback Thursday

Of the thousands of times I walk past Marcela’s office door, I see the same collage of pictures. Out of them all, there are four that stand out. They are taped to separate stock papers in pairs and the papers are taped together to the rest of the collage. There’s a tiny note above each paper that says, “The beginning of Silly Farm” and “Silly Farm a longggg time ago!”.

I found some spare time to sneak over and take the pictures down for a couple minutes while I carefully untaped them. After scanning each one, I taped them back up and put them back among the collage on Marcela’s office door.

The Beginning of Silly Farm

Silly Farm a longggg time ago!

Silly Farm Supplies Now

(Edit 11/30/12)
I was going to save some pictures of the current Silly Farm for later, but since everyone wants to see them, here they are. Just a few.

The entrance to Silly Farm

Posted on March 14, 2012
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What is a Super Jam?

If you have ever been to the FABAIC and participated in one of the jam sessions, you will have an idea of what a Super Jam is. A Super Jam is not a class, it is much different. A Super Jam is a painting party!
What’s better then bringing a large group of talented artists all together under one roof, for a night of fun, prizes, networking and paint? A Jam is were the creativity flows unrestricted and artists can practice alongside each other and share their unique techniques and designs, while learning from others. This is the kind of experience that only Super Jams can offer.

My business motto has always been to treat your customers like they are old friends. Because we are an internet based business, we don’t get to meet and greet all our customers. I started hosting super jams last year so I could re-connect with all my painter friends, share information about upcoming events, and paint together. As our industry grows, so do our skills and artistic ability. I love breaking out my paints and learning from a fellow painter. I love seeing painters oooooo and aweeeee when I show them a new color or a new stencil. I try to make the Super Jams affordable and fun. It’s only $10 for the entrance fee and kids are free. I demo designs, answer questions, and we paint! There will be FabaTV demos and I’ll be bringing lots of samples for you to try, including new FAB Paints and BAM stencils.

I am adding more dates as soon as I confirm cities. Thank you for your support and I hope to see you and your paint brushes at our next Super Jam near you.