Painter Girl

One Job Finished, New Job Started

I just realized I did not give an update from the Commercial Job, the Apartment Complex ceiling I was working on last week.  I think I was just so happy to get out of that oven that I put it behind me to enjoy the weekend!  When I last left off, I was wilting away, toiling with the lovely Rattan stencil.  It was repeatedly falling on my head because it was about 100 degrees and very humid in the entryway space where I was attempting to stencil the ceiling.  My friend and fellow decorative painter, Denise, came to my rescue and gave me a hand.  Now, I am sure she is cursing me, since it just got hotter and more humid the 2 days she helped me out.  We both had our cameras with us, but decided not to take a picture of each other, fearing I would alienate the few readers I actually do have reading this blog!  We really looked and felt miserable. 

We added a 1 1/2" border around the ceiling design in both buildings. Buidling #600 is completely done, but Building #700 still needs to have some areas touched up.  I'll do this after the 4th of July holiday when I return to start work in the Clubhouse.  I am only going to attempt to touch up that ceiling if it is much, much cooler and less humid.  Same goes for even beginning the ceiling in Building #800!  I'm going to have to forget all my pain and suffering before I will be able to start one more identical ceiling in the final Apartment Building!

Today, I began a new residential job.  I am using a combination of stencils and freehand painting.  All work is being done on some new cabinetry and a bathroom vanity.  Both have been painted an off white by the cabinet maker.  The theme is Fish and Seashells.

In the new bath, my inspiration was this glass tile.  I have been dying to try some of Helen and Rachel Morris's stencils from their Mosiac Line.  I used a great shell border, but had to make a few adjustments with the layout to make it fit the panels.  I am using all Modern Masters Metallic paints for both sets of cabinetry.  Additionally, I am highlighting with Goldens Interference colors, which is really giving the mosiacs the look of glass tile.  On the other designs I will be using (not mosiacs), it is just giving the shells and fish a great, shimmered look that changes with the light.  I haven't worked with the Interference colors a lot, but think I need to do much more exploring with this line!  The colors are expensive though.

The vanity went well and fairly quickly.  The major obstacle today, was myself!  I was nervous because I feel these clients are not totally convinced I can do a good job.  They have had me do some furniture for them over the years, but never have allowed me to do work in their home.  They have used another decorative painter extensively throughout this home and a second vacation home they own.  I'm not typically nervous on the job, even with new clients, but this one had me a bit jittery today. (and I did not even have coffee with me!)

Try moving your monitor around a bit, to see this close up of the mosaic.  This is the effect the Interference colors have.  I brushed the Interference colors over the Modern Masters colors I used.

So, just to prove how out of sorts I was... after I finished the vanity, I moved onto the main room, a basement level playroom, newly remodeled.

First I stenciled the 3 drawer fronts, no problem.  Then, I moved onto one of a set of 3,  fish panels.  I had almost one panel done, stepped back to view, and realized I had stenciled it upside down! :-(  Fearing I would be discovered by the homeowners, I raced around looking for my supplies to wash it all off.  This, I did, successfully and undetected. :-)  Next, I quickly put the stencil back in place, the correct way!, and continued.  I did not quite finish the panel, but it was nearing 4 pm and time for me to head home.  I hope to be finished by Wednesday with this job.  The homeowner looked at me quite skeptical when I told her this, but I did add, I would come back on Thursday if needed.  Here's hoping tomorrow goes a little smoother and quicker!

Rethinking the Clients Needs

A few days ago, I posted about the 2 hour consultation I had with a couple who were a new referral to me.  I did not have a good feeling about what the outcome of this consultation would be.  I sensed a lot of conflict between the husband and wife over what work, if any, should be done in their home.  The husband had actually contacted me by phone 3 different times before we met, very excited to set up a consult.  The wife works full time, while the husband is retired, so he was the one spearheading a makeover for their home. 

Yesterday, the husband called me and apologized for not getting back to me sooner.  He explained that he had no idea what was involved in doing the various finishes they had selected for their rooms until he read through my proposal.  Now, because this couple was a referral from a neighbor and their condo is located in a development where I have done several units, I made the assumption that they had actually seen my work in their friend's unit and discussed the process and cost.  Maybe that was an incorrect assumption, but that is what has been the norm when I've done other units here.  The homeowners in this 55+ community, have seen their friends units and know a ballpark price.  This was not the case here.  This couple had only spoke on the phone to their neighbor who just told them what I had done in her unit and gave them my contact information.

When the husband called me, I was happy that he was acknowledging and thanking me for the time and effort I had already expended.  As I said, a "thank you for your time" goes a long way with me.  I had priced out their quote, room by room, as I always do.  This way, there is the option to pick and choose which areas will be done and not the feeling that it all needs to be done at once.  I do, however, offer a discount if multiple rooms are done at the same time.  It is just more cost effective.  On the phone, I pointed this out, and suggested they come up with a budget, a priority list of rooms, and contact me again if they would like to further discuss possibilities that would fit into their budget.  Here is where I had a choice.  I could easily file their folder away as an uninterested client or I could see if another approach would win them over.  I decided to go with the latter, and expend just a little more time on this couple.  My thinking is, here is a client who is interested in doing something to their home, since they were the ones who initially contacted me,  but obviously have a budget they want to work within.  Since they are not divulging this number to me, and I am not a mind reader, I will just assume the high end finishes they originally selected are out of line with their budget. 

The bulk of the work was already done for me in the first proposal, so all I had to do was plug in some less costly versions of the finishes originally proposed.  In the new cover letter, I explained the difference in labor and material costs.   

In my earlier post I wrote:

"I first either email or phone in the quote, put a hard copy in the mail, and then follow up with a phone call a week later.  If I get no response, or a negative response, then after I enter their contact info into my data base, they are filed away. "  Now I feel I have given this my best shot.  Btw... this is not an inexpensive housing development.  It is on the higher end of luxury 55+ townhouse/condo developments.  I, myself, could not afford to buy into this development.

More Waiting Time...

Recently,  I met with new clients, a couple referred to me by a friend of theirs who is a good client of mine.  When I get a referral like this, I do not charge a consultation fee, because it is almost a given, that I will do some work for this referral.  The consult took way too long.... 2 hrs.  I typically do a 45 minute - 1 hour consult.  This couple was very new to decorative painting, and did not have a clear idea about what they wanted.  They did know they wanted something for their kitchen back splash, a finish in the powder room, and a finish in the master bath, oh...and a finish under the counter in the kitchen, where the stools are.  There was a lot of disagreement with the selection of the finishes between the husband and wife. The wife was very concerned about spending the money to do this work and seemed quite un-enthused about all of the finishes I suggested.   The husband, on the other hand, was very interested, enjoyed placing the various sample boards around the room to view,  and was excited to have the work done.  Finally, finishes were selected and I went over the process, which would be for me to price it all out and get back to them.  At my home office, I spent about an hour pricing everything out.  I phoned the clients with my pricing, on the day promised.   The wife was the one who took my call, and again, very non responsive to it all, just stating she'd get back to me.  No "thank you for the time you spent at our home "; no questions about anything.  This is one of those jobs that I feel will not happen at all, and I am just kicking myself for not charging a consultation fee.  Two hours of my time on a busy Saturday, not to mention the gas to get to this clients home and back, and my time pricing everything out.  I do feel my rate covers all of this, but when the consult results in no work at all, it's a loss.  With the high price of gas right now, I think I am going to re-institute my consultation fee for all new clients.  A "thank you for your time" goes a long way with me.  I don't think that is too much to ask, do you?  I will do a follow up call to this client later today.  That is my process.  I first either email or phone in the quote, put a hard copy in the mail, and then follow up with a phone call a week later.  If I get no response, or a negative response, then after I enter their contact info into my data base, they are filed away.  You never know, some clients contact me a year or two later, some never, others will pass my name along to a friend.

The Waiting Game

"The Waiting Game" is what I refer to as that period of time when I am waiting, impatiently, for a client to make up their mind whether or not they are going ahead with the proposed work.  Sometimes I have a good sense of  what the outcome will be, other times...I am clueless.  For the 2 ceilings recently proposed, I knew this would be a go, just not so certain 'when' work would begin, or if both ceilings would happen at once.  This client was supposed to call me the next day after I met with her so I could place the order for the Modellos ™.  No call came.  I did not want to keep bugging her, so waited it out through the weekend.  Still no call.  To keep my own schedule on track, I really need to get in there and do the prep work, while I am waiting for the Modellos™ to be made and shipped.  This way, the ceilings will be all ready, and I will fit in another job while waiting for the arrival of the Modellos™ and installation of the beams.  Finally, I gave the client a call yesterday and she told me she was just waiting for me to come over and begin!  Grrr....

Both ceilings are a go, so I placed the order for the Modellos™ I will be using for each project, this morning on line.  Over at the Modello Designs website, ordering is all so very easy!  I had already picked out the designs I wanted to use for the 2 ceilings and stored them in My Design Library on this site,  so just had to click away and request confirmation for the quote.  I did that around 7 a.m. (EST) this morning.  Then, I went out for the day, returned at 4 p.m. and had a message waiting for me from Michelle at Modello Designs, asking me to give her a call to finalize the order.  Very quick, responsive, and pleasant service!  Michelle went through the order with me and answered any and all questions I had.  The order will be shipped out Thursday.  Since I am not in a huge rush for this, having to get my prep work done first and also have the beams installed, I had the order shipped Ground UPS.  Michelle says some sample pieces for me to do sample boards with will be included with my order, so I will get a few boards prepped for their arrival.  This will be great, because I have not totally worked out the colors I will be using for the Modellos.™

Here are my client's 2 ceilings again... just waiting their transformation! ;-)

The Office Ceiling, pictured on the left, will have "beams" installed to form 9 panels. I will paint the ceiling first and do the glazing, before the wood is installed.  This will be easier than working around all the wood.  The Sunroom Ceiling, pictured on the right, will have that center beam darkened and wood grained, plus a corner scroll design in each of the four corners .  The Ceiling in this room is a nice shade of tan, so all work will be done directly on this color. 

Off To A Good Start!

My first job of the new year truly exemplifies why I love this job. When I first met Mary, at our initial consultation, I immediately liked her.  She was a referral from a former client, her sister.  Mary was eager to bring a little life into her small kitchen and new powder room.  She gave me free reign!  After much discussion, we decided on some assorted fruits in the kitchen, a small spray of flowers over the mirror in the powder room and a few birds between the 2 rooms. 

When I returned to do the work, Mary kept me entertained with her life stories and a constant supply of herbal tea.  At 75, this remarkable woman has had quite the life, raising 4 young children alone when her husband was killed in active duty, early in their marriage.  Mary's many interests and activities had me in awe of her energy and enthusiasm.  What a fun day and an half of painting!

Cherry design by Royal Design Studios

Grape Cluster design by Royal Design Studios.

Orange design by The Mad Stencilist.

Far shot of Pears stenciled over bay window. This design is by Andreae Designs Stencils.

A closer look at the pears.  This clock features a different bird for each number.  Each bird has it's own chirp, and does so on the hour!

This fruit tree was created using the Free Form Fruits stencil by Royal Designs Studios.  I used the Painterly Ivy stencil, also by Royal Designs,  around the base of the tree; and Andreae Designs Bird in Flight. The wicker basket for the pot is a free hand design.

A close up of the Fruit Tree. The leaves with this stencil design are beautiful and I use them often to make trees or garlands.  The Painterly Ivy is one of the quickest stencils to work up.  A few embellishments with a liner brush results in a vine that looks like you spent hours on vs. minutes!  It's a 1 overlay design.

This design uses Royal Designs Large Nest as the focal point, with some Sweet Peas, Trumpet Flower Vines, and more of the Painterly Ivy.  Three small Hummingbirds from the Stencilled Garden fly about a the top of the spray.

This bird is on the adjacent wall in the powder room.  The bird stencil is a free stencil that comes in The Artistic Stenciler magazine.