“On 30th September 2015 luxury brand THOMAS SABO welcomed a host of International footballers and celebrities to the flagship store on London’s South Molton Street to introduce them to the new Fine Jewellery and Love Bridge Collections. Guests included stylish editors and bloggers plus an array of international stars, singers Frankie Bridge and Nina Nesbitt, celebrity chef Tess Ward, nutritionist and best-selling author Rosanna Davison, footballers Matthew Etherington and Simon Davies.
Renowned caricaturist George Williams with his hilarious portraits was another of the amusements organised by THOMAS SABO for the star-studded event: in just a couple of minutes talented George created each of the guest’s caricature as a further memento of a very special night, causing some serious laughing in seeing their faces cartooned with his spot-on sketches.” Shadia Daho (Dubai) www.shadiadaho.co.uk
Thanks Shadia for your kind blog. The event even made the headlines in a recent issue (1401) of HELLO! magazine, where I got a mention by name…
When organising an event, one of the basic rules to get right is the guest to entertainer ratio. One Magician in a crowded ballroom of 1500 guests won’t even be noticed and there’s nothing worse than a Caricaturist suffering a hail of complaints upon leaving, after having drawn just 20% of the guests.
Quite simply; one Caricaturist or entertainer can cover around 60 guests in 2 hours, upto 90 guests in 3 hours. This is calculated by taking the average number drawn (one every 4-5 minutes) and doubling it, as the subject will show at least one other person; so TWO entertained! Most caricaturists will produce upto 15 drawings an hour, which entertain at least 30 punters. Therefore if you have an event with 120 guests and only two hours to fill with entertainment, I recommend TWO close up entertainers (Carix/Magix), not just one poor blighter, who will be shouted at and grabbed at with every turn.
1 Carix: 2 hours = 60 guests
1 Carix: 3 hours = 90 guests
Most events have a 50% take-up, the rest like to watch, however student events have a 99% take-up. So if you have a student ball with 150 guests who ALL have to be drawn, I recommend hiring THREE caricaturists for 3 hours to ensure no complaints!
I was recently hired to attend an event with around 150 drunk guests, for just two hours (including a break for speeches) which was a foolish proposition. I drew a maximum of 30 punters; two per table over fifteen tables, though some tables hogged my time and insisted on more drawings, thus giving other tables instant reason to complain. This was a no-win situation for me, as I would never keep all 15 tables happy and sure enough when my time was up, I faced a barrage of abuse from people who missed out on drawings and entertainment. Quite simply my client had woefully under estimated their entertainment needs and I was left to take the brunt.
This is an unfair situation, so please help avoid disgruntled guests by hiring the correct amount of entertainers for your event.
We all hate to see the end of a good thing, but spare a thought for your hard working caricaturist at the end of a booking.
Following a spate of horror stories forwarded to me by colleagues (and having had to deal with similar situations myself), I thought it was time to hi-light the problem of drunk punters at the end of the night. I recently had a colleague close to tears, after a drunk punter confronted him at the end of a performance, demanding to be drawn, then later complained to the client. This lead to the client filing a complaint and making libellous accusations on public forums, which all could have been avoided if all parties concerned had simply observed the following points:
Every performance must finish at some (agreed) point and many artists adhere to the timetable in order to make a second booking in good time. Caricaturists will usually shorten the queue in the last 30 minutes, so not to disappoint later arrivals or those who may miss out.
Your artist will aim to please the client and often offer flexibility on the day in order to keep people smiling. The last thing they want is a confrontation or complaint, it is their living after all.
Your caricaturist will remain professional, polite and sober at all times (unless you have hired a low budget option of course), though some of your guests may not.
The later the performance, the more chance there is that some of the guests will become drunk and less patient, especially when having to queue to be drawn or fed. These guests may take their rejection from a queue as rudeness and react with aggression.
Remember, any punter who claims they have been “waiting all night” can not possibly have been there longer than the caricaturist. In 3 hours a good caricaturist will draw through a queue of 40+ people, so most people waiting from the moment of the artist’s arrival will be drawn.
It is the client’s responsibility to put forward those who simply HAVE to be drawn, otherwise your caricaturist will do their best to draw all in the queue, no matter who.
Not everyone will be drawn, no caricaturist will promise this and in a group of 100 people, maybe 45 will be lucky in an average evening performance. This may lead to a few disgruntled punters, but a lot more happy ones.
As a caricaturist and entertainer I have to regularly deal with drunk, aggressive and violent punters at the end of every performance, despite my having been a roaring success all night and finishing at an agreed time. I always deal with such confrontations in a polite and professional manner, usually leaving smiles behind me. However I should have the right to finish my work in safety and without fear of reprisal or complaint.
With this in mind, I ask all those hiring a caricaturist for their event to spare a thought for the hard working artist, as they pack their pens away at the end of a night and perhaps give them a hand diffusing the punters who missed out on a free drawing that night. Maybe give them the benefit of the doubt the next time a punter moans about not having been drawn.
Spent a day in Birmingham on a photo shoot with photographer Julian Marment earlier this year, here are the results. Some great photos, but I won’t be giving up the day job to join Kate Moss on the glossies any day soon!!
I am an artist but also a professional entertainer and I take a lot of joy from interacting with guests and subjects while drawing and showing off my skills. Indeed I pride myself on being witty and charming, thus adding an extra dimension to the performance and creating a buzz. I offer an entertainment SERVICE, not just a PRODUCT as you might find at a Them Park or Pier, which is why you pay a premium for me, so please let me entertain your guests to the best of my ability, which can be done by following these points:
Introduce me properly, as the UK’s celebrity caricaturist, GQ illustrator and professional entertainer. Help build up a buzz. Perhaps mention my many TV appearances?
Show my caricatures off, do not whisk the drawings away, put them in your room, tare them up or otherwise hide them. Please encourage guests to pass the caricatures round, create a buzz and raise some laughter!
Do not ask me to work at the same time as the speeches, disco or band, as it kills all chances of banter or laughter which is essential to my performance.
Please note that I cannot draw guests whilst they are eating food (ie; during dinner courses) but table hop between courses, which is mor polite and practical.
Please chat and interact with me, as I am not a drawing machine and love nothing better than a good banter!
It breaks my heart when I leave a venue after an evening of battling against a Disco, not having chatted with any guests, with no drawings floating around, while wondering if I wowed them. This may be good enough for some amateures, many of whom sit at an easel in a corner, but its not good enough for me. I am a walkabout entertainer, not unlike a Magician or Comedian, so please treat me as such and your party will go with a swing.
