June/July 2021 Costumer Magazine

The

The Official Publication of the National Costumers Association, Inc.

The Magic of Makeup Beyond Costumes: Add-on items = add-on sales seller Beware!

Costumes to avoid in a PC world June/July 2021

costumers.org

CONTENTS

8

features

8 The Magic of Makeup Tips on products for drag customers, kids,

14

theater and more

By Kathleen Furore

14 Beyond Costumes Add-on items = add-on sales departments 6

Association News—Meet the NCA Board Candidates

12 Member Profile 16 Business Beat—What NOT to sell

18

18 Product Parade 20 My Favorite Costume

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N C A A D M I N I S T R AT I O N BOARD OF DIRECTORS President

Marion Bradley 2021* Discount Costumes 1736 Watson Blvd.

Warner Robins, GA 31093 478-929-3500 ncapresident21@gmail.com

Treasurer

Vice President

Pam Markel 2021* Illusive Skull Costume Castle 1314 Morgantown Ave. Fairmont, WV 26554 304-363-4785 Fax 304-366-9850 info@illusiveskull.com

Louella Torrence 2021* Drop Me A Line Costume Shop 1050 Lehigh Street Allentown, PA 610-435-7481 Fax 610-435-7428 dropmealine@rcn.com

Director

Director

Gene Flaharty 2021* Mehron 100 Red Schoolhouse Road Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977 845-426-1700 Fax 845-426-1515 gflaharty@mehron.com

Dwayne Ibsen 2021* Ibsen Costume Gallery 4981 Hamilton St. Omaha, NE 68132 402-556-1400 Fax 402-556-5727 ibsencostumes@ gmail.com

Director

Director

Tyler Volz 2021* Spotlight Characters 1140 N. Walton Blvd. #3 Bentonville, AR 72712 479-696-4500

Director

Louella Torrence 2021* Drop Me A Line Costume Shop 1050 Lehigh Street Allentown, PA 610-435-7481 Fax 610-435-7428 dropmealine@rcn.com

Linda Adams-Foat 2021* Camelot Costumes, LLC 1321 S. Demeter Dr. Freeport, IL 61032 815-233-1861 camelot7@comcast.net

Director

Lori Hammes 2021* Curtains Up Costumes 100 Kramer Street Sigourney, IA 52591 641-622-5991 Contact@ CurtainsUpCostumes.com

*indicates end of current term

Like the NCA on Facebook!

Go to www.costumers.org and look for the Facebook link at the bottom of the page! june/july 2021

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2021 STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRS Buyer’s Group: NCA Home Office Staff The Costumer/Roster/Publications: Ed Avis Associates Disaster & Grievance: Pam Markel, Illusive Skull Costume Castle Executive Director Liaison: Marion Bradley, Discount Costume Historian: NCA Home Office Staff Membership: Gene Flaherty, Mehron Memorial Fund/National Awards: Linda Adams-Foat, Camelot Costumes, LLC Nominations: Linda Adams-Foat, Camelot Costumes, LLC Plot Service: Lori Hammes, Curtains Up Costumes Policy & Procedures: Linda Adams-Foat, Camelot Costumes, LLC Publications Liaison: Pam Markel, Illusive Skull Costume Castle Time & Place: Dwayne Ibsen, Ibsen Costume Gallery and Pam Markel, Illusive Skull Costume Castle Web Site: Louella Torrence, Drop Me A Line Costume Shop Bereavement: Terri Greenberg, HALCO Social Media: Janine Caufield, Caufield’s and Tyler Volz, Spotlight Characters

Invoices Sent Out The invoices for your 2021 membership dues have been emailed to all current members.

Please pay promptly to ensure that your membership remains current!

If you didn’t get an invoice, please contact Ed Avis at executivedirector@costumers.org or 708-218-7755.

Thank you!

PRESIDENT ’S LETTER Presidential greetings from Georgia, Well, my tenure as President of this great organization is coming to an end. I will be stepping down to become the

Immediate Past President (a position that Linda AdamsFoat has been handling well for several years), and Pam

Markel will be moving up to take my place. Some board

members are retiring from their positions, but others have agreed to join us. You can read all about the new board members on page 6 of this issue.

As I was deciding what to write about in my final

President’s Letter, I went back and found what I wrote in my first Presidential Message in September of 2017:

“My goal is to become a leader who shows vision and optimism that the National

Costumers Association will be able to thrive in our ever-changing industry…that we will

not become so rigid that we could eventually break, but instead allow ourselves to become pliable and mold ourselves to the changing world around us.

“With the advent of the internet, 30-day stores, Big Box stores, and pretty much

everyone selling Halloween merchandise, the ‘sure thing’ can’t be counted on. This means that as NCA members, we need to band together even stronger and share ideas that will help each other through turbulent times. We need to be willing to share our knowledge to help each other succeed, because as long as our businesses succeed, then so does the National Costumers Association.”

Little did I know how strong but pliable we were going to have to be as I was writing

the first paragraph of that message almost four years ago. And when I referred to “turbulent times” in the second paragraph, I certainly had no idea what was headed our way!

But my favorite part of that second paragraph still rings true today: The National

Costumers Association is still proudly standing, closing in on 100 years (in 2023). With the help of Ed Avis, our focused executive director; Pam Markel, our amazing new

president; plus the awesome current board members who are staying on and the soon-to-

be-newly-elected board members I’m looking forward to working alongside, we are looking towards a brighter future where we’ll all succeed when we unite together as one wonderful and helpful organization!

Signing out, Marion Bradley, President

National Costumers Association

Discount Costumes, Warner Robins, Georgia

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NCA National Headquarters Ed Avis Executive Director P.O. Box 13347 Chicago, IL 60613 708-218-7755 pub@costumers.org

The Costumer Publications Office Ed Avis Associates P.O. Box 13347 Chicago, IL 60613 708-218-7755 pub@costumers.org Ad Sales Ed Avis 708-218-7755 pub@costumers.org Editorial Inquiries Kathleen Furore 708-267-0023 kfurore@yahoo.com Art Director Michelle Crisanti michelle@mc2chicago.com ©2021, National Costumers Association.

The Costumer is published by the National Costumers Association, Inc., with headquarters located at the above address, a nonprofit and incorporated association of costumers located in the United States, Australia, Bahamas, Canada, India, Ireland, Mexico, and Great Britain.

No responsibility is assumed for the opinions expressed or claims made by the authors of articles or by advertisers.

Appearance in the magazine does not constitute endorsement by the National Costumers Association, nor its officers or representatives.

www.costumers.org

A ssociation news Meet the NCA Board Candidates

It’s almost time to elect new leaders for the NCA! Instead of an in-person event, the election of the Board of Directors will

occur on July 13 at 10 a.m. Central time during a special Zoom meeting. The board consists of the president, immediate past

president, vice president, and six directors, one of whom is also the treasurer.

Two of the current directors – Linda Adams-Foat and

Tyler Volz – are not seeking reelection, but the remaining

board members are. Marion Bradley, the current president, will

become the immediate-past president. Here are brief bios of all the candidates:

Janine Caufield (running for vice president) is owner of Caufield’s Novelty, Inc. in Louisville, a costume retailer and distributor founded in 1920. She previously served two years as vice president of NCA and six years as a director.

Gene Flaharty (running for re-election to director) is the Education, Theatrical and Retail Sales Support Specialist and Makeup Artist for Mehron, Inc. He has done professional makeup for TV, film, print, and theater for over 40 years in the Kansas City area and he lectures on make-up and design across the country.

Courtland Hickey (running to fill a vacant director position) is the second-generation owner of Chicago Costume, which sells, rents and makes costumes. He has run the family’s business for over 20 years. He also is director and chairman of the Taste of Lincoln Avenue event and sits on the board of his neighborhood organization.

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Dwayne Ibsen (running for re-election to director) opened Ibsen Costume Gallery in 1981 and has directed over 400 shows in the Omaha, Nebraska area. He is a past president of the NCA and was honored with the Major Harrelson Award in 2005.

His costume designs have won Outstanding Theatrical Costume trophies over 20 times and he won the coveted Grand International Award in 1988 and 2008.

Lori Hammes (running for re-election to director) is the Business Manager at Curtains Up Costumes in Keota, Iowa. She also owns Fiddle Dee Dee, an occasional store selling handmade and repurposed gifts and décor. At Fiddle Dee Dee she and other creative people teach classes in her maker space.

Pam Markel (current director, running for president) is co-owner of The Illusive Skull Costume Castle in Fairmount, West Virginia. Her store was established in 1992 as a seasonal Halloween store and haunted house and evolved into a full-time retail and rental store specializing in theatrical makeup and special effects.

Terry Sinopoli (running to fill a vacant director position) is among the fifth generation of her family to run Arlene’s Costumes in Rochester, New York. She started in the business during high school doing airbrush face painting and temporary tattoos. Today she is responsible for Arlene’s social media and marketing.

Louella Torrence (running for re-election to director and treasurer) is the owner of Drop Me A Line Costume Shop in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which has been in business for 34 years. She has been involved in the NCA since 1993.

were the panelists. The second panel included Gene Flaharty

from Mehron Inc.; Dwayne Ibsen from Ibsen Costume Gallery,

NCA Success Summit Succeeds The NCA Success Summit, a two-day online extravaganza of

learning and socializing, was a hit. The event, which took place

March 23 and March 24, attracted 33 participants the first day and 28 the second day.

“There was a lot of energy during the Summit,” says NCA

President Marion Bradley, owner of Discount Costumes in

Warner Robins, Georgia. “It was great to see so many members,

including long-time members and a lot of new ones. I’m excited to see how that energy carries the NCA forward.”

Each day of the Summit included two educational panel

The first day’s panels were Improving Your Online Sales and

discussions and two social events.

Serving the Theater Community During and After COVID.

Terry Sinopoli from Arlene’s Costumes in Rochester, New York and Courtland Hickey from Chicago Costume in Chicago

New Owners Don’t ­Plan Big Changes

By Ed Avis NCA Vendor Member Morris Costumes is entering a new stage in its existence. The company’s wholesale business and the HalloweenExpress.com website were sold to Oriental Trading Company in March. Morris’ retail Halloween stores were not part of the transaction.

“This business has been in our family for 56 years, and my experience is that when people don’t have an exit plan or a longterm strategy for their business, it can lead to disaster,” says Scott Morris, who owns the company with his sister, Terri Bate.

“My goal was to have a long-term strategy about where the business could go.”

Oriental Trading Company has been a customer of Morris’ for many years, and the owners felt their values mesh with those of Morris Costumes, Morris explains.

“They’re a family-oriented business and had our values and outlook and strategy and I felt the sale made a lot of sense,” he says. “I consider all my employees family, and felt it was important to find a partner who respected that.”

Becoming part of Oriental Trading, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, will give Morris Costumes a strong foundation for future growth, Morris says. He says Morris Costumes

Omaha, Nebraska; Christy Hutchinson from Theatre Garage in Edmonton, Alberta; and Debbie Hamrick from Debbie’s Costume Shop, Columbus, Ohio.

The second day started with the Selling to Unconventional

Markets panel, which featured Hickey; Katherine Sprague of Safari Pearl in Moscow, Idaho; and Tim Pearson of Kryolan Corp. The second panel was Selling Non-Costume Retail

Items, with panelists Dick Stoner of Stoner’s Fun Store in

Fort Wayne, Indiana; Jerry Bradley of Discount Costumes in

Warner Robins, Georgia; Louella Torrence of Drop Me a Line Costume Shop in Allentown, Pennsylvania; and Tushar Mehta of Camden Passage. Susan Gray from Super Impulse also provided information.

The first social event each day was a coffee hour that let at-

tendees mingle and chat; the second day’s coffee hour included a slide show of historical NCA photos. The second social event on the first day was a “bitch session” that gave attendees the opportunity to talk about problems in their business and seek solu-

tions. The social event on the second day was a fancy hat ball.

Find a recording of the Summit at www.costumers.org.

will continue to develop its own products – such as the Halloween décor and animatronics the company is known for – and that he and the rest of the company’s staff will remain in place.

Oriental Trading has connections with manufacturers in China, which might help produce Morris-branded products. And the company’s distribution network is much larger than Morris’.

“I think at the end of the day we’ll be better than we have been in the past,” Morris says.

Another thing that won’t change is Morris Costumes’ practice of breaking manufacturers’ case packs and selling small quantities of products to costume retailers, Morris says.

“I don’t see us changing that. I think in today’s world it’s nearly impossible to order a case of stuff anymore,” he says.

“Our viewpoint hasn’t changed on that.”

Chris Merritt, the strategic acquisition manager for Oriental Trading Co., says his company values what Morris Costumes adds to their company, such as deep experience in Halloweenrelated merchandise.

“Scott has a great business, and we can help him in certain areas,” Merritt says. “We’re investing in IT and leveraging our supply chain to help them grow. But we feel like we’re buying a good business and don’t have any specific plans to change it now. We think it’s a great acquisition, culturally and from a business perspective, and we’re excited to see where it goes.” costumers.org

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Magic

The

By Kathleen Furore

of Makeup

From face paints for kids to products that turn customers into their favorite Halloween or Cosplay characters or

transform them into drag kings and queens, makeup works its magic in many ways.

And if you add the right items to your store’s stock, makeup can be an extra source of income that works magic on your bottom line, too.

What do you need to start profiting from makeup products? Here, The Costumer explores what to consider when adding makeup to your inventory or expanding your current selection.

Face Paints for Kids

Once relegated to booths at summer festivals, face painting has become a favorite birthday party and playtime activity. When choosing the kinds of face paints to stock, safety should be the first and foremost consideration — especially since little ones sometimes take the “art” literally into their own hands.

“It’s easy to be lured by color, cool packaging, and possibly cheap prices,” the story “Best Kids Face Paints of 2021” from Mom Loves Best notes, before listing important considerations consumers should keep in mind when shopping for face paints: Read labels, checking for potentially harmful ingredients like cadmium, formaldehyde and lead. If customers are being advised to keep those things in mind, your store should, too!

“The FDA has set requirements that must be met by face paint manufacturers,” the story continunes. “Ideally, you should look for products manufactured in the United States as these do their best to comply with the set regulations. European Union countries also adhere to strict regulations and buyers are advised to check for an EU address before buying the product.”

Gene Flaharty, makeup artist/product expert/sales manager for Mehron, Inc. — the oldest family-owned makeup manufacturer in the country — says the company’s Fantasy FX works well on kids because it’s water-based and dries quickly.

If parents are doing the face painting, he suggests Mehron’s Waterworks Palette. The Paradise series is the best option for advanced face painters, he adds.

The Drag Community

Before COVID-19 hit, New York City’s drag community made up about 40 percent of business at Kryolan — so showroom manager Tim Pearson is an expert when it comes to makeup for drag kings and queens.

“For drag, you normally are working with an array of different skin tones,” Pearson explains, noting that foundation, concealer and contour products are must-stock items.

“Our most popular product is the full-coverage TV paint stick that retails for about $24.50,” reports Pearson, who says sales can build quickly from there.

“They come to you and they purchase one TV paint stick to use as their foundation, but you get them hooked with a contour and a highlight. So now you have a $76 sale. Then you give them an option for a product that will set the makeup the proper way — I’m talking about [a product] like a translucent powder. We have several options in our translucent powder that you would press into the TV paint stick. They call it baking or cooking…in theater, we would say, ‘You’re putting on too much powder’ compared to what you would for a beauty makeup.”

Having several options is important, too. “You need to make sure you offer options for people who sweat a lot…It’s not just one-size-fits-all,” Pearson adds. “Translucent powder might be a good option for one person. However, someone else might prefer to use our Dermacolor fixing powder, which is a watercostumers.org

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proof product that has ingredients that form a film on the skin and bond with the makeup.”

Flaharty echoes Pearson when it comes to foundations and powders: Mehron’s CreamBlend Sticks or Color Cups, which are oil-based creams, need to be set with a product like Mehron’s Colorset Powder.

Those products are also great for theater and cosplay, he adds.

And when it comes to blushes and eye shadows, bright colors rule at the makeup counter for members of the drag community, Pearson says.

Flaharty and Pearson also point out how important addA Day of the Dead example. ons are. Mehron, for example, offers Barrier Spray to seal the makeup and Skin Prep Pro to prep the skin before makeup is applied.

“We have an aerosol fixing spray that is the must-have at $26,” says Pearson, who shows just how profitable makeup can be.

“So, say I gave you four TV paint sticks at $24.50, a fixing spray at $26, a powder that most likely even for the small size is about $16 to $17 — that’s already a $120 sale right there. And you’ve not even gotten the client hooked on color yet. You’ve not talked about long-wearing lipsticks. You’ve not talked about long-wearing eyeliner. You’ve not talked about the amazing selection of eyelashes that Kryolan offers.”

Getting Up to Speed

When it comes to choosing items for your makeup inventory, vendors can be your best friends.

“I travel the country visiting your stores,” says Flaharty, who can train staff and conduct in-store workshops, too. “You can pull your schools in, we can talk to them about what you have to offer. We can train your staff on how to sell our stuff, and I’m your go-to person if you have questions about moving items.

What should I carry? What shouldn’t I carry?”

Mehron’s Mini Pro Kit is a popular starter kit that he often recommends. “There are also kits available for different Halloween characters — our new NEON UV Paradise is one example,” Flaharty adds. “If a store is interested in branching out into new markets and doesn’t know what to carry, they should contact Mehron’s office and our staff of artists can help customdesign their order to meet the needs of those customers.”

New NCA vendor member Wolfe FX also offers help with inventory selection.

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FX make-up — which is made with a base of paraffin and glycerin so it is water-resistant and won’t easily break down in sweat — owner Doug Drake says the products sell well in costume shops to all levels of users. And he can help retailers choose a selection of products to get started.

“The first thing we suggest is to find out what the school colors are in your area and to order single color containers of make-up in the school colors,” Drake says. “Those single make-up colors are just $1 apiece, so they sell well.

Then we suggest they order the box of makeup sticks.

That’s a point-of-sale box, and we recommend it sit on A St. Patrick’s Day idea the cash register counter. And then we suggest they buy the 6-color crayon sets because kids love them.”

Makeup Magic All Year Long

Gene Flaharty, makeup artist/product expert/sales manager for Mehron Inc., says costume shops can make makeup a year-round profit center if they carry colors and accessories for different holidays and events — think fall festivals, zombie walks, Halloween, Day of the Dead, New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras, St. Patrick’s Day, and the 4th of July. “Carrying Colored Glitters for holidays makes each holiday more festive,” he says.

Wolfe FX’s Walking Dead Set with six zombieappropriate colors, and its Sugar Skull Kit that can create a dozen Day-of-the-Dead characters are other products that can help extend makeup sales throughout the year.

“Even party stores sell makeup items all year,” Flaharty says.

The takeaway: Don’t let those party stores or other retailers take away sales that could be yours!

Note: Many of Flaharty’s and Pearson’s comments are excerpted from the NCA’s March 2021 Success Summit.

Kathleen Furore is the editor of The Costumer.

member profile Penguin Point Productions Creativity and vintage keep business flowing at Florida shop

By Ed Avis Sometimes a business does better when it does more than just one thing. That’s certainly the case with Penguin Point Productions in Oviedo, Florida, which has developed a combination of related businesses over the past 15 years. Today the operation encompasses a costume shop, theater classes, a theater venue with four companies in residence, a summer camp program, and, since May 15, a vintage shop.

“We now have five stores back-to-back in the Oviedo Mall,” explains Kay Gonzales, who manages the costume part of the business. “There is a lot going on, and we are bursting forth with job opportunities.”

A Teacher’s Costume Collection James Brendlinger, Penguin Point’s owner, taught high school theater in the area for 24 years and operated a costumesharing program that outfitted community theaters throughout central Florida.

He started Penguin Point Productions in 2005 as a theater education program, and he frequently shopped at Madge Elaine’s World of Entertainment, a costume shop owned by Gonzales.

“He was my best customer, and when we closed in 2010, James bought about two-thirds of my rental costume stock,” Gonzales says.

That stock became part of Brendlinger’s vast costume collection, which also grew with donations from theme parks, theaters and other businesses. When he left his high school teaching post in 2018, the principal of his school told him to leave just a “normal high school-size collection,” so most of the costumes ended up in his possession. He realized they could form the heart of a costume business.

“He called me out of the blue in January 2019 and said, ‘Hey, I’m opening a costume shop, come join me,’” Gonzales says. “I told him I had a corporate job with insurance, and I didn’t know if I wanted to get back into the costume industry that had changed so much.” june/july 2021

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But Gonzales’ corporate job was becoming uncertain because the business was moving her division to Wisconsin.

The moment they offered her a severance package, she called Brendlinger and told him she would join him in his new costume venture.

At first, she volunteered. Then, in January 2020, she became the full-time manager of the costume business, which was part of Penguin Point Productions’ space in Oviedo Mall.

At that time, the business occupied three side-by-side stores at the mall – one for the theater, one for a dance studio/classroom, and one for administration and the costumes.

It’s Show Time!

An essential part of Penguin Point are the four companies in residence. They include the Young Company, which is older high school and younger college students; the Wildfire Players, which does slightly edgier shows; the Ensemble Company, which is community theater; and the Still Got It Players, for over-50 performers.

All of the companies receive their costumes from Penguin Point’s collection, and the costume shop also supplies local schools and community theaters. Business was picking up in early 2020 when COVID hit.

“We were closed for two months, and then we reopened with all the precautions for our summer camps,” Gonzales says.

“Everyone had to wear masks and be socially distanced, and we had to regularly spray everything down. But the kids were so happy, and we’ve been fortunate not to have any breakouts.”

About 300 children attended the camps, which ranged from one week for kids in Kindergarten through second grade to three weeks for middle schoolers. Each group produced a show at the end of their camp. “We did some wonderful shows at the summer camps – The Secret Garden, Charlie Brown, and James and the Giant Peach,” Gonzales says. “I designed the costumes for Charlie Brown, and we’ve rented it six or seven times since then.”

In addition to the costume needs of its in-house productions, Penguin Point’s costume shop also provided the costumes for various community productions, including the 166 costumes needed for a production of Spamalot at the Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center in Sanford, Florida.

At the end of the summer, a fourth space opened in the mall, and Penguin Point snagged it to open a more formal costume shop.

“It’s 5,000 square feet, and we moved the costumes from the back of the first space to that,” Gonzales explains. “We are mostly rental, though we do have some sales with accessories and children’s costumes.”

Another Space, Another Shop Many of Brendlinger’s costumes are vintage, and they did not rent particularly well.

“When we did rent them, people were pretty brutal with them,” he says. “For example, people were taking vintage costumes and removing the zippers and putting Velcro in. So we

decided we’d be better off selling the vintage stuff.”

Thus was born the idea for Penguin Point’s most recent venture: a vintage shop. Brendlinger says he was talking to mall management about a small space when a sporting goods store beside his current stores suddenly closed. The space is 6,000 square feet, but he has enough vintage goods to fill the store and has three months’ worth or refills in storage. The grand opening was May 15.

The vintage shop is called DUCKIE’S, an homage to the character played by Jon Cryer in the 1986 movie Pretty in Pink.

The name is fitting given the store’s focus on vintage clothing from that time period.

“The shop sells clothing from the 1920s to the 1990s, but definitely it’s mostly from the ‘80s and ‘90s,” Brendlinger says. “We also sell records and lava lamps. I did a production of Julius Caesar that was set in the 1960s, and we used lava lamps as footlights. So I had 50 of them left over. And for the records, I’ve been a DJ since college, so I had a storage unit full of them.”

DUCKIE’S officially is a non-profit venture, and the money raised supports the Penguin Point’s educational theater programs.

“So far sales have been very encouraging,” Brendlinger says. “I think as long as we can keep the stock coming in it will be a big fundraiser for the theater.”

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Feature Story Beyond Costumes: Add-on items = add-on sales

By Ed Avis

Costume sales and rentals are the business bread and butter for most NCA members, but some savvy costumers boost revenue by selling non-costume items, too. One of the panel discussions during the March 2021 NCA Success Summit focused on that topic, and we’ve collected tips from panelists Louella Torrence, owner of Drop Me a Line Costume Shop in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Dick Stoner from Stoner’s FunStore in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Jerry Bradley from Discount Costumes in Warner Robins, Georgia; Tushar Mehta from Camden Passage; and Susan Gray from Super Impulse. #1 Sell Impulse Items Your customers probably are visiting your store for costumes, so you if you want to succeed with non-costume items, you need to catch their attention. june/july 2021

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Small impulse items like toys, games, novelties and other lowpriced, fun items sell the best, catch the buyer’s attention, and are generally inexpensive enough to fit within anyone’s budget.

And sometimes impulse items simply satisfy a need. “As soon as mom comes in with a kid bawling his eyes out, mom says, ‘Here’s a toy. Be quiet,’” Gray says.

Some collectible items also can be impulse items—think low-cost comics Bradley sells at Discount Costumes, which range from $1.50 to $4. “It’s been a wonderful additional stream of revenue for us,” he says.

Gray agrees that tiny collectibles, including Halloween char-

acters like Frankenstein and the Vampire that Super Impulse recently added, also can boost sales. #2 Dress Up Your Display One nice thing about non-costume items is that many are small. Nevertheless, they need to be well displayed. For example, Stoner devotes six showcases and the shelves behind them to his magic trick inventory. Counter spac, premium real estate for impulse items, is where Torrence displays many of them, including her Boxing Nun and chattering teeth. “I’ve always had my front counter covered with samples so people could play with everything,” she says.

It’s important to change displays frequently. For example, each morning Bradley selects a different handful of his comic books and displays them poking out of the boxes. “That way it’s eye-appealing when customers come in, and they just tend to gravitate right towards them,” he says.

Showcasing items on a display rack from manufacturers is another display approach. Super Impulse offers a rotating rack that holds the company’s “World’s Smallest Toys and Games.” In addition, several products, such as tiny Wacky Packages, come in colorful counter displays. Similarly, Camden offers cosmetic contact lenses in a counter display that holds 144 pairs in a space that measures about 20 x 10 inches. #3 Demonstrate Whatever non-costume items you’re selling, you’ll sell more if you can show customers how they work. “The main thing about selling magic is demonstrating it,” Stoner says. “The thing about magic that’s interesting is you do a magic trick, and they say, ‘How’s that done?’ And you don’t tell people how it’s done. The secret is sold when the magic is sold. They will want to know how to do it, and they’ll buy one, and then they have fun with it, and they’ll come back and buy more.”

Torrence also succeeds with demonstrations. “You give customers a shocking pen to sign their charge, and they will buy that pen,” she says. Another great seller over the years was fake dog poo. “We’d set one on the floor, and somebody would say to you, ‘Do you see what happened?’ And, of course, we’d say, ‘Yeah, sure, you can buy it.’ We sold tons of those.” #4 Cross Merchandise Many non-costume products are related to costumes. For example, most of the comic books Bradley sells include superheroes in costume. “It’s been nice because what happens is people interested in comic books

often get into costumes, too,” Bradley says. “We’ve got a room towards the back with our comic books, and we keep our superhero costumes there, too. So, they tend to complement each other.” Similarly, people buying Halloween costumes might be interested in little Halloween figurines, fake blood, trick-or-treat lights, and other such items. #5 Make Holiday Connections Selling noncostume items is a great way to generate sales at Easter (small toys and games for Easter baskets), Christmas (stocking stuffers), summer vacation (things for kids to read or play with during long drives and flights), Valentine’s Day (romantic gifts), St. Patrick’s Day (green pins, hats) and Halloween (scary figurines, books of ghost stories).

As Torrence says, summing up the opportunity non-costume items can deliver: “Just dive in and try a few items. You can’t lose!

Non-Costume Retail Items to Consider Looking for ideas on the kind of non-costume items to stock? Several NCA members who participated in the Association’s March 2021 Success Summit offer these suggestions: Boxing nun Buttons Coloring books Comic books Cosmetic contact lenses Dashboard Jesus Extend-o-Fork Face paint Fake dog poop

Fake parking tickets Lollipops with crickets Magic tricks Mini arcade games Mini board games Mini Lite Brite Mini Rubik’s Cube

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Shocking lighters Silly String Squirt guns Stickers Stink bombs Switchblade comb Small Toys Trading cards Wind-up toys

june/july 2021

B usiness B eat PC Comes to the Costume Industry: Are there costumes you shouldn’t sell?

By Ed Avis

Political correctness. In the wake of COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, Me Too and, most recently, an outcry about anti-Asianhate, it’s a topic that’s hit home with businesses in almost every industry. And for many costume industry pros, it’s raised an important question: Are there some costumes I simply shouldn’t be selling?

It’s not an easy question to answer.

Some costumes that seemed harmless a generation ago could easily offend some of today’s customers. Last fall, for example, Party City publicly apologized after customers complained about a children’s Confederate soldier Halloween june/july 2021

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costume the store was selling. A decade ago, such costumes were sold routinely; now it’s widely understood that Confederate symbolism offends many people.

There are many costumes that seem completely innocent at first glance but can convey underlying messages that might offend prospective customers. So, taking a look at all of the costumes you stock with an eye on what might be offensive is a good first step in deciding if there are costumes that should be taken out of inventory.

The bottom line is this: When you look at the costumes in your store, consider whether any of them might offend

customers, and then decide what action you want to take to reduce the risk of offense.

Categories to Consider There are three broad categories of costumes that might offend people.

The first is historical costumes that depict a group or person who participated in an event that is generally understood to have caused great harm. This category includes Confederate uniforms and Nazi clothing. These kinds of costumes are likely to offend some or all of your customers.

The second is costumes that depict racial or ethnic groups or individuals. These become problematic if they emphasize stereotypes or poke fun at the group or individual. This can be a gray area.

“Are you trying to honor this person or are you doing it to make fun of them?” asks Brynn Shiovitz, a professor of dance and performance theory at Chapman University in Orange, California.

Shiovitz, who is also the author of the upcoming book called Behind the Screen: Tap Dance, Race, and Invisibility during Hollywood’s Golden Age (Oxford University Press), says a Michael Jackson costume is a good example of this conundrum.

“It’s nice to idolize somebody to the point of wanting to dress like them, and you can distill Michael Jackson’s image down to his wardrobe choices,” Shiovitz says. “So, it’s conceivable that even if you’re white, if you wore a Michael Jackson costume, people would understand who you are trying to be.”

But the story changes if you are white and put on black face make-up while dressing like Michael Jackson. That would take idolization down a dangerous path.

“As soon as we start talking about body modification, it gets tricky,” Shiovitz says.

What about an American Indian costume? Many people might find that inappropriate, especially if leans heavily into cultural stereotypes. On the other hand, if the costume is designed to emulate the actual clothing of a particular Native American group or individual, is that offensive?

Another example in this category could be a costume depicting an Asian person. Kimonos, conical hats, and long mustaches are stereotypically associated with Asians, but would wearing these items be considered honoring this group?

Probably not.

“Asian costumes will get a lot of attention this year because of recent events,” Shiovitz notes. “It’s complicated because you have to ask yourself are you really trying to honor a specific Korean actor, for example, or are you collapsing stereotypes of Japanese, Chinese and Korean all into one? As soon as we create a costume that encompasses an entire ethnic group, that would be problematic.”

Bottom line with the second category: If an ethnic costume

is grossly stereotypical, you can expect someone to be offended.

The third category of potentially offensive costumes – those depicting religious or cultural figures – includes costumes depicting Jesus, nuns, priests, rabbis, etc. These might sell well, but it’s not likely someone wearing a priest costume to a Halloween party is doing that because he wants to honor priests, right? So, these types of costumes might be offensive to certain customers.

Theatrical rentals are a completely different story when it comes to deciding which costumes are appropriate and which might offend.

No one is going to be surprised or offended if you rent a General Robert E. Lee uniform for the play “Abraham Lincoln” or a rabbi costume for “Fiddler on the Roof.”

There are no hard rules for what costumes to sell and which to avoid, but it pays to give it some thought, especially in these times.

“It’s not like I can come up with an ethics code or a politically correct code,” Shiovitz says. “But we all have the responsibility to ask, ‘How will this costume or wig or depiction affect someone else?’”

Ed Avis is the publisher of The Costumer.

costumers.org

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june/july 2021

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My Favorite Costume Marc Salls Star Costume & Theatrical Supplies Las Vegas

Marc Salls and his wife

Photo by Aimlee Photography

have owned Star Costume & Theatrical Supplies in

Las Vegas for 19 years. The store, which debuted some

35 years ago, offers what its website calls “the greatest

variety of different types of

event you rented one for?

Salls: Elvis performed and entertained us here in Las Vegas for many years. His

fame does not just include

those in the Las Vegas area.

We have visitors from around

the world who come in to buy or rent a look that is inspired

materials available to create

by him. His is one of the

your best or worst illusion.”

most-asked-for and sought-

There are wigs, more than

after costumes for men in the

300 kinds of hats, and one of

store by visitors.

the largest theatrical depart-

But there were many

ments for makeup in the city, and “costumes range from

women who wanted similar

and from elegant to exotic.”

expanded line [to appeal to]

outfits, too. This led to an

demure and dainty to daring

female patrons. We recently

The shops array of Elvis

completed a female version

costumes rank among the

for Victoria Hogan, the own-

most popular — and among

er of Sure Thing Chapel. The

Salls’ favorites.

chapel offers Elvis-themed

“Elvis is an iconic cos-

weddings, with “Elvis” as the

tume for our store…we sent

officiant.

out nine yesterday and 36 in the last two weeks. And it is

The Costumer: Did the pan-

regularly like that,” Salls told

The Costumer during a late May interview in which he shared more information about his Elvis inventory.

The Costumer: How many Elvis costumes do you stock?

Marc Salls: We have 55 to 60 Elvis-inspired costumes for rent in the store, with close to 100 for purchase. This includes nine different styles, with the white jumpsuit style being the mostasked-for Elvis costume.

The Costumer: You said Elvis is an iconic costume for your store

considering your location. Do you have any especially entertaining stories about someone you rented an Elvis costume to or an june/july 2021

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demic significantly limit the

number of Elvis costume rentals? Or was there still demand for them?

Salls: The pandemic greatly slowed rentals and sales. We are currently beginning to have more businesses open and hope

to get to more normal. Last week, we had 15 people come in

and want an Elvis-inspired look for a wedding party. In a few

weeks, we have 32 going out for a bachelor event. It is a timeless outfit that continues to live on throughout the eras.

What is your favorite costume? To be considered for an upcoming

My Favorite Costume profile, email Editor Kathleen Furore at kfurore@yahoo.com.