Association 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. 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 Interna tional 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.

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 discussions and two social events.

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

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 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.”

were the panelists. The second panel included Gene Flaharty from Mehron Inc.; Dwayne Ibsen from Ibsen Costume Gallery, 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 attendees 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 solutions. The social event on the second day was a fancy hat ball.

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

The Magic 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.

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.

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 water-

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 A Day of the Dead example. point out how important addons 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.”

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 custom- design their order to meet the needs of those customers.”

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

While professional make-up artists are key users of Wolfe 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 the cash register counter. And then we suggest they buy the 6-color crayon sets because kids love them.”

A St. Patrick’s Day idea

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.