The experience of going to the theater or even the movies wouldn’t be the same at all if it weren’t for the costumes that are placed on our favorite characters throughout the show. This reality is something that we can’t get away from, and it is why people who create those costumes rely on excellent shops to provide them with the supplies that they need to create those awe-inspiring costumes.
Those who wish to create a shop that famous theatre costume designers would want to shop in need to take a few of the following pieces of advice about how to get to that point.
Fixing up the Doors
The entrance to your shop says a lot about what visitors can expect when they enter. If your doors don’t look appealing in some way, then no one will want to check out what you are all about in the first place. They won’t see the value of going to your shop, and you might lose out on a significant amount of business as a result. Thus, you need to get a door company out to make sure you have the kind of grand entrance that people are expecting.
What you should look at with your doors is something that truly appeals to someone who just happens to be passing by. You should be able to see the doors of your shop from the street outside and want to know what is contained within a shop like that. Speak with the door company that you partner with to see if they can design something like that for you.
Electrical Services
Some costumes are best seen under certain lighting conditions. Thus, a costume shop that famous theatre costume designers want to visit will have lighting fixtures set up throughout the shop that can help them see how those costumes work under different conditions. That is why you might need to get an electrician out to the shop to check things out right away when you need some help with the lighting in your shop.
What an electrician can do for you is look over the way that your shop is wired up and see if there are any areas where you might need some improvement in that realm. This is to say that they can look over the aspects of the wiring of your shop to ensure that you aren’t lacking any of the lighting needs that you have. Make sure you speak with an electrician who understands the specific needs of a costume shop like yours to make sure they can help you in the ways that you need today.
Buying Excess Supplies From a Wedding Dress Shop
You might be surprised how often the kind of supplies that a wedding dress shop holds crossover into the costume realm as well. Famous theatre costume designers know that wedding dresses often play a role in the shows that they put on. Thus, you might want to look into getting excess supply from these shops so that you are stocked up on the things that famous theatre costume designers are looking for at a reasonable price.
You can establish a business relationship with the local wedding dress shop to purchase excess inventory from them when they have it available. This will create a win-win relationship between your shop and the wedding dress shop. They get what they need out of the process, and you can obtain some dresses that you can use for the shop at a very reasonable price.
Check Out Your Plumbing Situation
People might need to use the facilities while they are in your shop, and you need to have these things taken care of for them. Any famous theatre costume designer won’t spend a moment of their time in a shop that can’t even maintain its basic facilities like this. They will note it right away, and they will likely look down on your shop if you don’t maintain the plumbing.
Thus, you might need to contact some local plumbers to see what kind of prices they charge for the services offered in your area. It is worth checking out because you need to find someone that you can work with to take care of these issues before they become bigger problems. You should be able to take complete care of issues like this without any further problems, but just make sure you handle this before it becomes a bigger thing.
Get Jewelry in the Shop
A big part of the costume design process for famous theatre costume designers is to look at the jewelry and accessories that they can add to the costumes that they create. This adds a little dazzle to the process and makes those costumes stand out more than they would have otherwise.
A great costume shop might choose to partner with a custom jeweler to get certain types of supplies in the shop that they couldn’t have otherwise. Working directly with a custom jeweler is the best way to go because those jewelers can design the necessary pieces promptly. They can even make something that is very specific and unique to the costume that famous theatre costume designers are working with at the time. If you partner with the right kind of shop, you can expect that they will produce something that fits in with the design of the costume perfectly.
Create an Inside Atmosphere That is Welcoming
A few elements inside your shop can create an environment of welcoming. For example, you might want to add an epoxy floor and padded chairs to create the kind of environment that attracts famous theatre costume designers. Padded chairs will add comfort for your designers. You simply need to provide them with the kind of space that dazzles and impresses them based on the work that you have clearly put into your shop.
Anything that you can do to make your shop stand out a little from some of the others is worthy of consideration. After all, the biggest challenge that you have ahead of you is the battle to create something that leaves an impression on famous theatre costume designers. You want them to bring word back to their friends that your shop is the kind of place to check out.
Designing a space that is comfortable and easy for people to try out the different costumes should be a top goal for yourself. These shops will be used by a variety of different people from across the entertainment spectrum, so make sure you design something that gives them everything that they have come to expect and anticipate.
Offer Services That Are Outside the Box
Just think about the number of physical transformations that certain actors and performers have to go through to provide the kind of show that impresses their audiences. It takes a lot of specialized treatment to get them to look exactly the way that they want to look while they are performing. Thus, you might want to consider adding specialized services for your clients. If you want famous theatre costume designers to come in and get everything they need for their performers, then you have to think outside of the box.
You might even go as far as to offer something like laser hair removal. Even if you can’t offer it on-site, you might be able to at least refer people out to a place that can get this done for them. Certain roles require an actor to not have hair that they naturally have. Thus, they might need to go to a place that offers laser hair removal to take care of this issue. If that is the case, then you can take a major step in the right direction of impressing famous theatre costume designers if you have a place on standby to refer them to for this type of service for their actors.
Hair Treatments
We have mentioned that you can potentially refer clients out to a place to perform hair removal, but what if they need other types of hair treatments? This is one of the most commonly requested types of treatment for people putting on a performance. You might be surprised to learn just how much acting and putting on a show comes down to how one’s hair looks. Thus, you might want to provide something that allows people to take care of their hair follicles and see how different costumes might work with the specific type of hair that a given actor or performer happens to have.
You can speak with famous theatre costume designers and they will tell you time and time again about how much the look of their performer’s hair matters to the production of whatever it is that they happen to be working on at the time. It might seem like something a bit superficial, but that is what so much of performance boils down to in a lot of ways. You have to look at the small details like this if you are serious about acting and putting on the best possible show for your audience.
Shops that care about getting famous theatre costume designers the kind of designs and costumes that they need must also factor in things like this. After all, costume design is not just about the clothing that performers wear while they are doing their job. It boils down to so much more than just that.
How do the Eyes Look
Did you know that one of the things that an audience looks for when examining an actor or performer that they like is what that person’s eyes look like? This is because the eyes provide a view into the context of the person as a whole. The more that one looks into someone’s eyes, the better able they are to see what that person is thinking about, what emotions they are experiencing, and so much more. Thus, people look to the eyes for context clues about any given situation.
Given all of that, it is common for a costume shop to offer eye care solutions related to costume design. This might take the form of accessories for the eyes such as glasses, contacts, etc. or it might look like referring a customer to a nearby eye doctor that can assist them with particular services that they need. In either case, the shop is working hard to make sure it provides the resources that its customers need to take care of their eyes in the ways that they are supposed to.
Make it Fun
Small context clues about how fun your costume shop is can make a difference as well. You might want to hang up pictures of the kind of people that you have helped with their costumes in the past. This might provide your customers with the chance to see what kind of assistance you have provided to other people like themselves in the past. This is particularly impactful if you happen to have worked with any famous costume designers before.
Costumes are a lot of fun in and of themselves, and you should lean into that. Your shop is the kind of place where people can come in as one thing and walk out as another. With that in mind, make sure you provide people with the feeling of magic that they want to experience when they walk into a shop such as yours. Remember, at the end of the day, it is up to you to sell the value of your shop to those who come to visit you. The more fun that you make, the more they will want to come back again and again.
Ask all of your customers to refer others to your shop when they need costumes as well. A significant portion of your business might come from word-of-mouth marketing, and you need to take advantage of that to maximize your profitability.
