"Hey, that's not what I meant!" Hobby Communication Failures

ReUnicorn (Heelys)

Customized Collectable
MLPTP Supporter
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Mar 9, 2020
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I do some part-time work with a family friend's art studio that does kid's day camps and birthday parties. When I was first applying for the position, I was having a casual chat with the owner about the fun and funky artwork displayed around the studio. I brought up my own hobby of toy customs, and showed her some of my MLP work, since I'm pretty proud of it. She lit up and told me that this was an EXCELLENT activity for kids' birthday parties.

I was polite in my response, and I got where she was coming from, but I hadn't been taken off-guard like that since someone offered to buy a $25 pottery piece from me for a single quarter. Can you imagine sourcing anywhere from 10-30 g1 baits, cleaning and acetoning their factory paint, and tossing them to a group of 8 year olds with a blunt brush, some acrylics, and an hour and a half to do whatever? And god help you if you think that rehairing them is a good idea. Even if you're not worked up about the collectors' value of the toys (it's their toy now, if a kid wants to sharpie on Rapunzel it's their individual right), the economics of the concept just don't make any sense. Plus, if I know anything from the parties I've worked, there is going to be at least one or two kids who will decide they don't wanna paint a pony and will sit there pouting until cake time. Bottom line: just buy unicorn figurines in bulk, or get them 3D printed.

What's a well-intentioned reaction to collecting or customizing that's left you speechless?
 
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Even if it wouldn't be prohibitively expensive to custom that many ponies I can't imagine someone looking at a fully finished custom and thinking "ah yes, the perfect 10 min craft for a child's party". :rofl:

Plaster figurines are pretty cheap to buy in bulk and sooo much easier for kids to paint lol. In the days before internet my parents even diyed plaster ponies for one of my birthdays from a chocolate mold they found somewhere.

I think the worst I've ever gotten when I still customized dolls is that I should either a)sell them or b)start a YouTube channel like Dollightful. I just wanted a relaxing hobby, not everything needs to be monetized. -_-;
 
Even if it wouldn't be prohibitively expensive to custom that many ponies I can't imagine someone looking at a fully finished custom and thinking "ah yes, the perfect 10 min craft for a child's party". :rofl:
That's the part that shocked me! She took a look at projects that took me weeks between design, execution and healing from the occasional sharp tool accident and went "THAT is what we're going to tell a 7 year old to accomplish in an hour with no planning."
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AL9nZEWNtJHbhi7bA481Zf1uIbi5ihpkM7csitLCEcmm9z8uh4gvgVNEYForDG-HN1ubs1xQX0vvj0sS7Be9jIS4X0a2Nm62WiMqNBA5IOzs4yhU6XVSV0wlQRgattALI8LZ4dCN64Z2C0igDARkVZ8tdkdIuA=w592-h739-no

Pictured: Samples that will in no way make a child frustrated that they can't replicate because they have all the experience that public school art class once a week can give and less time than it takes to watch Zootopia
 
You can easily source and use McDonald’s ponies for cheap pricing. They’re small enough that kids won’t need so many hours to spend on making the best custom piece. But also cheap enough that custom baiting isn’t so bad. You can use things like feathers and yarn for hair and they can paint and glue on as much as they’d like.
 
Funny thing. I actually let E have a pony customizing party when she was… 7, I think. I had a number of sad fakies and the kids had so much fun. I did make sure that they all had decent hair and they were all the most basic fakies, no buddy L or lanyard. They painted, they glued rhinestones and feathers, the made little scarves and leg warmers, and they styled hair. It was pretty fun to see how they turned out. We also did painting tiles to use as trivets more recently.
 
Haha imagine thinking anyone could recreate one like your samples in an hour let alone a bunch of kids who’ve been eating sugar all morning ^^;
It could be a fun activity like others said with fakies but even that sounds ambitious lol
 
Haha imagine thinking anyone could recreate one like your samples in an hour let alone a bunch of kids who’ve been eating sugar all morning ^^;
It could be a fun activity like others said with fakies but even that sounds ambitious lol
None of the kids created anything thar someone other than they or their parent might value. lol definitely not like your work @feelysonheelys
 
None of the kids created anything thar someone other than they or their parent might value. lol definitely not like your work @feelysonheelys
Lol well I guess as long as they had fun with it that is the important part :) and they probably looked cute if a bit messy
 
That's the part that shocked me! She took a look at projects that took me weeks between design, execution and healing from the occasional sharp tool accident and went "THAT is what we're going to tell a 7 year old to accomplish in an hour with no planning."
AL9nZEVi4De1AQY9bQOVt6nnPCWzPVH5KYyRiMnJuqL-Mfb-d_ksZ9IZj7rmth5l5_aym-2ua8mYDMZZZ2BuLg608YjdrTTKEZtDmi2clQYfZBCj56rVVtmnq7G9ErZ9IKWNlUqDGjHosTY1fzaV3RJpR5H3mQ=w592-h739-no
AL9nZEWNtJHbhi7bA481Zf1uIbi5ihpkM7csitLCEcmm9z8uh4gvgVNEYForDG-HN1ubs1xQX0vvj0sS7Be9jIS4X0a2Nm62WiMqNBA5IOzs4yhU6XVSV0wlQRgattALI8LZ4dCN64Z2C0igDARkVZ8tdkdIuA=w592-h739-no

Pictured: Samples that will in no way make a child frustrated that they can't replicate because they have all the experience that public school art class once a week can give and less time than it takes to watch Zootopia
I looooove your Marble Madness/Trapper Keeper baby pony.


As for the chick, she's just speaking out of well intentioned ignorance. And the kids wouldn't hafta be rehairing and prepping n stuff. She can just as easily get them some moulded-hair plastic horsies and cheap paint if she wants to give them a fun art project.
 
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I looooove your Marble Madness/Trapper Keeper baby pony.


As for the chick, she's just speaking out of well intentioned ignorance. And the kids wouldn't hafta be rehairing and prepping n stuff. She can just as easily get them some moulded-hair plastic horsies and cheap paint if she wants to give them a fun art project.
Thank you! She was a commission for a dear friend, who has used her for a couple educational videos on YouTube. As for "the chick"...she's got her heart in the right place, and she's a great friend to my family (and is my part-time boss) but her thoughts can be a little flighty sometimes.
Cheap figurine painting is a tried and true birthday party staple at her studio to be sure, I've even helped with a few of those parties. Her son has a 3D printer, so she's conscripted his help in the past to get what's needed in stock.
 
Thank you! She was a commission for a dear friend, who has used her for a couple educational videos on YouTube. As for "the chick"...she's got her heart in the right place, and she's a great friend to my family (and is my part-time boss) but her thoughts can be a little flighty sometimes.
Cheap figurine painting is a tried and true birthday party staple at her studio to be sure, I've even helped with a few of those parties. Her son has a 3D printer, so she's conscripted his help in the past to get what's needed in stock.
Sounds fun.
 
That's the part that shocked me! She took a look at projects that took me weeks between design, execution and healing from the occasional sharp tool accident and went "THAT is what we're going to tell a 7 year old to accomplish in an hour with no planning."
AL9nZEVi4De1AQY9bQOVt6nnPCWzPVH5KYyRiMnJuqL-Mfb-d_ksZ9IZj7rmth5l5_aym-2ua8mYDMZZZ2BuLg608YjdrTTKEZtDmi2clQYfZBCj56rVVtmnq7G9ErZ9IKWNlUqDGjHosTY1fzaV3RJpR5H3mQ=w592-h739-no
AL9nZEWNtJHbhi7bA481Zf1uIbi5ihpkM7csitLCEcmm9z8uh4gvgVNEYForDG-HN1ubs1xQX0vvj0sS7Be9jIS4X0a2Nm62WiMqNBA5IOzs4yhU6XVSV0wlQRgattALI8LZ4dCN64Z2C0igDARkVZ8tdkdIuA=w592-h739-no

Pictured: Samples that will in no way make a child frustrated that they can't replicate because they have all the experience that public school art class once a week can give and less time than it takes to watch Zootopia
The public school ’art class’ here consists of a parent volunteer who read the handbook and teaches on the ’allowed curriculum’ for 20 minutes per week. That’s through 5th grade!

P.S. a frustrated group of 7year olds = nightmare
 
The worst I get when I mention collecting MLP as my hobby is, "Do you have a little girl?"

No. No, I don't. In fact my 17yo daughter collects Breyer Horses which by all perspectives is a much more "adult" looking collection than mine. LOL!
 
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