You have only 12 hours left to take advantage of the Whisker Works Mustache March sale! All handmade props are 20% off until midnight EST tonight. Use code “MARCH” to claim your discount at WhiskerWorks.com. All orders ship within 4 days.
$20 off your $50 purchase from Whisker Works
2 Dec by Leave a Comment
Less than six hours remain to claim your Cyber Monday deal from Whisker Works! Visit WhiskerWorks.com and use coupon code “Holiday20” at checkout to get a $20 discount on your order of $50 or more.
Sale ends Monday, December 2 at midnight EST. Code may only be used once. All orders will be shipped within 4 days, though overnight delivery is an option to most U.S. destinations. Happy shopping!
Movember of a Different Kind
14 Nov by 2 Comments
By now, most of us are familiar with the basic concept of Movember. Those who can, grow mustaches or beards throughout November to raise awareness for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health, sharing photos of their faces as their faces get fuzzier. The facial-hair impaired show support through various mustachioed props and goods, all to support a good cause.
This year, just as in 2012, Whisker Works is helping a Florida elementary school teacher raise money in the spirit of Movember while bringing smiles to students. Jordan Dancer, who teaches in Hardee County, Florida, came to us with the idea of reselling mustaches on sticks at the school last year. We were happy to help, and by the end of his sale, he raised nearly $300 for his school.
This year he took his fundraising idea a step further by requesting mustaches with a custom tie-dyed effect using his school’s colors, orange and blue. A hair-brained idea perhaps, and I wasn’t sure we could accomplish it at first, but the end result turned out to be better than imagined. Halfway through Jordan’s Movember fundraiser, he’s already sold all of the custom mustaches, shown below, as well as dozens of other mustache props.
To Jordan and all those out there sharing in the spirit of Movember, ‘stache on!
To inquire about custom mustache props, please contact Whisker Works.
New wholesale rates at WhiskerWorks.com!
12 Nov by Leave a Comment
Whisker Works has increased bulk savings for those customers who need a large quantity of mustache and smile props. For bulk orders only, we are now offering machine-made props that are based on our handmade original designs. Doing so allows us to produce large quantities faster and with consistent colors. These machine-made props are very similar to our handmade ones — take a look at the image below and see for yourself. It’s hard to notice a difference.
We chose our top selling four designs to be manufactured by machine, and each one has two colors available. Our bulk props are still made in the USA, and they’re still BPA- and phthalate-free. We can produce large orders fast. But better than that, we can offer really competitive prices on these props with a minimum purchase of 20 pieces.
Sample estimates (subject to change):
• 20 kit-style props cost $60 + shipping: available here
• 100 kit-style props cost $210 + shipping
• 100 assembled props cost $235 + shipping
• 500 kit-style props cost $975 + shipping
• 500 assembled props cost $1,100 + shipping
Visit Whisker Works’ wholesale page for current information. Bulk purchases may be ordered pre-assembled (attached to sticks), or as a “kit style” at a larger discount (sticks are included, but not attached. No glue required). Most kit-style orders can be ready to ship within one day. Most other orders are ready to ship within a week.
Contact Whisker Works for a quote on a custom bulk order.
Individual Prop Kits are also available. They make great stocking stuffers! Find them here.
All Whisker Works props are proudly made in the USA.
Getting That Gatsby Facial Hair Look for Halloween
25 Oct by Leave a Comment
A compendium of whisker wisdom on Flickr can help you find the look you’re after for a perfect historic Halloween costume.
For those looking to dress up for Halloween, nothing says class like an old-time mustache, especially for historical costumes. The Internet is a trove of useful information on the subject, including tips for Gatsby-esque looks. Key: very well manicured hair, slicked back on top with pomade to the point of looking wet.
Handlebar mustaches were en vogue in the time of The Great Gatsby, the 1920s, curled at the ends like the classic villain, but even the protagonists were doing it then. Absolutely no stubble. As barber shops were starting to get professional and standardized in the ’20s, men frequently had their hair trimmed and beards professionally shaved with a straight razor — all except that classy ‘stache, of course.
Looking for some visual inspiration? Check out this great Flickr photo collection of facial hair from the 1840s to the 1920s, with styles from conservative to outlandish, even comical. You’re sure to find something to help you create the look you’re after.
Behold: Wonders Indescribable!
24 Jun by Leave a Comment
Step right up folks, and experience a device capable of wonders indescribable! We’ve added new items to our shop — photo booth directional signage and “choose a prop” signage. These are available in two styles: circus and chalkboard.
Visit the Whisker Works Prop Shop to find these charming signs in our shop, debuting at $3 each.
Big thanks to PrintPlace for printing these high-quality table tents for us!
Shark Tank Makes a Photo Booth Deal
31 May by 4 Comments
Shark Tank stars, from left, Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran and Kevin O’Leary goof off in a Pink Shutter brand photo booth on the ABC hit reality show about venture capital investments. Corcoran and John’s fun with Whisker Works props made it on air!
Whisker Works props helped loosen up the business moguls of the Shark Tank, ABC’s hit TV show, thanks to our friends at Pink Shutter Photo Booths, a national photo booth company based in Los Angeles. The show featuring Pink Shutter aired May 10th and can be seen at abc.go.com.
Business interest skyrocketed after the show aired, said Lance Yabut, co-founder and CEO of Pink Shutter. “It’s been astronomical. We’ve had $4 million in franchise inquiries since then.” It came as something of a surprise, he said, because going into the show taping, which happened about 8 months ago, he was focused on the business, not fame. “Meeting some famous people? I didn’t really care about that, but improving my business, I cared about that part.”
Pink Shutter started simply enough — with inspiration from Lance’s own wedding. He said he hired a photo booth company to help make the event memorable for his guests, using a “friend of a friend of a friend,” as he put it. “It was OK, but it took an hour and a half to set it up, and we thought, ‘We can make a better mouse trap than this!'”
That was about two years ago. He and fellow founder Tom Kanemoto, the company’s COO, bought what they needed and ventured into the business for themselves. “We thought we could go out and do this and just make some extra money, and the demand was just astronomical,” Yabut said. “People forced us to expand!”
Their presentation to the moguls on Shark Tank wasn’t without the typical tension, as they made their case to a room of potential investors for why Pink Shutter was worthy of investment capital. The duo invited the Sharks to grab some silly props from a display next to their booth and see why their customers were so happy. “They were stiff until they got into it (the booth),” he said of the Sharks. “They actually had fun!”
Daymond John flashes a “Tease” smile, one of WhiskerWorks.com’s most popular photo props.
That’s where Whisker Works got its cameo — Shark Tank star Barbara Corcoran mugged with a “Gentleman” mustache while fellow Shark Daymond John clowned around with a pink “Tease” smile, as they also donned brightly-colored sunglasses and hats. It was a lively scene as the shutter snapped, and the normally reserved group couldn’t hide their big smiles.
“Props are great,” Yabut said, “but with our photo booths, just the way they’re designed, we have people use themselves for props, too. Props are things a lot of clients want, though.” He said part of the change in Pink Shutter’s business is how they use those props. Instead of renting out the props, as they have been, they’re now going to sell them to their customers. “They get to keep them,” he said.
Ultimately Corcoran, the lone female on the venture capitalist panel, offered a deal they couldn’t refuse, but that was just the beginning. “Since then we’ve been working with her,” Yabut said. “We’re still in negotiations. That’s part of the process. There’s due diligence. We want to make sure everyone’s happy.”
Corcoran’s business advisers with The Corcoran Group have helped give Pink Shutter a push in a new direction that’s fundamentally changing his business, Yabut said. “We’re focusing more on expansion and franchising. Our plan was to open up 50 offices across the United States that were going to be our offices. That was our initial business plan, what we were going to do with or without the Sharks. Since then, our business plan is focusing on franchising.” Of The Corcoran Group’s business advice, he said, “They want to focus more on repetitive business.”
Though dollars and cents are at the core of the business relationship between Pink Shutter and the Shark Tank, Yabut said he’s still enjoying the photo booth business, even with more customer demand than he’s ever seen. “We’re having a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s a ton of fun.”
Check out Pink Shutter Photo Booths at PinkShutter.com and see Shark Tank at ABC.Go.com. Whisker Works mustaches and lips are available at WhiskerWorks.com.
Congrats Class of 2013!
20 May by Leave a Comment
We’re heading down to South Florida today to celebrate the high school graduation of my niece. This post is dedicated to you, Alexis, and all other members of the Class of 2013! Congrats, graduates! Should you be on the hunt for a career, we wish you great success. Perhaps this photo booth sign can assist you (for a high-resolution sign to download, click on the image below).
You can find our full set of Graduation-themed printable photo booth messages here on Etsy.
Resolving the Ice-breaker Dilemma
1 May by Leave a Comment
Planning a wedding can be a daunting task — reason enough for the wedding planning industry’s very existence. The amount of details to handle, and associated options, is boggling. One item that might not come to mind immediately, if at all, but makes a huge difference in your wedding’s overall feel, is how well the guests interact with each other at the reception.
Just like with any good party — and this advice does apply to them as well — thinking ahead about who will naturally interact with whom is important, if not critical. The social butterflies aren’t the issue; your challenge is to figure out how to make everyone else mingle and loosen up in unfamiliar company. Imagine the almost inherent awkwardness of introducing a bride and groom’s parents to each other for the first time. Now scale that up to entire extended families and circles of friends.
There are a few tricks of the trade that work wonders in encouraging intermingling of mixed groups — not the least of which is an open bar. In-person introductions by a common bond, such as the bride introducing her sister to the groom’s sister, are ideal, but when a wedding includes scores if not hundreds of guests, there’s no practical way that can happen with everyone.
You’ll notice that there are common wedding traditions that are handled by a wedding planner or DJ, such as announcing the wedding party at the reception, and announcing planned toasts. Breaking with tradition, though, can really spice things up in a memorable way that leaves your guests smiling days later.
A friend of mine who married recently got the guests out of their chairs quickly, dancing, chatting and laughing, with a gift basket of glow-in-the-dark necklaces and bracelets, along with an assortment of feather boas and hats, delivered just as the music cranked up. Those party favors proved quite the ice-breaker. My own wedding to WhiskerWorks.com founder Amber also brings up fond memories.
An assortment of silly mustaches on sticks at our own wedding were a big hit — bringing guests together and breaking the ice. It also gave me and my beautiful bride Amber the gift of delightful photographs on old disposable cameras to keep as mementos!
Back then, before the “mustache factory” we report to every day was even a glimmer in our eyes, Amber used what was a simple idea, making a home-made mustache and putting it on a stick, as a fun way to get strangers to interact. She set up a display with an assortment of handmade clay mustaches in a vase near the entrance to our reception site, along with a few disposable cameras. People like playing with those old manual-winding cameras anyway, which when paired with the inherent silliness of a fake mustache, helped our guests loosen up, smile at total strangers and goof off.
More than three years later, that same simple ice-breaker idea has helped delight literally thousands of people at group gatherings of all types. Weddings, just like big parties, offer people, even when dressed to the nines, the opportunity to loosen up and have fun in good company. The more you treat it like a party and plan for breaking the ice between strangers, odds are, the more fun guests will have.
Working with color
26 Apr by Leave a Comment
I’m not the best at keeping this blog updated these days (though I do have some fun ideas in the works). Running an online business means that we spend a lot of time on the computer. Therefore when I have free time, I don’t usually decide to do more computer-based stuff (unless it’s Pinterest!). I’ll usually try to spend free time outside, either in the garden or working on our 137-year-old house.
Lately, however, I’ve had requests from several customers to create specialty prop colors, so that takes me out of the office, away from the computer, and into our workshop in the backyard! Spring is in the air, and in our studio, with shades of lime green, bright orange and magenta. These first two photos were taken yesterday during a couple-hour afternoon pouring session. And below them, you can see examples of the colorful results!
Spring is in the air, and in our studio!
Have a party color theme? We can match it!
You can order colorful mustache props here, or by emailing Amber@WhiskerWorks.com.
