Can we explore this local biz?

Hi,

Can we please explore the pros and cons of this local biz? Said biz being.... Painting luminescent stars on ceilings so it looks like there's no ceiling (at night, natch) and you can see cool constellations, etc.

The link below is to a business that sells startup kits in this area for around $2000. So I'm not completely nuts for suggesting the topic.

Anyhoo, would anyone be interested in discussing the pros and cons? One obvious "con" of course is problems relating to being in someone else's house to do a job. "There was a Ming vase sitting there before you arrived. Now where is it????" That type of thing. Or, "You screwed up my ceiling. Fix it!" Or, "Get the luminescent drips off my Ming vase!"

What do you say?

Best,

- Boyd




http://www.starscapes.com

Well, it's been around for years... and years... and years.

I haven't ever seen one. Speaking personally, it sounds like a hard sell -- of the folks I know here, I can't think of many who'd order one, even for a child's bedroom.

But... if I'd had the idea and was going to make a go of it, I would actually buy some flourescent stencil paint and some star stencils and set up my own bedroom ceiling or bedroom with this. See how hard it was to do, how long it took, and how I liked the results. If I liked them, I would invest a little money in color coordinating a section of my bedroom, PHOTOGRAPH the bedroom to show the stars and the decorating, and use that as a selling point for local installations.

Actually, what I'd do is promote it and sell kits for the homeowner to do it themselves.

Hi Boyd,

I don't know much about painting stars on ceilings.... But I do have a friend who used to make some extra money to support himself by painting murals. (He's an artist.)

A "mural" (for those who might not know) is a big artistic painting, painted directly on to a wall. Sometimes office buildings like to have murals painted to make the building more attractive and memorable!

One problem he's had was that someone would commission him to paint a mural, and then (after it was done) the client may not like it.... Often this was because the client changed their mind about what they wanted, after he had finished!

So he had to change it, repaint parts of it, and so on.... It just added to extra time spent which I don't think he got paid anything extra for.

I think the solution to this problem is to ask for payment up front, if possible.... Or at least partial payment up front at a minimum.

And make sure the client knows that once they've commissioned you to do the work, they can't back out or change their mind!

While this isn't painting stars on ceilings, I bet there are some analogous problems that could crop up....

- Dien Rice
dien@sowpub.com

Just my 2 cents... We bought the pack of glow in the dark stars from the discovery store (others sell cheaper ones that don't work as well). I picked up some tacky stuff from home improvement store rather than using what's included. Stuck them all over the ceiling, some in groups, to similate the real thing. My boys love it, my husband and I love it. If they get tired of it, we'll pull them down.
Guess they might not look so real as one might paint. But, I can't say that I would spend money to have someone else paint my ceiling and then have to repaint it when it was outgrown.
Christy