Not Faux Finishing?
Artisans in Naples and SWFL say
There’s nothing “Faux” about it!
I get asked this from time to time from others who follow me in my seminars, social media, blog and even clients. I have written more than one article about bringing the general public up to speed on
“What is real and what is faux?”
Within fear of repeating content (according to Google Search) I am once again going to take another attempt to explain what has happened in the last 15 to 20 years to give the general public a little more insight as to what I have seen from my professional side of experience and expertise of the nearly four decades that I have been in the painting, coatings and decorative finishing business and from an artist view as well.
This came up as a question from a group that I frequent that was created by Chris Burke on Facebook called,
Faux Nation
Carrie Chimenti Art, I would love your input/ feedback on how to gently, professionally educate people on what we do. When the end client says, I don’t like/want faux finishing. How do we nicely educate people that it’s not all faux?
Well for one thing the person saying “I don’t like/want faux finishing” would have to be open to a discussion about it in the first place and have at least a basic understanding of what it is.
In the second place why would they be calling you to begin with if they have already made up their mind that this is what they don’t want other than maybe you are a painting contractor that is trying to up sell the client on the idea?
The first thing you should know about marketing is to know your market and pre qualify the lead as to what they are looking for before you even meet with them about anything, it’s just good business. Personally I would not even be talking to this person as it would be a waste of their time but my valuable time as they have already made that decision.
However in response to the comment made on Facebook this is how I responded to it.
It’s not surprising that the higher educated and Ivy league type clients/customers take what you call yourself literally and face the facts. The word “faux” is defined as to what it is “fake” and the elite and/or higher educated are not likely to hire anyone who calls themselves “a fake artist” or “a fake painter” these days. It is also a fact that the general public have also educated themselves either through personal experiences and/or research of what is an amatuer of little versatility and what is a professional. Personally I have stopped calling myself this many years ago and my client base has changed and gone to a much higher level. Very difficult to do when you have incorporated the word Faux into your business name. I quote fellow artisan
Istvan Torok Unfortunately the word Faux has a bad stigma due to the overwhelming amount of poor quality and bad taste finishes and looks out there , done by mediocre “artists” . It happened to me many times on different jobs that I had to cover up some “faux” done by someone else .
By taking these finishes to the next level artistically and technically , you can forget all together to use the word Faux , since it originally means -imitation ( not the real thing ) – and use specific names for whatever technique you are doing for them . Or use Decorative finishes , decorative arts , artistic finishes , etc .
Or learn from the sugar industry – they use a variety of different names ( high fructose corn syrup , maple syrup , dixie crystals , etc etc etc ) for the same exact thing . Just to hide it in our foods
Many people have had bad experiences in the last 15 years (at least) with the non artisan creatives who are in the business. Many have been doing nothing more than practicing/experimenting on home owners walls with some pretty off the wall “in the garage made” kind of concoctions that have not been proven and/or tested for longevity and/or quality. The word “faux” has been (no pun intended) dragged through the mud and now looked down upon at a much lower level than it once was.
I will be writing more about this on my blog and will actually be firing up my seminars on the decorative fine arts and other things very shortly. I will be holding more discussion groups and demonstrations on the “Real Deal” to educate the public more on the Renaissance artisans of today and the kind of versatility and knowledge that has been passed on for generations. As I tell my new and/or repeat customers, “What I do is very real and the work I produce is genuine just as the products I use are and have been tested and proven for longevity” I have always stood behind in what I believe and quite frankly the decorative fine arts seminars I have held in the past have even PO’ed some local finishers and interior designers who have been to them as I speak the truth. It’s the ones who know the truth are the ones who will stay and will agree with what I say and learn from them. It’s the ones who walk out in the middle of the seminars in disgust who are the ones that cannot face the fact and/or truths that,