Hi all, just back from my first ever restaurant gig, how nervous was I on the way out of the door this afternoon. I first thought about the idea of going to them in the beginning of last year. However I didn't know where to get started :oops: After attending a Care and Share day with Mark Byrne last year and gaining some much needed confidence and also some fantastic tips from him I finally decided to give it a go. (Well better late than never I suppose). I decided that to be able to do this well I would have to be able to produce a good quality sculpture in around 3-4 mins, after lots of practice I finally got around 20 figures down to this time. Wow I even after selling this to the restaurant as a good idea I never thought it would go as well as it did, people were actually calling to me to come to them instead of me just going round and round until I reached their table.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those that have helped inspire me through this forum. It truly is a wealth of knowledge, with ideas in almost every category. Thank You All.
Just one more thing...If there is anything I have learnt in the last couple of years, Follow your dreams who knows they may well just come true, mine are starting to with a little help from my friends

Nice one, Dan!  You can tell from your post how chuffed and proud (and relieved!) you are.  Really well done!  

--Neil

Well done. How many times a week are you working?

Hi Dan,

So glad it went well for you !!!!!!!!!

Hope this is the first of many more      

Thank you all,for your comments, yes I am now very relieved the first one is over and glad that it went so well. As it stands I am only going there once a week on a Wednesday evening, but I know they wanted me to also try and go on  Sunday afternoons too. However with the children's parties that we do over the weekend this may be difficult. So going to try and stick to just the one night for the time being. Now to find another place to go....Where did I put that phonebook

Nice one Dan
What kind of stuff are you making?

Thank you Kev, I was making mostly wearable things, last week, with the waiters and waitresses in mind. The last thing they need is a try and get to a table beyond the children fighting with balloons. This way the children (and adults) can enjoy them and it keeps them out of the way. I will try and post some pictures later on this week, I forgot to take my camera with me last week, but with a bit of luck I'll remember it this week.

I still have been unable to get photo's working at the restaurant, however I just wanted to share some of the designs that I have been making there. These are a few that I made to give away when I first get there and and right at the end too.

They look great Dan....so glad the restaurant is going well for you    

Well done Dan!  What is the lime and clear balloon on the far left?
Lisa

Lisa I can let you off for not knowing that one straight away. It's my version of a watch from Ben 10. Told reliably that it should be called an omniatrix. Though i don't think that this one is very good it seems to be this is one of the most requested at the moment.
Yes Kevin all seems to be going really well there now. And people are now starting to book for a time when i am there  on purpose rather than just by accident.

Very cool, congratulations Dan!  Happy to hear about your success, thanks for sharing it.  :-)

Hi Dan, well done.

Out of interest what sort of restaurant is it? Is it a family restaurant, loud and noisy? Have the waiting staff ever used you to calm down an angry table or as tactics to hide a kitchen error or delay? What happens about tips?

I appreciate I may be getting ahead of myself here and you may not have done enough gigs to answer my questions but I would love to know.

When is the next one?

Hi Darren, The restaurant in question is a very busy one just on the edge of our closest town. It is in a way an American style diner, or at least what we are lead to believe they actually are like. There is a big section in which I tend to do most of my work, in which families come and eat and there are also two very big sections where it just dedicated to over 18s for a little quieter atmosphere. So far the waiting staff haven't used me to placate an angry table however some of the customers request that the staff get me to visit their table next and 'they'll be looked after with a tip'. Although I have only been going for a couple of weeks this started off pretty much on the first night and seems to be continuing. As for tips from customers I am allowed to keep them if they are given. As for the work it's fun always challenging, different and entertaining both for me and the customers, The restaurant have decided to go for as many Wednesdays and Sundays as I can do so all is looking great from that angle.