Hello, and welcome to our very first blog post —dive in and join the conversation! We have so many insights and tips to share with you after more than 30 years in the business!
In the coming months and years, we will use this blog to cover a variety of issues, from our employees’ hobbies to boring shop talk; from funky trends in entertainment to the nitty-gritty of finding and booking an artist near you!
We would love to hear from you with any feedback, or topics you would like to hear from us on! Our goal is to provide a helpful resource to those booking events for the first time and wondering what to expect, as well as share tips and help out with that very first step – “finding an artist near me”!
Today, I am going back in time to cover our origin story – 1989, to be exact. Our founder and owner, Mike Hasson, opened the first iteration of About Faces on the pier in Ocean City, Maryland the summer of that year.
Mike had arrived in Ocean City that summer after dropping out of art school, traveling the United States, and learning the art of caricature. He had been working at a retail caricature stand in a mall in Florida when he moved back to Maryland for the summer, as Floridians do!
From this meager beginning, Mike fine-tuned his business acumen by returning to community college and from there, completing his undergraduate business degree in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia provided several unique opportunities in the early 1990’s – after all, this was when “going to the mall” was in fashion! While Mike was earning his undergrad degree, About Faces Entertainment had several locations in the malls in the Philadelphia area. It turned out that everyone loved the idea of booking a caricature artist and Mike began fielding requests to draw for weddings, corporate events, family parties, and school functions – way more than he could handle!
Mike Hasson, 1989, hard at work
In the beginning, it was mostly local events and mostly just caricatures. But, as word spread and the internet came to all households, not only did the requests start to come in from farther and farther away, but people also wanted to book additional entertainers, such as face painters, balloon artists, and more! Before long, About Faces was nationwide, providing a variety of professional entertainment.
Today, About Faces focuses on being an agency only. We are now in every major market area, providing top-quality, proven entertainment for all types of events.
Mike Hasson, 2024, actually hard at work drawing the Washington Commanders
