Cristina chats with agency president Stacie Vanchieri. With over 15 years experience in the talent business, Stacie has grown Modelogic Wilhelmina to the largest agency in Virginia and knows good talent when she sees it.

Video Transcription

Modeling with Modelogic Wilhelmina Cristina: Today we are in Richmond, Virginia where I am about to had into the Modelogic Wilhelmina Agency. The owner is going to take us on our own private tour of her agency and we are going to get some great information on modeling right here in the Richmond area and what it takes of course to be a Modelogic Wilhelmina model. So come on, let us go and take a look. Stacie Owner, Modelogic Wilhelmina Stacie: We are a commercial print agency. We do mostly commercial print and TV commercials. In the market like this we have to do sort of a lot in order to keep busy. If we just did printer, just did commercials it would not be enough to sustain us. So we do commercial print, we do runway, we do TV commercials, we do training videos. So we have represent miles and actors and styles. Cristina: And what with the different ages? Stacie: We start with kids at four or five and we go, I think our oldest talent is in his middle 80s. So we do, you know the senile market is huge and the baby bloomer market is huge and we also have to supply. We have two children catalogues, toy catalogues that we worked with so many children. So we sort of round to get them. Cristina: Do all of your models live in the Richmond area? Stacie: Yes, we represent talent all over the mid-Atlantic. Cristina: So if I live n New York, I could go— Stacie: I bring down people from New York from time to time. It is not uncommon but I would say mostly Virginia, North Carolina, and Washington. Cristina: Okay, so you do not have to live in Richmond. Stacie: No. Cristina: For those aspiring models out there, what would you say or suggest if they want to be a model at Modelogic Wilhelmina. Stacie: If they want to be a model here, we just ask them to send us an email with some information about themselves. We asked for a couple of snap shots, not allowed here in make up, just natural, smiling. You know it is a very commercial market so we do not want a lot of, you know, high fashion shots, it is totally unnecessary. We asked that they not shoot with the photographer until we talk to them because we might want something different—no you do not want to go on spend a thousand dollars on pictures and then the agency want to be which says this is not what we need. Cristina: What would you say to that model who has tried to submit several times and they do not get a response because I do know that a lot of modeling agencies got many submissions. Stacie: We get, in this little market we get, you know, 50 submissions a week. That is a lot and— Cristina: And I remember certain agencies that I had submitted my photo too many times and they were not heard anything and then showed up in an open con and got representation but what do you say to that person that sent several times— Stacie: Well, you know you have to be persistent in this business. If you want to do this then you just have to keep out and keep out and keep improving yourself. We have said no to people on a couple of different occasions and then something just clicks the third time they come in or somebody has cancelled the booking on us and we are like, can you be here at three o’clock? You know, sometimes it is just luck like that. But we just recommend that you just—if we have said no to you, just because, you know, we might have too many people at that time and we just can not take on, you know, hoards and hoards of people. Cristina: Once you take on a model for representation, what kind of materials that they are going to need. Stacie: They are going to need a camp card. In this market, it is great to have a portfolio especially when fashion clients do come in, apparel clients but the card is really what we use. If they have a book that is great but we want a current color composite card and we want to sell quite the rest of our cards. So we asked that they let us help them with the card together. I do not want a hundred different styles of cards going together in a package to a client. You know, we want it to look, put it together in comprehensive so we have a basic