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| Ava on the Playskool Glow Worm box! |
The world of baby modeling is quite interesting. I first became intrigued when I met a casting director at a baby shower while I was pregnant. She saw some pics of Ava on FB and we were friends and suggested I send them to someone at Abrams Artists. Ironically back in the day when I was an "actress" this is the agency that scouted me (nothing came of it sadly.. tear) but also one of the most coveted in NYC!
We sent in the pics and they called us right away. The following week we were off to our first "go-see". It was a disaster... there were about 300 babies/moms in a long ass line in the rain waiting to be seen. I don't know why I didn't think it would be this big a disaster but somehow in my head I conjured up images of calm moms and babies arriving at their scheduled time. Little did I know they told every parent 10am.
We waited... and waited 1 hour then 2 hours and then BOOM we were in. I called my husband excited at the prospect of finishing out this casting. I waited this long, we weren't going home now! Plus, for Ava it was a giant play date with kids of all shapes and sizes! We get in and to my amazement there is a crazy assembly line of babies being undressed , photographed, dressed in random outfits and re-photographed. We waited another hour before she was seen.
FINALLY after 3 hours Ava was photographed and the child beamed at the photographer. Home we went after about 5 seconds under the lights and I called my husband to tell him that it was an experience I will never do again but I am glad that we had it.
Two weeks later we get a call saying Ava BOOKED the go-see. 2 children booked this gig and I was simply floored. The following week we went for her shoot and it was SO MUCH FUN! It was quick, easy and civilized, (the way I had imagined it basically) and they told us they didn't know what toy she would be on or if the photos would make the print campaign, a catalogue or a box. Well gee THANKS.
So for months I looked through every toy catalogue searching for the PlaySkool Sensory Glowworm and nothing.... about 9 mths later I saw it featured in a toys r us magazine and searched all over the Internet but it wasn't AVA! Come Monday during my lunch hour at work I floored it to the Toys R Us in Times Square and roamed the aisles with a willing co-worker and just when I was about to give up.. the box appeared. This photo is from the moment I saw her beautiful cherub-like face on the box. I cheered and yelled and screamed THAT'S MY KID to every employee. To my amazement they all started jumping and screaming too! It was amazing... Thank you Cher for being with me at this moment and the moral of the story is that some experiences are worth the pain, the wait, and the unknown.
Since that casting Ava was requested by a few photogs for gigs and we never had to wait in a stupid long line ever again! To any moms considering putting your gorgeous little babies into modeling, I say go for it! You have nothing to lose! If you book something, you can put the money away towards schooling ( and damn is that expensive!)
Cheers
