https://www.facepaint.com/products/craft-n-go-paint-station-28
For the Craft-n-Go, one of the advantages, is that is has legs. You can see the legs down on the bottom, they telescope, so they do extend, and they fold up underneath the Craft-n-Go. I find them to be pretty steady and quite strong. One of the advantages of having the four legs, is that if the ground is uneven, you can set up and use the legs accordingly. I try to make sure the feet are very clean when I go from outdoor to indoor events because I don't want to bring in any dirt into people's homes.
The nice thing about the Craft-n-Go is that there are also locks, which you can use on the front. The locks are enough to keep curious people out of your kit if you step away for a minute. As you can see, there's also a handle on the side for carrying it suitcase style, and then there's a handle on the end, which makes it easy to pull.
For me, I'm about 5'6, so I really needed the extension which they gave me. The extension is great except that I have had it come loose twice, bu it's got pretty good velcro that holds it in place. To make it even more secure, I could simply sew the handles, an that way there's on there permanently.
Now we're going to open up the Craft-n-Go and see the inside. It has two panels - they don't come with this, but you can order them sepearetly. I ordered the metal panels to place my paints on, because I felt like it would be easy to clean. Underneath each of these is a box where you can store things. I have business cards that I use for myself or for agents, I have ear plugs because some events can be loud, I have my square in case people need to charge, bags for dirty sponges, paper towels, a container of extra water, and anything that I think I could need during an event, I keep in that area.
But, those are the things that I need less, because usually (the metal panel) is my work space. So I have my water containers, which are collapsible. On the other side, I have anything I might need while I'm working. Underneath all the face paints, I have gems, an idea book, brush cleaner, extra lighting, googly eyes, and anything I might need to use.
For holding my brushes, this is a homemade piece of equpiment, but what it is, is a couple of pieces of foam board painted black and foam sandwiched in between them that I can slide my brushes into, and then magnets on the back, so it can stay on the back of the kit. Some of the Craft-n-Gos, I believe, have a cloth back with velcro. I prefer to use magnetic ones because it's very easy to clean, you just wipe it down.
Paints I don't use as much, I put up here on the magnetic board. Paints I use a lot more of, I put down here on a tray I got from the Art Factory that works great. It's beautiful because it just fits in a Craft-n-Go. I've also repotted my colors so they can fit nicely, and I've got my most used solid colors, one strokes, and split cakes.
So one thing that's nice is that your Craft-n-Go comes with two little bags as well as with a bunch of very strong magnets. I used the strong magnets that came with the kit, which are a little larger, but I also ordered a bunch of smaller magnets from Amazon, which I've taped on the back of my items, so I don't have to worry about glueing.
I made a small box for my business cards, although you can just buy a box too. I've put some magnets in the back of that. I've got my hand sanitizer, breath mints, all my glitters, gels and stencils, gems, eye examples for cartoons, my spritz bottles with water, and that's most of my equipment.
A reason I got the Craft-n-Go, was that I felt like my setup time and teardown time were too long. So the Craft-n-Go allows you to be really flexible, to not need tables from your clients, which they appreciate sometimes, because they don't always have one available for you. What I've also found is that it has a very professional look. People see you move in with this, set up in a very short amount of time, and you open it, and everything's organized and ready to go, and they are impressed by that. They feel like they've paid for a professional.
One more thing I want to show you, is that it has wheels. If I have to go a long distance with the Craft-n-Go, or if I think the ground is going to be particulary rough, I will put it on a luggage cart, that has larger wheels, and just strap it on with a bungee cord.
The only thing I didn’t mention in the video is the weight of the Craft-n-Go when it is filled. Face paint is surprisingly heavy, and once my kit is loaded, it weighs about 32 pounds. That’s fairly heavy if you’re lifting a Craft-n-Go, but it’s not bad for rolling it along. Still, for longer distances or over rough ground, I do strap it on a luggage carrier, which has larger wheels, just to make it easier to transport.
I hope this review is helpful, and if you’ve purchased a Craft-n-Go portable paint station, please share your own experiences in the comments.