Malin_ wrote:
advertising on Craigslist for models... bad sign.

Not necessarily Malin;

Remember they are just a year old, and may be looking for new talent, to build their own book and it's illegal for them to recruit on Model Mayhem for instance.

It is, after all, a start-up agency.

But... I do not know them, as I have written above...

I would be more curious WHO are the people behind that agency. Because you may have some really experienced pros behind it, who individually may have good names.

Of course... if that would be the case, they should use it as a PR and not talking about who they are.

Just thinking out loud.

I believe that we don't have enough information pro or con that company. But, what I believe is a good sign is that they have some good quality stock of models... provided that those are actually signed with them.

I don't know, it's too early to condemn them, IMHO.

udor wrote:

Not necessarily Malin;

Remember they are just a year old, and may be looking for new talent, to build their own book and it's illegal for them to recruit on Model Mayhem for instance.

It is, after all, a start-up agency.

But... I do not know them, as I have written above...

I would be more curious WHO are the people behind that agency. Because you may have some really experienced pros behind it, who individually may have good names.

Of course... if that would be the case, they should use it as a PR and not talking about who they are.

Just thinking out loud.

I believe that we don't have enough information pro or con that company. But, what I believe is a good sign is that they have some good quality stock of models... provided that those are actually signed with them.

I don't know, it's too early to condemn them, IMHO.

Agreed but my main concern was not Craigslist, but rather that I just haven't seen their models anywhere! Not that I go to all castings in NY (I wish) but in the past month I've been on go-sees for Dior, Vuitton, Sally Hansen, Cool Sculpture, Disney, a bunch of showrooms and others, to name a few, and I have never seen this agency's name on any of the sign in sheets. However, I see models from the major agencies and many of the boutiques all the time, so that makes me think this agency doesn't really have a lot of clients/connections. But who knows!

Malin_ wrote:
so that makes me think this agency doesn't really have a lot of clients/connections.

That's exactly my point! If you are building a business, you have to start somewhere and you are lacking models and clients... it's all something that has to be built up... and the bigger clients usually go with the well established relationships (agencies) and it takes a while until they notice the start up boutiques...

Until they work out their kinks maybe with billing, punctuality of the models etc... it's all a matter of building a business and reputation.

It maybe tough to run against models sent by Ford, Karin, NY Models etc. if you are a total newcomer and you usually start with the smaller events for smaller companies.

Nejilka Arias wrote:
If there not on Models.com the there not an agency lol

Models.com does not list a lot of Agencies that are real.

The agency I asked about claimed they are a boutique agency, could that be why they are not listed?
Im asking because I know a lot of boutique agencies that are real and I cannot find them on models.com
Such as; M model management and Pinkerton both in LA

Many of the Elite locations such as Vietnam and Hong Kong, but are real because they are on the elite official site.

Also Bella in NY and LA is not listed.

Nejilka Arias wrote:
If there not on Models.com the there not an agency lol

Yep.  & I haven't heard of them and that's relevant because I keep tabs on agencies.

Yep.  & I haven't heard of them and that's relevant because I keep tabs on agencies.

This may be off topic but is http://www.modelmanagement.com/ reliable in the same sense as models.com?

Nejilka Arias wrote:
If there not on Models.com the there not an agency lol

I have been signed with an agency which was on Models.com: had only one job, and only had a shitload of troubles as they didn't do shit and even ignored my emails.

Now I applied to another agency which is NOT on Models.com, and before I actually had my screening at their agency (so I haven't even met them in real, nor did I have the chance to sign the contract yet), they already sent me to a screening of some big international company

Mattin wrote:

I have been signed with an agency which was on Models.com: had only one job, and only had a shitload of troubles as they didn't do shit and even ignored my emails.

Now I applied to another agency which is NOT on Models.com, and before I actually had my screening at their agency (so I haven't even met them in real, nor did I have the chance to sign the contract yet), they already sent me to a screening of some big international company

I have similar experiences... models.com is a good indicator, but it's not the Bible or the answer to everything. A lot of the boutiques here in New York are not on models.com, and that does not mean they are not real or whatever. As long as they keep you working, who cares?

Malin_ wrote:

I have similar experiences... models.com is a good indicator, but it's not the Bible or the answer to everything. A lot of the boutiques here in New York are not on models.com, and that does not mean they are not real or whatever. As long as they keep you working, who cares?

Damn' straight!   

Malin_ wrote:
I have similar experiences... models.com is a good indicator, but it's not the Bible or the answer to everything. A lot of the boutiques here in New York are not on models.com, and that does not mean they are not real or whatever. As long as they keep you working, who cares?

Exactly! I know tons of great agencies not on Models.com and I completely agree that if they get you work thats all that matters; after on thats all theyre there for.

How much work they get their models and how much money they make for themselves as an agency is far more important than an online listing in my opinion.

Any ideas of questions I should ask this agency?

Micki Le wrote:
Exactly! I know tons of great agencies not on Models.com and I completely agree that if they get you work thats all that matters; after on thats all theyre there for.

How much work they get their models and how much money they make for themselves as an agency is far more important than an online listing in my opinion.

Any ideas of questions I should ask this agency?

You've already submitted to all the bigger agencies, right? It sounds like a big commitment to move here to sign with a boutique that is not really established yet.

It sounds like you've had a good conversation with them already, but a couple of things I would ask are as follows:

* How much should you expect to pay to get started? I know they said no fees, but how much will you pay for tests, comp cards, agency book, website, ModelWire, messengers if they use those, and will this be charged upfront or later from your earnings?

* Do they have a blog or a Facebook where they make shout-outs about bookings their models are getting? I always ask that if I haven't found their blog/FB/Twitter already and checked it out... it's nice to see if their models are booking consistently and it's also a good way to see what clients they seem to have relationships with. Of course you can ask flat out who their clients are and how often they book... but I think my way is nicer and less bitchy/demanding.

* How often should you expect to go out on castings? Once you get started, they will probably tell you their procedure for checking in, getting your daily casting sheet etc, but if they for whatever reason DON'T do that, I would make sure to also find out how they like to communicate with their models.

* Is there an exit clause in the contract if they don't get you any work? What geographical area is the contract exclusive for? Maybe I'm imagining this, but didn't you say in your other thread you're going to Harvard next year? Maybe you would like to stay with this agency but also get one in Boston?

I think that's it... I'm sure there's more if other people would like to add their 2c.

udor wrote:

Not necessarily Malin;

Here are just a quick four people that come to mind that would agree Craigslist is not a good idea:

Julissa Brisman
Trisha Leffler
Katherine Olson
Tiara Poole

Photography by Daniel wrote:

Here are just a quick four people that come to mind that would agree Craigslist is not a good idea:

Julissa Brisman
Trisha Leffler
Katherine Olson
Tiara Poole

Ya I know everyone and I agree it's brand new.

DaniRNYC wrote:

Ya I know everyone and I agree it's brand new.

We are doing show packages right now so you can see me all over spring
Fashion week milian Paris nyc London. We have the connects we come from

PashaPhoto wrote:
i recognize a couple of the girls on their board...

doesn't look like a total shlackhouse, but with these smaller boutiques the question is always the same - can they get jobs ?

I can't predict the future, I guess we will have to stay tUned and find
Out as fashion addicts

-jmp- wrote:
I can vouch for their integrity.

Good for her. I hope they succeed.

DaniRNYC wrote:
I work for them ,dani r, you can find me in development, and I love everything about it, after ford and ny model mgmt I couldn't  be happier about my work enviornment

I remember seeing you on there, I saw your hair and how it was somwhat shaved on one side and loved it!
Wow Ford and NY model mgmt are such great established agencies. May I ask why you chose to move to a newer agency like Agency? What makes them so great?

The Retouching Studio wrote:
If they ask you for money up front, RUN FAST and FAR.

They didn't ask me for anything, except to have my cards printed and the price was reasonable. I was offered to be set up with free test shoots to update my book and to have shots for my cards