Here we are in 2020 in the midst of a virus that has crippled the nation and has left us to cover ourselves to protect each other. Well what better way than in style. Enter, artist and entrepreneur Tina Kilderis who with her company (www.artemix.com) has produced stylish and edgy face masks to keep us safe. Her company Artemix primarily deals with body art for many functions in the Tri-State area. Yet when COVID-19 erupted it put the brakes on her business. That is when she put on her thinking cap and founded the idea to create fashionable face masks.
Tina’s idea was to create face masks with local artists who would have an opportunity to display their work and serve a purpose. The face masks are Made and printed in the USA on machine-washable, lightweight 100% cotton fabric, adjustable to fit adults and children. She developed the name for the line as ArteMASKS a unique title. They are durable and can be worn over commercial face masks or alone.
Tina partnered with a few artists whose works are portrayed on the masks. The artists are Jason Sarafidis, Elena Kay a.k.a. EROCKSNY, Nicole Botte a.k.a. CosmeNicks, Jayson Agosto and Jennifer Gaita Siciliano. Jason created the popular “Hell” design who hails from Greece who’s a self-taught eight grader. Elena is an established artist who is known for her abstract expressionist / pop art while Nicole is a sculptor and a specialist in FX Makeup. Jayson Agosto is a graffiti airbrush artist and has worked with Tina for nearly 20 years. Jennifer like Tina is a body painter and artist via her company Visionary Face and Body Art.
“The masks are sold for $20 of which the artist(s) behind the masks earn 20% of the sale $4 per mask. We have sold 85 masks in the last 14 days. This idea went from conception to market in less than 3 weeks’ time. We are also doing a collaboration with The Make A Wish Foundation – for every mask sold the organization is going to get $5 per mask sold of their make a wish design which Elena is doing the artwork for them for FREE.”
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Tina attended the Christine Valmy School of Esthetics in 1995 for facials, nails, and makeup and began her own business line of makeup (Artemix brand) in 1998 at a small kiosk in a mall and has grown since then into one of go to body art entertainment companies in the Tri-State area. It also reinvented itself into a body art entertainment company. It has had a good run so far for 22 years and has grossed over seven-million dollars since.
It has already clocked in six-thousand events since its inception. Tina herself was struck with Covid-19 but beat it and wanted to offer a creative and positive way to offer something to the cause. What a better way than to still enjoy the magic of body art than in a safer, ultra-sanitary and respectful format.
To learn more about ArteMASKs they are currently only available direct-to-consumer on the website: www.artemixbodyart.com/