B Family Travels: Blue Steel

So, I signed the girls up with a child modeling agency. I know it sounds very "L.A." and before you classify me as a stage mom let me give you a little background. A few of Joe's co-workers mentioned that we should try to get the girls some jobs after seeing pictures of our blond haired, blue eyed beauties. While they may blend right in in California, here in Tokyo they get a lot of attention while out in public and apparently can be a commodity in the child entertainment biz. My friend Susan, whose husband works with Joe, has a son Annie's age and he has gotten a few catalog jobs. Susan said it was a fun experience, made a few bucks and if nothing else, is a good story.

I filled out an online application at Sugar & Spice, a modeling agency here in Tokyo representing international children up to age 18. It was a basic application and I had to include 2 recent photos of the girls. Despite the thousands upon thousands of digital pictures I have of them, it actually took me a long time to find anything decent where they were smiling "normally" at the camera. (That doesn't bode well for any future modeling jobs...) I was contacted by Takako-san from Sugar & Spice a few days later to set up a time to come in and officially register them. She told me the girls were "actually very adorable!" and that she would like to get them signed up right away. Obviously something she tells all the suckers. I was told to bring the girls, all of our passports, our alien resident cards and the registration fee of 1,000 yen per child. We ended up getting a 50% discount on the registration fee for liking the Sugar & Spice Facebook page, booyah! So as of now, Annie and Lizzy owe me 1,000 yen in addition to the large percentage of their career earnings I will be taking. :)

I set up the appointment for Friday at 4:30, figuring that would still leave the morning open for us and we could head over after naptime. I had grand plans to put them in some adorable brand new dresses Grandma Susie bought them at Nordstrom, but per the usual we were running late so I pretty much had to grab the girls out of bed, wrinkled dresses and all, and pop them into the stroller. I did take a minute to try to smooth out Annie's sweaty post-nap bedhead with the blow dryer, but she wasn't really into it.

We walked the 1 mile to the agency in the Hiroo neighborhood, and thanks to the map on the website it was pretty easy to find. The office itself was kind of in an odd location, tucked away inside a covered parking area. Really hard to describe but probably totally normal for Tokyo!

We went inside and the girls played with some toys on the floor while I filled out some paperwork and signed their souls away. The contract said the pay for jobs can range from 10,000 yen up to 35,000 yen. That is the take home pay for the model, it does not say what percentage the agency makes. Jobs can range from magazine and catalog work up to fashion shows, commercials, TV shows and movies. I should mention that although I probably sound VERY into this by giving such a detailed account, I am having a hard time keeping a straight face as I type this. The thought of either of my girls being cooperative for a television shoot is pretty comical.

Playing with toys while mom gives away passport and visa numbers. Wait a second....

After the paperwork was finished it was time to get a few quick pictures of the girls. This went mediocre at best. :) I wish I could have been taking some pictures with my iPhone at the same time but I wasn't sure what the rules were, and I was pretty busy trying to get Annie to do a NORMAL smile for the camera. Bless her heart, she was really trying (she's been talking about "being a model" for weeks now), but every time I would say "Give a big smile for the camera!" she would hold her forced smile and just open her eyes as wide as she could. If we told her to not open her eyes so big she would do a ridiculously large smile while almost squeezing her eyes shut. Modeling gold, I tell you. Takako-san took a good number of pictures so hopefully there is something decent that showcases Annie's natural beauty. :)

Next up was Lizzy's turn. Lizzy can be VERY clingy sometimes, so as soon I told her she had to move 2 feet away from Mommy to get her picture taken her eyes began welling up with tears. She quickly changed her tune when I told her we were getting ice cream after, so she immediately cut the waterworks and cheerfully said "OK!" and marched over to smile for the camera. I have to say that Lizzy probably did better than Annie, giving her best smile right off the bat, although I'm sure Lizzy's "smile" probably isn't what most childrens catalogs are looking for :)

Later in the day, Lizzy flashing her smile.

After the girls had their pictures taken Takako-san took some measurements and they were done. Perhaps as an act of flattery, she then asked if it would be ok to take some pictures of me, as sometimes clients are looking for mothers for a shoot. She had also mentioned multiple times that I was very slender (for an American??) so of course I ate this right up. I was really wishing Joe had been there because I knew neither one of us would have been able to contain our giggles. It was particularly funny because a few hours earlier I had emailed Joe a selfie with some jokes about how I had to be ready in the VERY likely case that I would be scouted. In my head I was already planning how every conversation with him for the next few weeks (or eternity) would include the fact that I was now an international super model.

After all the shenanigans, we cleaned up the toys, got lollipops and Takako-san told me she would hopefully be contacting me soon. Until then, the females of the Becherer household will have to live with being really, really, ridiculously good looking.