Gene Flaharty, left, outgoing NCA Vendor Director with Calvin Coffman, incoming Vendor Director, at the NCA's 100th Birthday Bash, August 6, 2023.
By Ed Avis
When Calvin Coffman was growing up, he always had the best Halloween costumes among his friends. No surprise, since his parents owned Clownin’ Around Balloons and Costumes in Middleton, Wisconsin, and Graftobian Make-Up.
“I was only two years old when they sold our costume shop, but I was in the store pretty frequently even after they sold it,” says Coffman, who now works for Graftobian in sales, manufacturing, R&D, and regulatory compliance. “I grew up around everything that we do now. I have early memories of bagging Disguise Stix, and I’ve known many of the people who work here my whole life.”
Coffman is putting his experience to work now as the new Vendor Director on the NCA Board. He was formally elected at the NCA Business Meeting on August 5 in Indianapolis. He replaced Gene Flaharty from Mehron, who served on the board in that position for 12 years (not consecutively).
A Model Child
Coffman knows the make-up business from both sides of the counter. When he was a child, he was regularly used as a model for Graftobian’s products.
When he was younger, Calvin was a leopard
“I remember one time we were in the factory building and recorded an airbrush tutorial,” he says. “I had an American flag airbrushed onto my chest. Then they took a photo of me in a muscle pose and we put that on the back of our catalog for some time, saying ‘Proudly Made in the USA.’”
Were his buddies impressed that he was a catalog model? “Not particularly,” he says.
Coffman started working in the factory at a younger age than normally would be allowed, since his parents were the owners. He spent many hours packaging Graftobian character make-up kits and other products.
After high school he studied political science and business at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, though he continued working at the factory as time allowed.
“It was always my plan to come back and work here after college,” he says. “This is the business I’ve seen grow my entire life and I want to help in any capacity that I can to help it be successful. I can’t really see myself living in Madison and working somewhere else.”
Coffman is not the only sibling working at Graftobian. His brother Skyler is the vice president of operations and his sister, Jessica Chantigian, handles the company’s graphic design.
Hoping to Contribute to NCA
Coffman says he ran for the NCA Board because he wants to contribute to the association and the industry as a whole.
“The NCA has been huge for Graftobian,” he says. “It was an NCA member who 45 years ago convinced my grandpa to get back into the business. We can really attribute the existence of Graftobian to the NCA.” (Click here to read an NCA Today article about Graftobian’s history and growth.)
Coffman’s youth may be his greatest contribution to the board, he says. “The NCA is trying to attract new members, and perhaps I could have some input on what might attract younger members.”
And Coffman’s sense of humor will be appreciated as well. When he was asked about his feelings about winning the election – he ran unopposed for the Vendor Director position – he said, “I would like to thank my friend Sebastian for helping me secure victory in this hard-fought campaign.”
There wasn’t much actual fighting going on in the campaign, but there will be plenty of opportunity for Coffman to show his passion and energy in his new role as NCA Vendor Director.
Among the first tasks on his plate is standing up the new Vendor Council. This is a group of NCA Vendor Members who will help ensure that the NCA is serving the vendor community effectively. If you would like to join the council, please click here to register. And if you would like to contact Coffman, feel free to email him at calvincoffman@graftobian.com.