Chainsaw, hammers, chisels, cutting tools, drills, scultping tools.
Basics:
You will be working fast. Since ice melts you will have a limited time to do your work while in top of that you will be watched throughout the whole process. To avoid being watched you will have to buy a delivery vehicle that has a refrigeration container so you can deliver the work. People find it fascinating to see an ice sculptor at work, and the finished product is beautiful until it melts. You should practice continually before you do this professionally, start with small blocks until you feel confident enough to move to larger ones. Needless to say, you are required to have exceptional artistic talent since there will be many instances that your ice will not do what you want it to do and you will have to adapt quickly.
To Get Started:
You need to have an ice supplier that you can trust to deliver the type of ice you want (clear, glossy or both combined). You can begin by advertising directly to hotels, event planners, catering companies, phone book, online community boards, and network with related professionals. You should be able to charge $100 to $300 per work. You will need to travel extensively since 99% of your work will be on site, and if not then you will be delivering to the site.
Tips:
You can run the business administration from home but you will be on the filed much. Be careful with travel and materials expenses since they can melt your profits away. You will not need an assistant unless the complexity of the work will require one. This is an opportunity for people with disabilities as long as the work cane performed. For Internet links related to this business do a search for the National Ice Carving Association, the Academy of Ice Carving and Sculptor.org
