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Koby Gutman Newsletter Rick Fink

The Modern Butlers’ Journal, July 2021, Creative Corner

IIMBCreative Corner

Featuring Butlers who Apply their Creative Talents to their Art and their Profession

We are expanding this monthly column to include other butlers who, not surprisingly, given the level of creativity the position requires, enjoy skills in the fine arts. If you, or any butler you know, are a creative artist in no matter what genre, please feel free to submit your/their works to the editor of the Modern Butlers’ Journal.

Next month, we hope to include “The Butler who Paints,” and for this month, we have a wonderful surprise:

 

 

Rick Fink

 

 

 

 

This is a copy of the well-known painting, The Dancing Class, by Edgar Degas. The first is Mr. Fink’s work, the second, the original which hangs in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, France. The warmer tones make for a much more compelling image.

Mr. Rick Fink has been in the butler profession for over six decades, is the principal of the Butler Valet School in England, and a venerable member of the International Butler Trainer Alliance.

 
 
Kobi Gutman
 
 
 
 

The cast came out very well and the statue of the mermaid was painted in gold and copper. One of Mr. Gutman’s favorites, he says.

Mr. Kobi Gutman is one of  the most accomplished hotel butlers in the world, currently working as the head butler at a private hotel in Florida; he can be reached via the Institute.

The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and superior service expertise of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, updated with modern people skills, and adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resorts, spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts & cruise ships around the world.

Categories
Koby Gutman Newsletter Rick Fink

The Modern Butlers’ Journal, June 2021, Creative Corner

IIMBCreative Corner

Featuring Butlers who apply their Creative Talents to their Art and their Profession

We are expanding this monthly column to include other butlers who, not surprisingly, given the level of creativity the position requires, enjoy skills in the fine arts. If you, or any butler you know, are a creative artist in no matter what genre, please feel free to submit your/their works to the editor of the Modern Butlers’ Journal.

Next month, we hope to include “The Butler who Paints,” and for this month, we have a wonderful surprise:

 

Rick Fink

Introducing a very senior butler—Mr. Rick Fink, whom you may well recognize as the principal of the Butler Valet School in England, someone who has been in the profession for over six decades, as well as a venerable member of the just-launched International Butler Trainer Alliance. As a long-time reader of this Journal, we finally welcome him in his capacity as a contributor of his other passion—painting.

Artistry runs in his family—his son, Graham Fink, is an accomplished fine painter, so the apple did not fall far from the tree. This photograph on the left was taken two years ago by the renowned photographer and film director, John Rankin Waddell.

While Mr. Fink calls himself a Master Forger (you’ll see why in subsequent issues of the Journal), the self portrait on the right, the first of his works that we will feature, shows he has an uncanny knack of capturing character, just like Rankin, in his original works of art.

Kobi Gutman
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Here is Mr. Gutman’s latest sculpture of a mermaid, made upon request. The next step being to make a mold and then cast it.
 
Yes, it does look like chocolate, but that is the usual Monster clay he has been using of late.
 

In celebration of his tenth year since first developing his carving and sculpting skills as a butler, beginning with a simple apple carved for turndown, Mr. Gutman has created a short presentation, Evolution of an Artist, to show how he developed his skills and that a similar path is within reach for any who care to embark upon it.

Mr. Kobi Gutman is one of the most accomplished hotel butlers in the world, currently working as the head butler at a private hotel in Florida; he can be reached via the Institute.

 

The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and superior service expertise of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, updated with modern people skills, and adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resorts, spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts & cruise ships around the world.

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Koby Gutman Newsletter

The Modern Butlers’ Journal, April 2021, Creative Corner

Kobi GutmanCreative Corner

featuring Kobi Gutman

 

 

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.This completely static statue conveys the dynamic grace of the cheetah in all its details—including about 1,000 individually carved spots.

It is a single gift, as casting for multiple guests would be quite complex: The mold would need to be created in three sections and the resin then poured into the mold under the paw that is touching the ground—which is a very small hole for pouring a viscous liquid.

Mr. Kobi Gutman is one of the most accomplished hotel butlers in the world, currently working as the head butler at a private hotel in Florida; he can be reached via the Institute.

The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and superior service expertise of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, updated with modern people skills, and adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resorts, spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts & cruise ships around the world.

Categories
Koby Gutman Newsletter

The Modern Butlers’ Journal, March 2021, Creative Corner

Kobi GutmanCreative Corner

featuring Kobi Gutman

In the continued quest to perfect his offerings to guests, Mr. Gutman presents the following this month:

As he says, “You have to make a horse every now and then, you know! I’ll try to cast this one. The last 2 horses I tried to cast didn’t work out that well, so crossing fingers.”

A few days later, he sent photographs of the cast—a success!

This is a butler with zero background in sculpting who, if you compare his works when he first started innocently with carved fruit for guests at turndown a couple of years ago, has proven that research, attention to detail, persistence, and practice backed by a good dose of intention to wow, do pay dividends. In other words, he started where many of us are now, so you, too, can succeed, whether in sculpting or some other skillset that can be learned and then used to wow guests.

In his own words: “I recently stumbled upon a YouTube video of an artist who showed a whole process of molding and casting a sculpture. In that particular video he showed an interesting technique I was not familiar with and which I applied on the horse bust.

“Now this is something that I do a lot of and recommend anyone to do as well: I keep looking for materials on the subjects of sculpting, molding and casting. Search enough, and you’ll always find something useful you can utilize.

“I even go over the same materials again and again. You’d be surprised how much
you get out of that. Specially when you practice a lot and then go back again
to review the materials, you now have more experience and can understand something
better, where before you may have missed the importance of a datum or maybe it was
too much to digest the first time and so you only picked up just a part of the whole. A second, third and fourth review/restudy really goes a long way.

“And, of course, never give up… I failed only twice before in making a mold. Both of these
times were when I tried to mold a horse. So take the challenge, find or come up with the answer of how to do it. And then do it. Sooner or later you’ll get it right!”

Mr. Kobi Gutman is one of the most accomplished hotel butlers in the world, currently working as the head butler at a private hotel in Florida; he can be reached via the Institute.

The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and superior service expertise of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, updated with modern people skills, and adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resorts, spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts & cruise ships around the world.

Categories
Koby Gutman Newsletter

The Modern Butlers’ Journal, February 2021, Creative Corner

Kobi GutmanCreative Corner

featuring Kobi Gutman

Mama Africa

 

Continuing to improve on his technique as he wows guests with his creations, Mr. Gutman copied master sculptor Philippe Faraut’s statue using Monster Clay, an oil based, wax infused clay. 

 

 

 

 

He then made two casts using a mixture of resin and plaster, adding bases that he also molded and cast. The base that looks like marble is simply not painted. He then colored the jewelry of one of the sculptures with some gold powder to provide an accent.

 

 

 

 

 

For another guest, research showed that she owned a bakery/confectionary. Mr. Gutman had planned to make the logo of her company but could not access her web site. Instead, he found photographs of candied apples that the company used to make. So he made these with fondant and served them as a little turndown treat with a custom-made card—all of which personalization and creativity were, needless to say, very well received.

Mr. Kobi Gutman is one of the most accomplished hotel butlers in the world, currently working as the head butler at a private hotel in Florida; he can be reached via the Institute.

The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and superior service expertise of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, updated with modern people skills, and adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resorts, spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts & cruise ships around the world.