We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dominique Vicedomine a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dominique thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Drawing and painting are what takes up most of my time when I’m not behind the bar. Over the years through different jobs I’ve met so many other bartenders that are creative like me. I think many of us choose cocktails because it lets us be creative at work and outside of work. Through the years I’ve met so many other bartenders with creative outlets like painting or drawing or music and many other super interesting ways of expressing themselves. I was thoroughly excited by the fact that I could share my art with my peers and I wanted them to be able to do the same so I launched Bartenders The Art Show: an art exhibition of bartenders that are involved in creative outlets such as visual art, digital art, music, and anything in between so that we might all be able to share a similar passion with each other.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Well, my name is Dom. I started in the industry 12 years ago when I was 16. My first job was serving tables at the Thai restaurant across the street from my school. Every job I’ve had since then has been industry related. While I was serving tables I would watch the bartenders work and knew that would be the most natural fit for me. I worked hard every day to watch and learn the culture of bartending. Eventually when I was 18 I finally got hired for my first bartending job at a music venue slinging beers. Then and there I knew bar life was for me. Being behind a bar feels so natural. I love serving people and being able to do creative and fun things while building connections, bringing people together and cultivating a community where everyone is happy and having a good time. Sitting at my bar should feel like a safe place where you have family and friends to talk to and hang with. I’m very confident in my ability to turn strangers into friends. I feel really good about the energy I can bring to a space where everyone is safe and can relax and unwind. The idea behind Bartenders The Artshow is the very same: to bring people together over common interests and celebrate our community of creative and brilliant artists and industry professionals.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The largest lesson I’ve learned is that there’s no such thing as competition here. The best way to be successful is by supporting the people around you who are doing the same thing you’re doing. In this community there is strength in numbers. The competition you might feel should only be against yourself. The people in this community are really uplifting and always willing to help you learn and grow. Here you don’t need to be afraid to ask questions, go through trial and error, or start over. It’s an extremely forgiving and rewarding industry and I am really proud of that.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I don’t think I’m special for this one. Anyone working in the service industry houses an astounding amount of resilience. While fun and rewarding it’s not an easy job. It requires a lot of emotional and communicative output, high energy, and positivity. It is imperative that you take the personal time you have off work to yourself to rest and recoup. For me personally, my work style is to make sure every single person that comes into my bar feels warm, welcome, safe, and entertained. No one goes ignored. I like to make it a point to get to personally know anyone that sits at my bar top, listen to their story, and connect with them through my own experiences.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @bartenders_the_artshow
• Facebook: Bartenders The Artshow

Image Credits
Jai Kaminoff