Each year, the Bachelor contestants have to do more and more to stand out. Some choose costumes, like trench coats and whipped cream or shark suits to get some extra attention from their beau. But others are just straight up interesting given their work experience and hobbies. One woman you'll remember this season is Kendall Long, whose job is a creative director, which is kind of cool in and of itself. But she's also into death, zombies, and collects taxidermy, according to her official ABC biography.
In her bio, Kendall describes her job as a "creative director," but her IMDB profile — a necessity for everyone who lives in Los Angeles, which she does — it says that she's a "set dresser," which is a little different, and she hasn't worked on a listed film since last year. Actually, her only credit on a show or film was a stint as set dresser on TLC's Sex Sent Me To The E.R. and a short horror film.
In any case, it's hard to track down where she's working right now since she doesn't post a lot about it on social media. On Twitter, she doesn't even list an occupation, just that she's a "lover of zoology, taxidermy enthusiast, and documentaryaholic," making no mention of an actual job. According to Reality TV World, Kendall went to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and graduated with a degree in journalism, so set dressing might have been something she fell into, as so many people do with their careers, especially in Hollywood.
Set dressing is not an easy job to get and it's very likely that when she is working, it's gig-by-gig or with a certain agency. It very well could be off and on work. A set dresser, according to Film Connection, works under a set designer, who's the person carefully picking the objects in the scene.
According to Get In Media, set dressing involves a lot of different kind of skills. The site explains:
Knowledge of interior design is a boon, whether you gain it through coursework or glean it from magazines and online; when the decorator tells you to set the table with the Franciscan Starburst, not the Fiestaware, you’d better know which is which. Attention to detail, the ability to think fast on your feet, and creative problem-solving are crucial. You should be handy with a drill and be able to exploit all 7,000 ways to defy gravity with gaff tape and fishing line.
However, it feels like on this season of The Bachelor, they're really going to play up Kendall's "quirks" when she's on-screen. On the first night, she and Arie have a pretty fun sit down that includes a jam session with a ukulele, which she also plays. She's definitely going to be one to watch. In her intro, she shows off with a bunch of stuffed, dead animals that she apparently has a pretty deep affinity for.
When she's not set dressing, stuffing animals, or vying for one-on-one dates with Arie, Kendall also has her own YouTube channel, where she posts her music. There are a few videos of her songs that were posted last year, and then they seemingly stopped, which might be due to the fact that ABC makes contestants go pretty private while auditioning and filming the show.
Kendall said in her ABC bio that she's always looking for the positive in life and if she could be any animal, she'd be a bat. "My sister said my spirit animal was a bat because I see beauty in dark things," she said. She added that the most romantic gift she ever got was a stuffed alligator from an ex.
Kendall definitely has a lot of drive, interests, and personality, which will likely be a huge draw for Arie this season. And if the whole ukulele, taxidermy, falling in love with a race car driver thing doesn't pan out, there's always set dressing waiting for her back in Hollywood.
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