It started with
sleight of hand.
I learned magic as a teenager. It taught me to see how something works and still feel the effect. That instinct has stayed with me.
About Kevin Stauss
I’ve spent years
on the other side
of the curtain.
The short version
I notice the work
behind a good time.
My wife Haley and I run Heartline Films. At a wedding, you learn to notice everything and stay out of the way.
You see the handoff that keeps the day moving. The guest who needs directions. The moment a room settles because someone got the light and sound right.
I also work in live technical production: lighting, audio, video, and show control. Those decisions shape how a room feels, even when nobody consciously notices them.
Guestcrafters brings that attention to your business. I experience the visit as a guest, then explain the details that made it feel the way it did.
Other experience
I came at this sideways.
It started with
Time behind
the counter.
I worked at Cape Fear Games in Wilmington. I liked helping people find something they cared about, and seeing what made them comfortable enough to ask.
Games, apps,
and ad accounts.
I’ve designed board games and shipped iOS apps. I also manage ad accounts, so the connection between someone’s experience and their decision to return matters to me.
Why Guestcrafters
Good places
are worth the effort.
I kept noticing places with a great core experience and small, fixable snags around it. An unclear entrance. An awkward wait. A visit that just trails off at the end.
I’ve spent years studying how themed entertainment designs the whole visit. I’ve never worked for a theme park, but the care those places put into arrival, movement, and anticipation is useful well beyond them.
A restaurant, a shop, or a dental practice deserves that same attention. I’m based in Wilmington and work across the region to Raleigh.
Tell me about your placeRequest an evaluation
Tell me about
your place.
Tell me what you’d like to improve. I’ll reply within a day or so to talk through whether an evaluation would help.
Request an evaluationWilmington to Raleigh, NC.