Show reports- July

Freedom Fest- July 4th show

This went better than last year, seemed a lot more people came out to it.  Too bad it ended in a horrible downpour.  We scrambled to pack up and had to miss the fireworks this year. 

The Big Crafty
We had done the holiday show before, but this is the big one!  It was so huge I didn't even begin to see it all!  There were a ton of awesome vendors there, many we knew, and many we're glad to have gotten the chance to see.  We unfortunately got stuck in a far corner of the show, so I think location played into how well the show went for us.  As always, free beer and great food!

Virginia Lake Festival
A one day craft show amidst a 3 day festival in Clarksville, VA (on the water) boasting 100,000 attendees!  With the sheer numbers we felt we couldn't go wrong.  The show ended up being much more traditional that what we usually do, so our stuff sort of stuck out from the rest.  Regardless, it was a good day, although we're not sure if we will go back to it. 

Otakon
One of the largest anime conventions in America.  We had done very well last year at this show and were really excited to come back and bring our paintings and prints with us.  Joe was also able to put several pieces into the art show.  We unfortunately had a lot of difficulty getting a table this year, and when we finally got one, we had missed a day and a half of sales, and also were placed in the very very back facing the back wall.  Nevertheless, we managed to about equal what we made last year, and Joe sold 6 original pieces!  We saw a lot of awesome friends and artists from other conventions and had a lot of people remember us from last year, which is always cool.  We plan to only come back to this show if we can get a table early, though. 

Show Report- Nashicon 2011

Nashicon is an anime convention here in Columbia, SC.  It's one I've been going to for a few years now, and every year it gets better.  This was our second time vending at this show.  It's put on by Club Nashi, the anime club at USC.  They've been having it on campus since it started, but I believe that next year they are planning to move it to a hotel or convention center since it's getting too big for the student center.

Specs:

March 19-20
Cost of table: $10
Juried: no
Tables/chairs provided: yes
Indoor/outdoor: indoor
Attendance: 1000
Profit: high

Pros
-This year, they reconfigured the artist alley so that it was on the first floor and right across from the dealer's room.  It took up three rooms, which they named Artist Ally, Artist Neutral, and Artist Axis.  (Hetalia!)  The positioning really helped our sales, and it helped not having to lug everything up the stairs.

-The attendance was up a few hundred from last year, and I feel that it will only continue to increase.  Lauren, the con chair, and all her staff do a great job.

-Speaking of the staff, throughout the show, they were completely accessible and helpful, even willing to watch tables if someone needed to step away.  And the con chair wasn't a ghost like at most shows; she was walking around and talking to people the whole time.

-The hours of the show were very good, and we were able to stay open as late as we wanted.  There was security, so we could leave our stuff overnight, too.

-There was a good variety of panels and activities at the convention.

-We had a lot of fan support!  It was really nice to see a lot of people from last year who met us or bought from us, and still wanted more.  That always makes us feel good.

Cons

-The artist alley had repetition:  a lot of fan art, and quite a few other plushie makers.  But without a juried show, there's no way to stop this, and it didn't really seem to affect our sales, so eh...

-The dealer's room was awful!  Barely any dealers, and the ones that were there all had the same stuff.  Not to mention about half of them packed up early.  I think that's the one thing that could seriously be worked on for this show.  What about Heroes and Dragons?  They have awesome stuff and are in town, and I see them vending at tons of shows.

-There wasn't a separate artist/dealer check in.  We were lucky and since we were carrying tons of crap, Lauren let us set up before getting our badges, but I don't think it would have been difficult to have badges on the tables, or at least a separate check in station. 

This is a con we enjoy a lot, and for us the profit has been pretty high because we have no travel costs, no hotel costs, no gas costs, and the table is so cheap.
As long as we're living in Columbia, we will keep going to this one.
I would only suggest vending if you live fairly close, as it's still a small con.  But it is a ton of fun to attend!

Show Report- Con Nooga 2011

Con-Nooga is a multi-genre convention in Chattanooga, TN.  It's held at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, an awesome hotel that actually has train cars for rooms.  We didn't actually get to stay there, though.  (Part of being a starving artist is cutting costs on hotels).

Specs:

Feb. 18-20
Cost of table: $100
Juried: no
Tables/chairs provided: yes
Indoor/outdoor: indoor
Attendance: 2500
Profit: low

Pros
-There was a whole lot of things to do.  Most "multi-genre" conventions, we've found, tend to lean one way.  This one was leaning slightly toward a horror con, but it really did have constant programming for sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, and anime, too. 

-There was a decent variety of venders.  We saw other plush makers, gamer gear, a few comic artists, figures, filmmakers, henna artists, jewelry makers, etc. 

-As mentioned above, there were several independent filmmakers and artists, as well as some bands.  I thought it was great to see so much original work rather than the overabundance of licensed merch and fan art we see at most conventions. 

-The show hours were good; not too long or too short.

-The hotel was really really neat, as well as huge!

Cons
-The exhibitor hall had dealers, artists, and fan/group tables together, and all mixed up.  I wouldn't have minded being in the same room with dealers if they had put dealers in one section and artists in another. 

-I mentioned that the hotel was large, which is usually a good thing.  But this hotel was soooo spread out, you had to drive from one building to the others.  They didn't keep the con in just one building or even in one area, they spread it out all over the place.  This was difficult for us wanting to go to panels, etc.  because they were hard to find and we couldn't leave the booth for that long.  It was also bad because the exhibitor hall was in the very back of the hotel, so I'm afraid some attendees didn't even make it that far.

-The exhibitor hall was very large, but it had a lot of empty booths.  The two back rows only had 1 or two people on them. 

So we didn't make a ton of money here, but we love Chattanooga, and got to hang out with our friend Lynda (of Another Sassy! Product) while we were in town.  We're not planning to return to this con, but maybe in a few years it will pick up and properly fill up the hotel.  Anyway, if you're just looking for cons to attend rather than sell at, it would be a blast.  We did get to meet Thong Girl, so I mean, what more can you ask for?

Show Report- Ichibancon 2011

Ichibancon is a small anime convention in Charlotte, NC in January.  This is only its second year running, so we were surprised at how many people were there.  They are quickly going to outgrow that hotel.  We were lucky enough to get an Artist Alley table at the last minute. We were only there Friday and Saturday, because we had a prior engagement on Sunday, so our report can only be based on those two days.

Specs:

Jan. 7-9
Cost of table: $40
Juried: no
Tables/chairs provided: yes
Indoor/outdoor: indoor
Attendance: 1500
Profit: high

Pros
-The table was cheap
-The AA was pretty much the first thing there when people walked in the door
-Lots of our cosplayer friends were there
-They locked the room up at night, so we didn't have to take all our stuff back home.
-We were told there were good panels, too bad we couldn't attend any.
-We had several very nice, super enthusiastic fans. 
-Someone actually recognized us from STUFFED!  Not just recognized, but knew all the characters' backgrounds!  We felt so cool.
-Most people weren't put off by a $20 plushie.   It's hard to tell which conventions will have poor teenagers and which will have adults/people who save up for cons.  This one was really good for us.

Cons
-Bad con security.  The majority of the time, there was no one checking badges anywhere.
-No visible staff.  I only spoke with one staff the whole time we were there.  And he wasn't wearing a staff shirt or anything.  I know it's a small con, but I think I should always be able to quickly find a staff member.
-Super small AA.  9 tables.  No wonder the tables filled up so fast. 
-One of the tables in the AA was a con promotion table selling badges and retail merchandise.  Now, I have no problem with other cons getting tables to advertise, but seriously, when there's only room for 9 artist tables, please give them all to artists.   I felt that staff could have put that table in the hallway without being obstructive. 
-There was some problem with the lights in the AA.  They kept going out throughout the day.  That was annoying.
-The first day, the room closed an hour before it was supposed to.  It was ok for us, since it was slow and getting late anyway, but it still isn't fair to stop people from making money when they've paid for their table.  

 In the end, all of the bad things were just minor annoyances, and we still did very well.  This was a high profit show for us because of the low table cost and the fact we didn't have to get a hotel room.  We plan to be back next year.