FOR THE HERD! …Con

Holy banana pants! HerdCon was a BLAST to go to!

I actually left for the show a day early: the organizers informed artists and vendors that the building had only one elevator. Because of that, the organizers suggested (pretty heavily) that we vendors and artists set up the day before the show, to prevent congestion on the morning of HerdCon.

Which is what I did. As expected, the Friday before the show was pretty congested for set-up. But it was still nice to take my sweet bippy time to get the table ready… instead of feeling the pressure to have everything all set up in an hour or less (which is what I’m used to with other shows).

On the day of the convention, I wasn’t sure what to expect for attendance or sales.

By the end of the day, it was the BEST sales day I’ve had at a one-day show since I started selling my work at conventions!

What helped with the sales, I think, were the following key points:

  • The organizers knew what they were doing. They approached the show as a non-profit community event (as events like these should be treated, in my honest opinion). Their communications with the organizers was quick, thorough, and to the point. Plus they made lunch available for vendors for an extra $10…which I took advantage of. I got the veggie sandwich lunch (admittedly, I should have ordered the ham sandwich. But hey – lesson for next time).
  • The show organizers promoted the HECK out of this show. They reached out to local press, updated their Facebook and Instagram accounts consistently, and offered freebies that would entice the audience they were looking for. I remember one Facebook post promoting a giveaway of free dice with the HerdCon logo as the highest roll number. If that’s not nerdy, I don’t know what is.
  • I talked a lot about the show on my email newsletter, and got some peeps from previous shows to show up to visit. Thanks for coming! And thanks for putting up with my incessant talking about it.
  • There were things on my table marked down for clearance. I know what it’s like to be a broke college student. Plus there’s a LOT of inventory that needed to be cleared out so I can make room for future books, prints, and stickers. So I marked all of my 8.5 x 11 prints down to $3 each – buy one get one free. And I had grab-bags. While grab bags didn’t sell as much, prints certainly did – I have only 4 designs left!
  • I also did caricatures on the spot. I was surprised at how well caricature sales took off at Marietta Comic and Creator Con last year, so I thought to bring it here. The sales of caricatures alone made up for the cost of the AirBNB and gas to get to HerdCon.

Would I go again next year? ABSOLUTELY.

Should you go as an attendee next year? DOUBLE-ABSOLUTELY. Everyone I chatted with had a fun time, enjoyed the Artist Alley, and got to go to fun panels and play tabletop games. Fun times were had by all!

I’m so tickled by how well this show did, especially since I mentioned in my previous post that I had been burned by inaugural shows before. So I’m happy to see HerdCon succeed! I hope it continues to do so.

Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

West Virginia Pop Culture Con: ROUND 2!

My second year at West Virginia Pop Culture Con went SUPER FREAKING WELL.

Somehow Dave (my table buddy and Patreon patron) and I managed to get TWO table spots (don’t ask me how. I’m still baffled). I wasn’t prepared for the extra long table space, but now I’m getting ideas for how I want to do a two-table spread at future cons, if that ever happens again. Or even better – a corner spot.

This year was awesome, not just for me but for Dave, as well. It also went really well for Cheyenne, another art buddy! WV Pop Con is really the place to go as an indie creator, because the show focuses a lot on the creative talent. I don’t think there were any celebrities at this show, except (arguably) for the guy who’s currently working on the art for Scooby Apocalypse, Patrick Olliffe.

There was only one thing that did not turn out well at WV Pop Con, and that was the silent auction I had for the framed original inks and lines for “God.”

pagan god illustration

For one thing, I forgot the jar to slip bids into. Oops.

Not that it would have mattered, because there were only two bids placed on this baby – one bid was for $5. The other was for $7.

My minimum bid was $50.

So, not going to do the silent auction again. I kept the framed art piece because I am NOT selling off an original art piece measuring 11 by 17 inches WITH A FRAME for $7.

Just gonna’ mark it to $150 as a flat rate and take it to Comicon Erie (unless someone in Saint Clairsville, OH, Wheeling, WV, or Youngstown, OH REALLY wants it. In which case, leave a comment. Let me know).

On the more positive side of things, my profit margin was higher than last year because I lowered my cost on one major thing – a place to crash.

Last year I stayed at a hotel (La Quinta). This year I stayed at an AirBnB and saved myself an EASY $100.

Another thing – having a table buddy lowered my table cost. And it got Dave a place to showcase his work… which is good because it turned out that this was his best show as an exhibitor EVER.

Win-wins all around!

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

P.S. The AirBnB I stayed at had a 15-year-old cat named Splash. She is the sweetest ball of fluff I ever had the joy of holding and petting.

Coming Up Next: Marietta Comic and Creator Convention

marietta comic and creator con announcement graphic

The Marietta Comic and Creator Convention sprang up (at least partially) as a result of River City Comic Con getting canceled this year – the organizer of River City fell ill. This is, in fact, the first year that the Marietta Comic and Creator Convention even exists!

The show will be at the Lafayette Hotel on August 12. The show will run from 10 am to 5 pm. And I’ll be there showcasing my work! (Here’s the link to the Facebook event page for more info.)

There’s some new things to keep an eye out for:

  • There’s a new Mr. Dino & Friends print! (It’s also available on Storenvy)
  • Sketch cards are marked down to $1 – I’m trying to clear these babies out!
  • The Box of Clearance Original Art debuted at the Pop Culture Buy Sell Trade Show in Vienna, WV, and will make another appearance at this Marietta Show. Everything in the box is marked to $5.
  • There will be crafts on the table – wrist cuffs, a tablet case, and paper bead bracelets are included. The tablet case is $10, the other crafts are $7.
  • I will draw caricatures (if you ask) – they’re $5 for each person and take less than 5 minutes to do. (Due to space, I cannot offer group caricatures.)

Usually this is where I offer free sketch cards to those who attend the show, but I’m not going to this time. The reason I have sketch cards marked down to $1 is because there were folks who didn’t show up to claim their card at previous shows. These cards need new homes.

Oh! The Case of the Wendigo is back in stock. Huzzah!

However, for the next few days, Charlie & Clow is out of stock.

Why? Well, I made a consignment deal with New Dimension Comics and they cleared out my current stock of Charlie & Clow. I placed the rush-order in to get more copies, so hopefully they’ll arrive before Marietta Comic and Creator Con happens.

And before I forget, I updated the Shop list – there’s new stores carrying my comics and zines!

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

Y-City Con

 

 

y city con zanesville comic convention vendor table

As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in a Denny’s, waiting for my dinner. But this show went so well I had to write about it while waiting for food.

This was a last-minute decision to go – one of the guys at New Dimension Comics asked if I wanted to go to signal boost the shop as well as sell my stuff. I said yes.

Y-City happened in Zanesville, at a place called Weasel Brewery. Believe it or not, I have roots in Zanesville – it’s where I went to high school. While I had my table set up, I came across my old high school buddy and current fan, Morgan. After chatting a bit, we exchanged contact information so we could work together for First Fridays and the arts festival that happens annually in town.

It must be said that Y-City Con is still new – this was its second year of operation. So it was wee. I still wish I had something like this growing up though. In my formative years, the most nerdy things in Zanesville were the Waldenbooks before they went out of business, and the exchange store that carried video games and movies. Once there was a Hot Topic in that mall but it moved out when I was a junior or senior in high school. Point being: growing up I had no comic shop or comic con in the town. So I’m glad to see Y-City and the comic shop that hosts it, Mass Media Comics LLC, actually exist.

I’ll close it here – this is a shorter blog post than usual, but I wanted to get these thoughts on paper before I stuffed my face with congratulatory food.

Thanks for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

West Virginia Pop Culture Con 2017

west virginia pop culture con artist alley 2017

West Virginia Pop Culture Con happened August 26th and 27th, 2017.

Holy dang I took a while to finally write this out, didn’t I? It’s the start of the second week of October already.

Anyway! I was a bit nervous because I had never exhibited at this particular con before, and there was a lot of communications from the staff that appeared at the last minute. Like, I wasn’t 100% sure when set-up was until an email was sent the day before the event was set to start. Then, when I got there, I was moved to a new spot on the con floor because another artist decided to expand their set-up from one table to two, and overtook the one I was supposed to have.

However, the move worked out – I got situated next to super-cool-guy Travis, who helped watch my booth the few times I had to run to the restroom. (Comics buddy Dave Columbus also helped with that once or twice.) Plus, the booth right across from me had a Pride flag, so the folks who stopped by their booth for Pride gear saw my booth and the rainbow watercolor paintings I brought with me (those paintings are ones I talked about in the post about Parkersburg Pop Con). That helped boost sales a bit.

I also learned a thing or two about displaying my large prints that weekend – like having to reinforce the back with tape lacing through the gaps in the milk crates. Because yes, I use milk crates to display my prints… And pack my gear up to take to the show, as well as pack up at the end of the show.

Milk crates are GLORIOUS.

But back to the con – even though there was a bit of a mix-up figuring out where I was supposed to set up, the con staff was friendly and willing to help. They also helped me figure out a discount for staying at a local hotel, so that’s nice.

What surprised me was how popular my zines and mini-comics were. I was surprised because I forgot my spinner rack I use to display them, so I had to lay them flat on the table. In my experience, doing that meant fewer zine and minicomic sales. But not at this con! No, my zines and minicomics were my most popular items!

Even more surprising – Lazy Diana was popular!Lazy Diana is, as I pitch it at shows, “Paganism for Lazy People.” It’s a zine that talks about different aspects of Paganism and how they can be applied simply and lazily for everyday use. Because not everyone who wants to get into Paganism has the time to do an hour-and-a-half-long ritual two days after the first quarter moon, ok?

I was unsure how well this zine would be received, considering that the show was in West Virginia. But to my pleasant surprise, I had a family of practitioners buy Lazy Diana issues 1, 2, AND 3. Plus there were others who got some issues just out of an interest in the subject.

All told, by the end of two days, I made $398 in sales. Pretty. Darn. Awesome.

With that said, I am now fully caught up on blog posts talking about the conventions I’ve been to this year thus far! My next show (unless Champion City Comic Con pulls something off) will be at Genghis Con in Cleveland November 26th. The show runs from 2 pm to 7 pm. Mark your calendar, yo.

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.