This review is reposted with permission. Original review is
here.
Animazement Artist Alley 2013 Convention Report
May 27, 2013 at 8:07pm
~*Foreword*~
My overall experience at Animazement's Artist Alley was fun, exciting, and fresh! I was a much better experience than what it was next to Triad Anime Convention and put a lot of confidence in my work again ^^ I got to meet a lot of aquantiances that I only have known through Facebook as well as seeing some familiar faces of people that I respect/love ^^ I plan to return to Animazement's AA next year if I make it through the judging process.
~*Friday*~
I got to Animazement a little after 9 o'clock. After a little heartache at the badge registration table as they couldn't find my name on the pre-reg list (thankfully the head of the AA alley confirmed that I did pre-reg), I finally claimed my half table at M23. It took the hubby and I around 30 to 40 minutes to set up the display as we were unable to do the mock-up display that we wanted to do the week before due to technical issues the day night before and getting everything setup for print.
I got the chance to meet TheArtSlave on Friday and she was so sweet ^^ After our short meet up though, traffic became crazy busy and unfortunately we weren't able to meet up again due to traffic (which is a good thing ^0^). Everyone who came by my table that bought/did not buy anything,constantly complimented that they loved my style and the chibis were so cute! I was very very happy.
Since I still had stock still to prep because of theprinter issues on Thursday night, I was still cutting stickers out for sale and the hubby (my faithful assistant - lol) was working on keychains of charactersthat needed to be displayed.
With the traffic so heavy, I had a hard time keeping several characters in stock. I had to make a running list of what characters in prints and keychains needed to be restocked. This is the reason why I bring myPC and printer to me whenever I stay the night at the convention's hotel - to restock! I also had a hard time going around meeting some of the other artists as traffic was very heavy most of the time on Friday and for some odd reason,even though he did nothing out of the ordinary, the hubby had a tendency to scare off people buying items. LOL
When things slowed down a little bit, I realized that ourstock was really low and I had planned to meet up with some artists that I had been acquainted with over Facebook for some grub later that night. So I decided to let them know that there wasn't going to be a chance for me to meet up as Ihad to print, cut and restock for Saturday. So I got a chance to hunt down Interrobang Studios and let them know that I had to cancel on the plans. Since I was in a little down time, I got to chat with Sarah for a few minutes before I had to run back to my table. Sarah was very awesome and wish I could have spent some more time but we both had some traffic heading our way so it was understandable ^^
With Artist Alley being so busy, I couldn't find time togo and get some signatures for ItsuDeMo and I from the voice actress of Sailor Saturn, Yuko Minaguchi! The hubby though surprised me, stating he was going to get us some food. Surprise, surprise, he snuck away my Sailor Saturn doll that I had brought along with me to get signed and stayed in the long line to get her to sign it! ^0^ I was absolutely thrilled!
By the end of Friday's workday (I had stayed in AA until10:30ish), I was exhausted as I had been away since 2:30am that morning , only having 2 hours of sleep. I had prepped files to be printed for the hubby to print later and pretty much crashed.
~*Saturday*~
One of my complaints about Saturday concerning Animazement was the very first thing in the morning. I was sent an email stating that artists and their assistants in the Artist Alley could enter the convention at 8:00am to setup their displays and such. The hubby and I were their at 8am sharp and no one was at the locked doors. There was a few other artists/assistants at the doors so I thought they were just running a little behind. 8:20 came and still the doors were locked and no one at the doors that went from the hotel to the Mezzanine portion of convention center. So at this point, I went to the doors and banged a few times on the doors as hard as I could to get someone's attention that people were waiting to get into the convention that were allowed to. A few minutes later, a older gentleman opened the door and proceeded to sit in a chair. When I started to go in, he pretty much told me that I wasn't allowed in because the convention wasn't open. I quickly reminded him that I was in the Artist Alley and was emailed that I was allowed to be let into the convention at 8am. He was still trying to push back on this when I pulled out my e-mail stating this information and finally gave in, letting me and the other waiting artists/assistants in. Yay for printing e-mails and victory for Paprika!! ^0^
The hubby and I decided to switch up the display on Saturday and it only took us 15 minutes as we knew what we wanted. It was much better displayed with all the product I made available (the buttons, bookmarks,prints, and stickers) that it made it easier for people to look at. I wish I had gotten a picture of it but people started pouring in and wasn't able to get a picture of my new display set up ;^;
I also met a lot of very nice cosplayers on Saturday!Some even stayed a little to chat with me and I really enjoyed it ^^ Even some came back later and on Sunday to show me their other cosplays which I took pictures of with my dslr camera. ^0^ What really surprised me that day was that two Japanese voice actors bought some merchandise from me
I was really honored and one even took my contact information. One bought my Mami sticker and the other bought my Zelda keychain. I really wished later on that I had gotten a picture of them ^^ But the both moments caught me off guard.
I donated some prizes to a few Sailor Moon panels since I knew the two from last year's Sailor Moon panels ^^ Interesting enough though, I met person in charge of Triad Anime Convention's Artist Alley where I had issues and finally gave him the feedback. He ensured me that the experiences that I experienced in TAC on that Saturday would never happen again. I also got to meet Dizzi from Dizziness and she was a blast!! I even got a hello from my buddy, Tenshi of Kurotenshi who I love seeing as I had met her through DA several years ago ^^
I did very well on Saturday and got a lot of thankyous/handshakes for also doing the blue dress version of Aurora (which was hard to keep in stock - lol). By the end of the night, I had to do another night of restock of several characters as I ran out of prints, keychains, and stickers.
~*Sunday*~
Sunday nights in my mind for some odd reason, I always suspect it to be slow......again I was caught off guard as I was on Friday and Saturday. It was crazy busy still! ^^ Several of the staff came by my table to buy stuff and also asked for my opinion on the AA this year. I told them both the pros and cons I had at AA and said that they would relay the feedback to the AA head.
By the end of the convention, I ran out of stock on a lot my product/characters by the end of the day and went through all of my 200 keychain blanks. Even my White Rock Shooter print got a home as well as my Kyoko 13x19 print! ^0^ A lot of people who bought my merchandise on Friday and Saturday even came to say goodbye!
I was really honored and one even took my contact information. One bought my Mami sticker and the other bought my Zelda keychain. I really wished later on that I had gotten a picture of them ^^ But the both moments caught me off guard.
