Anime-Fest Post-Con report, and life :)
So I have only done one other Anime convention and it is A-Kon. This is north americas longest running anime convention and one of the largest. 18,000 people attended last year if the numbers on Wikipedia are to be believed. It is HUGE. It is CRAZY. and it is EXHAUSTING. And it doesn't do spectacularly for me. I mean it does well enough. It justifies its costs since it is a local con, but I probably won't drive down for it from CO next year.
Now Anime-Fest. This is a whole different bag of cats. Or barrel of carp. Or something. It is another long running con, but not nearly as long running or as large as A-Kon. And the attendance is much lower. It is held in a different hotel and there are significantly less artists/dealers. But man, this con is awesome. It is a little strange as it is a four day con. And I noticed that sales kind of have a slow but steady growth to Sunday and then Monday people rush in the morning and then wander. But I loved this convention. There was enough room for people to wander and not feel crowded, no one came over saying they were bored (a problem at smaller cons) and it wasn't that intense crush of A-Kon. And financially it did pretty well for me. But the thing that really got me was that the art show did well for me! This is incredibly rare (for me). I sold one original and two prints, one of which went to auction, so I was just incredibly pleased. I also had more traffic FROM people who saw me in the art show, and the staff were just lovely as well. The only problem I had with the con was ACTUALLY GETTING REG'd. I had given up on the con a few months ago because I couldn't get in touch with anyone about reg. Finally at A-Kon they had a reg booth so I got in there. Strange. Hopefully I can get back in again next year though, as I quite enjoyed this con and it would be worth my drive to head down again next year. A huge thank you to everyone who came by and said hi, new friends and old, and to the staff at Anime-Fest, you were awesome.
In other news.
I saw FrightNight last week with a friend. Super fun campy horror flick. I loved it. Of course I adore David Tennant so there is a bit of a bias, but even without him it was a FUN horror flick that didn't take itself to seriously.
Last night I got to have an awesome post-con dinner with another friend of mine, (Vanessa) she smoked a brisket. A delicious, delicious brisket, and then had grilled nectarines, and a FANTASTIC indian pudding dish that her dad made for dessert. Getting a chance to hang out with her was such a joy. We ended the night watching Despicable Me, which I love, and she hadn't seen. It was kind of a perfect relaxing way to end a con weekend. It is always great to see this lady and I will miss her terribly when I leave.
I AM TAKING TODAY OFF! I have a hard time taking days off. The whole working from home thing means my work is always in front of me. And even if I say I will take a day off it rarely ever happens. I realize that there is work to do and just start doing it. But Vanessa heard me saying that and mentioned that she had a half day today. So she is going to steal me away after her work so I don't work too much today. I mean, I say I'm taking today off but I've already started doing some finances and... well, it's hard to take days off when you know that there is STUFF to DO! Not only is she going to steal me away, but steal me away and LET ME RIDE HER HORSE! So excited, I have ridden him before and he is AMAZING. Just a beautifully moving out, sweet, Arabian. I love him. But yeah, I'll start back up tomorrow. I told myself I needed a day off as I haven't had one since I got back from Colorado a few weeks ago. And I don't know that I had a true day off since the first DAY I was in Colorado. So, well, yeah.
Plans are proceeding apace for my move to Colorado at the end of the month. Living situations are being sorted and considered duly, and I am generally so excited to move up there. Packing has been put on hiatus as I had a con last weekend and the weekend before, but shall continue this week, and I have the gala event at the end of the month to prep for.
Hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend!
Now Anime-Fest. This is a whole different bag of cats. Or barrel of carp. Or something. It is another long running con, but not nearly as long running or as large as A-Kon. And the attendance is much lower. It is held in a different hotel and there are significantly less artists/dealers. But man, this con is awesome. It is a little strange as it is a four day con. And I noticed that sales kind of have a slow but steady growth to Sunday and then Monday people rush in the morning and then wander. But I loved this convention. There was enough room for people to wander and not feel crowded, no one came over saying they were bored (a problem at smaller cons) and it wasn't that intense crush of A-Kon. And financially it did pretty well for me. But the thing that really got me was that the art show did well for me! This is incredibly rare (for me). I sold one original and two prints, one of which went to auction, so I was just incredibly pleased. I also had more traffic FROM people who saw me in the art show, and the staff were just lovely as well. The only problem I had with the con was ACTUALLY GETTING REG'd. I had given up on the con a few months ago because I couldn't get in touch with anyone about reg. Finally at A-Kon they had a reg booth so I got in there. Strange. Hopefully I can get back in again next year though, as I quite enjoyed this con and it would be worth my drive to head down again next year. A huge thank you to everyone who came by and said hi, new friends and old, and to the staff at Anime-Fest, you were awesome.
In other news.
I saw FrightNight last week with a friend. Super fun campy horror flick. I loved it. Of course I adore David Tennant so there is a bit of a bias, but even without him it was a FUN horror flick that didn't take itself to seriously.
Last night I got to have an awesome post-con dinner with another friend of mine, (Vanessa) she smoked a brisket. A delicious, delicious brisket, and then had grilled nectarines, and a FANTASTIC indian pudding dish that her dad made for dessert. Getting a chance to hang out with her was such a joy. We ended the night watching Despicable Me, which I love, and she hadn't seen. It was kind of a perfect relaxing way to end a con weekend. It is always great to see this lady and I will miss her terribly when I leave.
I AM TAKING TODAY OFF! I have a hard time taking days off. The whole working from home thing means my work is always in front of me. And even if I say I will take a day off it rarely ever happens. I realize that there is work to do and just start doing it. But Vanessa heard me saying that and mentioned that she had a half day today. So she is going to steal me away after her work so I don't work too much today. I mean, I say I'm taking today off but I've already started doing some finances and... well, it's hard to take days off when you know that there is STUFF to DO! Not only is she going to steal me away, but steal me away and LET ME RIDE HER HORSE! So excited, I have ridden him before and he is AMAZING. Just a beautifully moving out, sweet, Arabian. I love him. But yeah, I'll start back up tomorrow. I told myself I needed a day off as I haven't had one since I got back from Colorado a few weeks ago. And I don't know that I had a true day off since the first DAY I was in Colorado. So, well, yeah.
Plans are proceeding apace for my move to Colorado at the end of the month. Living situations are being sorted and considered duly, and I am generally so excited to move up there. Packing has been put on hiatus as I had a con last weekend and the weekend before, but shall continue this week, and I have the gala event at the end of the month to prep for.
Hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend!