Reactor 09
As a last minute thing, I went to Reactor this weekend. 2 weeks ago I thought, "I still have tons of stuff to sell pre-made and I bet Reactor still has Artist Alley tables left, what the hell, I will email them and ask." Sure enough they had tables left and made it super easy for me to pay via PayPal. So I went, with very low expectations, which was a good thing, lol!
I skipped Friday and went Saturday. The other artists there were totally nice, lots of great work too, but they were all upset with low turnout of customers. They said on Friday maybe 12 people walked through AA. They said there were no signs where AA was and it wasn't even mentioned in the program book, not to mention it wasn't even near the dealer's room. There was talk of demanding money back because of all that. :/ Lots of folks left early Saturday and skipped Sunday.
Oddly enough, I made $300, which I was really surprised. All things considered, I was expecting maybe $150 if I was lucky. Guess my patience paid off, I would get small groups come through now and then and a few folks would buy things, then nothing for like 30 minutes to an hour.
What really made it worth while is I got to talk to some other artists and make some connections. Also I got a chance to study what people like a little better since I wasn't so busy. I watched what they bought from other artists or listened out for what they asked for. The head of Acen's artist alley came by, so that was pretty cool. Also I got alot of inspiration for new products to make, all exciting stuff for me! :3
I felt really bad for some of the other artists though. One studio got 4 tables! Some I don't think they sold a thing the whole weekend, I was really lucky. Alot didn't even break even. I didn't pay for a hotel or anything, just my badge and table, so most of what I made was profit. The other folks were so nice too, so that made me feel extra bad. Even customers were in good spirits, despite the con not having alot going on. I kinda felt bad some of them were hoping to check out some neat stuff in AA and most artists already left.
While I counted my lucky stars, I already started planning for my next con, Youmacon! I used my cash I earned for more materials to make even more cash, lol! Hancock is having an AWESOME sale and my fav fleece is 52% off! I bought a whole bold of black anti-pill, all for me!!! My mom sent me some cash for supplies as well, so I got a thread rack, bobbin case, stabilizers, threads, lots of fleece, skull print fabrics, stuffing, and plushie fabrics. I'm pretty pumped!
I skipped Friday and went Saturday. The other artists there were totally nice, lots of great work too, but they were all upset with low turnout of customers. They said on Friday maybe 12 people walked through AA. They said there were no signs where AA was and it wasn't even mentioned in the program book, not to mention it wasn't even near the dealer's room. There was talk of demanding money back because of all that. :/ Lots of folks left early Saturday and skipped Sunday.
Oddly enough, I made $300, which I was really surprised. All things considered, I was expecting maybe $150 if I was lucky. Guess my patience paid off, I would get small groups come through now and then and a few folks would buy things, then nothing for like 30 minutes to an hour.
What really made it worth while is I got to talk to some other artists and make some connections. Also I got a chance to study what people like a little better since I wasn't so busy. I watched what they bought from other artists or listened out for what they asked for. The head of Acen's artist alley came by, so that was pretty cool. Also I got alot of inspiration for new products to make, all exciting stuff for me! :3
I felt really bad for some of the other artists though. One studio got 4 tables! Some I don't think they sold a thing the whole weekend, I was really lucky. Alot didn't even break even. I didn't pay for a hotel or anything, just my badge and table, so most of what I made was profit. The other folks were so nice too, so that made me feel extra bad. Even customers were in good spirits, despite the con not having alot going on. I kinda felt bad some of them were hoping to check out some neat stuff in AA and most artists already left.
While I counted my lucky stars, I already started planning for my next con, Youmacon! I used my cash I earned for more materials to make even more cash, lol! Hancock is having an AWESOME sale and my fav fleece is 52% off! I bought a whole bold of black anti-pill, all for me!!! My mom sent me some cash for supplies as well, so I got a thread rack, bobbin case, stabilizers, threads, lots of fleece, skull print fabrics, stuffing, and plushie fabrics. I'm pretty pumped!