I DID IT! My first Convention is done and was extremely successful!
After MONTHS of prep work, on Saturday morning, my co-worker
Lyne and I did a quick run to the Moncton Market, then at 9am we set up our table! Lyne was nice enough to let me steal about 1/3rd of her table. Before the doors even opened, I had my first sale! It was a dinosaur I had made last fall, that on a whim J and I had tossed in with my Con. items! And by the time the doors opened at 10am I was pleasantly caffeinated and riding a sugar-rush from the cinnamon roll I had grabbed earlier at the Market, and then sales took off! Well "took off" is probably a bit generous... I went in with 47 items and sold 19... however most of the stuff that did sell was the medium/most expensive items, so I did actually sell about 50%, leaving me with a bunch of $5 items and a few medium/most expensive dolls, hats and scarves. I had lots of people who stopped by and promised they would be back (THEY DIDN'T) but even without them, I did great! I had 3 people coveting the mermaid I had made, they all did come back, but she was already sold by then. I also had some people wanted my Zombie Bear, but at $50 he was a little too expensive for them, though a few did wander back around near closing to see if I had lowered my price on him. My nyan cat scarf was a hit, I sold it within the1st hour, and got a fully paid commission for another one about 15 minutes later that I need to make. Plus since leaving the Con. at 9pm on Saturday, I have managed to sell three other pieces to friends based on photos of my table that I had posted!
My favourite part of Animaritimes was: that 99.9% who walked by my table, and looked at my things, left with a huge honest smile. Even if most of them didn't stop or buy, just the smile, meant that I was at least doing something right! I also got some awesome validation from other artists that were there, who didn't understand why I was only doing sales now, if I could produce work that good *blushes* and I even gave a few tips to some fellow crocheters whose own amigurumi attempts always seemed to fail - my secret, which really isn't one, is TINY HOOKS! I use a 2.5mm with worsted weight yarn (ex. Red Heart Soft Touch) and a 3mm with aran weight (ex. Lion Brand Vanna's Choice).
My least favourite part of Animaritimes was: ... I don't know... I did enjoy the overall entire experience. The only thing that upset me was one random woman who walked by and muttered that my work was "beginner" but there were enough awesome people who commented that my crochet work was the best they had seen, that I really can't be upset about one sour apple. Someone even complimented my business card?! I found that funny, since I had designed it myself and J printed them for me and punched them out...
What surprised me the most about Animaritimes was: the costumes! I, like many of you, have seen what happens at Comic and Anime Cons on TV, but seeing it in person?! Totally shocked me! I've never really been a huge Anime fan, so I didn't know most of the costumes I saw, however as the theme was steam-punk (which I do find pretty) I saw lots of great steam-punk costumes, and some gorgeous Japanese style Lolita costumes (I LOVE Lolita dresses!!!).
What I learnt at Animaritimes was: that I need an actual set up! I need a way to better showcase my scarves and dolls, and keep things like hair clips contained... I also and possibly more importantly learnt that I cannot presume to know what will or will not sell! There were things I was convinced would sell, and didn't, and then there were things I wasn't sure about bringing in the first place which did sell. Though possibly somewhat ironically, three of the items I was sure would sell at the Con, sold after the Con to friends/acquaintances. I think this means, this wasn't the right venue for me, though I will probably try again, and maybe work at configuring what I bring to better suit the audience (more Japanese style toys and dolls). I also learnt that I'm a pretty good sales person! Apparently those many years in retail paid off! I'm still horribly shy, but the fact that I giggle (which I think I did non-stop for 11 hours) makes me seem really friendly, which helped me seem approachable.
The next step for me is: that I'm going to put up some of my leftovers on Etsy (I'm finally going to give in and try it) to see if I can sell well there. I've always shied away from Etsy (even though I've had a store there since like 2008) because I don't like the idea of having to pay listing fees, however I think at this time, I need the marketing ability that they provide... I also need to buckle down and get more patterns finished up and ready to sell, and J and I need to decide where we are going next! I have a 5 options for 2013 right now and I'm divided on which I would like to try:
HalCon,
Animaritimes,
Victoria Park Craft Fair,
Christmas at the Coliseum and apparently Moncton's first ComicCon is happening next year too... Je ne sais pas! I don't know! I have some thinking to do...
So yeah! That's how my Saturday went, and what I think about the event now... by the way, coolest thing ever, was seeing my name in the brochure and having someone squeal while holding up a doll (even if she didn't buy it) :) I'm glad I spent all that time prepping, especially that last week, and that I had Sunday and Monday to recuperate and finally hit the beach before heading back to work! Also I managed to get a sunburn after only about 60-90 minutes in the sun while wear 85spf... further proof that I'M AWESOME!
