Queen City Kamikaze Con
Hey everyone. I went to QCK for the first time yesterday especially as an artist ("vendor"). If you don't know what this con is it is a very small 1 day con in a high school in New Hampshire. Staff is literally run by the students of the school. The students even made and sold food through out the day to make money for fund raisers and I'm sure other school stuff. I didn't check out the panels because I was running my booth but it was a nice calm little thing. I enjoyed the "Ramen on the Run" trolley that went around with ramen and soda in the vendor room. That was cute. Personal thoughts: I enjoyed the con. It was nice and not hella packed. I was greeted by 2 students in the parking lot who helped my husband and I to our table and carried my things. Set up went well (I'm very happy I practiced the night before) and got my stuff up in no time. Our neighbors to the left, Spoonfull of Cats, never showed... Myself and others were disapointed because we were hoping they would be there. I do hope everything is okay with them, I'm sure they had their reasons. I loved that the students ran the con, they did a very good job and everything was run fairly well, from my vendor stand point anyways. I appreciated the food they made and provided so we did not need to leave the building. They even had people go around and run and get things for tables. My husband did most of the running around anyways so it worked out. It was also very kid friendly, more kids then I think I've seen at normal cons to be honest. It was a good time for every one. I didn't however like the bathroom set ups. It was quite an old school, the bathrooms were like walking into an open walk in closet of 2 stalls and then you have to walk around the corner to where the hallway is to wash your hands. The mirrors weren't real mirrors, they were that brushed metal that have enough of a reflection I guess. Plus when the con kicked off those bathrooms had tons of people outside of them. Thankfully I came across "Faculty" bathrooms where they were cleaner, more privacy, and a proper mirror. They were barely touched it seemed so it was nice to be able to make a B line to the potty and be able to use one right away. I would recommend this con to anyone looking for something small to do in between cons. It was very cheep, only 1 day, and still loads of fun like at a larger con but small enough so not overwhelming. As a vendor I would also recommend and will personally try again for future QCK cons. Whether starting out or long time vendors, this was a great place to be. My personal selling experience: I only sold a few things. Just shy a few bucks to make back table/entry costs. I had plenty of positive comments on my style and art. I had obscure fan art that some pointed out and made their day. I again put out a #DrawWithMe sign and my sketch book to have people stop by, draw, chat, leave a message, etc. People liked it and left me some doodles and what not. I will scan and post those soon with the #DrawWithMe tag. I put out a pretty good stack of personal business cards as well as my friend Redpool Hypnosis's cards. There were only 1 of each left by the end of the day. I was pleased to at least see people interested in my art enough to take a card. What I learned: I need more variety of art. I knew this but I just wasn't able to make more art in time. But it does seem to be a must after being at 2 cons now selling my work. Perler bead art is usually a huge miss. Unless really intricate and detailed most say "Well I can make this at home / I know people who could make this for me at home". I knew that when making the items but figured "well there are those not interested enough to want to make or have someone else make and would be willing to buy." Again, that might have been a variety issue as well. But something I will not bother with for the next few cons. I learned anything prints bigger than 11x17 is very daunting. Usually only big prints that are beautifully painted have a chance of beind sold. Especially if characters from shows, games, movies, etc. However, if it was big cute stuff like I made people will say it's cute but don't seem to care for the size... That stuff seems best at 11x17 and smaller. Personal art is a tough sell. I knew that before hand but tried anyways. Unless interesting enough or the right followers, usually no one cares for personal art/characters. I will still continue to make original content but know that I will also need branch out and do more fan stuff too. I will also work harder on polishing up personal stuff and making more of it to have better variety. Final thoughts: Although I made myself self sick and stressed for not having much, I had a good time and felt like my table was good enough to be there. It made me more pumped about making more art for future cons. I am also relieved I can go back to working on commissions and not stressing about a con for a good while. Especially since the baby will be born soon, Im going to have my arms full. Here's to the future and making more art!