Crafts in Chelsea Wrap Up

Last Saturday I vended at Crafts in Chelsea which is a joint fundraiser between the NewNewTeam and P.S. 11. Needless to say it was a huge success! The school raised about $8,000 and imagine all the extra programs this will provide! That day was also unbelievably WINDY! There was reported 50mph gusts and I definitely do not doubt that. I was sharing a space with Linda from PurtyBird and in the midst of our stuff getting blown over, displays falling, items strewn to the wind we had a lot of frustrated fun. This was my first time really in a weather situation I found it very funny because I feel there's just so much I can do and I should just try to find the humor in the situation. Linda was the funniest and most awesome share. She was extremely helpful and very cool to talk to!

Fortunately around 12:30 we got moved to another space down on the street and it was a godsend. The wind was just a breeze, there was sunlight and it was warm. For some reason our first spot was this vortex of wind that never stopped. My display still needs a lot of work. I managed to buy some 5 x 7 binder sleeves and those are totally awesome. It makes it so much easier for people to flip though and look at my prints. They were also protected and didn't fly off thanks to the wind. I will have to buy more.That day I was surprised that many people brought prints. I ran out of my Animal Trio because people wanted to buy them for their nursery or for a baby shower.

People also brought my pins. I had taped them to my big orange box to prevent them from being blown away and that actually made it easier to browse and choose a pin. Maybe it was because of the extremely bright orange-red fabric of the box but it caught a lot of people's eyes. Also people love love bright colors. All my orange goldfish pins were sold along with my red panda pins.

Another thing I notice is that even though it's somewhat close to Christmas (maybe?) most of the people who brought stuff from me brought it for themselves. I guess it's present buying time isn't really here yet. Though I've been very busy doing custom orders which I looooove doing! So if you want some custom print (I've been doing families and weddings a lot) just pop a convo to me at LiPeony.

I also brought some awesome things at the fair too but that's for another post =D

Here's Linda from PurtyBird with her awesome felt monsters and scrabble tiled necklaces and glass tile magnets. People really liked buying small ticket items but when they did they usually brought more then one.

Here's a victory pose at the end of the fair of me and Linda! WE SURVIVED!

Here are some tips for surviving windy craft fair day (gleaned from NewNewTeam)!

1. If you are going to bring a tent bring some study weights to weight it down and also weigh down your table (s). (A lot of people bring in empty plastic cartons and fill it with water when they get to the fair)
2. Try not to put sides to the tent because it'll act like a sail and your tent can hurt someone.
3. Or better yet don't even bring a tent if you can help it.
   
4. Have lots of tape and clamps!
5. Find out the weather beforehand!
6. Have your displays laid flat (clamped securely if possible).
7. Have a container for you biz cards. You don't want those to fly away.
8. Remember if things get too hairy... breathe... you'll recall this day and laugh =)
   

Due to the success of my felt pins... I'll be bringing them back to my shop later this week =)

Until next time... don't get bloooooownnnn awaaaaaay!

Outer Space and Earth Adventures

Astronaut Chibi Girl and Bunnies @ LiPeony

Everyone was wondering what the "3,2,1 Blast Off" teaser by the Etsy Twitter was talking about. Apparently in celebration of the space program NASA and Etsy have teamed up for a CRAFT CONTEST! Basically creating an original work dedicated/inspired by space, stars, astronauts, spaceships and all that outer space goodness! The above little print is what I've sent in. This print was first drawn about a year ago but never got around to finishing it. While working on it yesterday I realized that I had to rework it from scratch as my technique evolved. You know what? I think it came out looking great =D .

The grand prize is a trip to see a real life space shuttle launch! Now that is super cool! Also your art is aboard the space shuttle too... I think. Double cool! I encourage everyone to participate as it's fun and really... I'm sure everyone has dreamed about being an astronaut at least once.. On earthly adventures. Tomorrow is going to be my first and probably last craft fair for this year at Crafts In Chelsea unless I muster something for December. November is going to be full of helping my friend prepare for her wedding! Its on 21st street between 8th and 9th avenue. Though I heard the weather is going to be mighty windy... le sigh. Good thing I've managed to buy 5 x 7 binder sleeves for my prints. I'm planning to put them into two binders so people can flip though them like a book as opposed to just laying them flat in piles which I've always done. I'm also in the process of making a banner out of felt and embroidery thread. I'll take some pictures of it when it is done. I'll be selling mostly 5 x 7 prints, frames, rest of my felt pins and cards. Hope me luck tomorrow!

Until next time... to outer space and BEYOND!

New York Comic Con 2010

This weekend I attend New York Comic Con / New York Animefest 2010 for the first time. It's located all the way on the west side and is a pretty far trek from any subway station. Though I am a sci-fi and know a bit about comics and superheroes (I grew up watching all the cartoons of the 1990's from Batman, Spiderman, Ironman, Incredible Hunk, Fantastic Four, X-men) there was a lot more to this convention that was outside my realm. When you first see the Javits Center where it is held you are daunted by the fact that it spans some 4-5 blocks and there are hundreds of people milling about. Once you go in there's a huge "Welcome Banner."

I went with my boyfriend and my little brother. Kids get in for free on Sunday =D. My little brother (10) loved it! Intel made up a huge chunk of the convention hall that involved gaming. The huge screen above streamed previews, live broadcasts of the newest things and also streamed live game tournaments like Starcraft 2 and Counterstrike.

The highlight for me were these replicated race cars that people could sit and drive in a racing game. I thought that was really awesome. The line was extremely long and my little brother gave up after half an hour of waiting. They also showcase their new computers which I must say looks very nice. I'm basing this on just how visually appealing they were. They were stark white with clear inside and had all these lights and stuff. I'm not much of a computer savvy person. In that same room were autograph and artist alley section.

To the right was another huge convention hall with all the vendors. There were a lot of big companies like Nintendo, Marvel, Square Enix etc with playable stations featuring some of their new games. My boyfriend was gaga over the new Golden Sun for DS, I had a taste of FF14 the online game and saw people playing some favorites of mine like Dead Space 2 and the new Spiderman game.

Here was main platform for Marvel I believe. They would give out free things like signed posters, replicas of the characters, t shirts etc. As usual there is a huge huge huge crowd clamoring for them so I usually just avoid them. Stan Lee was also present and was signing autographs and greeting fans. I arrived late so I didn't get to see him =(. A friend did get to shake his hand and he was totally amazed. The wii also showcased the new Micheal Jackson: The Experience dancing game. It was a big hit. Everyone wanted to try it. Several people went up on stage to play the game and dance to his greatest hits. At the end there's always a huge explosion of smoke and everyone cheered. I couldn't help but take a picture of this cosplay based on a lovable game called Castle Crashers which is highly addictive and oh so cute! Speaking of cute isn't this SuperPooch so adorable? He was the model for the small vendor that sold pet costumes. I also saw a Yoda Pooch somewhere =D.

Another amazing sight was this remote controlled R2D2. It moved, it had lights and had all the classic R2D2 sound effects. That was really awesome to see.

Here's some more Star Wars love. Everyone was lining up for the show in which people choreographed fights using light sabers and preformed them for all to see. That was pretty nifty.The highlight of my weekend there was being there with the cast and crew of V a sci-fi series on ABC. Though I haven't seen too much of the series. I'm a huge fan of Firefly and really happy I got to see Morena Baccarin =D . There were three cast members and producer and they were really interactive and entertaining.

Overall I really liked the experience though a few things were lacking. One was that the AnimeFest was delegated to a pretty small and seemingly unfinished wing of the center but then again it's the first year so it's not perfect. Another one was the autograph sessions times and people were nowhere to be found unless you ran to the crowded autograph section or went online. I would like a hard copy at the convention so I can plan while I am there. There was also some pretty bad "con funk" (aka people who seem to forget to take a shower or wear deodorant). Besides that it was fun. I will have to see who and what is going on next year before I decide to attend.

I hope you guys enjoyed the quick rundown on some things during Comic-con =D
Until next time... get out there and delve in the fantasy of superheroes ever so often!