#arcadeexpo

I wasn't the only one that had issues. Another vendor had to be moved entirely as she was placed on the other side of the expo, in the dark, between pinball/arcade machine areas. Vendors/artist alley were originally supposed to be in one room, and they had a sign directing  attendees in that direction. We were told that there wasn't enough space when setting up so they started spreading vendors out in the main area...which we looked in the vendor room...it probably would have been fine (there was plenty of space).

In hindsight, I wish I had asked to be moved as well considering half of my booth was cut-off, but there were other reasons I decided to stay where I was.

Networking To my right, I was placed next to a double-table booth that was shared by three other artists: a crotcheter, a chainmail crafter, and an artist with multiple talents (pixel art mostly). Their booth completely out shined mine by a million percent, but they have been doing conventions for a while and have more experience. Because of my booth placement, attendees were going to their booth, then going to the vendor table to the left and completely skipping over me entirely...so I moved my banner so it would be seen easier and that really helped. I also got asked a lot about the crotchet items on a shelf next to my booth and had to direct them to the other artists. Good thing I loved their stuff so much I always commented on how adorable the little jellyfish were (and ended up buying one!). @_@" Anyhoodles, we exchanged business cards and got chatty mostly on the last day of the expo, and actually bought things from each other. They also gave me some tips and information for upcoming conventions, getting tables for next year, and other nifty things. My fiance and I also talked to the other artist that had to be moved earlier on and she was also super helpful! That's one thing I like about this sort of thing: everyone is super nice and helpful. (well, so far) I decided not to bother moving and just trying to make my space work, and maybe try to direct people to my table a bit better. It was a nice challenge in booth construction I guess. I ended up moving my basket of discounted prints to the side of the table where the crocheter was on, so when attendees were done looking at her shelf of goodies, there was something to catch their eye. Nothing catches attention like [b]DISCOUNT[/b], haha! With that being said...my discounted prints sold more than anything else.

Also; Please be sure to check them out! @apunchintheart @yattacreations @bardickitty-loal @mimosastudio

Constant Workflow Throughout the expo I did take traditional commissions at my table. I always had something to work on...which was nice. I was thrilled that I had time to sit down and just hammer away on art for three days straight, which I don't normally get to do. When I didn't have a commission to work on, I made badges and other original art to sell. I would pin these up at the top of my grid panels to grab more attention. Someone asked my fiance while I took a short break if I had any Overwatch art (which I didn't). So I took the opportunity to draw a 4x6 of Tracer. Once I pinned it up, there were a few attendees that made their way over to my table just because they saw the Tracer art. I also made 4x6's of Wreck-It Ralph and the ghosts from Pac-Man.

New Projects! After seeing what other vendors had and what attendees were interested in, it inspired me to create more things and expand/alter my inventory. I really want to learn cross-stitch so that might be on the horizon. My fiance wants to learn crocheting. I'm going to start making bookmarks and bring my focus to just 5x7 prints, buttons, and badges. Those seem to be my strong suits and my bestsellers; the smaller things. None of my larger prints sold. Some of my original art sold too (including an old sketch of Wall-E. I was surprised that one got snatched up). I will be posting all of my extra stock on Etsy this week. I'll make another post when that's available, and also when I post my new designs over to TeePublic.