– and you can tell where their con budget went. Usually, you see people coming through the AA with their hands full of stuff from the dealers’ room – collectables, plush, etc. And even the dealers’ were saying their sales were low as well which is a clear indicator that it’s not just you. Many artists were posting on social media and talking in person about slow, even outright dismal sales. I guess having done 20+ cons by now, I’m pretty blessed to only now have this happen. I had set a sales goal (as I always do) and this was the first con where I didn’t make or exceed it. Sales-wise, well, that’s where this con was a bit lacking. I always enjoy doing artist alleys cause where else can you be in a room with fellow creators who understand the ins and outs of being an artist? We had our tables next to each other and also shared a hotel room. It was a lot of fun hanging out with her and meeting her friend who runs ShouYume. Sales were good in 2013 and my friend from Sweet Fancy Cuteness was going again this year so I signed up to return. I started going to AWA as I have some artist friends who do this one every year and I wanted to meet them in person. This was Kimchi Kawaii’s second year of doing Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA). The popular Steamed Bun plush for sale at my AWA artist alley table. If you can swing it, I definitely recommend bringing a helper to give you breaks or make sure you are neighbors with friends! area for 2017.Īlso know that Otakon has some of the longest artist alley hours out there. It will be interesting to see if they lower prices or bring back the one day pass again for next year which could up sales again. So to sum it all up – for those of you considering selling at this con, it has had the potential for good sales, but this year was just an off year for whatever reason. Side note to artists: PLEASE don’t undervalue your work! It just hurts you and your fellow artists and gives the buying public the expectation that they shouldn’t pay more than $5 for anything we do (ends soapbox). Additionally, the market is just getting flooded and a lot of people are underpricing their cases which means I can’t compete. Plush making is also taking up a significant chunk of my time. However, the prints were slow to move and I had a hard time selling the deco den phone cases that I carry.Įven before this con, I’ve decided to discontinue them as it’s just too difficult to keep up with the new models coming out every year. Usually, those are a hard sell – lots of people think they’re super cute, but they just won’t buy. My plush did sell out and this was the first con where I actually sold out of the Sweet Dreams Strawberries by the second day. I’ll have the Punny Buns arriving from the Kickstarter so will be focusing on that and getting ready for my dealers booth at SacAnime on Labor Day weekend. This is the last travel con for my 2015 season and I’m pretty happy to be putting the suitcases away until next year. Honestly, it was a bit disappointing with all the work and headache I had leading up to this con – extreme time crunches, other obligations cutting into prep time, wrong items being shipped, items missing all together from orders, etc. I had hoped that with the increased plush variety, I would make a certain sales goal, but I came in well short of it. Also, even though it was months ago, the riots in Baltimore seemed to keep some people away as well. I think there were two main factors in this – they did away with one day passes so that meant someone who wanted to just come on say, Saturday, still had to pay around $100 for registration. This year, Otakon only saw about 28,000 which was a significant drop in attendance. Sales seemed slower this year on the first day compared to the previous year and general sales all weekend seemed lower for everyone I spoke to in the AA. I guess it keeps me on track, especially for east coast cons since I have to factor in cross country shipping time. Shipping has now become a part of my artist alley prep. I did rush through a bunch so I could send them ahead of me. I had planned on bringing over 100 plush, but due to the fast turnover time between Anime Expo and this one, I didn’t complete as many as I would have liked. I think this will really help me get to the next level with Kimchi Kawaii. I’m excited for 2016 when I have the Punny Buns with me for the con season. I was able to get some pre-orders for him. Honey Bun didn’t make it to this con due to luggage space. I had Hammy out for display at my table and got a lot of positive reaction to him. She brought me the final Hamburger Bun prototype on Saturday. I also got to finally meet Tonya from Shinedown Productions who’s been doing my Punny Buns plush. Steamy rolls out the unwelcome wagon for Hammy.Ī highlight of the weekend was that I got to meet a lot of artists I correspond with online in the Facebook artist alley group.
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