I don’t usually share my entries from my personal facebook but in this case I wanted to write about the Steel City Con and since I kinda did already, I just repurposed it. Sort of… I added a lot of extra content. So if you are not a fb friend, just know what you are getting here is a little extra special…
Day one of the Steel City Con was more fun than I expected.
My neighbors are cool. I enjoyed spending 12 HOURS with them today. Business was slow but I at least made my table back. Tomorrow should be much better. If every day is as good as today I will at least hit my lowest goal for the weekend.
I really enjoyed all the cosplay it is amazing where it has gone. I have been going to cons for nearly 30 years (as a patron). I have seen them grow from 10 dealers in a hotel conference room (with an art contest complete with dealer-donated comics and graphic novels for the prizes) all the way to the giant events such as Wizard World or San Diego Comic Con, now dubbed just “Comicon” I remember when “Cosplay was just fans dressing up as their favorite characters at an event where they could go without fear of being picked on. In the early days medium sized cons often allowed those who dressed up, free admission. As it grew and cosplay became a reason to go to a con they started having costume contests. Now people have figured out a way to make a living at cosplay, THEY NAMED IT “COSPLAY!” It has become a whole culture and has been fun to see it germinate. It puts a fun spin on something that was once just for comic geeks (Like me). My point is, I feel like, at a con people can really let their freak flag fly. They can walk around with pride as a realistic Stormtrooper or even just a dude with only the helmet. Either way you’ll know who you are talking to when they walk up to you and you can have a great conversation about the things you both love.
Day Two of the Steel City Con: Huge Crowds! Lots of Questions!
It was pretty busy all day. I think I talked about a 20 inch San Diego Comicon Exclusive Legend of Zelda Link figure at least 20 times but that was nothing compared to the number of times I showed someone the Darth Vader Lightsaber umbrella. I took one out of the box after the 5th ask. Still I didn’t sell any of them. The number one question I got was “Does it light up?” The answer is no, and the common response was “Oh, if it did I would have bought it instantly.” Note to self: figure out a way to make these things light up!
It was really fun talking to all the fans. I realized I am a bigger geek than I thought. I had a pretty good day, better than Friday but probably not the day it should have been. I’m thinking too many celebrities keeping people away from the dealer area. Hopefully Sunday will continue the streak. booth pics to come…
Steel City Con Day 3: Slow and Steady all Day…
What a great experience overall. I think I had the most fun today. Not only were sales way up and I hit my all of my goals for the weekend, I also had so much fun talking to all the people. Today only a few people asked about the Lightsaber umbrellas. Most of the people I talked to were either Fans of Robotech or The Legend of Zelda which made for really fun conversations.
The highlight of the day was when 4 friends decided they wanted to share a Limited Edition San Diego Comic Exclusive 20 Inch action figure so they huddled up, then haggled with me. We came to terms which was followed by cheers and high fives because they got the deal they wanted (me too). They declared my booth the coolest ever with the coolest stuff and said I deserved high fives too. I love it when a plan comes together!
My neighbors were really cool and fun to hang out with the whole weekend.
Working a convention bears many similarities to my experiences as a tournament angler. You travel to the event (not far, in this case for me) You have to manage your meals, keep your equipment organized, plan your time and use of limited space efficiently (I had the thought more than a few times that I have to move around the tables just like I’m on a bass boat and I’m netting a fish for the other guy), you prepare and adjust to changing conditions every day and even sometimes every hour and when every day is over you have just enough energy left to get things ready for the next day before you body tells you it can take no more and you must sleep.
At one point in the day, I thought, six months ago if you had passed me in the hall at work and asked me how I was, I would sarcastically reply “Livin the dream” Today if you had asked me the same question I would have meant it.
CONNECT!
with 80's Toy Review