It’s been a long time since I did a con report! Ah friends, it felt really good to be back on the circuit. The small, chill show that was Multiverse Convention was the perfect event for me to make a convention comeback! This year, I came representing my Birthstone Goddesses since I was the most prepared with inventory for this spread, but I’m hoping next year I can apply with my Dark Fantasy/TTRPG work instead.

Multiverse was small enough to not be too stressful and right on our doorstep as a local event, which made it also doubly amazing for being an easy setup and for getting to network with other creative types in my area.

I was so thrilled to reconnect with other artist friends like Ariel Burgess, Rachel Rieckenberg Becker, and Amy Brewer-Davenport and to meet new friends in-person like Emily and Lauren Brown! Lauren and I, in particular, have been admiring each other’s work for years, so it was one of my biggest joys of the con to have our parallel Art Nouveau worlds finally collide!

Meeting a few writers at the con also energized me to start indulging that side of my artistic spirit again. It’s been difficult to start for many reasons, but seeing other people passionate and motivated infects me with their spark.

PANELS! I also worked 4 panels over the course of con! I got to geek out about video game adaptations, chat references and figure drawing, and sketch costumed con-goers.
(Did you attend one of the panels I was on? Say hi in the comments!)

My Bestsellers

Unsurprisingly for the down economy we’re currently in, most of my sales were of small items. I tried to keep most of my items $25 and under, with the exception of things like my original paintings and masks that were pricier, none of which sold from my booth or the Art Show. Most people bought:

• Stickers (that 3 sticker deal was popular for gifting)

• Enamel Pins

• Drawstring Pouches

• Coloring Books

If I could ever get organized to do a tote bag Birthday gift set for each of my Birthstone Goddesses, I think that would be really popular, but I’m still brainstorming how to present that at in-person events and how to present them in a shiny and unique way.

My Convention Display

I always take a picture of my display for future improvements! I have to say that this year I was very satisfied with my display and how the crowd interacted with it. Beyond a few minor fixes, I don’t have any major improvements I’d make.

Most of my nitpicks would be related to the space for the booth not being consistent with what was advertised by the vendor info. We were supposed to have an 8×8 ft space with a 7.5 ft table, but ended up with more of an 8x10x8 space with a table that was too large for an 8×8, which is the reason for the gap in the back. Thankfully, my vendor neighbors were forgiving and the staff assigned me against the wall where I had more flexibility after discussing my carpet walls with them.

Otherwise, I’m so pleased with how the new Lady of November standee worked out! She’ll be perching in my studio till the next event.

I’ve already gotten a few questions about where I got my displays, which I’ll share in a dedicated post with a list of the equipment in the near future!

The Verdict

We made a small profit after making back the fees, but the true gift of con was finding my kindred spirits again. I hope to come back next year with more writing under my belt so I can also experience the Writing tracks of the con that I missed this time around.

I also have a list of local art shows and figure drawing to check out since this con was so close to home, which is an awesome bonus.

This might be my last con again for awhile till life and medical chaos calms down, but I’m so grateful for my time there, for the awesome people, and for the chill atmosphere.

Catch you all again next year, hopefully!

♥ Ang