Stumptown 2010 Recap

(Courtesy ocean yamaha)

Stumptown wrapped up yesterday at 6, and I came home utterly exhausted at 6:30. The weekend was SO fun; it topped last year's for me twice over.

Friday:
I got into Portland around noon, milled around at home, made sure all of my merchandise was in order, caught up with the family, and got ready to go out in the evening. Emi Lenox and I went to the Doubletree at 6 to set up our tables for the next day (a HUGE improvement on last year--my stress was cut in half knowing that everything was already at my table).
We went from there over to The Secret Society; after much success with Drink n' Draw Like a Lady at MoCCA, Hope Larson organized the first Drink n' Draw Like a Lady West with help from Dylan Meconis. It was so fun--newbies, pros, artists, writers, reviewers, students, and editors all sippin' drinks and mackin' on cupcakes while talking shop. In addition to catching up with friends and talking with people trying to get into comics, I got to meet Hope, Kate Beaton, and Lucy Knisley! I feel so lucky that Portland is the site of DDLL West, and cannot wait for next year's.
After DDLL, Emi, Joelle Jones and I went to O'Brien's in NW and met up with Nicolas Hitori De, Jamie S. Rich, and Jamie's friend (Bobby...?). I left within half an hour, drove back to the suburbs, and face-planted in my pillow.

Saturday:
I got to the con an hour early, which is the way I like it. There is ALWAYS something that comes up and takes 20 minutes when you didn't expect to lose that time. For me, it was parking on the other side of the Lloyd Center from the con, trying to take a short cut through the mall, and realizing that the doors on the other side were still locked. I had to walk around the entire bloated mall! Bah!
I was set up at table 114 with Angie Wang and Emi, next to Susan Tardif and Rich Ellis and near a lot of other Periscope members. I liked our placement; we were on the outer loop of the con, and got a lot of traffic. We weren't near any huge lines that might block our table or any annoying/loud tables. I had great interactions with the people who came by, and made enough sales to cover the table by lunch. I did a lot better than I did in Seattle last month, thanks to a more relevant crowd and also to Emi's suggestions on my table organization. I put my minis out on the table instead of stacked in a stand, and people seemed more happy to browse them that way.
I left the table for short trips around the con, usually to a single table that I had been planning to visit. I bought DAR! volume 2 from Erika Moen, Spellcheckers, Mercury, French Milk, and a Kate Beaton print. If I had left many more times, I would have gone broke. There were so many great products to see!!!
After the con, table 114 went out to dinner at Gustav's with Cat Farris, Ron Chan, Sean Kelley, Emi's awesome friend Lindsay Zimmerman, Leigh Walton and intern Hazel from Top Shelf.
We schlepped down to 7-11 for cheap coffee, and then headed over to Cosmic Monkey for the official con afterparty. Jeff Parker as MC is always entertaining, and the comic art battle included a dance-off this year!
Emi and I went to Brett Warnock's for an after-after party, which was a ton of fun. His living room and basement are comic heaven, and he wouldn't let me leave without a truckload of Top Shelf titles! I felt so guilty--I could hardly carry it all.
Again, pillow face-plant in the early morning.

Swagalag

Sunday:
I rolled into the con just before it started. It was more of the same from Saturday--great traffic, great interactions, and fun with the other exhibitors. I was exhausted from the late nights, but held it together with a little help from the hotel cafe. I took Angie and Emi home and I got back to my house barely an hour after the con closed. I pulled on my jammers and watched Avatar with the family.

Some highlights:

• Both my primary and secondary thesis advisers came to the con! Yet another vote of confidence that I picked the right people for the job.
• Kurt Busiek bought Over the Surface!!! WHAT?! 8D
  
• Talking with publishers about possible future projects~~~!
• Fan art from Emi and Nico!!!!
  
• Seeing Angela Melick again!
• Meeting all of the great artists from out of town, most notably Nico, who had to reschedule his flight half a dozen times thanks to Iceland

A few things that I want to fix next time:

• Making button sets at a discount - I think that they would sell much better
• Fan art sells so much better than original characters...I have never felt quite right selling other people's characters, but I want to try next year
• Smaller portfolio x_x
• Bigger, easier to read price sheet
• Cuter presentation...! My table zen is terrible...!!