Nan Desu Kan 15 - 2011 Recap

This year's NDK was perhaps the best one yet!  Hello new people who found me via the convention, and thanks to any followers who stopped by and said hi!

Friday:
We arrived to find we got a sweet table spot this year and began setup immediately (since we were running a bit late as it was).  The PVC setup didn't quite work out like we'd hoped and we ended up having to duct tape the hell out of everything to make it stay, but it was a learning experience we can take to future conventions.

Friday traffic was impressive and I filled up on commissions within a few hours.  Due to my earlier wrist injury (and not wanting to overload myself to the point that I couldn't enjoy the convention) I took a lot less this year than last, but it ended up being a good decision.  A few backlogged things came back and got resolved, and I had plenty of time to sit back and enjoy both con-goers and the atmosphere.

We stayed open later than I expected due to a delay on the Lemon Drop Kick concert, which was a ton of fun, then packed up like mad to make it to Mystery Anime Theater, our one con ritual.  MAT this year was the first one that mocked a movie I'd actually seen before, and it was one of the better ones. xD; Oh Tekken movie, you're so bad.  We got to bed far too late and so sleep was sacrificed.

Saturday:
Saturday's always a little rougher for me since I insist on wearing my dress from the Renaissance Festival, and being locked up in a corset all day makes my back hurt.  WORTH IT, I just start to fatigue halfway through the day.

Anyway, Saturday stayed pretty steady, even during the Cosplay Contest, which was a first.  After briefly attending the COBJD doll meet, I barely managed to make it into the Sewing 101 panel, which was fun and encouraged me to finally set up my sewing machine when I got home!  Going to the panel also first made me realize that we seemed to sell better when I wasn't there. >_< Ah well!

Worked on the commissions that I took and realized how much I missed using traditional media, since I've been doing so much digital lately.  It made me sad that I had to turn down so many commission requests!  I wanted to draw for you guys, but I just didn't trust myself to finish everything. ;o;

We stayed open for another late, late night, mostly due to hubby attending some neat panels, and I sold out of Paradox books!  Had fun teasing some less-doll-inclined folks with the girls (Aurora, Evangeline, and Jackstraw graced the table with their presence that day), and all in all had a lot of fun with some great people that came by.  Went home and crashed (after looking up commission references of course!) in hopes of getting a bit more sleep this time.

Sunday:
Extra sleep didn't really happen since I wanted to get there bright and early for a Steampunk panel, as well as Sewing 201.  Waking up and gathering things took long enough that I missed the Steampunk panel, but I got to personally deliver finished commissions to people instead, so I didn't mind. :3

Sewing 201 was fascinating and made me excited about the things I can try once I learn how to USE the machine! >_< I understood all of the theory anyway.  Once again, I returned to the table to find that sales had skyrocketed while I was gone, and they dwindled as soon as I sat down. xD

Speaking of sales, Half Day helped as always, though we determined that this year was the last we will be doing it.  Another big round of applause and kudos to the-sin-of-sloth for being so reasonable about his poor, ill-fated 11x14 Fallen print!  You helped us learn some things and make plans for future cons.

My art show pieces did well this year too, which was a big confidence booster. One of them even went to auction, which has only happened to me once before, I believe.  We stayed open as late as possible, then reluctantly packed up and left one of the most enjoyable convention experiences I've had yet since I started selling in the AA.


One more thank you to everyone who came by and bought, and everyone who just came to say hi and take a look!  We apparently managed to avoid nearly all of the jerks and negative experiences, and you guys were a large part of why this year's NDK was so much fun.  I look forward to next year and can't wait to learn how to sew so we can expand and improve our cosplay ideas!