Two days ago, I ventured to draft of my Kawa Kon art adventure; after an hour, I realized just how much occurred. Sally forth for my truncation.

As an art vendor, I :

• Launched out into the deep — my first booth anywhere. Lots to consider in logistics, display, & transactions.
• Practiced “sailsmanship” and made some (not canvas) sales. 1 fun strategy: Call to people dressed as characters from a show, etc. for which I had art available & show it to them.
• Purveyed Pandagrams. Though equally well-received, the original ink drawings sold more than the card packs. (For those wondering about Cartage, I had so many changes I want to implement that I decided to make a short preview mock-up for the Kon. I may make it available online.)
• Noted trends (research for future plans/art/products.)
• Expanded my audience. I’ve  given more business cards to costumed people than normally-clad folks.
• Made connections (with potential for future clients/projects). About 4 booth visitors were seeking portrait artists (not generally sought at cartoon-oriented gigs) in their “real lives.” I also held conversations with genuine people, including other creators, musicians, and earnest high-schoolers (some artists) seeking encouragement to succeed. Genre-wise, I was introduced to the “visual novel,” which is different from a graphic novel in that the story is playable like a video game.
• Gained valuable first-hand experience with ticketed parking lot gates.

Behold the booth.

Before I sign off, there are two elements of my Kawa Kon experience you might be wondering about from last time.

1. Dodging giant gerbils. The dealers’ room/super-tent had large overhead air tubes along the ceiling. Sporadically, a burst of air would WSSSHOOM through the tube, flapping the vents as it went. Totally a giant gerbil running through the tunnel.

2. Surviving an air raid. The hotel was opposite the St. Louis airport. Sunday was busy & noisy.

In short, this experience was about testing the waters–managing a booth, spreading the word, and determining whether I’d like to do it again. I would.

Happy Pi Day of the Century! (3.14.15.) If I weren’t such a revisionist, I could’ve posted at 9:26:53.