Leading up to the convention...
As a small artist, I have always wanted to exhibit at an artist alley, but never found the confidence. When I saw that AnimeCon was coming to Birmingham in June 2023, I decided to take the plunge and booked a table.
Leading up to the con, I invested a lot of time and money into making my table the best it could be on the budget I had. I creaded a selection of A4 and A5 prints, phone charms, badges, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and stickers as my priority. I also created a small selection of plushies, bags, and wallhangings. As these took more time and funds, I decided to see how well they sold before deciding if I should make more in future. I decided to keep my prices as low as possible, so I wasn't expecting to make any profit this time, but my goal was to get my name out there and experience this new challenge.
Setting up my table...
On the Friday, artists were allocated a one hour set up time to set up their tables before the convention on the Saturday (you were still allowed to get there earlier to continue setting up on Saturday).
I arrived on Friday at 11am. I must admit, finding where to park and the entrance to the hall was quite confusing. I don't believe this was a fault of the organisers, however as I am not familiar with the NEC, it did take me a while to find where to go.
I also did not read the part on the letter where it mentioned that a visibility jacket was required, which was a fault on my end and something I will definitely remember for next time. Luckily, there was a Londis at the NEC which was selling them.
I tried to set up my table as quickly as possible... however I did accidentally go over my time slot slightly due to my confusion with the location and having to find a jacket to wear. This meant I was charged an £80 fine a few days later. As disappointing as this was, I do realise that this was down to my poor planning due to this being my first con, so that is definitely a lesson I have learned for next time!
Saturday 17th June... Day 1
When I arrived on the Saturday I was extremely anxious. I developed a case of imposter syndrome as I looked at all of the incredible tables around me. I suddently started to doubt if my work was good enough, and I did struggle with my confidence for the first hour.
It wasn't long until I made my first sale. I was so stoked, I was shakey and flustered but incredibly grateful to my first ever customer! After a couple of hours, the con really started to pick up, and I was making more sales than I expected! Everyone who stopped by my table was so lovely and had something nice to say. Even if someone didn't buy an item, I was still so happy with the compliments on my table, and the fact a lot of people took a business card away with them. I found that my A5 prints were my best sellers, and all of my Genshin Impact fanmade items sold super well! I even sold all of my wallhangings and my bag which were some of my larger and more pricey items so I was so happy about that. A lot of people mentioned how they thought my prices were super low, and I could definitely put them up. I was super flattered by this and explained as it's my first con, I just wanted to see if I could sell anything. I do like to make my items as affordable as possible, even though a lot of them take me a long time to make. Day one was my best selling day, and I was delighted that by the end of the day I had made back the costs of table.
Sunday 18th June... Day 2
On day two I was much more relaxed and feeling better and more confident in myself. I was also a teeeeny bit delicate as we had partied at the Animecon after party (teehee). Sunday was a much quieter day, and I think I made half the sales I did on the Saturday. A lot of the other vendors also mentioned how they thought the Sunday was much quieter. I did sell one of my larger handmade plushies though which was amazing as I wasn't sure if it would sell!
It was nice however getting a chance to leave my table to have a look around the convention. I got to chat and meet a lof of other artists, and got some fabulous advice, which I appreciated so much! I really enjoyed exhibiting at the NEC, it was great for food choices and loved that there was a Starbucks on site haha.
At the end of the day, packing up our table took a lot less time than expected, we popped everything back into my big suitcase, and were on our way in 15 minutes after the con had ended.
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My overall thoughts....
In conclusi0n, my AnimeCon experience was a lot of fun and has really made me eager to exhibit at more conventions! I am very grateful to the staff and AnimeCon teams as they were all so helpful, and were easy to contact when I had questions. I learned a lot about setting up displays and tables, and also what sold better than others which is great information to carry to my next con.
Overall this con was an investment, and I am happy to say I did make more than I thought I would. However to be completely transparent I did not make a profit this time. When I total up the price of the table, hotel, petrol, materials & equipment needed to make my items as well as the money I spent on display stands, it did turn out to be more than I made. However, now that I have the equipment, displays and all those things ready for next time, I am hoping over the next year I can gradually start to make a little bit of profit, so I can grow my business as much as possible and invest in new products to sell!
Thank you for taking the time to read :)
Love, Raiy x
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