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Post by Michael Bollow on Sept 5, 2011 16:11:34 GMT -5
Lords & Ladies!
We have less than HALF the number of dealer tables we had last year, so I need to be choosy about who we select to set up. There will be NO artists in the dealer hall because of the small size. I may have a different room for "artists alley" if people feel it's important.
What do we want to see at Cyphan? Toys didn't do well. Comics didn't do well. Games didn't do well. Shirts didn't do well. What WOULD people part with their pennies for??
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Post by RFlatstone on Sept 6, 2011 9:24:23 GMT -5
It seems reasonable that, if Cyphan is geared towards costuming, there should be costume/clothing/make-up dealers. Props, too.
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Post by Sparrow of WPA on Sept 6, 2011 16:16:09 GMT -5
Just be careful not to state "no artists" on the site, because many dealers consider themselves in the artist category. After all, we deal mostly in props and accessories, but "artisan" is in our name due to the fact nearly everything we create is unique and in some way handcrafted.
Another way to help keep within your limits is to limit the number of tables a single person can reserve; I saw that you had some folks with a whole island of their own, which works well at a larger convention but might not have been as effective for either party at Cyphan. You did sell out of tables and even had folks out in the hall (501st, War Paint, Gotham's Finest).
I think if you are cutting the dealer's hall down you ought to go ahead and have a separate artists room. Artists Alley is a good name, but might be misleading for some since they would have to buy tables to use. Maybe call it the Creative/Couture Corner? The Valley of Virtuosos?
The real issue is that folks are poor these days; what they will buy is kind of a crapshoot and you've mostly got to let the dealers worry about that. You can limit the number of tables any one company can have to help with variety, but no one can really concretely predict what's going to sell or attract people next year as far as goods and services go.
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River
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Post by River on Sept 7, 2011 6:44:01 GMT -5
Bollow,
It's your show, you call the shots. But I think you're going to have to detail what you specifically want/don't want, if you want any 'dealers'.
I'm curious to hear what you are looking to add/detract/ etc.
-River
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Post by Michael Bollow on Sept 7, 2011 8:39:34 GMT -5
We are gonna nix the movie room and turn that space into an Artists Alley. I agree that the name needs to be cooler than that though. Tables will be cheaper than in the dealer hall.
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River
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Post by River on Sept 7, 2011 11:36:37 GMT -5
awesome!!!
Lookin forward to more as you develop it.
-JR
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kearstin
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Post by kearstin on Sept 7, 2011 14:11:54 GMT -5
If you want to attract costumers, I do like how Cyphan always has Special FX artist tables. I got some contact info myself from a few of them because as a costumer I want to keep them in my contacts if I need anything.
Also, if you don't want Yaya Han as a cosplay guest or judge or anything, she sells costume stuff too that's HUGE right now...
Wings and cat ears.
I shit you not. They're crazy popular right now.
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Post by Sparrow of WPA on Sept 7, 2011 19:35:03 GMT -5
I believe it!
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River
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Post by River on Sept 8, 2011 4:51:29 GMT -5
If you want to attract costumers, I do like how Cyphan always has Special FX artist tables. I got some contact info myself from a few of them because as a costumer I want to keep them in my contacts if I need anything. Also, if you don't want Yaya Han as a cosplay guest or judge or anything, she sells costume stuff too that's HUGE right now... Wings and cat ears. I shit you not. They're crazy popular right now. I like what Kearstin and Troy are saying. I would definitly have more vendors that lean to Costumes/Costuming side of things, People who make props, actual costumes, seamstresses, accessory makers, etc. It would be a perfect fit at a place like Cyphan where it's supposed to be about costuming. Sparrow's booth, for example, was a perfect representation of that. I know when I walked by they had a good amount of facepainting going on and a lot of people lookin' over their wares. -River |
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Post by RFlatstone on Sept 8, 2011 8:45:32 GMT -5
I told the person who made our Klingon outfits (she does all kinds of stuff- Harry Potter, Witches, RenFaire, etc.) that she should get a table at Cyphan 2, but she didn't. It was too close to some other whatever she was schlepping her stuff to. She gave me a stack of her business cards to hand out (Pfff! Like I don't have a hundred other better things to be doing at Cyphan than promote her when she couldn't be bothered to be there herself). I would love to be able to tell her that Cyphan is specifically oriented towards her clientele and, if she doesn't have a table at Cyphan 3, she's essentially nixing her foothold in the local market. I would LOVE for Cyphan to be marketable that way - if you're not at Cyphan, you're not in the business.
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Post by Michael Bollow on Sept 8, 2011 14:21:26 GMT -5
I agree - more costuming vendors. that being said, I like the mix of other goodies and want to have our friebds Outland Toys back, Roger Webb (comics), the card guy and Gaming Goat. I'll tell them all that our crowd is internet savvy and won't buy a $75 game for $125 so don't price things that way.
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kearstin
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Post by kearstin on Sept 8, 2011 14:34:12 GMT -5
You know, you might be able to even get the Cosplay for a Cause girls out here. 100% proceeds of the calender goes to Japan from their hot mess that happened this year. cosplayforacause.com/Not saying bring ALL of the girls (coughGinny  ), but, here who are a part of it: Jennifer Barclay Marie Claude Bourbonnais (biggest boobs I've ever seen lol) Cvy Francesca Dani Ryoko Demon Alodia Gosiengfiao Yaya Han (again, also sells her own costumed stuff, wings, ears, etc) Kanasaiii Linda Le (Vampy) Lindze Meagan Marie Ginny McQueen God Save the Queen Fashions (INCREDIBLE seamstress, it's her JOB) Pixelette Rei Riddle (INCREDIBLE props maker, it's her JOB as well) Yukilefay Zan |
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Post by Sparrow of WPA on Sept 8, 2011 14:53:40 GMT -5
Cosplay for a Cause sounds like it'd be awesome to have there!
Bollow, what do you think about just restricting the number of tables you can get? 5 sounds like enough for a large vendor to me, but not being a large vendor I wouldn't know how that would work out, nor what space you have.
How many tables are you talking, and do you have any kind of diagram of the room layout?
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Post by RFlatstone on Sept 9, 2011 0:09:55 GMT -5
I agree - more costuming vendors. that being said, I like the mix of other goodies and want to have our friebds Outland Toys back, Roger Webb (comics), the card guy and Gaming Goat. I'll tell them all that our crowd is internet savvy and won't buy a $75 game for $125 so don't price things that way. I really liked the guys from Gaming Goat. But, um, what are "friebds?"  |
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River
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Post by River on Sept 9, 2011 7:17:09 GMT -5
You know, you might be able to even get the Cosplay for a Cause girls out here. 100% proceeds of the calender goes to Japan from their hot mess that happened this year. cosplayforacause.com/Not saying bring ALL of the girls (coughGinny ), but, here who are a part of it: Jennifer Barclay Marie Claude Bourbonnais (biggest boobs I've ever seen lol) Cvy Francesca Dani Ryoko Demon Alodia Gosiengfiao Yaya Han (again, also sells her own costumed stuff, wings, ears, etc) Kanasaiii Linda Le (Vampy) Lindze Meagan Marie Ginny McQueen God Save the Queen Fashions (INCREDIBLE seamstress, it's her JOB) Pixelette Rei Riddle (INCREDIBLE props maker, it's her JOB as well) Yukilefay Zan Kearstin, not a bad idea, however, are most of these ladies local? I don't think many would make the trip (unless of course you asked them to, then it may be a different story) to Chi-town? And maybe im' wrong, perhaps they would as the cos-play is part of Cyphan. I'm sure even if we had 4-5 of these ladies it would make a difference and they could sell their calendar. -River |
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), but, here who are a part of it: