Happy 2017

Greetings Fanatics!

I haven't seen you since early November, which means that we've been silent for about 6 months. Winter this past year was too nice to pass up staying busy and I feel like it's appropriate that I usually start posting in the spring after a hiatus. Dormant seeds springing up when it's warm and wet out.

Anyway. There is lots to update you about: new pets, new stuff, new things that we're up to.

Sister Hannah's autumnal bounty of cats produced one fruit for this family's benefit, in the form of a black kitten named Black Philip. He has grown, in the last few months, from being a very bad kitten with a penchant for leaping on my back with claws out to a mostly good young cat that doubles as a bug eater and escape artist.
Last month, we acquired Isaac's first pets, a pair of male gerbils named Sunee (Sunny) and Conee (Coney). They reside in a 20 (?[Correct me, Aaron]) gallon aquarium with a mesh lid and dig tunnels in the coconut substrate that Aaron, the friend of all animals, filled their home with in order to more emulate their natural environment. They're fun to watch.

I've slowed down on plush making for the time being, only having made one custom plush this year so far. I've been focusing on my new job as a freelance online content writer, a job that takes no creativity, only technical skill and a willingness to write. It pays more consistently than plush making does and gives my creativity a chance to rest and recuperate after 2016's push to make as many new toys as I could. As a result, we also skipped Houston's Comicpalooza for the first time in 4 years; besides the waning sales last year, I didn't feel up to the plush rush. An impromptu trip to Austin for Mother's Day took its place.
I've been focused on art as my creative outlet lately, a new zine series in the work - its progress will be shared occasionally on this blog.

Aaron's been up to the usual, collecting bugs and making pixel art and making big, beautiful terrariums. I'm trying to goad him to do more posts this year, or at least consulting with him so that I may make more nature related posts.

That's all for now, I may start writing shorter posts more frequently in lieu of my usually formatted posts. There will still be reviews and party posts, but a lot more rambling as well.

Until next time, stay Fanatic,
Megh

Comicpalooza 2016 (long, rambling)

Greetings Fanatics!

Sorry for the delay on my write up of Comicpalooza, but I always sustain some sort of injury/illness after a big con and this time it was a wrist strain. My sewing machine ate all of the needles I bought it so many of this year's wares were sewn by hand. Even as I type this, my hand is resting on an ice pack.



This year's Comicpalooza was good. It's always fun, but this year was less profitable than previous years; maybe due to the changed date from the usual Memorial Day weekend to Father's day weekend, maybe due to the massive construction being done on the face of the George R Brown and surrounding streets, maybe due to the fact that the disappointing Space City Comic Con was held only two weeks before and people may have been wary/strapped for funds of the next big convention. I don't know. Sales were disappointing, but compliments and business card takers were in abundance, which is very encouraging. Thank you to everyone that stopped by the TIM + BEN booth!

I say that Comicpalooza is always fun and it's true. Even when sales are slow, I always have a good time. This weekend we brought Isaac for all 3 days, which was challenging, but in different ways than we thought it might be. He mostly sat in the back of our space, reading comic booths and refusing to nap. Comicpalooza is very good about having kids' space, to entertain smaller children. This year, we brought Isaac to the bounce houses set up in the middle of the floor, worth the $4 admission each time to get him some exercise (and tire him out). He loved seeing the "robots" (Stormtroopers from The 501st Legion) that were stationed at the end of our aisle. He was too shy to meet Tina and Louise cosplayers from his favorite forbidden cartoon, Bob's Burgers. He had a fun time, considering he had no idea what was going on.
I had fun too; especially in form of walking several miles everyday going back and forth through the convention center and catching comedian Jim Mackenzie's side show multiple times in bits and pieces. The TIM+BEN crew (me, Aaron, and Hannah) have been big fans of Jim's since 2014, when he posted up across from our vendor's booth and started cracking a whip to get the attendees' attention. *No one* is a bigger fan than Hannah, who takes every opportunity to leave the booth when she hears his distinctive voice call over the show floor. This past Saturday, she did something terrific to show her appreciation, even if it didn't go the way she had planned. Friday night, when we went to the grocery store to get supplies for the next day, she purchased a single long stemmed red rose. She trimmed it and planned to throw it at the end of one of his performances the next day. I followed her soon after she left the booth to support her/make sure she did this wonderful thing. We watched Jim's entire show and when the time came and he bowed and the audience was clapping ... she didn't throw it. She missed her cue. She meant to do it while he bowed, to throw it in front of him while he was bowed down so that he wouldn't know where it came from, but she froze. She decided to leave it on his speaker/podium while he was taking Scissor Selfies with fans, but because Hannah has hilariously bad timing, she laid it down just as he was walking back. And he saw her. And thanked her. Over the speaker, While she was power walking away. She was mortified and I was dying of laughter. It was my favorite part of the weekend, better than seeing my favorite hero at the convention. Thanks, Hannah.

There's not much to say about the business aspect of this year's Comicpalooza, We made back our booth fee and that's about it. Our display is getting better; we bought two metal shelf units to display on, upgrading from collapsible wire cubes and stands. I made a few new doll types to test out. We were seated next to Mark Nasso, who created my Pepper from American Horror Story print and some comic/art books we have in our living room. I saw a lot of artists from Tumblr that I recognized and chatted with.


My next write up will be about the challenges of vending plush at a convention because of the lack of resources I feel that plush makers have for in person events.

I'd really like to move onto what I bought at Comicpalooza; fans of the blog will know that I have a slight "junk" addiction. All of the pieces of art and toys I buy would look beautiful if displayed by a home designer in an airy, window filled loft but alas, I live in an apartment in Houston, located off of a creek and optimized to keep the heat out, so my collection is dark and cramped;but interesting. To adorn the walls and shelves of my work space, I purchased:

• a ceramic cat totem from . I almost got $100 worth of stuff but decided to wait until Sunday to see how much extra money I'd have to buy art (none)
• a Silence of the Lambs inspired cat print. I'd been coveting the original painting displayed across the aisle from us since set up on Thursday, but couldn't justify the $400 expense considering the dismal sales this weekend, so I settled on a print. 
• An original sketch of the Creature from the Black Lagoon by Wizard of Barge. They have great woodcuts and shirts in addition to prints and sketches.
• a screen printed devil line art that Aaron picked out for me at the end of the convention, made by the terrific artists at Shaw Illustrations.

My arm needs to rest so please expect an in depth article on plush displaying in the next few days.

Stay Fanatic,

Megh

Megh's Indie Artist Gift Guide 2014

Greetings Fanatics!

 It's gift giving season and I personally can't think of a neater thing to give than a special piece of art from an independent artist or small business (except for something you made yourself, of course).

Buying something handmade or locally produced is a terrific gift to give - for everyone involved! It allows you to give a friend a hard to find, unique gift with a very personal touch, it is good for the -local- economy, and it supports and encourages artists to share their art!

Here's a list (ordered by location) of artists and small businesses that I've purchased from or had items purchased for me in 2014, along with a link to where you can order from them, a short description of their shop, and what I got from them. I hope you find something cool!

WORLDWIDE:

Sugar and Vice (UK):
A terrific shop that features laser-cut acrylic charms in necklaces, rings, earrings and more! Aaron surprised me with this sweet magpie necklace.

Taken from artist's website.

CreepHeart (AUSTRALIA):

Talented artist Ella Mobbs makes creepy-cute, Halloween inspired illustrations and offers them as prints, jewelry, shirts, and bows! I got this sweet bat button to add to my button board.

Yu Kitten Me (AUSTRALIA):

Old school cool tattoo styled prints! Often featuring Kewpie dolls doing decidedly non-Kewpie doll things. The print below was a collaboration between Yu Kitten Me and Ella Mobbs!

UNITED STATES:

For Strange Women:

Lovely and unique scents for the strange woman inside of you. Sells hand-mixed perfume oils, solid perfume lockets, and other necessities. I got a sample set of several of their scents and reviewed them here. 

Black Quartz Alchemy:

Hand crafted, sustainable, loose leaf tea blends. Yummy!I got a sample set of their tea blends and reviewed them here.

Michelle Coffee:

Creepy and cute tattoo styled art. Most of her pieces are only sold as original art and get snatched up quickly, so keep and eye on her Instagram!

Crank Bunny:

Magical handmade paper art. Great for unique cards and wall decor! I got this Senor Devil mask for the 2014 Comicpalooza ball, only to find out that there was no ball this year. :(

Taken from artist's website.

Pity Party Corporation:

 Irreverent zines, patches, buttons, shirts, and stickers that will make you nostalgic for the 90's.

A grab bag of the goodies I got from them!

Evil Supply Company: 

"Better living via questionable morality." Paper goods, shirts, and stationery for every villain. I got one of their "Mister Ghost’s Highly Enviable Monthly Parcel of Simple Yet Amazing Wonderments" earlier this year, and the review for that is here.

Sugar Bunny Shop:

Cute merchandise inspired by Japanese art. Check out their bags!

Pretty and Cute:

Not so much an indie artist, but a small business based in Portland dedicated to providing affordable and accessible Korean and Japanese cosmetics and skincare.

TEXAS:

Black Widow Balm: 

My favorite lip balm / lip tint maker. Try a tube of Voodoo color balm and I guarantee you that you won't be going back to Chapstick. She offers nut free formulas as well!

Tiny Art Shop:

Lovely watercolor paintings and prints inspired by nature and human anatomy.

Taken from artist's website.

Cult Grrrl Creations:

Cute and creepy crocheted creations! I got the black version of the cat below; I had to take a photo from the artist's website because my phone refuses to focus on my cat.

Solo Cosmo:

The artwork of Jessica von Braun, a Texas based artist. I picked up a print and a button from her at a few different Houston conventions we were both vending at.

Johnnie Rosales Jr:

Texas based artist. Picked up a very cool ink Xenomorph postcard from him at this year's Comicpalooza!

Houston readers! If you would rather shop in person, The Tinderbox carries some of the above Texas artists' and several more local artists' items at their location in Mid-Main!

Stay Fanatic this season,
Megh

We're back from Comicpalooza!

... and we're both sick. This is my first case of  'con crud' (the slang for any myriad of illnesses, usually colds or coughs, that vendors or artists are especially susceptible to because of contact with large number of people), so I'm keeping this entry short. But! You can expect a number of posts in the next couple of weeks including a review of this year's Comicpalooza, our experience at the booth, and a few tip filled posts on setting up booths.

 Today, I'm going to show off what Aaron and I purchased for ourselves. One of my favorite things to do at cons is to look for things to decorate our house with (and the occassional stuffed toy). I especially like getting art from local artists, and avoiding the mass made posters and big box wall art. I'll actually be replacing my "Button Board" on the blog with our  "Art Wall", and I hope you'll enjoy that and maybe decide to get something from the artists for yourself.

I always wait until the very last days of conventions to buy stuff. It isn't great when there are one of a kind or limited edition items that I want that then run out, but it's easier to get around huge convention centers and take my time to look at booths. This year, I got this stuff:

I forgot the name of the booth that I got the faux-leather bat bag, but the tag on it says Far Nine. It's the perfect sized bag for me and surprisingly roomy. It fits TIM, my wallet, notebook, and phone quite easily and is a nice change of pace from toting around a giant neutral colored diaper bag. The angler fish print is from  artist Jessica Grundy and was my second choice after a very cute dragon print I wanted was out of stock. The 5x7" Xenomorph is going on my bedroom wall (instead of the Creature Wall) and is from artist Johnnie Gonzales. Aaron grabbed me this Itty Bitty Hellboy mini comic from a random comic book booth for a dollar when he was walking around.

 This year, Comicpalooza had a Game of Thrones guest: Miltos Yerolemou, who played Syrio Forel. The armory that created the wooden practice swords used in his Game of Thrones scenes is actually based in Texas and they had replicas for sale at his booth. Aaron decided to go see Miltos on the first day and since it was fairly early in the con, got a chance to talk with him for a few minutes.

 Aaron doesn't usually buy things at conventions, but getting a wooden sword signed by Miltos and an autographed picture was an opportunity he didn't pass up. He also found a Savage Worlds rule book (something I know nothing about) and the man at the booth he got it at was so excited that Aaron played Savage Worlds, that he gave him some dice for free.

"What do we say to the God of Death? Not today..."

"Aaron, Fear cuts deeper than swords."

Anyway, I need to trundle off to bed now and see how many cough drops I can eat before my tongue goes numb.

Stay Fanatic,
Megh

Comicpalooza 2014 : We'll be there.

Greetings Fanatics!

So, you may have notices that our posting has been rather sporadic these past few months. Our main excuse has been, "We're prepping for Comicpalooza!", "Sorry guys, Comicpalooza!".

What exactly is Comicpalooza?

Comicpalooza is Houston's largest multi-media pop convention. It takes place over Memorial Day weekend, spanning 4 days (May 23-26). It's fairly young: this will be Comicpalooza's 6th year running and its 4th year in Houston's George R. Brown convention center. Guests this year include Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, Princess Bride star Cary Elwes, the cast from the show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and many more that I'm not going to name here because there seems to be an endless amount and they add more everyday. Comicpalooza is also hosting a number of panels, including several featuring different science professionals.

This will be our second year vending at Comicpalooza and our first time selling in the Dealer's Room rather than the Artists Alley. (Artist Alley? Artist's Alley? Artists' Alley? I never know.) We get a 10x10' space to work with, which is quite a bit of room that I can experiment with, so I've been working on booth layout since January. We're also releasing a new line of stuffed toys that I'm really excited about.

 If you've ever exhibited at a convention, or even been to a convention as an attendee, you know how much work goes into preparing for one. It's exhausting. I'll have more info about our booth and giveaways for Fanatics attending Comicpalooza this May, so keep an eye out for that. We should be back to regular blogging after May 26th, so be patient!

Stay Fanatic,
Megh

Buy tickets for Comicpalooza here!

What I actually bought from Comicpalooza (finally!)

Good evening Fanatics!

The other day I posted a very solemn and personal piece on this blog and though I feel like it was important to share, I also think it was a little heavy.
 So I'd like to uplift the atmosphere of this blog by showing off what I got at Comicpalooza last month!


It's a bit late in coming. I mean, Comicpalooza is already a month behind us.
I have to admit, I'm not much of a comic Fanatic. I like the art (usually), but don't care for the convoluted story lines and universe changes.  So, most of the vendors didn't appeal to me directly. I'm also not a spendthrift, so most of the few things I did really want, I ended up talking myself out of.

I must be great to hang out with.

 I had the great luck of being boothed directly next to my sister's favorite web comic artist, Amanda Lafrenais of Love Me Nice fame. (link mostly SFW) I immediately (or eventually, depending on who you're asking) swallowed my social awkwardness and went up to her to order a commission. I went around the booth to the front of her table to talk to her even though I had been sitting immediately to her left. I commissioned a $30 color sketch of LiLi based off of a picture of her holding up a fish she had caught, because out of all of the photos I had of her on hand, this was the most shapely and flattering. That sounds really weird of me, but the Love Me Nice artist specializes in very curvy characters and I knew that LiLi would appreciate a sketch of herself as close to the LMN artwork as possible. I'd never heard of Amanda or her comic before, nor ordered a commission, so I was a little taken aback when I got this little beauty for only $30. This is only a partial picture (taken from Amanda's Tumblr, but you can still see the detail put into work. Only after the convention did I realize that she did not ordinarily do such detailed work for $30 and that I probably should have paid her more. (Note: If you ever read this, Amanda, sorry for not paying you more! I feel like I contributed to you no longer doing sketches for $30. The picture is great!)

Amada's rendition of my sister. Torso up and no fishie.

Photo that sketch is based off of.

I also got her a Victorian Era inspired picture postcard with a plague doctor on it, but didn't have the foresight to take a picture of it before I packaged it up to send to her. (Edit: Never mind, I found it on their Deviant Art account.)

This one, because my sister creeps me out.

I didn't really see anything at the con that caught my eye too much. I have too admit that while I love striking, powerful comic art (usually featuring Superman, Venom, or Galactus) and kitschy old style comic art (old school Wonder Woman and Etta Candy being my favorites), I actually don't care for comics. There were a few bows and plushies that I talked myself out of buying, but one print kept luring me over. Again and again I passed the Artistic Oddities booth that held the most beautiful creature I had ever seen, beckoning to me with it's soft colors and confident gaze. In the end, I capitulated and bought a 16"x 20" print of the fabled alapacacorn.

So majestic.

I also got a postcard sized print of  The Barbed Wire Prince because the style matches my Joshua Norton print.

Stay Fanatic,
Megh

Comicpalooza 2013 - A general overview

 Good evening Fanatics!
As you know, we spent this Memorial Day weekend at Comicpalooza, Houston's Comic Con. This brings the number of conventions that we have been vendors at up to TWO. Go us! It was also the first multi-day, large convention we attended, and this came with its own set of challenges.

 You may remember my recap of ZombieCon from last year.

 This will fortunately be nothing like that. Comicpalooza was wonderful and scary and exciting.
Overall, we did very well. We did a little better than breaking even on what we spent, sold out of our zombie kittens (again!) and narwhal plushies, and saw a lot of great art and product. You might expect me to say that we met a lot of wonderful people. We met some very great people, but not as many as I would have liked to. I was sick and exhausted from lack of sleep and it being my turn to have food poisoning, so I spent most of the convention hiding behind our display. I was grateful for having the foresight to bring two other assistants who enjoy being sociable. Judy and Jaegger seemed very excited and happy to help; they also had never had much of a chance to go to conventions.

 I had been preparing plushies for the convention since Christmas. I was too excited. After 5 exhausting months of making patterns, sewing, ordering prints and buttons, and designing; I was finally ready for the 3 day weekend.

Zombie Narwhal!

Me at the booth.

 Friday was slow, but I guess I expected that. People were still at work and school, after all. The display was fun to put up. I kind of like working under pressure and we had gotten there a bit late after picking up Judy and Jaegger. Friday night, I sewed two zombie narwhals spur of the moment. It turned out to be a good idea, we sold them both the next day. Saturday was markedly busier than Friday, and we sold out of our zombie kittens and fuzzy monsters. There were so many people in costume, and the place was packed. The line for admission on the second floor doubled over half the length of the convention center. Sunday was relaxing, most of the attendees there were the weekend pass holders, very friendly and talkative. I feel like we gained a lot of experience in selling at a convention setting and getting good feedback on what we make. We were one of four or so booths selling plushes in Artist's Alley, and it was nice to see other peoples' work.

I realize that this is a very clipped and shallow sounding article, and it is; I just feel that a few things deserve their own article. So please stay tuned for that!

Stay Fanatic.
Megh.

Come visit us at Comicpalooza!

Houston's Comicpalooza is happening in 9 days and you should totally come and see us and visit us.

Aaron Day and Comicthulooza

Hello folks! Aaron here! Long time, no see! Guess what, folks? My birthday was last week! And you didn't get me a present. Shame! Unless you were one of the people who did, in which case, thank you very much! The party was a small, private affair, friends and family only, tons of fun. If you like tabletop games, we played Savage Worlds. I recommend it over Pathfinder, myself.

My best present of all was what my Megh gave me, a special prototype doll from of a line of dolls we're going to try out at Comicpalooza. Try to guess what it is!

I also got a wonderful contribution to our Indiegogo campaign (more about that later) as a birthday present from my good friend. Thank you, friend!

As a birthday present to myself, I am making this blog post incredibly easy for me to write by talking about Cthulhu monsters for the remainder. I'm going to be making a handful of different Cthulhu Mythos sculpey sculptures similar to the Cthulhu one I showed you folks at the end of this post. Here are a few of the monsters I'm going to be trying to sculpt out:

Child of Shub-Niggurath

Dagon, lord of the sea

An Elder... Thing

These should be coming up for sale soon. Check out tomorrow's blog post for a review!


Stay Fanatic
Aaron