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

BOILING HOT! Monster Mug Kickstarter project

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/17162194/boiling-hot-monster-mug

My Kickstarter project is live! I'm raising funds to start producing a collection of color-changing mugs featuring one of my monsters to sell online and at conventions.
I've already ordered myself one and I think it's pretty neat.

It starts off as a plain black mug and when hot liquid is added, fades to reveal a white background and my Boiling Hot Monster screaming warnings about how hot the liquid is.

Check out the page and share it with your friends! And maybe get a cool mug too?

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!

Our Etsy shop is down!

 Our doll shop will be down until next week due to some issues we're having with Etsy. Custom orders are still being accepted through our email.

 We're transitioning from using Etsy to Storenvy and we'll let you know as soon as our shop there is up. I'm moving the shop to Storenvy partly because it has a customizable store front and partly because I'm tired of Etsy's shop keeping fees (a fee to list, a fee when you sell an item, and a fee to list multiples of one item).

In addition to opening up TIMandBEN on Storenvy, I'll also be opening an additional store, TIMandBEN (cute!). TIMandBEN (cute!) will feature handsewn bows, cuter dolls, and jewelry that doesn't fit with the original horror vibe of TIMandBEN.

We'll keep you updated!

Megh

TIMandBEN Giveaway!

Good evening Fanatics!

If you're following TIMandBEN's Facebook page, you know about our giveaway. But for those of you who haven't been paying attention, I'll let you in.

In honor of finishing that big huge order, I've filled a small box with some TIMandBEN goodies to share! In the box is a felt red-and-black TIMandBEN mini doll, a T+B sticker, one of our pixel zombie pinback buttons, and an awesome horror necklace that I got on Etsy from a shop called Stillgoth.

The giveaway is being hosted on Rafflecopter, so it's super easy to enter. The winner will be chosen by random and the more entries you get, the better your chances are to win! The giveaway ends on 7/22 though, so you only have 3 more days! You can enter below or on our Facebook page.
Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Stay Fanatic,
Megh

Finally finished with a huge order - focus returns to the Quiet Fanatics

Good evening, Fanatics!

We've been rather quiet for the past month and I'm sure you've missed us.

 Today, I mailed out the last 40 dolls of our largest doll order to date. Late May, as we were preparing for Comicpalooza, I was contacted by the Souvenir Manager for the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps. He wanted to commission 80 dolls for them to sell at their competitions, as their 2013 season's theme is "I Put a Spell on You". I was very excited to get this opportunity, as this would allow TIMandBEN to try out some new products with the commission we'd get.

The order ballooned into 150+ dolls in the 1 1/2 months I was working on it, with additional dolls being needed through out the tour through multiple states. With only me (with a little stuffing and cutting help from Aaron and his sister) making the dolls, it was a long and tedious process. There were a lot of mess ups, some frustration with new materials, and a lot of boring repetition as I did a one man "factory" assemble of all of these dolls. It was all wonderful. But, for now, I'm very glad it's done. I can give my sewing machine a well deserved break.

I learned that a Large Flat Rate Priority shipping box from the USPS holds exactly 40 voodoo dolls.

This red (maroon), white, and blue part of the order was fittingly finished on July 4th.

Last order going out surprisingly to another city in Texas, so they'll never be far from home.

This photo of the dolls for sale at one of the competition was taken from the Blue Stars Facebook page.

Our next big project is a short horror book, either illustrated or with accompanying art prints, so you can look forward to posts and discussions on that.

Stay Fanatic,
Megh

QuietFanatics go to Comicpalooza!

Good evening, Fanatics.

I have some exciting news for you. Want to guess it?

Well, you wouldn't have to if you had read this post's title.

Yes, it is true! Quiet Fanatics will have it's very own booth at Houston's Comicpalooza this coming May. This will be the largest (and second) convention that we will have had a booth at, and we are tickled pink about it. 

Originally, we purchased the booth for TimandBen but decided that QuietFanatics would be a much better vendor for this con. Why? Well, as you know, TimandBen's sells voodoo dolls and monster dolls, so it wouldn't be quite appropriate for a comic convention. Or any month besides October, really. Secondly, we here at QF headquarters have been working on props and crytozoological displays that we would really like to show off, along with a few prints. Our Houston fans can still expect to see a few of our more popular voodoo dolls and monster plushes at Comicpalooza, but they can also look forward to items such as Cthulhu themed statuettes, plushes based on a few of my favorite sci-fi stories, and some art prints (if I can figure out where to print the darn things).

So look forward to updates for that.

Stay Fanatic,
Megh

Post-Thanksgiving Update

Hello Fanatics! It's been a long while. Too long. We've been very busy over here at the T&B Undersea Laboratory! Thanksgiving is over and done, thankfully, and orders have been falling like a fine autumn rain. We've had record-breaking sales this month, and next month is looking to be just as promising. In addition to our Etsy shop, we've also been selling through gothauctions.com. It's a really handy site for selling of your creepy goods and we're quite happy with it. We even have an advertisement up on there now!

We have also put some of our hard-earned cash intooooo... Christmas Presents. That's right, folks! The most wonderful time of year! Isaac's present arrived just today. Don't tell him, but we got him a stuffed animal safety blanket. If you have a baby, or are a baby yourself, I highly suggest a Ruggle.

And to wrap everything up, we have three new items up in our Etsy shop! Megh has been very hard at work coming up with new designs for the shop and we are making excellent progress. Let's check out a few of these designs now:

This special checkered doll is one of a kind! It was made without a pattern and with cloth we no longer have access to.

This pretty lady right here is a new design of voodoo doll that Megh came up with, made of soft pastel cotton and adorned with an adorable skull and a scaaary bow. This is one of my favorites and I'm betting it will be a best-seller this season. Teapot not included.

And finally we have an older piece that Megh painted while we were expecting, the Boiling Hot monster. Constantly shrieking in eternal, burning agony, the BHM will warm up any living room with its lively colors and pained gaze.

A few observant readers may notice that two of those pictures were taken in our new light box. We built one earlier this week and the results are marvelous. If you're taking pictures of small items, definitely look into making one. Ours cost about $4.00, but we already had he appropriate amount of lamps.

That's it for now, folks. Keep it Fanatic.

Aaron

Isaac is one month old! In other news, my hand hurts from sewing dolls.

Oh boy, guys. Our baby is growing up fast. It seems like just a month ago that the doctors were prying him from an open cavity in my stomach and I was incapacitated for several days.

Celebrate with us!

Also, my dad likes making photo shops of Isaac.

"DJ Knome takes after his mom."- my dad

yup.

I've made over 100 dolls for Zombie Con in San Antonio so far, and those are only the white "Survivor" dolls and green Zombie dolls. I am still looking forward to making several more types of dolls and other products for our first convention. Both Aaron and I are excited for Zombie Con, both for all of the people we are going to meet, and our first real interaction with non-family in nearly a year. We're very quiet, keep-to-ourself types. Working on the dolls and plushies is sort of relaxing. It's nice, repetitive work that offers a tangible result. It also affords me time to take care of the baby, when Aaron's younger sister and mom aren't borrowing him.

-Megh

I can't find my camera.

Megh here! I haven't posted much lately, what with the new baby and me working overtime to prepare for Zombie Con and all. But I have lots of cute new products to show all of you and some pictures to show off how big Isaac has gotten too!

 ...But you don't get to see them, because in all the mess and moving around over here, I have misplaced my camera.  I will however, share some prints I have been working on!

Boiling Hot Monster. This is one of Aaron's prints.

I love reverse mermaids. ALL BODY TYPES ARE BEAUTIFUL.

This one is a painting of a gill-man I turned into a print.

Fundraiser Update!

Hello everyone.
I finally got the photos of the tea wallets done, so now we can talk about Operation: Help TimAndBen get to San Antonio!
As I've previously posted, Aaron and I are attending Zombicon; a one day horror convention in San Antonio. We have a booth reserved there to sell our plush voodoo dolls, artwork, and some other crazy stuff we have in mind. Not only is this trip going to get some much needed exposure for TimAndBen Dolls and Design, it'll give Aaron and I a chance to meet people with the same interests as us, and hopefully allow us to share some ideas and artwork with people who are as passionate about the weird as we are.
I've been a little worried about how we were going to afford our trip there, with the baby due in two weeks (gah), and us driving there, and finally came up with the idea to sell a few useful items to help offset the costs of our travel and stay there.

So, let me introduce you to the tea wallets.

If you're anything like me, you really, really like drinking fresh brewed tea. Like, everywhere. I usually have some manner of tea bag in my pocket in case I run into a cup of hot water and a caffeine craving. (Not that I've been able to indulge lately...)

 The problem with this is that, even with the little foil or paper packet that the tea bag comes in, the tea bag usually tears; leaving me with a messy, grain-filled pocket. Or the flavor gets distorted. Or the tea bag gets dirty and crumpled. Whatever. But with these cute little wallets, I really don't have to worry about it anymore.


It's a simple little fold over design, that holds four individually wrapped tea packets. I hand make each myself.

It measures about 4" by 3" (closed), so it should fit into just about any pocket.
The best part is that even if you don't drink tea, the pockets in the wallet are the right size to organize cards in your pocket or purse!
 When you order a tea wallet from me, I'll include four packets of organic oolong tea.

                              The plain striped wallets and the tie-dyed wallets are $5 each.

And the cartoon or heart patterned wallets are $7 each.

Shipping is free for any order.

If you like these, and have any preference of color or pattern, message me on our Facebook page or on etsy, and I'm sure we can work something out.

There's more info on our Etsy store, so head over there and help Aaron and I get to San Antonio and get yourself a neat handmade wallet in the deal!

-Megh

"We're both so odd; I think we'll be the best of friends."

 If this line worked as a successful icebreaker for my fiance to use on me, I'm positive it's fine to use as an introduction for this blog.

Welcome to Quiet Fanatics: a blog shared between my fiance and I about our shop TimAndBen Dolls and Design, creative ideas, interesting things we find, and our hatchling family.

We should probably get to know each other a little better.
My name is Megh Rall, and if you've somehow found this blog without actually knowing what TimAndBen Dolls and Design is, I am both perplexed and delighted! That sentence gave me an in to describe what the shop is all about, without really having to work at it.

TimAndBen Dolls and Design is a business I started with my younger sister when we were in high school. I sewed my first plush voodoo doll when I was thirteen out of scraps of fabric that I had lying around and named him "Tim". My sister (LiLi) asked for a red one with a black heart, and I obliged. What she did with that plain doll was marvelous. She hacked off limbs and sewed shut wounds and created a gory mess that she christened "BEN".

The only known picture of our dolls together: Tim on the left, BEN on the right.

Wearing a voodoo doll as an accessory is bound to get you noticed, and soon we were receiving requests for dolls.

Six years later, TimAndBen Dolls and Design is based on Etsy, the marketplace for handmade stuff and supplies and we are selling more than dolls. We create handpainted wooden jewelry boxes, prints, t-shirts, original acrylic paintings, and custom sewn gifts.

I hope you take a look at our shop and continue reading this blog, which will hopefully be updated daily.

Come see what we're all about, and help us trip through this world, because we have no idea what we are doing.

-Megh