Friday, January 20, 2012

Arisia, the Bestest Con Ever

I hope you're prepared to hear me gush about how much I loved Arisia. I barely know where to start.

We got there Friday afternoon, as the Dealer's Room hours were 5pm-9pm that day. Things were slow, and most people were just browsing. Arisia is an all-sorts-of-nerdy con that caters to an older audience, so many of them had to get out of work and/or find a sitter and other stuff like that.

Once the con was in full swing for Saturday-Monday there were constant events. Panels, workshops, auctions and spontaneous groups of people talking about anything they wanted to. The con provided free food (REAL food, like pasta salad and artisan bread)

Also a Storm Trooper cake. NBD

and tables for people to sit and eat. The food was kept fresh, clean and constantly restocked by a team working round-the-clock. No con had ever done something so generous before, and it blew me away how hard-working and in-control the whole staff seemed all weekend. The Dealer's Room coordinator even gave us all her cell number in case we needed her.

It was like a family reunion at times, with people shouting each other's names excitedly and running into welcoming bear hugs. "How have you been? Did Joanna get that promotion?" I overheard all sorts of conversations from my table, some between longtime friends and other between people who had just met. They were about everything from books to make-up to raising kids to fabric choices. At one point I got tired and sat next to a guy dressed as Henchman 24 from The Venture Brothers. Out of nowhere I told him he sounded like Ray Romano. He laughed and we started talking.

Customers were polite and hilarious. One guy bought a Vash (new design for this year!) and surprised us the next day in costume!

We heard you like Vash so we put a Vash in the pocket of a Vash so you can D'awww while you D'awww

A Borg showed minutes after we had sold our only Borg plushie, but she looked great so we asked her to pose with our Q plushie.

In case this isn't hilarious enough, she had to go as soon as we got the shot because she had a belly dancing class to get to. She came back later with an adorable black bob haircut and a pink wrap shirt. Conclusion: belly dancing will reverse assimilation.

 Those who haven't see us at cons don't know that we've begun selling our Eds with buttons on them that say "Actual Size!" A Roy cosplayer picked one up, laughed a bit, then said "Yeah, seems about right."

Disclaimer: We at Hooked on Chibis do NOT condone lighting our chibis on fire with alchemy.

The stars of the show, as far as stock goes, were by far the Doctor Who chibis. We carry the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 11th. 

So... much... scarf...

People kept asking about 10, however, so we decided we'd try to make ONE and see how he did. He was sold before we even began designing him. In the last hour on Monday we finished him and the look on the girl's face when she came to get him was priceless. We'd been trying for a while to decide how to get his hair accurate. 

I have no words. That hair makes me laugh every time I see this picture.
In short, it was an amazing time. We met the people who run other cons, fellow artists who gave us compliments and pointers, and random people who were nothing but fun to talk to. I'm counting down the days til I get to go back. 

- Casey-chu