Kanzashi!

[telophase]

While Mom was here, I made several more kanzashi. I've got photos of all of them, but I've only processed three. :D

The plan is to take them to the small con I'm going to this weekend and whatever doesn't sell there, I'll put up on Etsy.



A double-petal one. Mom picked out the fabric. :) Made from the vintage kimono fabric.



I love the colors on this one. Too bad I only had enough fabric to make two flowers. You'll have to wait to see what the other one looks like.



This one was made with a pin back. Mom requested I make a pin she could use for the gift exchange that the weaver's guild she's in does each year. I made two from the fabric: this one, and a smaller one that looks exactly like it. Mom took the smaller one. (If it doesn't sell at the con or on Etsy, I've got a Christmas present for my grandmother. XD)

Comments

[rayechu.livejournal.com]

Pretty pretty!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :D

[rayechu.livejournal.com]

ugh. I totally meant to write something with more substance and got distracted by how bloody SLOW my internet is tonight. and how mini is your mini-con?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

:) http://www.yulecon.com/ The publicity I've seen for this other than the website is exactly zero. It's a first-year con in this area, so it's bound to be small anyway, but I'll see how it goes. I'm not expecting to do much business, mostly just gauge how the feel of the con is and whether it's likely to be bigger next year.

[rayechu.livejournal.com]

Hmmm I haven't been on the con circuit much and never in your area, but I think that looks pretty good for a 1st year con.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

The guy running it has been a dealer at A-Kon for years, and the reason I went ahead and got a table is that I know the people who run the dealers' room onsite there, and they said he knew what he was doing. I'm just being pessimistic about the fact that none of my friends here, most of whom attend A-Kon and AnimeFest, are planning on going, and inf act a few weeks ago characterized it as "a dealers' room without a con." (To be fair, it was before they started uploading the guests to the site, but if you click on the schedule? There's almost nothing planned - less than a week before the con. Hrm.)

[rayechu.livejournal.com]

Well I admit that i didn't look at the schedule, but I saw guests and a band. Doesn't that really make about half of the convention? I mean you can argue video rooms, but in my experience unless it is a big movie, those are pretty much empty. And panels seem to be almost exclusively done on a volunteer basis from forum members so not excusing a lack of scheduling, just saying it seems like the core convention people only deal with so much when it comes to activities.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

The really important part of the convention is attendees. Which is where the lack of publicity I've seen comes in: if nobody attends the con, it doesn't matter how good the guests and activities are.

Attendees also look at the schedule ahead of time to see what's been planned - and right now, it looks like nothing's happening except for a wedding. This habit I know, being on the con comm of a con who usually doesn't get its scheduling up until a couple of weeks before the con, when we've usually been having irate people email us for weeks already wanting scheduling.

[rayechu.livejournal.com]

Oh of course. I am wondering if it is got getting much attention due simply to the timing. The con buzz is really in the summer months. Are the colleges in Texas going through finals around now? That just seems like poor planning. I kind of wish I was on the inside for this. I mean advertising can be very expensive, so part of me wants to think why bother, when the money could be better spent on a guest? But no advertising= no people and a con that doesn't make any money.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

The anime con season is fairly full around Texas - in town, A-Kon is over the Memorial Day weekend, AnimeFest over Labor Day, and elsewhere there are cons in February, April, and July. I think early December was about the only time left for it. XD

[rayechu.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I didn't think those got the same amount of hype as the summer months and Otakon, ACen. Haha, maybe the Ohio congoers are just more excited about summer cons because they are more practical. It just always seemed to me that Ohayocon (January) got a lot of buzz, but the anime community seemed to be much more worked up in the summer. Though I would totally kill for a christmas con in my area. Anime/manga have so many christmas specials!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

A-Kon and AFest get plenty of hype around here. :) A-Kon broke 14K this year, IIRC, and I think AFest did 6000 or so. We can't actually handle a convention significantly larger than A-Kon until the new Dallas Convention Center gets built, as we're already in the largest convention space in the largest hotel in town.

[rayechu.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I wouldn't have known at all. You will have to keep your eyes open and check out the audience. I felt like the fandom is getting younger, but I am thinking it is really common sense (older attendees have school/work and have to schedule days off) and part stereotype.

[rurounitriv.livejournal.com]

Very pretty!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :D

[tammylee.livejournal.com]

So nice!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :D

[croaky.livejournal.com]

Ooh these are really neat! :D

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :D

[heyoka.livejournal.com]

AGH stop making me wish I had thick enough hair to put something in! T_T

[telophase.livejournal.com]

XD I can't wear most of them, as they're too heavy for my hair. But I'm going to attempt to wear one this weekend, as what sort of salesperson would I be if I weren't wearing my merchandise? XD

[sho-sunaga.livejournal.com]

VERY Pretty!! I like the top one. And may I say your photograph skill is amazing. Are you using that small box studio thing?
PS. If you are going to Yule con, I think Wintersweet's hubby is going!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Yup, I'm still using it, with a couple of additions - I bought a 100-watt desk lamp to give brighter light and a small tripod to hold my camera so I could use its 2-second delay. Otherwise I can't get the focus right, since it requires exposures too long to hold by hand.

(Hey, cool! :D)

[chomiji]

Pretty pretty! Let me know about the Etsy site ... the Young Lady has the kind of hair that cries out for such things.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I will! (Does she wear hair sticks? I've got a couple as part of my using lots of different hair-thingies to see which ones sell, so if they don't sell at the con, they'll be on the site.)

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

So lovely! How much are you planning on selling them for?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking between $10-15. The materials don't cost much, but the labor is fairly intensive. :)

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they look like a ton of work.