Behind the Scenes: February Part 1 Convention Prep

Hey all! Happy (late) February! How's it going? Any new anime or games you're binging or looking forward to?

There's so much happening on this side that a part 2 at the end of February will still happen.

Convention Preparations

Janna, Lynx, Ryock, and I have worked on designing the table together, and we'll have our first "test run" on Saturday to see how it all looks together.

It'll be in the style of a San Island shop, with an awning, paper lanterns, and bunting flags.

I'm still trying to decide if I like the extra fabric on the sides, or if I like it more open:

The pipes have been painted black:

And the lanterns/flags:

Janna has excellent handwriting. She printed out paper lanterns and sakura blossom shapes as our price tags and gave me an example of how it would look to write on them. We'll be testing where those go on Saturday as well.

Our table banner also arrived and looks phenomenal:

As well as the backings for the Ai pins:

New Merch

I decided to grab some new merch for the cons! For those not in attendance, I'll let you know when they'll be available on Merchants of Nyarlea.

New Stickers (3 inch and 1.5 inch)

New Bell Coin Metals

Antique Silver and Antique Copper. These will arrive toward the end of March.

New Prints

Multiple art pieces from the book covers, audiobook covers, to two of the inside illustrations and some of the promotional art. Sizing ranges from 4 x 6s to 8 x 10s. 

Cat Packs

Cat Packs are a new bundle offer I'm testing at the tables. They'll include 1 book, 1 bookmark, 1 keychain of choice, 1 sticker of choice,  and a 4 x 6 print. If these are popular, I'd love to upgrade to a canvas tote.

Lucky DoubleBlind Boxes

Janna suggested I do some kind of lucky box. I have small, 3 x 3 black boxes that will each fit a small lucky cat, a couple of black cat stickers, a piece of candy, and then the last item will be random. I plan to include acrylic pins, enamel pins, bell coins, keychains, tickets for free books, and more.

And then, of course, the book orders...

I'm equal parts excited and nervous as hell. This'll be my first time vending at a convention, and ordering this much is a nail-biter. But I've had unbelievable support from so many people, and you're the reason I can do this in the first place. Thank you so much.

See you soon!