Nerdiness and Our First Con Vending

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May 4, 2015
3,210
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We just participated in our first Con as a vendor - it was RAGECon in Reno. Table top gaming convention - anything on a board or with dice or cards was kind of the focus.
We've been to many Cons over the years and have always enjoyed them, but this was our first behind a table.
The wife makes nerd/geek themed crafts like cross-stitches, hats, scarves, buttons, dice bags, patterned zipper bags, etc. and I've encouraged her to start selling them on Etsy and now Cons. Everything from Harry Potter to Firefly to whatever...
We had a really successful con and made some pretty good sales - probably one of the more successful tables there. Made some new friends as well, and that's always great.
Just wanted to share, because it was such a good time! Nerds really do have the most fun and really don't care about what other people think. They dress up, play games, geek out and are so enthusiastic about the things they like. It was an inspirational and fun weekend and the best part was getting to spend so much time with the wife!
Share your con stories - have you been a vendor? What's the best part for you? Cosplay, meeting people, panels?

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Gambling, retail, crafts, performance art ... wow, a lot going on! Great you and your better half can share this.

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
Well - not a "gambling" gaming covention. A "gamer" convention - Dungeons and Dragons, Hero Quest, Dominion, Magic the Gathering, Pokemon, etc.

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
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Yes Con=Convention. There are vendors, activities, costume (cosplay) contests, panels where actors speak or game designers talk about their newest stuff, Q and A's, etc. Nerd heaven.

 

seacaptain

Lifer
Apr 24, 2015
1,829
7
Your wife should make this hat.
jayne_cobb_hat.jpg


 
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
She's made several of those hats - crochet and knit (a little more expensive). We sold a lot of Firefly stuff this weekend. Do you want one?

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
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Hope it isn't viewed as trying to peddle anything on the forum - definitely not the case. I'm just saying I'd be happy to send you one if you'd like.

 

lostandfound

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 30, 2011
924
44
This reminds of the time I got to talking to the two ladies in front of me, in line at the cashier, at WalMart. They mentioned that they were out of town, planning to attend a local "Ren Fest". I said, "A whut?", to which they replied, with latent agitation: "the REN FFFFEST, Nerd." "Yeah, I don't know what a REN FFFEST-tUH, is." They then snorted in my face- "THE RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL!??"...... And walked away.
Anyhoo, an anime convention would be sweet. Iowa has ANIMEIowa every year. Might try to go to that sometime.

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
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We will be at the next SNAFU Con... Sierra Nevada Anime Fans Unite. I'm not in to Anime much myself, but there is a lot of overlap of course between the SciFi Con/Comic Con/Anime/Ren Ffffest-UH/Gamer folks.

 

phred

Lifer
Dec 11, 2012
1,754
4
Ah, cons... My wife and I have been attending our local SF/F con and our local Steampunk con for the last several years, with occasional forays to other states (notably SteamCon in Seattle, and 2 Steampunk Cruises). We do Steampunk cosplay (mostly characters that we made up ourselves, but I do make a pretty good Othar Tryggvason if I do say so myself). We do a fair bit of crafting on our costumes and accessories, but haven't ramped it up to the point that we'd be able to sell any, so we definitely appreciate the vendors who make it possible for us to add that little something extra.

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
Getting enough inventory crafted to sell at a table definitely takes a lot of hours. Luckily, the wife is a stay-at-home mom and is wicked fast with the needles, so she cranked out enough items to fill a 6-foot table and then some.
We have a pretty good steampunk scene here in Reno. It's big with the Burning Man crowd. Steampunk crawls and all that.

 

phred

Lifer
Dec 11, 2012
1,754
4
We have a pretty good steampunk scene here in Reno. It's big with the Burning Man crowd. Steampunk crawls and all that.
Ah, yes - we met some of them at a Mensa Annual Gathering a few years back (theme: "MENSA On Steam"), and one of the ladies on the first Steampunk Cruise is from that area. Good folks.

 

phil67

Lifer
Dec 14, 2013
2,052
7
Where is the next 'Old Fart Out of Touch Idiot Convention' as I haven't understood a single word said here so far? :lol:

 

johnnyreb

Lifer
Aug 21, 2014
1,961
612
We don't call them Cons and we don't get many nerds but at the beard competitions I attend we get our share of groupies:

DzsZQGl.jpg


 

wyfbane

Lifer
Apr 26, 2013
5,117
3,517
Tennessee
Sounds like a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing.
I would love to vend something at those types of Cons. Mixing business with pleasure is awesome. ;)
Love that you guys make Firefly stuff. (I don't want the hat, tho.)

 
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