Post: Detroit Fanfare 2011

 Hello!  Now that almost a full week has gone by and I have come off my con high I can talk about the weekend that was Detroit Fanfare!

It was a long drive but not as long as the haul to Iowa the weekend before.  Nic and I had the great pleasure of staying with Mike Roll during the Fanfare.  Miker and Tina were great hosts and we had a blast hanging out with them. 

As far as the Fanfare goes,  I had a great time at the show.  However, mostly half of the Saturday was spent with Nic and I taking turns standing in line to meet and greet with the great Kevin Eastman, creator (with Peter Laird) of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...or TMNT if you're fancy.

I got to say that made the whole convention for me.  It was a blast getting to meet and talk Turtles with him.  He was very kind and professional.  I read that he changed his flight on Sunday so he can keep sketching and signing for the fans. (seriously who does that? AWESOME)

On my sketch blog I've talked about a TMNT book that I am eventually going to fill with different artists' renditions of the Turtle-verse.  Like a dummy, I FLIPPIN' forgot the book and was super bummed as I wanted him to be the last page when it was all said and done. (and sketched)  BUT I did have some sketch cards with me and asked him to sketch a Casey Jones and a Krang which I will just frame in the book.  I also gave him a copy of my turtle's print which he loved!  It was seriously one of my highlights of...anything, EVER.

Ok, now back to the con.  From what I heard from other creators, it was a slow show and the attendance was pretty small from the previous year.  I would agree, I didn't have that many people stopping by the table (maybe because I was gone for half the day).  I think they might have moved the convention to a bigger venue prematurely and they should have kept it at the hotel for at least one more year.  That way it would give the show time to grow and really find its audience and then expand it.  The Cobo Hall center itself was massive and had the space to command a large crowd, it's just that the people weren't there which was unfortunate for the artists and programmers. 

Sunday was a busier day for me.  I did quite a few sketches and sold some prints.  I got to visit with some comic creators and my good friends Jeff and Aireen came out to support me and take in the show.  I know they had a blast!

There were highlights to the show for me and I did tweet them earlier in the week:

 

@DetroitFanfare #1 #highlight She is my bestest friend and I love her @nfsolis

@DetroitFanfare #1 #highlight is having the best time with @nfsolis. Letting me geek at these shows, encouraging, motivating, being there.

@DetroitFanfare #highlight @nfsolis starting her Mulan themes sketchbook with @artbaltazar

@DetroitFanfare #highlight table chat with @katiecandraw about Gronk, Halloween, and poverty! lol

@DetroitFanfare #highlight Meeting @AXECOP and @Bearmageddon's Ethan Nicolle, great artist very humbled! Scored some sketchbooks and a TPB!

@DetroitFanfare #highlight the talented super cute designer @aerialardour and her super cool hubby going out the way to visit @nfsolis and I 

@DetroitFanfare #highlight drawing a special tmnt bag n board sketch for real life April O'Neal @RachFromOH! 

@DetroitFanfare #highlight great table time with @JoeFoo22 @mikerroll

@DetroitFanfare #highlight: Meeting Kevin Eastman, creator of TMNT. Holy Cowabunga!

  

It was a great networking and really talking to other creators about collaborations, upcoming shows, and their respective projects.  If you made use of your time rather than complain about the low attendance and not selling anything than you had a good show. Oh! This is cool:  One of our table neighbors was Ethan Nicolle of Axe Cop fame and my favorite web comic of the moment, Bearmageddon.  He was such a cool guy and very humbled to talk about his projects and all around awesomeness.  I also loved the evenings spent hanging out with Joe Foo, Mike Roll and their significant others.  We went to a sushi buffet and I ate til I couldn't move.  GREAT TIMES.

Post: Story City Festival

A little over a week ago I had the honor of attending the Story City Festival in Story Ctiy, Iowa.  Nicole's aunt is on the committee for the festival and invited me to be a part of it.  I really did not know what to expect but I had an idea of what I would be doing there.

Nicole's aunt, Susan, had discussed that since this is a story telling festival I could have people tell me their stories and make a little drawing of it for them.  Basically, it's like doing my custom Signature Prints but I a bag n' board sketched version. 

It was a little challenging with the weather and being the only vendor the entire festival so I had to adapt to these things through out.  Story telling was broken up with show times and during those breaks I was able to interact with people who had stopped at my table.

All in all it was an interesting festival and Nicole and I got to sit in on the last night of story telling and have brunch with some of the tellers at the festival.

I did feel a bit out of place and having being a vendor all day Satruday I eventually felt like I was done in terms of selling books.  If they had a children's theme and more vendors spread out I could see myself being a part of this festival again.  If anything I would go back to listen to the story tellers as it was the highlight of the festival for me. 

The event ended with a ride on the Antique Carousel that's been around since 1913. 

TMNT Exclusive Print for Detroit Fanfare!

Every since I got back from Iowa this past weekend it's been quite a hectic week for When I Was Little and company prepping for the Detroit Fanfare.  As soon as this crazy month of shows is over for me, I plan to blog about the Story City Festival and Fanfare as well as other events and projects I have been up to.  But for now take a look at my new TMNT print in honor of Kevin Eastman being in attendance this year!

These ones are going to be a very limited run with 15 copies being exclusively sold first at the convention with the remaining ones [if any] to be sold on Shopping When I Was Little.

These ones will also be larger at a hefty 11x14 print size!

Detroit Fanfare:

Saturday, September 24th
10:00 am - 7:00 pm

Sunday, September 25th
12:00 pm --6:00 pm

Cobo Hall
1 Washington Blvd.
Detroit, MI 48226
313-877-8777
fax 313-877-8577

Artist Alley: Table 404-406 with Mike Roll and Joe Foo!

Post: SPX 2011

Hello,

 This past Saturday/Sunday in Behtesda, MD.  I was part of the SPX 2011 show at the North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center.  I was joined by the Joe Foo, Mike Roll, and Kelly Tierney.  This was my first time attending and I was quite impressed with the turn out.  Saturday was a non-stop crowd and it was quite over whelming at first but eventually I was able to adapt to it and being able to talk about my books to interested on-lookers.  I really got a lot of one on one interaction with people interested in the series, even though the size of the show was quite large.  I had a great time and a lot of coloring books were picked up so THANK YOU!

 I didn't sketch as much as I usually do at conventions but this being a big independent show, a lot of people were really into buying books.  I was also one of them.  It was definitely a show where you could spend a lot of money and everything was great.  I really love indie books and this was THE indie book show.

I think I would attend this show again.  I would need to work on a few new things and maybe invest in an easy to assemble sign.  I already have a big foam board sign that I've used in the past but it would have been hard to fly with. 

The best thing too was Nic and I were able to schedule a vacation around the show which we'll talk about in-depth (maybe) on our blog.

Next up for me is the Iowa Story City Festival.  

To here all about the great stuff I picked up at SPX, click here!

 

Fall Con Season starts with SPX

Hello! I took a break from conventions this month to pick up some side work and catch up on my commission list. I decided not to attend some August shows as I have booked some pretty big ones in September and October. Working most of the summer getting Coloring finished and the big shows in Louisville and Fort Wayne, I needed the break.

With that being said, break's over! We are gearing up in September with my first big show of the fall, SPX! Which will mark the first time I'm flying to attend a con. Nic and I are super excited.


I will be joining Joe Foo, Mike Roll, Kelly Tierney and the Draw Sucka Draw crew! My cousin also lives out there so we turned it into mini "workcation" where we can spend some time with him before and after the show.

Here's the show info: