Anime North 2013 Con Report

Anime North this year came and went like the crazy winds we had this past weekend (seriously, it was so much colder than last year!) My prep suffered greatly because of my divided mind/time on chemistry. I had my final exam from last semester at the end of April, but then I started up my summer class as of the beginning of May. New class meant new prof, classmates, lab partner, assignments, and overall, just a lot of adjusting to the new material.  Needless to say, my motivation for con merch wasn't at its peak, but I still managed to get a reasonable amount of stock done.

I had no time (or motivation) to photograph some of the new plushies. o_0 It didn't matter all that much because there weren't that many of them anyways! I did however take a quick shot of Mephisto and Amaimon. They both didn't sell, so I can actually now take the time to photograph them properly!

And also, the Chouji plush Penumbra had requested for years now...  I finally made it because of my new Nendo pattern that I thought would suit the character's body type.

The Table

They did quite a few different things this year. For one, we didn't have to wait in the pre-reg line to get our badge-- we just went straight to the CC table. That saved on time, but I had arrived fairly late and was really rushed to set up. I managed to snap one photo of my booth, but it wasn't even completely finished (notice the plushies lying in the middle) and I literally had to ward off people crowding around my table just to take this pic.

Pheleon's semi-ready table

As usual, I was seated next to my buddy Alice, and Machiko shared a bit of table space with her (although she was running around like a crazy person for all her maid cafe stuff).

Katamari Ichigo made by Alice

Attempting to take an 'in-action' shot of Alice

I shared a third of my space with Quacked Plush. She is awesome. Go check her out! She used to do most of the cons (like *ahem* the FanExpos), but she's moving back to BC for a new job. Her etsy account is currently on hold since because of the move, but one it's up, be sure to pick something up!

Her depleted stock at the end of the con.

Overall, sales were good, but not amazing like last year. Our traffic was steady, but I think one thing that really surprised (and stressed the crap out of me) was the very beginning when the con opened on friday. I was late setting up (and so were my friends) and we were a bit bummed by our table placement-- we were placed at the very end of the alley, furthest from the dealer's room and quite far from any other activities.  I therefore took my time because I felt that by the time people came to our table, we would be nicely set up.  We were close to an entrance where we didn't think anyone would enter by (it was closed off by huge black curtains)...but it turned out that the first rush of people were entering through there!  Oh gosh, it was just so stressful, having all these people come in... and I couldn't take advantage of the situation because I wasn't ready! ;_;


NoFace Raffle!

I've been wanting to make a Noface plushie for quite some time, and I finally got around to making it....the night before the con. o_0 I therefore didn't have time for any proper photos, but I'm considering making him again...so maybe then, I will properly photograph him!

Since I only made one, I decided to do a raffle instead of just selling the plush as is. After this experience, I'm not sure whether I'd ever want to do a raffle again cuz I felt really bad for those who didn't win! There were a bunch of people who bought many tickets and really wanted the plush, so it was just a bit of a downer to dissapoint them at the end of the weekend. :(

Anyways, it did go to a very special person. There was a bit of an issue with reaching him cuz they only left their home phone number, but they eventually came back to pick up their prize. :) And apparently, it was his birthday the day after which was a really lovely coincidence.

Catbus!

Cosplay

 

So the very very very long overdue cosplay has finally been complete! I only dressed up on sunday, until about 4PM. It was hectic in the morning so I couldn't really take the time to get dressed, but the important part is that I actually did it, lol. Alice and I managed to walk around a few times so we got our picture taken by random people. I quite enjoyed flipping them off for the shot. ;)

I think the only way to get me to cosplay again is that if it's a character whose personality has attitude (which is why I liked being Hiyori), and if I'm with a friend again.  At one point, Alice saw these Kuroko no Basuke cosplayers and proceeded to run to her table to get her camera, and then hunt them down. I was therefore ditched as I wasn't too agile running in stupid flipflops... and I also got stopped for a photo without my Lisaaa~~  It just feels empty when I'm alone. :(

Lisaaaa~~~

Alice's lolita gear on saturday!

 

Now, onto some cosplay by other people!

Awesome human interpretation of noface!

Fem!Bel and Fran

My dear friends as Fem!Ichi and Grimm

UlquiHime shipper! :D

Lovely demons. ;)

Garnet (which I dedicate to Jordi!) <3

Random noface chilling among people

Candid shot at Kuroko..doing his homework?

It's a little kid as Excalibur!

Energybending. The Korra couldn't stop laughing!

Very cute Tylee

LOVE! <3 <3 <3
(this shot reminds me of that 'old friends' poster!)

This Toph cosplayer wanted my Toph plushie
but couldn't afford it. Her friend who was with her,
came back 10 mins later and decided to
buy it for her as a surprise! What a nice friend. :D

I was a little dissapointed by the cosplay this year because I didn't get to see more 'obscure' (shoujo) stuff. Also, the Bleach fandom was a little weak (or maybe they just didn't pass by my table)... I wanted to see more Quincies! And I really wanted to see badass!Unohana.... I have a feeling most people just follow the anime, as opposed to the manga. :( Maybe I should do badass!Unohana while my hair is still long...