Nauticon 2015

I had my own little Artists' Colony shop at Nauticon this past weekend! I didn't sell much, but I still enjoyed myself. This is perhaps one of the only conventions I have ever heard of that has been held within 48 hours.

I got an entire room to stay in and use as a little shop space during the convention. I have never encountered that before at a convention, but it is an interesting concept. This convention was able to do this because of the layout of the Provincetown Inn and the fact that the entire convention took place in this inn. It allows for some interesting layout opportunities with our merchandise.

I had gotten a new banner to use at conventions. Unfortunately, there was no where to properly hang it, so it had to be taped up with a lot of painter's tape. Here's a suggestion to anyone who goes to a convention and is selling or just displaying artwork, bring painter's tape, not masking tape. Masking tape is stronger, but it is usually too strong for walls and will tear from them. They told me so at two conventions, this one included.

There were a few really good artists who also had Artists' Alley Rooms, as you can see down below. One artist was Julie Mayers who runs "Wicked Little Studios" which makes a lot of really cool fan art among things, and she shared a room with an illustrator named Jason Casey.

There were many different and unique goods available for sale.

There was also Lisa Cavalear who runs "Happy Kitty Studios." She makes web comics, stuffed knitted figures, and other crafts. Her friend that she shared a room with runs "Coventry Decor" which sells decorated drinking glasses on Etsy.

Here's some of what Armored Dragon Design sold, some leather and metal accessories. 

There was also a message therapist in one of the rooms!

There were also numerous panels where you could drink some really good liquor.

I went to a panel where we learned how to make "Rocket Fuel," which is mainly Everclear, Lime-aid, and dry ice.

There was also a Sake taste testing panel, which had a lot of really good different types of sake!

There was also karaoke, game shows, dances, videos, a comedy show, and much more!

This was quite a beautiful place. I suggest going at some point just to relax!

Perhaps that was one of the reasons there was a low attendance. Perhaps most anime fans prefer larger, busier conventions. That is unfortunate because there was a lot this convention had to offer!

Perhaps people didn't want to come to a resort area during the late spring instead of the summer when the water is warm enough to swim in. That would be nice, but then again it would definitely be much more expensive to attend and anime fans usually have a tight budget.

Perhaps this convention wasn't advertised enough. I kind of find that hard to believe though because I have seen this convention advertised at other conventions before like Anime Boston, Arisia, and Connecticon.

Our art show was open to the public on Sunday, but I doubt that many people who were not already attending the convention would be interested in purchasing our work.

Another possibility is the location is hard to get to, though I don't know where would possibly be better!

The only other reason I could think of for a low attendance is that the fact that the convention is for people 21 and older would cut out a good number of people who normally come to conventions. However, that enforcing rule of the convention frees up all sorts of possibilities that can't be found anywhere else!

Whatever the reason for the low attendance, hopefully we can change it in the future. It is quite relaxing to go to a small convention, but a low attendance is not good for an artist. I don't know if anyone really made enough money to pay for the costs of attending, which would more likely convince artists not to partake in this convention in future years. I implore all Anime fans who will be 21 or older next year to attend this convention. You will have an awesome time!