Fan Expo 2012

Hi guys! I've finally recovered from the insanity that was last weekend enough to let you know how it went! Get ready for a long one!

Fan Expo is Canada's version of Comic Con where apparently 80,000 make their way, over the course of four days, to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. I had never been myself until a few years ago when my friend, Jen of Sparklegirl, mentioned it would be a good fit for Needlings.  Now I've been going for the past three years and it is always super fun.

I took lots of pictures of my booth as well as a bunch of crazy costumes over the weekend so I'll show you a few here! If you'd like to see the rest, check out the facebook album if you haven't already!



Here it is on day one! It was quite a crazy morning getting in to Toronto with enough time to drop off my puppy at her sitter (who is one of my best friends and was amazing to watch my new little Callie pup the whole weekend!), get through lunch time Toronto traffic, and register for the show with enough time to set up! And we did it! 

I wore my table matching handmade skirt for the first time too, twice!
                     


I also stopped by my close-by friends Lisa of Nerdbiskit and Jen of Sparklegirl! Both of their booths looked great!




And a few costumes of course:

A kitty that bought a kitty!


Day 2 went a little more smoothly in terms of commuting in to Toronto with the puppy again but after the late night, I must admit we were all pretty sleepy! Lots of tea was required behind the booth.






Funnelling out after a long day 2!


On to day 3!







Day 4! Last day! (It really felt more like 10)








I didn't buy anything over the weekend but I did do a trade with fellow artist, Sincerly Swiggins! Check out his etsy shop here!



Happy! Overall, it was a great weekend! Worth all the sleepiness and long days for sure! 

I am already back in to the workroom program finishing up some big orders that were waiting for me when I got home, store restocks, and prep for more festivals coming up in September here in Hamilton, Locke Street Festival and Supercrawl, with another show at the end of September in Waterdown. Busy month for Needlings!

I hope everyone is enjoying the start of fall-ish weather! I'll see you at the end of the week for a workroom recap!

In the Workroom Recap : Week 249

Hey guys! I'm a little late this week with the recap. The days just keep flying by and now there are only three more days until Fan Expo! The good news is I feel ready to go and excited for the weekend thanks to all the work I was able to get through the past couple weeks.  Here's what I managed last week:

After I finished all that I decided to try my first mock set-up to see what else was needed. I ended up moving things around again later to try out a different set-up that doesn't completely put me behind a cage for the weekend.


I decided I needed some more owls - more Owl Mamas and littles.







Alllllmost made it without running out of stuffing.

Then I made up some signs and moved around the set-up until I was happy with it. I think it'll work!



I'll be spending the next few days finishing up with the tagging and pricing of everything and getting it all packed away and organized and all ready to go for Thursday! 

Let me know if you're planning on being there in Toronto and come visit me at my booth in Artist Alley A114!  And if you aren't going, don't worry, because I will definitely be back next week with a big old update filled with lots of pictures!  See you then!

In the Workroom Recap : Week 248

Ok guys, quick workroom recap this week! Fan Expo is less than two weeks away so we're in the final stretch! Lots of owls on the go!

Then on to phone sleeves!




Check out all those owls! 



All stocked up on keychains too!



And now currently finishing up some Owl Mama Crossbody Bags!



Would you believe me if I told you I was working on the bare minimum amounts for everything?  It's true! Fan Expo is a BUSY event guys! I'm so excited!

Oh another exciting thing was getting a peek at my new Needlings Doodlings buttons that will be available at Fan Expo! These were custom made with my little doodlings by my lovely friend Lisa of Nerdbiskit!



Ok I'm wasting time here not sewing! See you guys next week!

In the Workroom Recap : Week 247

Happy August everyone! The next few week's blog recaps may be a little less text heavy because I am feverishly sewing away to have enough stock for Fan Expo in less than three weeks!  My to do list is scheduled out and the deadlines are etched in stone. (too dramatic?) 

Anyway, there are going to be lots of things churning out in the next few weeks and it will all be capped off with a super fun/crazy four days in Toronto at Fan Expo. 

Before I started work on a batch of Owl Mamas for Fan Expo, I finished up a restock for Dots & Loops in Lunenburg and sent it out!



I sent two purple cell sleeves out to a customer waiting on them at Homespun in Indiana. Restocks are on hold due to Fan Expo but they'll be next on the list for a bigger restock as soon as the dust settles after Fan Expo!



Oh yes, I also made a little treat for myself out of my custom Needlings fabric.  A skirt! I plan on wearing it to Fan Expo so I'll of course take some more pictures then! I'm really excited about being able to use up some more of my fabric supply on some skirts for myself.  It's always hard to find the time to sew something for myself but I'm glad I did!




I also had a small bookmark order to finish up this week before starting the last Fan Expo dash.



Then the owl cutting began...





Another sewing afternoon with my friend Lisa of www.Nerdbiskit.com helped me finish up all the owl faces.



The top right panel of the image shows Lisa's work - nerdy bags that will also be available at Fan Expo at her Nerdbiskit table just around the corner from Needlings!






Finished Owl Mamas and on to little Owlings!  Right on schedule!

I'll be back next week with lots more! Have a good weekend, friends!