Surtex-Final Thoughts

Surtex was an incredible experience! I learned about what kind of industry was interested in my work, and discovering new companies I would of never known about. And I had alot of fun! Traffic was good for me as a first time exhibitor. The number of Surtex exhibitors was low compared to past years. I'd like to think this worked to my advantage though.

Being a freelancer, I don't get out of the house much, so one of the best part was getting to meet fellow artists and illustrators, (many which I've got to know through blogs.) One of the first people I met at set up day was fellow Illustration for Kids member Holli Conger- its so great to finally "meet" after years of knowing each other online. Also so many illustrators with blogs I finally got to see: Deb Melmon, Liz Goulet Dubois, Barbara Johansen Newman, Ellen Crimi-Trent and Kristin Sorra. It was also wonderful to see illustrators Mike Moran and Chris Reed walking the show. I'm a fan of their work and I'm quite flattered that they knew my work too! Meeting some fellow first time exhibitors was great too- hello to Eric Comstock of Comstock Design- they had some super cute alphabet art! Hope I didn't miss anyone- I talked with so many talented people in the span of 3 days.

I'm still struggling personally as to what kind of industry I want to work for. My number one passion is still children's books, but I'm definitely interested in exploring other streams of income as well.

Checked the stats on my website and found alot of people are coming through the Print & Pattern blog. Thanks Bowie for featuring me in your Surtex posts!

Getting back in the swing of things is very hard after a trade show. But I've got a few deadlines so I better get back to work. This is my report and I am sticking to it. I hope to attend again next year!

Surtex-Day 1

I came into the Surtex Show this morning with my vinyl banner on the floor :-( The velcro did not hold up at all. But one of my booth partners, Doreen, came to my rescue with S hooks that actually fit, and with some double sided tape I was all ready to go. Here is my little corner of the booth! The right side is my vinyl banner from uprinting.com and my left side were 11 x 17 prints from kinkos. I'm pretty happy with both the color and quality.

I wasn't sure what to expect today but I'm happy to say I am having alot of fun so far and made some great and interesting contacts. There were 5 of us in the booth to keep each other company: Doreen Mulryan Marts, Kevin Gunning, Brook Churchill, Inga Gecas, and myself. We make up Vivid Graphics, #552- come see us in the next two days. To be continued!

Surtex-Set Up day

Set up day for the Surtex show! Picked up my badge and put up my banner...I ended up using sticky velcro and I'm praying that my art will hold up and not in a pile on the floor tomorrow. Then I found out they were giving out free S hooks that I could of used. My only concern now is that I will remove all the velcro once the show is over. They will charge me if there is any sticky residue left over on the walls.

I was quite nervous before but now that I've gone to set up, I feel calmer. And thanks to a wonderful friendly face that dropped by- Hi Holli!

Rounded Corner Business Cards = 20% More Fun!

My new business cards looking like a game of Memory.

First time printing with overnightprints.com and I'm very happy with them. Good quality paper and the shipping was fast. Never had anything done with rounded corners before- my type is a little bit close to the edge and its driving me crazy- although I'm sure I'm the only one thinking about it.

This week is all about printing my portfolio and sucking up all the inks in my printer. Surtex is this Sunday...am I ready?!?

The Licensing promos are here!

Its driving me nuts that my camera doesn't take very good pictures. But I had to post these because I'm very excited about them. I just got these postcards from the printers to promote my art for licensing.
I had a wonderful meeting last week with my Surtex partners about setting up our booth. Right now we are trying to figure out where are the best places to print vinyl banners. It will be my first time printing up something as large as 3' x 7'...if anyone has tips on that, I would appreciate it. But I guess right now, I need to figure out exactly what art I will put on there!

Small Update to Website

I'm pretty guilty in not updating my regular website. But in preparation for the Surtex show, I've added an extra page for my licensing endeavors. You can see it live here.

This makes it more "real," doesn't it?!

As for the rest of the website...its literally 2-3 years old. I haven't done much updating in a very long time. If only I can find some...time!

Invites and Surtex

My wedding reception invites in pretty blue envelopes. I'm sorry I can't show the actual invite now- I will later and I promise there are some chickens involved!

Things are super CRAZY here with too many things going on, and I find myself not handling the stress very well. With work, a wedding, and now I added on another to-do: I will be exhibiting at the Surtex Show in May-exploring art licensing opportunities with a group of other artists. I'll post more as I get more info, but right now I am trying to build my portfolio. This is something different than children's books and right now I feel like I'm going into it blindly...but I am very excited at the same time!

I want to thank everyone who has tagged me, given me awards, mentioned me in the blog world. And the comments too! I've been very frazzled lately so I just want to let you all know I appreciate them even if you haven't heard from me in a while.:-)