melannen | (no subject)

Hi long time no see!

I have a new-old laptop now which actually has, like a working battery! *And* keyboard! And hard drive! And power cord! And even a backup drive! And it takes less than 30 minutes to start up and do stuff!

My sister is very nice to me and also very enabling RE: me never just getting off my butt and buying new stuff when my old stuff breaks.

...the old one never quite became nonfunctional but it became Very Frustrating And Scary To Use what with the messages about how the hard drive could fail any moment and random bluescreens, so I got behind on a LOT of computer stuff.

Most urgent message:

Today is the last day to apply for one of the scholarships to Con.Txt, my home fannish con - it used to technically be a slash con but they have finally admitted they are more just a general transfromative works con. I tell people that it's basically like spending a weekend wasting time in the fannish parts of DW except in person, and it's basically that.

Anyway they have need-based scholarships for anyone who needs help and a Con or Bust scholarship for POC that still need applicants for this year, so if you're thinking about going but aren't sure you can afford it, it's really worth applying.

If you're thinking about going but can't afford it and also aren't local, if you get the scholarship I will offer you a) half of a king-sized bed if you don't mind sharing with me, b) a ride to and from the Baltimore-area transit hub of your choice, and c) the opportunity to hang around with me all weekend so you don't look lost and lonely*

*this part of the offer is selfish because it will also keep me from looking lost and lonely.

(also if you want to co-mod an imperial radch or AO3 panel w/ me please tell me, panel modding is super-fun i promise!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Interesting. I took a look at your vendor info, and noticed the bit about changing from a full-time vendor space to a 3-hour Fan Fair. This actually discourages me from wanting to come to the con, because while my partner's T-shirts and some of my jewelry would certainly appeal to your fan base, 3 hours is not nearly enough selling time to make the trip from Houston to Arlington worthwhile. Perhaps you could suggest that for next year, there might be a small full-time vendor room for... I hate to say "professional vendors" because that sounds so judgmental, but people whose primary interest in the con is being vendors, and then also the Fan Fair for people who want to sell stuff secondarily to participating in the rest of the con.

Or I could be all wet. Have you had any major vendors at this event before, people who make their living (entirely or or a substantial portion of it) from convention sales? If not, then this may be the best course for you. I was just curious and it sounded like fun, but there's no way I could do it under the current arrangement.

Hi!

I'm not involved in running the con at all, or vending, so you're probably asking the wrong person, but yes, they have had a standard dealers' setup in previous years, and from what I've heard it hasn't worked very well-it's an intentionally small con and the membership isn't very merch-focsed, so the full-time vendors can't make costs and the hobbyist vendors won't vend because they want to be free to enjoy the con, so they've had a lot of trouble even filling their limited space. I'm sorry the new setup won't work for you, but from vendors I chatted with last time, it probably wouldn't have worked for you anyway. Given the makeup of the con, I suspect there will be about the same number of sales in a three hour fair that they'd have the whole weekend.

Okay, then I won't worry about it. Thanks!

Yeah,

sarah and I vended last con (jewelry & my dad's wood work) and it was very light sales -- enough to make it worth our while because we were going to be at the con anyway and it helped to cover the hotel room cost, but definitely not enough to support someone coming for the weekend just to sell. We had a blast, and most of my participation at this con is "hang out in the con suite, talk to awesome people" anyway so we just did that at the table, but the con's only about 150-200 people and there just isn't the audience to make it worthwhile for people who need to cover costs and make a profit.

It's definitely a fun con to just come and chill at, though -- it's my favorite relaxacon.