Back from Anime Expo!

Hello to everyone who visited us in Artist Alley! We're back home now, readjusting to normal life again. T_T But we had a wonderful time at Anime Expo and it was a great success for us. We fully intend to return next year to Anime Expo 2009! If you stopped by our table, feel free to e-mail us. Let us know what you thought of our products and what you'd like to see us have at future conventions.
For those of you who couldn't make it to the convention this year, you can check out the following on our adventure to Anime Expo '08. Enjoy!
Day 0
We spend the morning packing and getting some last minute projects done. We arrive in L.A. late afternoon and check in to our hotel. After resting, we set off to the Los Angeles Convention Center to scope it out and pick up our badges.

No time to rest, however, so we head back to the hotel to prepare for Day 1.

Day 1
We get up early and pack our things for Artist Alley. Having been in artist alley at AX '07, this year's check-in was painless. It only took a few minutes and we were ready to go. Our table location this year was awesome. Artist Alley had lots of room to move around in and there really weren't any bad table locations. On top of that, AA was huuuge! It was like a mini exhibit hall full of artsy goodness. XD

After getting set up, we anxiously awaited opening. A lot of time and effort had gone into preparing for Anime Expo '08 and we were finally going to see if it would pay off. Not long after the doors opened were we getting people coming up and checking out our hats. Within 90 minutes, we had already gotten a good amount of business. Unfortunately, due to a cosplay emergency, we had to leave less than 2 hours after opening. We had planned to return later but (long story short) we were unable to do so. : (
However, if you spotted a neon green hide cosplayer Thursday or Saturday, that was none other than the owner of Cat Nap Caps, Cindy!

Day 2
Our first real day in Artist Alley. We spent the morning and afternoon selling more hats, plushies and a few other items. Business went really well and everyone who stopped by the table was very nice. We caught our first sightings of people wearing our hats around the convention. We were very happy to see people enjoying our products. ^_^

There being only two of us to run the table this year, we decide to pack up late afternoon and check out the exhibit hall. Anime Expo is known for it's massive exhibit hall and this year was no exception. There were lots of things to buy and lots of cosplayers out shopping.
Day 3
Saturday being one of the busiest days for AX, we wanted to devote a lot of time in Artist Alley. However, we had already sold a lot the first two days and we didn't do quite as well as we could have. Lesson learned: Make more stuff! Each year we bring more and more to sell but it never seems to be enough. Next year, we will try to bring double the merchandise so we can maintain a good amount of variety for our awesome customers. :D

We took turns watching the table as we each go wander Artist Alley. There were some really talented artists this year and lots of cute things to buy. Over the course of the con, we bought buttons, bookmarks, prints and an adorable little woven plushie in a jar (we named him Rattles). We took off to the exhibit hall once again in the afternoon and returned that evening. The last two hours in Artist Alley on Saturday were very disapointing. We had absolutely no business until artist alley was closing and someone was hurrying to buy a last minute gift. A big thank you goes out to that person!

Day 4
The very last day is always a sad one. We arrived a little late and got set up. By this time, most of our stuff had been bought and the table was looking a little empty. Still, we sold a good amount of items in just a few hours and then packed up for the last time. We still had things to buy in the exhibit hall and shopped until they closed. Artist Alley remained open longer than scheduled so we did some last minute shopping there as well.

We had reached our goal for this year and by the end of our time in Artist Alley sunday, we had exceeded it by a pleasant amount. Lots of our business cards and stickers were picked up by visitors and we hope to have people buy and commission from us this summer. We would sincerely like to thank everyone who visited and bought from our Artist Alley table this year. You made this year's Anime Expo a very memorable one for us. Please visit us at next year's AX and check back to find out what other conventions in Southern California we will be attending next!
Thank you!
- Cindy & Brian
More Pictures!