So now you'll just have to come to ConCarolinas... ^_~ lol

I doubt i'll be able to make it to ConCarolinas. This weekend sucked for sales and I'm kind of uneasy about attending another con with little anime fair especially if I'm going to spend more than I did at RoundCon. >< I made maybe $40 above cost so it wasn't worth it. I had loads of fun though and met some really nice people!

So you actually made money to attend, but wouldn't attend a con if you didn't make money?

No, the thing is, money is really tight for me right now. I'm trying desperately to save up for a car because I'm sharing with my room mate and paying half the insurance bill and half of gas. I go to conventions specifically to sell my stuff because it generates a lot more business by getting my name out there plus it's a huge chunk of money in one weekend. At a larger anime convention, in three days, I can make at least the same amount I make from online orders in 2 months. If I can't even make enough to cover my cost of the convention fee (registration + artists alley table/dealers table), hotel, gas, food, and various other essentials, it's not worth it to me at this point. I'm not generating enough business right now to spend willy nilly on just a fun weekend. After I get a car of my own, it will be a different issue, but as of right now, I have to save all the money I can. At RoundCon I barely broke even. I made $140. $100 of that is lost profit because of my table fee. $20 was lost from food/gas. And if I add up all the materials that I used for the hats sold, that's probably the other $20, possibly more, gone. I didn't project making much, but RoundCon is located less than 15 minutes from my house and it was something to do so it made it worth it to at least try. Besides, ConCarolinas is the next weekend after Animazement or something like that so I'm not going to be thrilled with jumping back in the car and driving back to NC imediately after. You may not get any of this, but if you aren't a seller, it's hard to understand. There's a lot of stuff we have to do. And everyone being tired after conventions is nothing abnormal, but you can't even begin to imagine how tired sellers get. I slept over 12 hours today without waking up and I have a very noisy cat (as well as constantly running around the bed when he's awake and I'm asleep) and even he didn't wake me up. Edit: I do and have attended conventions where I don't go to sell anything. It's just right now the money issue I'm having is keeping me from doing a lot of things I want to do. I also want to get into bigger business ventures that would generate more money, but am not at this point in time because money is such an issue right now.

Oh you don't have to justify anything with me. Just saying "I have money issues" explains everything to me.

Ah ok. ^^ It's one of those things, you know? Not sure if you've heard of that whole fiasco with Otakon this year in regards to Artist Alley sellers and fanart. A LOT of people who don't do anything with artist alley or anything art related period thought all the people who were peeved over Otakon banning fanart were all stupid and acting childish especially since a good chunk of us decided to drop out of doing Otakon this year or any year until they lifted the ban. It wasn't childishness, it was business sense. So some of us are now a bit touchy when it comes to the subject. Sorry for that. *sweatdrop* So yes, to sum it all up, I gots money issues.

Yay! Now you have a group in Columbia!

Not sure if you've heard of that whole fiasco with Otakon this year in regards to Artist Alley sellers and fanart. A LOT of people who don't do anything with artist alley or anything art related period thought all the people who were peeved over Otakon banning fanart were all stupid and acting childish especially since a good chunk of us decided to drop out of doing Otakon this year or any year until they lifted the ban. It wasn't childishness, it was business sense. So some of us are now a bit touchy when it comes to the subject. Sorry for that. *sweatdrop* I don't blame the artists for being upset; Otakon has now set a precedent that many cons are following. I'm not sure if someone from the Industry has complained to Otakon; several of us have been trying to find out. As far as I know the Industry has said nothing to the 3 conventions that I am involved with. However all 3 are changing their Artist's Alley rules. The problem in my opinion has more to do with "artists" like GenkiHats and Purrsia Press. GenkiHats only wants to be in Artist's Alley, however last year Otakon made her get a dealer's table. The hats are great (I have one), but she is blatently still making hats that look exactly like ones Funimation is doing for FruitsBasket. Also, in case anyone did not know, there is actually a team of about 30 people helping her make those hats. Doesn't sound like an artist to me! As for Purrsia Press the less I say the better.

Like I said, you guys are more than welcome to have stuff at the table for ConCarolinas. If you want to meet up between now and then to give me stuff to take and then meet up afterwards to give back what doesn't sell and the money for what does, I would not mind one bit.

The problem in my opinion has more to do with "artists" like GenkiHats and Purrsia Press. GenkiHats only wants to be in Artist's Alley, however last year Otakon made her get a dealer's table. The hats are great (I have one), but she is blatently still making hats that look exactly like ones Funimation is doing for FruitsBasket. Also, in case anyone did not know, there is actually a team of about 30 people helping her make those hats. Doesn't sound like an artist to me!Being a hat maker myself, I know ALL about GenkiGang/Hats. She's a bitch quite frankly. I'm not even going to be nice. She's handing out cease and desist orders to other hat makers like she owns the market. she has NO licenses to the characters she makes, she has no copyright on her hat designs and she's not above threatening anyone doing anything close to what she does. Plus she charges an arm and a leg for them (though recently apparently she's dropped the price of most of her hats). Sorry, I just have a HUGE problem with her because she's not an artist, she's a business woman and she has absolutely NO respect for anyone but herself and her team, which yes consists of a large amount of people. She's a mass production marketer which doesn't belong in Artist Alley and I'm glad to hear that some of the conventions she attends are finally doing something about her. And you may think their hats are nice, but trust me, I've found other hats (not just mine) that are a lot better quality and don't look half assed like most of Genki's do. She's just pulling all this crap because she's most massive business due to other one man artist "companies" producing BETTER and CHEAPER work. My friend owns two of Genki's hats and one of them she paid $45 for it doesn't even fit on her head because is was cut out incorrectly and it has no lining. Whereas mine for example costs $20 for the same character and it fully lined and is made to fit all sized heads. Sorry, you'll find a lot of other hat makers who feel the same way I do for multiple reasons. It's a majorly sore subject with most of us, especially those of us who've gotten thos lovely little cease and desist orders (which i haven't but I want her to give me one sooo badly). Andromeda: That sounds awesome! I'll see if I can get some of my cell phone charms or something done up to give you. I have to do some for Animazement and A-kon so it'll be easy to get them all done at once. Quickie: Woohoo! Sounds like a plan! I'm so there! I'll PM you my phone number and you can always get me on AIM too, NessimeTook. Warning though, I stay up til the wee hours so if you call or IM during the early part of the day, I'll be dead to the world. And yeah, it was a pretty crappy weekend for everyone. Sean told me all about the dealings with the hotel too....I had no idea that those assholes staying at the hotel who weren't apart of the convention were screaming obscenities into the anime room. o.o Sean was saying overall it was a down year for everyone. they were down like 30 something % in attendance. Hopefully that will change next year with the better hotel.

Ha, Ha, Ha..... glad to see other people don't like her either! Emily DeJesus was telling me something about her harassing other hat makers (one of Emily's friends makes hats also), that must be what she meant. The nerve of some people....sending cease and desist notices to others when she is blatantly ignoring INDUSTRY licenses that they paid tons of money for. BTW her "real job" is working for Cartoon Network.... At Nekocon in 2004, we decided that would be Genki's last artist alley appearance; after seeing that Otakon made her purchase a dealers table, I sent an email telling her that she was welcome in our dealer's room for $300 a booth...she declined saying that she did not sell much at Neko 2004. What a lie, I know she sold more at Neko than at Animazement. Bet if she was invited back to artist's alley she would have come....you're right what a bitch!

Which of Emily's friends is a hat maker, or did she say? I probably know them. Hell, they might just be in my guild on Gaia for hat makers. It's probably Leloi if I go by anything I know from Gaia from both Emily and Robert. Robert used to hang out with my circle of Gaia friends who are appart of the -intelligent- community and one of the mods on Gaia who was apart of that group is also a hat maker. I'm pretty sure she and Emily know each other. Robert's been too busy though to come on Gaia anymore lately so he and I just bitch at each other on DA now. XD Thank god for AWA though cuz I miss them both so much and I want to see them again, even though I don't know Emily that well. and WTF? She works for Cartoon Network? That's laughable. That's probably the only reason she's been able to get a lawyer to give her advice about going about cease and desist orders. Otherwise, I don't see HOW she could have a lawyer on her side in this case. It's laughable. It truly is. Not to mention the fact that on the website she says the hat thing is her ONLY job. HA! Now I hate her even more. And I meant it, I want to get one of this orders from her. It'll get it's own little page in my scrap book. I wonder if she'll be at Animazement this year...should be interesting. I'll have my hats with me so I'm looking extra forward to it (especially since I've been getting crap from Animazement's Artist Alley director and her not taking care of anything to do with the con specifically its paying customers...I need a little uplift of hope here....long story, but it pretty much boils down to that I will NEVER attend Animazement again). And meh, I just read thru Neko's AA rules. It looks like a convention I'd be happy to attend but I'm not sure now since most of my stuff is fanart so I think that's out. Not that I can't/don't do anything other than fanart, it's just what sells better at certain conventions. Like at Otakon, fanart sells way better than originals, whereas at Anime Expo is the opposite. But I guess because of people like her, she's screwed it up for the rest of us who aren't greedy hosebags and have respect for other artists' and their wellbeing. As far as Otakon's concerned, I heard that it was also possibly due to one "artist" the past several years complaining about the AA rules in regards to fanart and copying. She was apparently taking official artwork and screencaps and things and drawing the same picture herself and trying to sell it which is against AA rules at every convention. She was apparently complaining that she was getting in trouble as well as complaining that none of her stuff would sell. After several years of this going on, it probably helped to push Otakon into stricter rules. Especially with the "NO Fanart" rule at first. And I've not heard anything coming from the Industry either about fanart.

Wow that lady sounds like a real Bitch to me. Anyway, do any of you know that she can't legally do anything to you. And does she even hold the intellectual copyright to the characters who's hats shes basing the design of? I mean, since she doesn't hold the license to do what she legally does, and she's trying to monopolize an industry which is pretty much exists in her mind, she could get into real trouble.

The problem with it is that no one can go after her about it. Anyone who doesn't know about copyright law or doesn't understand or is afraid of things will be intimidated by her and quit. It's already happened. But once word got out about it, those of us who aren't going to take her BS just laugh in her face about it. We know she has no legal right to give them out and we have no legal right to adhere to them. We can't make a big stink about her doing it because we have just as little legal right over it as she does. So instead we pretty much sit back and watch her make an ass of herself and call her dirty names and ignore the BS legal papers she has so much faith in.