Ketchup, Coffee, and Comikaze

First, a big giant thank you to all who commented on my last post - you are the kindest, sweetest readers, and I love you all! It really meant a whole lot to me to receive such tremendous support. You are really the best.

Now on to some pixtures...

You know I love, love, love Craig Ferguson, right? This is what appeared on my onscreen tv guide last month. That's right - actress Matt Smith, aka Doctor Who. I mean, he's pretty and all, but definitely male.
 
Last Thursday, my friend Terrill of Art My Way called me and asked if I could help her out with a show that she was selling her jewelry at. Sure, no problem! She also said that since this wasn't a juried show, she would give me a little corner of her space to sell some of my things. Awesome! Since the show started on Saturday, boy, did I have a busy Friday! I haven't done a show for almost 2 years, and that was just a quickie at Adorn Me in Houston to go along with my classes. So I had to figure out a display, decide which items to take, put price tags on them, redesign and print some business cards, etc., etc. And then pack it all up to go.

The show was called Comikaze, and is sort of a little sister to Comicon. Yep, nerds and geeks and people in costume everywhere. It was so much fun!  It was at the LA Convention Center, which by 9 am on Saturday was full to bursting with geekiness. There is a Starbuck's popup there, that had a line circling all the way around it ALL DAY LONG. I braved it the first day, and Terrill did the second.

Here's my little corner display. This is what it looked like on the second day, Sunday. On Saturday I had featured the pieces that are in the Steampunk book, but by the end of the day I decided that I didn't want to sell them, so I put them away. It's amazing - what looks like a ton of stuff on Etsy doesn't look so big when you cram it all into one little display in real life. But when I have more space I will be able to show the individual items much better.

Early on Saturday I sold one of my larger, actually probably my largest -  piece to a lovely young woman, Amber Valdez. Turns out she's a red carpet interviewer, so you never know, this just may end up on screen someday!

After the high of that, I only sold a couple of pendants and a few inexpensive chains, but hey, it was totally worth it! Of course, my feet and back were hurting the whole time - I'm only just now starting to feel like I can move again. Dang feet and back! Doing those shows is hard work! But since I'm a glutton for punishment, I will be doing a holiday boutique in a few weeks in Sierra Madre, with the gang from Zinnia and others.   December 10, to be exact.

I'm very shy about taking pictures of real people. I wish I had been bold enough to take them all throughout the show, since there were all kinds of costumes worn by ALL kinds of people. And my Ghod, I've never, ever seen so many bad wigs in one place! Having been a wig wearer on stage for so many years, it bothers me when I see people wear them like hats - with their own hair coming out in the back, on the sides....quite spoils the illusion for me. And I also must admit that I don't see the attraction in dressing exactly like an anime or manga character. But I do LOVE seeing the creativity in the people all Steampunked out - gosh, the women's costumes are so pretty! and I also like seeing someone make up their own character.

The most unsettling one I saw was not any of the people draped in weaponry or covered in stage blood, but one small, good looking man carrying a baby. Why unsettling? Well, it was the blue loincloth that he was almost wearing...with nothing else on. Yikes. Thank goodness he at least was fit!

But I finally took pictures of my favorite costume, a beautiful, tall woman wearing a bra top with skeletal hands over it, and a skeletal tail pluming down to the ground, accompanied by a green faced zombie in a torn up Marines uniform.

I took the picture just when they were putting more blood in their mouths, so I didn't get her face in the shots. Dang!

Here's another guy that was with them. Amazing costumes, right? Fun!