2/10

IT'S GETTING CLOSER. Just over a fortnight away now, guys~ How are you all going on your preparations? Right about now is where I start spazzing out with everything, but then again, that's just me. x3 There'll be weekly posts until Armageddon from now on- but there's few administrative things I need to get out the way with you sellers, so here we gooo.

1.) Electricity, as was mentioned, costs $55~ish to hook up. There were some ideas about running computers for demos, but space and money are the two issues about this. If you're willing to devote your whole space to a computer (will be -very- cramped) and pay the $55 for yourself, then tell me now- the form is due in next week.

2.) Passes. I need to meet all of you on Saturday morning, before the convention- 8am, please. (I know, christ, it's early- but the con opens at 9, which will give you enough time to get up there and set up your stuff.)
=SamanthaKateena, I'll steal your pass off you after you leave on Sunday evening- and then I'll meet *pd-inc before the con on Monday morning (hopefully 8:30ish, 8ish?) and pass it on to her so she can set up her stuff.
Regardless.
We'll meet outside the front of the Aotea center, you'll be able to pick me out because I'll have a strange hat on. a_a (That, and we'll be in contact due to my noob grasp of Auckland-)
WHICH BRINGS US TO.
3.) Contact. Could all of you please (AGAIN, sorry guys, yeah, I suck) post here with your -real name- and your cellphone number, so that ~gingerpeace can help me contact you guys if we can't find you, or an emergency happens etc? (It also gives me some peace of mind if you reply to these posts so that I know you're all reading. ;3; PARANOIA)

4.) Gear. Have you got everything? Clearfiles, loose clearfiles etc? Notebook? (Named. Hurr hurr.) Moneyboxes are important and the staff that work the stall are very trustworthy- but if it's not secure and lockable, then we're not liable to BUY SOMETHING THAT THE HULK HIMSELF COULDN'T BREAK INTO. Prints printed? Art supplies together? Everything priced?
In regards to gear, it's okay to leave things behind the stall overnight- we haven't had any problems in the past, but don't leave any valuables or anything there. If you're worried about something being stolen, or are paranoid about it, it's probably best to take it home with you then. Otherwise, it's a-okay. Good luck~!

ANY QUESTIONS? <3

15/9
OKAY. I've decided I'm not going to keep making new posts because the info will get everywhere so just bear with me and read all of this at some point. It's better to keep things altogether, so... here it shall stay. Armageddon is around a month away, so I hope you've all prepared and are gearing up for it! (Make sure you've arranged all your goods/artwork in the way listed below. Just a loving reminder.) I've just received and sent off all of the final information regarding passes etc. so I'll need to arrange you meet you all before the convention on Saturday morning to give them out - and Geoff, you still okay to help me set up on Friday? <3?
As for cellphones, I can only text 027s unfortunately, so I guess that plan is down the plughole. All the people down in Dunedin have 027 phones, so I followed the crowd. >> Cheap texts.

RIGHT ANYWAY. New news for stallgoers - I have the times that you'll be required to be around for each day, unless you've talked to me prior about it. The con runs from 9am to 6pm each day (Saturday, Sunday, Monday), so yeah. That's when you have to be there. We usually all meet at the stall on the morning of each day and then arrange the times everyone'll be working, so that's a good vantage point to start at.
As for Monday, cosplay day - I'm going to be away from the stall for quite an amount of time in the afternoon. If anyone else is going to be cosplaying and entering the competition, please tell me now so we can know how many people will be around to man the stall. <3

In regards to electricity for the live demos, it is in my opinion far too expensive to justify (around $50 for a connection) so that's also out, unless someone wishes to buy it themselves for their own use. But from what I can see, we'll just be going natural-style like last year. x3

As for the rest of the stall, I was wondering if any of the artists coming would be keen to think about some of their artwork to cover the backing board behind us? It makes the place look a lot more homely and it draws the crowd, so mull it over. <3 Posters, prints, anything - even if it's just a colourful pricelist for the public you drew up. It makes the board look less boring, haha.

I would like everyone that's coming to the stall to reply to the posts when I update just so I know you're still with us and everything, just because I'm absolutely paranoid. So for the sake of my sanity, pleease?

That's all I have to say for now, but there'll be more coming in the very near future. Thanks guys~

(a while ago.)

Right! It's been a while and Armageddon is creeping ever closer, so we better get dug into the organising now. Firstly I'll post the finality of who's attending from what I've gathered from people, for references sake- questions, etc. just reply to the journal post. ( Geoff, feel free to butt in any time, by the way. ;< )

saturday
----
*Shin-zo
~seraphik
~gingerpeace
=fello
~doubtingthomas
~spikeyheadedfreak
=SamanthaKateena

sunday
----
*Shin-zo
~seraphik
~gingerpeace
=fello
~doubtingthomas
~spikeyheadedfreak
=SamanthaKateena

monday
----
*Shin-zo
~seraphik
~gingerpeace
=fello
~doubtingthomas
~spikeyheadedfreak
*pd-inc

Phew. So, that's what I have so far. Also please note that Monday is also the cosplay day so if you're planning to cosplay as well, please say so here- we need to make sure that there's enough people at the store to cover whilst the competition is held.

Now. What you'll need, mostly extrapolated from the previous posts because I'm a total doofus and hate typing novellas. If you were either at the stall or saw it last year, we're running it more or less the same way because it seemed to work really well. There was a good flow through and it made it on the whole a lot less crowded than it would've been, so the same system is going to be in place this time around. Which I will explain for firsttimers later in this post. Woo. Or now, actually. It would make more sense.

Last year, the stall was run by around 2-3 (sometimes more, if they were doing commissions or just hanging) people that stayed behind it and sold people's work for them (took the money, put it in the artists' corresponding money box etc), effectively doing it in shifts so you're not stuck behind the table all day, and you are free to look around the con a little. While this is true, you must be around the stall quite a bit- running off and leaving people to handle your work for a long time, or even the whole time is not acceptable!
So, how do the patrons see your wares? Easily- we lay your artwork or work out on the tables in front of us in clearfiles, so people can walk past and leaf through them. It is crucial that all of your stuff is marked with a price or written down in a book that's left open for the people handling the stall at the time or otherwise mixups will happen- and we don't want that at all. There is also wallspace for particular masterpieces or bigger artwork such as posters which is avaliable- in fact, it looks more merry if there's stuff on the walls, so make use of the space~
As Amy said last time, this method does involve a lot of trust between the people at the stall- but there will always be a 'veteran' supervising (someone that's worked at the stall before), if you have questions, just to oversee and stuff. ~gingerpeace and =fello are both excellent people to ask purely because they've been at this longer than me, and all the artists at the stall are really friendly. There seems like a lot of things to think about, but it ends up a really enjoyable time for all~
A more concise action plan talking about the shifts will be made closer to the time.

IN REGARDS TO THE WAY THE STALL IS RUN, YOU CAN SORT OF SEE IT IN THE PHOTOS ON THE CLUB. -cough

AND NOW, A NOTE.

Hey all - It's your friendly neighbourhood gingerpeace.

This is a note for those bringing lots of art and need more than one folder. Please try to fit all you intend to sell into TWO folders, with a possible third folder. We had a slight issue last year when a couple of people bought 3 folders and it caused a bit of grief. If artists have only two folders which they sell and display works from then it will be a lot easier to organize space for everyone.

This also means that as you sell from your main two folders you can replace works from your final folder. (Any more than three is a bit misguided). If we have the space then people will be more than welcome to display all of their folders at all times, this however will remain subject to the day.

Thank you.


WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING.

-> clearfiles.

First and foremost. You -have- to have clearfiles with your artwork in it, or at least, artwork you want to sell. As Keysha mentioned last year, if you just leave it out then it's very easily damaged by the sheer amount of people picking it up, touching it etc. so what happened last year was pretty much everyone at the stall had a clearfile with the artwork they were selling in it, usually with the price on a sticker on each page. It helps the 'flow' of the stall, or whatever you want to call it- so yes. Clearfiles. Putting your name on it is also a stellar idea.

-> loose clearfile sheets.

WHILE we're on the subject of clearfiles, it usually looks more professional if you hand over the artwork stowed away in a clearfile sheet instead of just by itself, especially since they would tend to get crushed in people's luggage- they're not expensive, and people ooh and ahh at the shininess. It's a good idea to bring your own since other artists usually aren't thrilled at having to hand them out when they've bought them with their own money.

-> MONEYBOX.

Preferrably lockable, to keep your hard earned moolah in. If you don't have one, I'm told you can acquire one from Warehouse Stationery or somewhere like that. Since different people will be looking after the stall this is the safest way of making sure that the proceeds go to the right people and that they stay out of harms way. NAMED also.

-> anything you're using to draw commissions with.

If you're one of the people that are drawing commissions, obviously you'll be bringing in your pens, pencils, paper, what have you. People like watching other people draw, and it makes them look at your artwork- plus it's an awesome way to pass the time. If you have expensive art supplies like Copic markers or whatnot, it might also be a good idea to carry them around with you just in case. They're not that heavy, unless you have a trillion of them- and it makes one less thing to fret about.

-> a record book.

It's crucial that you keep a tally of what you sell and your earnings as the con goes past, because it's how we arrange payment for the renting of the stall. If you're not there, your book should be kept with your money box so whoever is running it at the time can write it down for you- this is also why we need everything priced and marked!

-> camera?

This was written last time, but it's not compulsory- purely that cameras are fun (memories!) and if you're one of the people doing commissions it can be handy to have a digital reference instead of a lot of hassle.

-> lanyard...

Not too sure about this but I'd suggest you bring one to hang your entrance pass from- it's what gets you in and out of the con whenever you get the munchies or at the start of each day.

OKAY. That's the end of that list, for now.

RULES AND Q&A, for stallmembers

What kind of artwork am I allowed to sell?

Since Armageddon is a family convention, we're not allowed to sell anything that has nudity in it. Sexy is okay, but please- think of the children. Apart from that, anything that you've made that's considered art, up to and not including t-shirts, posters, prints, commissions, keyrings, magnets, mugs, music, whatever. It has to be YOUR artwork though- any traces etc are most definately not allowed.

Can I bring my friends behind the stall?

No. With around 7 people behind the stall already, anyone else behind it makes life very difficult and then people start to get antsy. It's cool if your friends want to come and see you- there's usually space next to the stall for you to chat etc. But please generally keep it clear so that we can get in and out and generally preserve our sanity. <3 We've learned this from prior conventions.

Where the heck are we?

We're in the same place as last year on Level 5- if you have no idea where that is because you're a new seller, someone will come down and show you up to our stall. <3

Can I commission?

Sure, the public loves commissions! We can only have about 2 people doing commissions at a time, however, due to space constraints at the stall; so what we did last year was we drew up a roster of who was going to be commissioning when so everyone got a fair go~

General Rules~

- fanart is allowed- let's get this clear because it'd be a pity if we didn't! The manager of Armageddon has permitted it, so knock yourself out.
- if you are selling at the stall, you will be helping out with the cost of renting it. If you have any questions about this, pm me or the club.
- the fact that you're there primarily to sell and not to wander off all the time is a given- but don't let this put you off if there's something you want to see, or an event etc. - just as long as you arrange it with the rest of the stall in advance! It's pretty flexible etc, so as long as we're told it's peachy.
- DON'T lose the entrance pass you're given! It will be the only one, and if you do lose it you'll be paying for each day, so treat it like your firstborn and keep it close.
- don't be put off by my ranting and the rules~ Armageddon Auckland last year was an absolute blast and I'm sure it will be again this year!

Regarding transport, since Amy isn't here like last year I'll be absolutely no help on this front since I'm travelling up from Dunedin on a plane- so you're going to have to be responsible for turning up ON TIME each day- especially the first, because that's when you'll get your staff entrance passes for the convention.
I'm not too read up on Auckland transport but their buses seem to be pretty punctual compared to down here, so uh- have a think. Consider that you'll be bringing in all your artwork and stuff too, so you might want someone to help you.

As a further note, closer to the time I will need everyone's cellphone numbers just in case something goes wrong, or I need to contact someone (hopefully 027? >>- especially if they're late or on the first day so they can get their passes. That would be peachy.

====

FUTURE SURVIVORS - Auckland, October 2007


SURVIVORS - Auckland, October 2005


SURVIVORS - Wellington, April 2006
- and will someone that was THERE fill in the rest?

SURVIVORS - Auckland, October 2006


AFFILIATES - Affiliated companies/stalls/individuals that SURVIVED Armageddon
BlueScar:

Groupies - Loyal followers of the Armageddon DeviantART stall


Previous club journals
Armageddon - Labour Weekend 2006!
Armageddon Auckland 2006 + Doujin Overload