As I write this, I am 9 days away from VoltCon 2023 here in Indianapolis, Indiana. This weighs heavily on me, as Troxell's Trading Post is going to have its first convention booth there, and we're nowhere near ready.
One thing that hasn't helped has been my health. I've been exhausted the past few weeks, and over the past few days, I've also been headachy, sore, and unable to focus on much of anything. I'm feeling better now, but those were two days I couldn't do any making, and two days I had to take off work when I was hoping to take a long weekend to have some uninterrupted work time.
So, what do I have left to do?
Well, VoltCon is a convention celebrating the "giant robot" genre of animation. Shows like Voltron, Robotech, Transformers, that sort of thing. However, it's mainly Voltron, and a lot of people that attend are big fans of the Netflix Voltron: Legendary Defender series. This means, of course, if I'm vending, I really should have some giant robot stuff.
If you look at my last post, right now, a lot of what I've been printing has been articulated creatures, like lizards and bats and tigers. Due to events earlier this year, I was never able to take the time to model some cool things from these shows, and many of the items I'm finding on sites like Thingiverse and Printables are not licensed for commercial use.
Yes, I actually pay attention to that sort of thing.
If you've been watching my Instagram account, then you have seen me experimenting with 3D-printing leather stamps. This has worked... okay. The smaller ones are working out well, but the larger ones aren't working as well as I hoped, and I'm obviously running out of "testing" time. So, this weekend is going to be spent doing some leather carving into bases of dice/valet trays, keychains, and coasters. I also need to continue plugging away at the Optimus Prime helmet/mask I'm making, using files from Big Fred's Customs. I'm also going to try to do one more helmet as a display for the booth, but it's not a "needs done" sort of thing. So, we're looking at some 3D-printed helmets, and logo leatherwork from this half of Troxell's Trading Post.
Kat is working on Perler bead art, and he's got some cool stuff he's working on, a lot of it Voltron-related in particular. I really don't want to spoil his stuff, but eventually, I'll have him do some writing on here so you all can see what he's making, and how he works.
Now, this is just what needs to be done for product. I still need to figure out how to set up the table, buy some shelving for behind the table, print displays for magnets and keychains, and create signage ranging from pricing to attribution to the artists whose files I use. I need to get something set up other than this blog and a Ko-fi shop in case anyone wants to find me online. I need to get everything added into Square so we can take credit cards, and I need to show Kat how to use Square in the event he has to keep an eye on the table.
Okay, as I am writing this, I see that the map for VoltCon's dealer room has been released, and I'm right next to another more established 3D printing booth. So, I now have nine days to figure out something else.
Wish me luck.
Tony