Oh yeah...I make buttons

I've been thinking a lot about my shop lately. Where it's been and where I want it to go. I've been selling on Etsy for almost 7 years and The Pink Samurai has gone from hand-sewn bags, to cross stitch, to buttons and everything in between. Changing direction is totally natural for any personal venture, and I'm itching for something new about now. These buttons are little different from my more super anime themed stuff and think these reflect a little bit more of who I am right now ^_^ I've been reading through Elsie's Dream Job e-course and even after being in business for myself for 7 years, there's still so much to plan for and think about. Especially if you want to take things to next level. I'm looking to have these guys listed soon, but I've got a pretty big rebranding effort in the works! So the goal is by Spring to unveil the new shop / products / blog / everything.

Wish me luck!

<3

Things

Some things I've been up to over on tumblr. Figure I'll still check in and do regular posts over here, too. It's kind of fun to have both...and I can do bigger stuff like tutorials and giveaways here ^_^

The Katsucon Experience

So one of the things I do as an artist to get my work out there is to go to different conventions. I've been to Otakon in Baltimore twice, it's the second largest Anime convention in the country with about 20,000 attendees a year. Wizard World Philly once, it's a comic convention hosted by Wizard Magazine. And last weekend was my first time at Katsucon, a smaller Anime convention in DC that has about a couple thousand that attend. So far, Otakon has been my greatest success, I doubled my profit the second year I went and this year we are planning to move from the Artist Alley to the Dealer's Room, which WAY more people visit and fork over their cash ^_^

Katsucon was kind of disappointing. I had a good time, my sister came with me and my friends Clint & Alicia from Alicia's Anime were in the dealer's room so we got to hang out when we needed a break from our booths. The disappointing part was how the con was run. It was their first year in a new venue, which always has it's issues, but those of us in the Artist Alley definitely had our qualms. The Crafter's Corner of the Alley was were people who do 3D art, amigurumi, jewelry, cosplay, buttons, etc. could have their booths. First we were promised a space in the dealer's room, which was super exciting! Then they came back and said we were moved back into the Alley, but they would open the divider between the Dealer's Room and the Alley so we would have more exposure. Ok! Sounds great! And it was for the first day, but then on Saturday, which is generally the busiest day of any weekend convention, the wall was closed, and stayed closed the rest of the time. Lame.

Another complaint some of the artist's had were the specifics of what could be sold. Generally, artist sell mostly Fan Art and commissions for Fan Art and a little bit of original stuff. Katsucon wanted very little fan art and mostly original stuff. They pushed the point by making some artist take down some of their work once they were already there. And with my buttons, there was a tiny rule that I never saw that said you couldn't sell buttons with words on them. So all of those new buttons I designed? Yeah, they made me take them down. Half of my stock was taken down. If they had been more specific I would have spent a lot more time on other designs that would have been acceptable. Super Lame.

I know a few of the artists this year that not going back to that con. It would definitely take a lot for me to do that con again. But we made the best of it, made a profit at least and got some good photos. Here's the pictures, which is what most of you are going to look and pay no attention to my tl:dr ^_^

My view on the first day. I could see into the dealer's room with people moving back and forth through both rooms. Plus I could run over and see Alicia's Anime quick like a bunny!

My booth on Friday. Look at all those pretty buttons! And my pretty sister! She was trainer from Pokemon.

Button close-up.

Jackie! Gotta catch 'em all.

Professor Sprout was there! I'm glad she was wearing the proper protective ear muffs for the Mandrakes.

Domo kun was there, too.

This was our view on Saturday and Sunday. Awesome o.O

GAH! Storm and Scout Troopers! I was SO happy to see them. We were just chillin.

And don't forget R2D2. I love how he's cheesin ^_^

Gagas! Jackie took this one, I never saw them but I was super excited when I saw the pic on the camera.

Dr. Who cast? Yes, please.

This sushi's name is Paco. He was covered in buttons by the end of the weekend!

She came by every day stock up on more buttons ^_^

The booth on Saturday with the Alley behind us.

They stuck the gamers in the back of the hall.

In the dealer's room. There were lots of swords.

Happy Japan was there! I love them.

Alicia & Clint from Alicia's Anime. I love them! Check out there site, they have so much cool stuff.

Some New Designs!

I've been working on a bunch of new designs for Katsucon (Next weekend!) and here are some of them. I have about 30, but I don't want to overload my shop, so 10 will work for today. Let me know what you think!

This one is my favorite ^_^

Sweet Lolita & Sweet Rococo has some beautiful sweet loli dresses!

Gothic Lolita

Harajuku Girl. My sister got me a dress from the Harajuku District ^_^

No, I will NOT draw you as an anime character! For people with great talent who get taken advantage of by their friends lol

Yummy Sushi! Give me a spicy tuna roll any day.

Kiss me, I'm an Anime Fan :-*

Onigiri!

This says Kawaii - it means cute!

I draw anime. I wish I could draw it well.

DIY Packaging

Hey! I decided to show you guys how I do my packaging. I need to add a picture of the final result in my listings on Etsy, I think it might help. But here you go!

I designed my hangtags in Adobe Illustrator. I measured the bags that I use, figured out how much space I needed for the front and back and positioned as many as I could onto one page. I use a presentation paper so it has a little bit more weight and looks a little sharper. Don't forget to flip the back! You'll be folding it over.

Then I cut them out. I've got a small paper cutter, but a ruler and an Exacto knife work just as well. I just eyeball it when cutting, just make sure that the sides are even.

Then I fold and staple! I use a bone folder, just because I have one. The side of pen will work fine, too. I like to make sure the fold is nice and sharp, it just looks better that way. Then I put the pins in and use two staples.

And tada! Sorry for the language ^_^ This particular order was a little larger so I put all the buttons in one package. Usually there's just a couple.

I don't know if that helps anyone, I just felt sharing. And if anyone needs some design work done, packaging or anything, I'd love to talk!

Valentine Spirit

The Pink Samurai is gettin' all lovey dovey ^_^ Check out our new designs just for the holiday!

Team Conan

I'm sure that no one really cares where I stand on the whole late night tv situation, but I'm just gonna throw it out there anyway. I've always been Letterman/Conan kind of gal. Leno is just a dirt bag who stole most of his bits from Howard Stern (whom I adore), so I've never been a fan.

Go Team Conan!

Team Conan pinback buttons

Custom Button Portraits

So I am officially accepting orders for custom buttons portraits. I made a couple for my BFA show and a gallery in Salisbury and I'd like to expand. They take 4 to 8 weeks, depending on the size of the piece and are made entirely of hand-pressed buttons. Custom framed and ready to hang.

For pricing, please email: rebekahjpool@gmail.com

Here are some pictures, again, of the final products:

No Division Show

Last weekend really was amazing. Along with our Senior Show, Dick and I were both in a local exhibition with other Salisbury artists and the guys from the No Division Design Syndicate. It was an amazing time and I made this new piece just for it! It's my self portrait.

Dick helped Tim Fields (the awesome guy who made this happen and also is a glass blower with and etsy shop! http://timfieldsglass.etsy.com) with hanging the show. Here's our room in progress:

The framed print all the way to the left that's terribly cut off is Dick's wood cut of Mickey in a hangman's noose. The prints on the floor are a couple mine that weren't hung yet.

Casey came to the show, and apparently we were very concerned with something happening over there.

Meeee! This one is about half the size of the piece in the Senior Show. The lighting wasn't great, just fluorescents that really put a glare on the darkest parts.

I brought my buttons on a whim, not really expecting to get anything out of it, but they went like crazy! Trevor is the shit and put his on right quick. I love when awesome people like my stuff.

JP (far left) is part of No Division and had tons of his prints up for display and for sale. He's amazing. Look at everything he makes! He's got an Etsy Shop, too. It was a great night of art, music and friends. I could make a habit of this.