Everyone and their mamas are letting me know they capped the tickets!! If you’re watching this in preparation for the future keep in mind every year is different 🥰
It’s suggested that they limited the amount of tickets sold since AX posted what days sold out. although AX never mentioned what number the ticket cap was.
@@khkairi12Yeah, I assume they set a limit on how many total tickets could be bought. I believe last year, ALOT of people were complaining about how overcrowded and unsafe it was last year due to how many people were there since it wasn't a cap on the amount of people able to go. From other commenters, they capped it to address that issue - meaning less attendees this year compared to previous years
I think a lot of people dont understand that small businesses dont have an income flow that is steady and even like a salaried job. It comes in bursts. Not to mention the immense amount of work that leads up to the events. Your booth is the culmination of literal years of hard work.
Comes in bursts and you have to constantly reinvest a percentage into more merch and new products. That reinvestment is a guess of what you think business will be like, too. You have the stress that maybe you over ordered or picked the wrong merch to make up until the show. I've stopped telling people how much I make at a con because they end up thinking I make that full amount and not that 50% of it goes to expenses and prep for the next con. Only my housemates seem to understand because they see all the prep put into it
Story of the japanese doujin life, basically making art purely for the love of it, they sell at only the cost of production. Hence why they're so cheap straight from the artist.
something to keep in mind: I think people are judging AX relative to 2022 & 2023, especially artists who've started selling in the past couple years. Those AX's were not normal. It was the post-covid convention where everyone was dying to finally get out and spend money. Having expectations relative to those AX's will only leave you disappointed. That combined with the fact our economy is in a downtrend with our dollar being inflated and debased and the average American becoming poorer just means sales wont be sky high all the time. The space is becoming more competitive as consumers have limited funds and will only spend on the best products.
you're totally right! I'm usually pretty good at factoring all that in its just other more experienced artists were going out of their way to warn me about AX so it was hard not to have inflated expectations haha
Hi!! I was your booth neighbor hehe, thanks for the snacks and your awesome review of AX. It was also my first AX and I have the same thoughts on expectations vs. reality -- hope to see you again in the future!
I think when it comes to “the possible money you can make and hype” I’d like to think that maybe those individuals might not do a lot of huge cons regularly. So to them this event might actually be truly hyped to them. But to a person whose does big cons often where there crowds ect., this is a normal everyday thing. I also think that when it comes to helpers it’s up to the vendor although you said you didn’t need one necessarily, it gave you a lot more free time to walk around and explore and take breaks so there was that plus side. You got to experience more of the con versus being behind your booth all the time or have to pause sales. All in all I’m glad you enjoyed yourself and got to have this experience. I’m truly happy for you i love seeing the growth you’ve experienced.
definitely! I was mostly warned by artists more experienced that me, but every year is different and con organizers like to change things up! everyone's experiences is also so different so i always make these videos with the hope that everyone is just taking it at face value and with a grain of salt haha
1. I like your haircut. 2. You have EVERY RIGHT to not allow others to make you feel weird or bad about your hotel & travel expenses. Or what you spend on anything else for that matter. Not wanting to compromise on lodging is 100% valid and normal. Same can be said for your profits. If I'm reading between the lines correctly, someone made you feel weird about it. I don't think people realize what a BLESSING you being open about your numbers truly is. It makes sense why you might not be as transparent about the finance aspect anymore, so I just want to say a huge THANK YOU for doing that at least up until this point. The information you've shared has helped encourage me to keep a level head as I tip-toe my way into the world of artist alleys (and not panic at every turn lol). Keep up the fantastic work
One thing I love about you is how informative and real you are when it comes to cons, especially as someone who’s finally starting to really try and pursue an art career (I started during 2020 then stopped sadly). So please keep being as transparent as you can!And for the weirdos you mentioned towards the end, please just block them! I def would’ve flexed and said my amount just to make them more mad but you’re better than me and I know that’s just not good business so I understand why you didn’t 😂😂 I’m sad you weren’t able to experience the hype of AX due to it being the first year they changed a lot of rules/guidelines but on the bright side you were able to take breaks and enjoy yourself more, so I’m happy you got to enjoy yourself ❤
The reason why it didn't live up to the reputation is because this is the first year there was a legitimate ticket cap/person limit in order to address the safety issues from overpopulated areas, unfortunately. I heard most stall owners were relatively underwhelmed compared to the last few years.
I love your videos. It's a window to an amazing world and seeing someone so hardworking succeed with their business just makes me happy. Thank you for being so open, funny, and overall amazing ❤.
Thank you for sharing all of this with us, it’s especially useful for fellow artists like myself. I don’t understand why people get funny when talking about how much you made or spent, firstly you earned every penny, and secondly you have every right to spend money on what’s necessary, especially when working away from home for multiple nights. Anyway, just wanted to say i appreciate you and your videos ❤
I saw you at AX but I was too shy to say hi! Haha your booth was super cute Also, I’ve been to Anime Expo several years, including last year when it was horrible with the amount of people, it was so hard to walk and the lines were so long. This year, as someone going to enjoy the con, it was sooooo much nicer, there was no lines to get inside any of the days and I was able to walk around inside without having to be a “sardine” lol every other year we would have to be in a line outside to get inside that would wrap around the street, which was miserable in the heat, sucks that you thought it was underwhelming, which makes sense as a seller and from all the hype but the reality is that this year was nothing like the year before of how packed and uncomfortable everything was haha
They made A LOT of quality of life changes for this year's AX. Along with the ticket caps, they also had a bunch of panels so people weren't just hanging out in the exhibit hall and artist alley all day. I loved the fact that it wasn't as crowded as last year, but yeah the economic downturn was also affecting the amount of people willing to buy stuff too. I'm not surprised that you were underwhelmed.
Your vlogs have been SO so helpful and enjoyable! I'm doing AnimeNYC this year which is my first convention since 2019 (and only my 3rd one ever) so I've been really nervous and scattered, but your videos have really helped me prepare! Thank you!
So what I learned is first day wrap it in a "sleeve"...last day raw dog it. This really is dating advice isn't it? Inkwell also said this year's AX had a cap on attendees so it was less crowded, more pleasant, but also led to lower sales.
I love that you’re so real and never pretend to not be frustrated or not be self-conscious just because you’re on camera. Good on you for also taking the time to reevaluate at the end of each day and consolidate your experiences. This is why I watch your content - because I feel like I’m following a genuine and authentic person. Sorry that you have weird feedback on your expenses/profits; that’s not even smth you need to share but the fact that people get weird about it is just weird lol. Anyway congrats on your great con experience girly
Not a bad convention for you regardless. The most I've ever made as a Dealer (not artist) is around 2k over two days of a small two day convention locally. The last two I went to were only between $200-$400 made over one day and one other two day convention. But folks also need to understand the business side of things. Even after initial expenses there's still taxes to be paid and inventory to be bought and however you value your time. That's what I like to remind my friends of, yes, I made some money, but I still have other expenses aside from convention to take care of.
objectively it was a great con for me! i probably just spoiled it for myself with expectation. and you're totally right! there's so so much money that goes into it my "expenses" that i share on here are only the surface
Last year when I went it was crazy over crowded and made it hard to do anything. I didn't even know some artist were there because, there were so many people I couldn't get through some aisles in AA. I had this bear of a man lift me up (I'm 5'2) through the crowd so I could get to a booth I was struggling to get to. * not all heroes wear capes*
AX capped tickets this year due to what happened last year. I saw Inkwell say he was down over 4k profit from last year. Which makes sense due to lower number of attendees. I think even though the profit wasn’t as you’d hoped. I think visibility and people seeing your stuff might translate to online sales. I don’t know if you track it. But I’d be curious to see what your follower counts on like IG were before AX and after AX
I am so glad to have gotten some stickers from your booth during my time @animeexpo. All the designs are so cute I had to control myself from not immediately splurging my entire budget. With that said, I hope to see you next year if possible.😊
Ive been binging vlogs like these the past few days and i was so zoned out i didnt even realize that ive literally bought 3 or 4 prints from you in the past at ECCC! Love your stuff so much :))
love the vlog, feel fortunate to have gotten some of ur postcard sized art prints. I love how comfy your art style is. My fav one is the grass pokemon around the study desk.
Oh hey, I remember seeing your table with the SPAM print! I'm a bit down to hear many artists were disappointed by this year. I thought it was fantastic, I brought in double than what I had in my first year attending in 2023. I'm always thinking about ways I can improve my table and merch but also being conscious of limiting factors just out of our control that can effect the con overall.
Wow! This is the first video I’ve found of you, I’m sorry some people made you feel weird about being transparent about your cost but I’m so proud for you and I hope more success comes your way!!!
I really appreciate your open and honest opinion about your con experiences. I'm sorry you've had bad experiences with telling people your final amount as I find it helpful. A lot of people don't understand that cons are very much an event to event lifestyle and you have to take what you make to obviously survive but also reinvest into other events and products ect. As another small business I appreciate your content for helping scope out cons and having an honest review of it. Some creators tend to not try to say anything bad about events but it is so important. Keep doing what you're doing its awesome!
I exhibited in Kentia hall with the Aritist Alley this year too! There was a bunch of uncertainty this year for vendors because of the major changes of the exhibit hall and artist alley. They actually cut off almost 200 artists and exhibitors from the event, and added massive industry booths, this year definitely felt very tame compared to what AX is known for. We also ended up luckier than the Exhibit hall, because from what I heard from our friends upstairs, the attendees gravitated towards the middle instead of the outer areas.
AX was definitely slower this year and it was pretty packed past years 🥲 usually I also recommend bringing 3x what you have from another good con but I realized it wasn’t the case this year for some. I have heard Otakon being better for some artists so i’m curious to see how it’ll be this time since I’m vending it this year. AX is definitely my best con but it may also be bc I’m local and after being there for a few years, some attendees look for me bc they remember me from past AXs. I meant to stop by and say hi but I felt overwhelmed and stressed out the whole weekend 😅 loved hearing about your perspective on AX!
Sorry people are being weird about money. I really appreciate how open you are about it all, I want to do a con circuit maybe in the future and it’s really nice to see people talk freely about stuff.
My son wanted to go to AX for awhile so for his grad gift, I got him 4 day ticket and some funds for him. I can't believe he went all 4 days, and to the HOLOLIVE game event too! I still remember going to AX more than 2 decades ago and having a booth in the vendor hall. However driving into LA is something I hate so much....even though I live less than 10 mins from Little Tokyo.
Anmy cracked me up when she kept saying welcome to my channel. lol Glad it was a successful con for you. Thank you for your honesty and sharing your experience.
A Julianne AX epic?? Really love the detailed experience through this con and it's good to see the organizer improvements helped the experience for everyone - Artists and Attendees. Thanks as always for sharing as much as you do, and congratulations on a successful con!
Girl, I drove all the way to Tampa thinking you were gonna be at MetroCon LOL. Idk how i had it in my head that you were going to be there! Turns out you were at AX. SADFACE!!!!!!!
wowow i'm famous! it was very lovely to meet you and i'm happy that you still made great sales even if it was underwhelming (all the artists I talked to were saying that too)
Hi Julianne! Just wanted to reach out and say that my wife Lottie loves watching your content! We always start our breakfast with a "JulianneDoodles" video ... (she's currently watching on her computer next to me) we often debate whether you're a Slytherin or a Ravenclaw ... maybe a Gryffindor 😉~ maybe you can help us settle the debate lol ... Hopefully we get to see you and support you at the next C2E2 or something near by ... P.S. -you're hilarious ~ your descriptions are always creative "sardine status" ~ Anyway, best of luck and keep these vlogs coming!!! Love it! Shout-out to Amy ~ She's definitely a Hufflepuff
@@ShellCottageRadio you guys are so sweet!!! I’ll definitely try to make my way back to Chicago 🥰 and I’m a slytherin 🐍 but the quiz thing also said ravenclaw was a close second! You guys were spot on 😂 a lot of people guess gryffindor first
🎉🎉🎉 wow 🎉🎉🎉 I sew things so not anywhere in your artist category, but this is the first vlog of this con where i wasn’t ending with “I could never do that - wow - expo is just too much” 😊 so insightful - im not sure I would ever be in socal for anything tho 😂 So you’d add a higher chair? So comfy and maybe stack your luggage/bins so you have a little more of a side table in case you have to sign things again 😊
we had a little taped off area that we could use and were already using it to the max so no little table for us, but I'll keep that in mind for another con!
Goddamnnnn to even make a percentage of that in Artist alley would be epic🎉 you continue to set the bar higher and higher! I like it! W awesome vlog. 😊
So glad that I was able to drop by your cute booth. Thanks for the free sticker too! My therapy is indeed adding stuff to cart lol. I hope to see you at other cons in the future 😊
Love these vlogs, so, so much! I'm pissed people got weird about you sharing your numbers, I loved the transparency a lot, but then it makes sense you would stop if people get annoying about it. There is always a few bad apples ready to spoil the bunch, it is what it is. That being said, without going into specific numbers, how did your inventory fare during AX? Like, you said you brought 3x your usual amount, but what % were you left with in the end? And did you sell out of anything there? Again, thanks for the awesome (and lengthy) vlogs and congrats on doing so amazing at the con! You deserve every single penny for all that hard work you put in everything that you do. 💖
Love your new cut! Wish I could have short hair - so easy - my hair super straight and sticks out at certain lengths like I’m all static - you’ve got my lil sisters haircut ❤
They split the amount of tickets sold equally (or comparatively) so all days would have about the same number of attendees. All days should have been similar to each other in terms of attendee foot traffic. That's what I am told.
Another great vlog! I especially appreciate the sort of “slice of life” moments where you showed meeting people and behind the scenes. As always your music choices are perfect for reducing my anxiety. I don’t suppose you’d consider a playlist? Thanks so much for posting, really enjoyed it!
ugh I'm sorry people are getting weird about money on here!! one of the main reasons I started watching your videos was your transparency with costs and profits and all the hard work you put into your business!!
The past few years they've oversold tickets and it was horrible. This year it was smooth and not as crowded even just getting inside. Maybe bad for artists but good for those stuck in the crowds because its a hazard. Even I expected this year to be a mess bc they never listen but yes this year was quite different. I guess they did raise your expectations so it was a bit of a let down. I've seen a few vlogs and seems it wasn't as good for smaller venders so I understand it sucks especially since this was your first time but ax really is fun. Anywho you're quite genuine and I like that! I do like your prints now I wish I bought something, I know my cousin bought quite a bit from you on the last day, didn't know this was you till that gojo print lol but it's nice watching artists experience!! If you go next year perhaps!
Awww love the aprons!!! I'm so proud of you for the profit on this convention and totally understand the underwhelming part too 💕 I am happy you had fun overall though!
Im glad you had a great time at AX! Congratz on the success. About the traffic jam thing. Something similar happened at a local con from my country, and i agree lack of traffic jam does reduce sales/ time of people at your booth :/
Anime Expo (as you have said) did cap tickets, which is fantastic for public safety! However, in the recession that's currently ongoing, that's really scary for people who depend on high foot traffic like artists/exhibitors. Another very large con happened that same weekend as well, and the numbers trended Very similar to how I'm seeing Anime Expo go. Despite the convention having the largest number they've ever had of attendees (2,000 more people than the previous year), a lot of artists did worse than the previous year specifically. Big amount of admiration of independent artists, as that's a tough job to do and completely self motivated/funded.
I also think people forgot, or were unware of a high speed chase that crashed into Little Tokyo during the con last year. Even tho it wasnt at the convention space, the proximity to it had way more people there than normal. That probably added heat to the fire for the organizers to cap attendance. Its just not safe having all those people in one spot.
anyone who's this was their first AX is experiencing some changes that even long time attendees were surprised at. the crowds were managed properly and things went smooth for the most part. they may have capped it but we dont exactly know the numbers for each day, just turnstile. keep in mind AX opened a lot of the areas (e.g. AX Crossing) and the economy is worse today than it was last year. anyone who turned a profit there should be thankful. it wasnt perfect but it was a good year.
Thank you for every single information you give to us 😊you are great person I love your art and please please do more art studio vlogs I love it 🤗💚💚💚💚💚
I'm loving these videos , thanks so much for sharing ^^ Waiting on the day I can buy prints from you! (Through your online shop fingers crossed) Living in the UK has its drawbacks sometimes :')
I really appreciated this vlog. As someone that's building to the point where it would be worth trying to sell there, your content is highly informative and inspiring! Just curious if you're withholding the actual profit numbers because of backlash or something? You work so hard and are so transparent that it helps people like me understand realistic expectations and how to navigate running an art business. Don't let the weirdos get to you :) You're doing a great job!
@@tohster. thank you so much!! I think in this case it’s worth letting the weirdos get their way. knowing I doubled my usual “good con” amount does the same thing information wise without feeding weird things happening to me 😂😂
@@JulianneDoodles looool I totally get it. Actually, if at all possible (and I have no freaking idea how this would work on your platform) have you done q&a vids or had a specific segment within one of your vlogs where you go over safety and boundaries with your audience? I get your hotel choices and travel safety tips, I was being more specific to online presence and how you cope/deal with difficult people. This is something I don't see others talk about too frequently (which I totally get since it's not a popular topic) and since you've been around for a while, I'm curious about your strategies on this. (thanks for indulging me lol)
As someone whose gone to Otakon for over the past decade (ew I know), we don't get many "big cons" here on the East coast, specifically SUMMER BIG CONS! We know Otakon is run well (for both attendees, artists, etc.) so we know it's a good con to keep coming too. Also for most of us on the East Coast, Otakon is legit our vacation of the summer. So, this MIGHT be why Otakon is your best show. But, this economy has been ROUGH for all of us working so might be a bit cautious with Otakon this year because no one is safe with this economy TT-TT
I hope you got to take home some good memories, those are with you until you die. I know when I went I could only afford the ticket and hotel, I didn’t even eat inside there at all. I’m sure there’s tons of $$ strapped people too. I hope it gets better for you :)! Your work is lovely :)!!!
@@cuttlepods ugh I WISH! The only con (that I’ve been to) that has ever helped provide food directly to booths was naka con. Some cons have break rooms with chips and stuff, but this is a genius idea
@@JulianneDoodles A ton of Canadian conventions do this. If not the event organizers themselves, then a food vendor will hire a runner and send out pamphlets to each booth with a number to text the order and booth number to. Honestly a genius idea for any food vendors looking for a huge bump in sales.
You're also getting more experienced doing these things. The bigger shows don't seem as big (or scary), and you begin to see a constant maximum in sales throughout, that no amount of traffic, or amount of inventory, will help boost. But doing this channel? And growing your own brand? That will! So honestly, if you can keep costs low to sell and display there, go "Okay I made xx last year, maybe 10% better this year?" Then I think you're golden. (3 years selling at conventions in college + 11 years selling at conventions professionally). You're doing great, but you don't need me to say that!
Wow, I hadn't heard a confirmation about the bad air in Kentia Hall last year, but just the complaints. Didn't know the Fire Marshall actually came in for it. I literally didn't go in there this year because of my experience in there last year. Sounds like I missed out on a better experience.
Seeing this two weeks later but they capped the amount of ppl this year. Definitely better for just one the overall run of the show but a slight hit for all the booths
People used to make more at this con but with industry taking over they are sucking up all the attendee funds because their booths are soo flashy. In the past badges were way cheaper and the con provided a lot of free events for signings which left attendees with more money to spend in the exhibit hall where all the artists and vendors were.
AX this year did a lot different than previous years, I mean I went during the peak years of 2015-2019 where the horror stories came out like air conditioning in the artist alley was broken during 100+ degree days, packed like sardines literally where my nose was pressed into the person in front of me, lines going into lines that goes nowhere, etc… And bc of rising cost of going to AX (I am out of state), less con benefits (took away premier badges, no major concerts, less swag giveaways, etc.), the con starting on a Thurs instead of a Fri, inflated economy…I just don’t see the draw of going to AX as opposed to spending my money in going to Japan now that the Yen is weaker than the US dollar.
