True Believers

5) Running a stall at True Believers Comic Festival (1 day)

I ran a table with a friend at this medium sized local festival, selling prints, books, bags and badges we had handmade as part of our course and as extra. Following the disappointment of our previous attempt, we were not expecting much better but we actually did far better, covering table costs and even making a profit. 

We applied for a table after attending last year's festival which we enjoyed very much. The table cost was £40 for two people but split evenly it was not expensive. From preparing for Semi Nice, I had a good idea of what items I needed, how to display my stock and to arrive early to give plenty of time to set up. We needed to get the bus to the event location which was easy because there was a cheap direct route, however, my friend overslept and missed it, meaning I had to get there and start setting up by myself which I was anxious about. There were some other vendors on the same bus with suitcases of stock, which was reassuring, and we all managed to arrive in plenty of time. On our table we were given some information about the event, our lanyards and a thank you letter which was all very welcoming.

It was a great experience, meeting and talking to festival goers who were all having a good time there, and talking to the other table runners was helpful in learning some tricks about set up and other festivals they were going to attend. We were told about a website that lists the calendar of comic-con events in the UK for the whole year, which will be helpful in the future but is a little unrealistic at the moment, given our available time, energy and funds.

It is definitely something I would do again next year, hopefully with some better selling products after looking at what others were selling or offering. Also I might invest in some mesh screens which could be used to add height to display more items on, making the table a little less cluttered. Many art sellers had these which gives an element of professionalism to their table. From our good experience at this event, we are considering expanding to include Bristol Comic and Zine Fair next year.