Due to the very serious health and family concerns for both Brian Froud and Alan Lee we know that they were unable to make it. But the convention was gorgeous, people looked lovely and the Faerie Balls were so much fun. I think it would be nice to have a thread here where you post the nice things that you liked and that happened. I see three threads discussing the concerns people had but let's have one about all the good that was there.

It was my first time out at a convention my first time selling what I make and I met so many wonderful people. I am still unpacking and getting things back to normal and I will write more soon, I just wanted to get a place started here to say what you loved and what you liked about FC.

Favorite Froud Book? All!

Hi! Well first of all it was a pleasure to meet you! We had a great time really! It was sad about Brian and Alan but regardless it was just so much fun and it looked like everyone enjoyed themselves. My friend who I went with, we both thought the booths were really well done, imaginative and magical. There were a number of beautiful costumes and it was just so much fun to turn your head one way and see somehing amazing, and then turn another way and see something equally if not more amazing. The artists, illustrators and authors were all so nice and were kind enough to take time for everyone. I think thats a lovely thing to do. I hope I can attend this event again.

I hope you had a safe journey home Merry.

Where to begin? the visuals ... oooh the people, the fae, the costumes. There were so many lovely people in fairy inspired attire, some were light and some were dark, all were cool.

My teenage daughter and I particularly enjoyed the fashion show. Though it did make me wish I could sew, in order to be able to make cool outfits like some we saw.

I'm pretty sure the highlight of the day for my daughter was getting her picture taken with Toby Froud and Ignatz his alter ego puppet. In fact my daughter is still bubbling on about how cool that was.

I also got a lot out of some of the talks. I was really really happy to have had the opportunity to attend the "Marketing Yourself" one, but we also really liked the "Gifts of the Fairy Women."

The music from the occasional band playing on the main stage was wonderful, and often carried to the far end of the hall so we could listen even while shopping.

The vendors were great as well. In addition to having lots of stuff I wanted to buy many of them made their booths a fairy like world in a 10x10 cube.

In short we had a great day, and my daughter's only complaint at the end was that we were day trippers and she wished we had purchased the weekend pass and that we should have gone to the balls. Oh well, something to look forward to for next year.

Sarra

I am still trying to get sorted and unsorted, had a lot of things to catch up on yesterday! So if I wait until I am completely back to normal it may be awhile before I leave this message
I was amazed at the costumes people created and at the care that went into even the people who just dressed up to look pretty. Every booth and table I saw was a treat. I wish I had had more time to look at everything but from a vendor point of view being at my table the whole time is a good thing. So many great people came to say hi and smell all my incense and happily many took a lot home!

I wanted to say that these two vendors
Beneath the Leaf
http://www.beneaththeleaf.com/index.html

and
Where the Faeries Dwell
http://wherethefaeriesdwellart.com/

are not just wonderful artists but wonderful people. Because of my sweeties schedule I was there by myself and they were so kind and helped me when I had a display crash (that was epic!) and offered to go run and get food for me during the weekend things like that. Just a kindness and caring that was very comforting to someone they never met before it really says a lot about their souls and character that in the midst of their own vending activity they took time to make sure I was okay. Thank you SO MUCH.

The Balls were so much fun. I was thrilled to see Qntal there, truly beautiful people and music. What a fun thing to see the Froudian lightshow and art and watching the Theremin being played was so cool.

Some of the hotel staff at the Hampton came to see me at the convention! It was so cute! They were out of their uniforms and were like "recognize me?" I met friends and babies- on their day off they came and brought their families to say hi was so sweet! They helped me too when I ran out of my xerox handouts they made a bunch of copies for me that night for free! The Union guys at the convention center were so funny, I even thought the people on the street on my way to and fro to the center were so talkative and friendly, it was like did a memo go out in Philly to be smiling and nice to everybody? I know everybody's experiences were different but mine seemed like everyone everywhere went out of their way to be helpful patient and kind.

You could just fall in with a crowd of faeries you never met walking to the theater and you are welcome! So much fun. Yes I gush because it was more than I expected it to be. The Froud and Lee families, Ignatz, the FC staff were all very fun and wonderful.

I did not like the big burgundy thingamajigs blocking my view of the hall but the sweet face-painting lady on the other side of me didn't mind me peeking through from time to time
OOps that was a "bad" thing but not really it was minor.

So yes there were things that did not happen but SO many other great things did. I guess I better end this before it takes up a whole page!!! I hope to go next year, it was worth it in so many ways.

Favorite Froud Book? All!

Favorite booth - probably Renae Taylor's, had never heard of her before and loved her art, decorations and wings

Most amusing thing - watching young girls fawn over Toby.

Pleasant suprise - not getting poked in the eye with any wings...was completely expecting it to happen.

i am also a big fan of renae, who is my dear friend....we are currently producing a children's book with CD together, i am very excited.
her booth was gorgeous, as were many others.
we are currently working on the gallery and so pictures are coming soon

books make me happy

i will make sure to check her site for book related news in the future

What I loved and what I liked:

FAERIE CON!

I went with my faery sister Spring and had a glorious time. At the con itself - eye candy everywhere. Gorgeous booths with creative crafts and artwork, the fashion show, and all the costumes walking around! Not just the artist/artisan made ones, but the costumes some of the attendees had - you can tell people put lots of time, work, and love into making their own gear. A lot of the vendors were really generous with letting us try on accessories and clothing even if we didn't buy them; and they let us take photos too.
Meeting artists and authors was incredible. Paul Borda of Dryad Designs, Renae Taylor (whose artwork I'm just newly getting into as of last month), Kinuko Craft, Michael Hague, and many of the other artists and artisans. There was one lovely lady at the faery glove booth who was so nice and strikingly elven. Wendy Froud and Ari Berk are so warm and friendly, I loved talking to them. And CMerry at her table, Ember Heart (incense and jewelry). You're such a sweetheart and were a joy to meet.

The Faerie balls were way too much fun. Getting up in costume, dancing to great music, seeing everyone else's costumes, the artwork on the screens. (The only un-fun part was uncomfy bad faery shoes and going to the bathroom in long skirts and wings, lol.)

We met some good people there, kindred spirits. It's really something special to be at a large gathering of other Fae-loving folk.

p.s. CMerry, my luggage will forever smell good because I packed your incense in it for my flight home.

Favorite Froud Book? All of them, why not? :)

To Sarra:

It's entirely possible to have nice costumes without knowing how to sew. My friend and I got some nice compliments on our garb and neither of us can sew (past basic stitching). She already had gowns for other occasions and wore them to the faery balls. Part of my good faery costume was a dress I already owned, as was the skirt for my bad faery outfit. I had to buy some items, like a skirt and a couple of shirts, but they were relatively inexpensive. The nice thing about current clothing styles is that there are a lot things that are faery-like: empire waists, pretty materials, boots, fluttery sleeves. It's surprising how many clothes you can find out there you can use for costuming.

Iron-on fusible webbing and Liquid Stitch help too if you need to alter something and don't sew. I hope you and your daughter get to go in costume next year. It's a lot of fun walking around as a faery.

Favorite Froud Book? All of them, why not? :)

Nanny:
I should qualify my lack of sewing skills. I seem unable to sew clothes (patterns are a mysterious language to me) and I just can't seem to make things fit.

My daughter was dressed as a fairy - I bought a few sparkly fabrics and some premade wings. I hand stitched ragged pointy pieces of fabric to wide ribbons and made her a skirt/belt, as well as a pair to tie around her upper arms to make fluttery sleeves.

I was all in black with "silk" ivy leaves sewn to my cuffs and spent the day with a crown of ivy leaves and fairy dolls. Here is where I can sew, for some reason I have no problem making cloth dolls. There I make my own patterns, I mostly make fairies, as well as some mermaids, trolls, goblins and angels. When I clothe them I sew the clothes directly to them so fitting is not an issue. (Last year I had a different set of dolls as a hat band around a black top hat.)

So, in a way I still get to feel like part of the fae, even if it's only as a host for them to hang out on, rather than being one myself.

Sarra

It was so wonderful meeting you guys, I hope to see you again sometime in "real life!"
Kelly you are the hardest working woman, If I saw you it was you in the distance on the move to somewhere and if you were sitting or not running it was because you were making beautiful music. Thanks for coming by to say hello and goodbye I hope you liked the gift and I hope to also see and hear you guys again in real life. Boards are nice but nothing beats meeting everyone in person, hearing the music live. I had a great time at the Balls, the only "bad" thing I brought back was a cold and I probably got that when I got home

Favorite Froud Book? All!

There you go - make yourself a mannequin! Good luck molding yourself, though (If anyone figures out a decent way to do this process, email me!)

hi cmerry! i did get your gift! and thanks so very much!yes i did spend some time sprinting from here to there....sheesh....due to the circumstances there was indeed even more energy needed by myself, my co-producers and bandmates :)
i am feeling a bit better now, having come home and cleaned my house, re-connected with my children and played with my huskies :)
it was so lovely to meet you finally....

how ot make a duct tape mannequin: http://etsylabs.blogspot.com/2007/03/dress-form-tutorial-want-to-make-exact.html

i used it to make one for myself and it really works. i used it to make my autumn fae costume (comes in handy to glue leaves to a bodice and ensure the shape is right! i have two costumes that are plastered with leaves and i had a friend glue them on while i was wearing it! this makes things much easier)

Sarra, I see what you mean now. I'm the same way and can sew things for dolls and projects, but when it comes to myself, forget it. If I was forced to make my own clothing, I'd constantly be in a potato sack. If I'm able to go to FaerieCon next year, my goal is to semi-make a costume by embellishing store-bought clothes. A small step towards learning how to sew my own costumes some day. I have the artistic clothing visions in my head, but my skillsets don't match them.

posoe, thanks for the etsy link! It'll come in handy for costuming attempts.