con report
I’m going to be honest with you guys – I can barely lift my arms to type this con report. Anime Milwaukee was so much fun that I’m still exhausted. We were lucky enough to score a great spot in the dealer’s room this year and we had non-stop traffic from beginning to end. On top of that, AMKE really pulled out all the stops to make sure that the Lemonbrat crew had plenty to do after hours! It’s hard to believe that we were only up in Milwaukee for 3 days, but what a great 3 days they were…
Anime Milwaukee was hosted in the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee and Wisconsin Center. The venue is top notch with great decor, friendly staff and skyways to help bridge the gap between the convention center and the hotel ( a must for winter cons). This was Lemonbrat’s 2nd year at AMKE, but the clean layout and helpful signage made it feel like a con we’ve been attending for twice as long.
The Lemonbrat booth was a behemoth this year, encompassing a whole corner of the dealer’s room. We had all of our classic hoodies on display as well as a few newbies to the line-up. The Good Sheep and Baaad Sheep hoodies were hung up across from a bright pink squid hoodie that featured deluxe tentacle sleeves. And ghese weren’t the only new thing in town – we also had all new banners and signage to showcase the hoodies, The Little Woods, the Fruit Bats and the grand return of our dress-style hoodies!
There were a lot of other great sites to see in the dealer’s room, too. Barb spent a disturbing (yet understandable) amount of time hanging out at the Feral Works table. We currently have one of their velociraptor busts hanging in the bathroom. Jeanette got some cute new red panda earrings from Sorbet Jungle and I began building my dream backpack with the guys from Equilibrium. The AMKE staff should be commended for keeping the traffic flowing smoothly through both the dealer’s room and the artist alley areas. And speaking of staff, how cute are the Hyatt staff in their very own AMKE colored furry ears! We whipped these up for them before the con and it was a delight to them being worn all weekend long!
It should come as no surprise that we love Anime Milwaukee. Even if you look past the fact that it’s close to home, AMKE is a party con of the very best quality and we’re already looking forward to 2015!
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Matt and Ryan hit the road again this past weekend (January 3rd-5th) for Anime-ZAP in Peoria, IL! The convention was held at the delightful Embassy Suites Hotel and their adjoining conference center.
While small, the con had plenty of opportunities for our boys to chat with attendees and make some new friends. Even when the weather turned south and the power went out (seriously!) there was a great sense of solidarity and camaraderie that permeated this show!
As you can see, we pulled out all the stops on our winter wear and Lemon Squeezies! With the snow, people were looking to bundle up and the new corgi and wiener dog scarves were irresistible. Our rave hoodies were also a popular item and we had several other vendors and artists come up and buy some before the dealer’s room had officially opened on Friday! Speaking of fellow vendors, the folks at Lilly Inverse Designs and Little House of Crafting deserve a shout out for being rad neighbors (and because Ryan accidentally pulled all their grid wall down on his own head).
After the dealer’s room closed, Ryan and Matt spent time teaching folks how to play the My Little Pony collectible card game from Enterplay. Right now the whole Lemonbrat office is caught in the death grip of MLP card game fever, but Ryan at least found time to geek out about kaiju movies with a few attendees while Matt broke away to host some very excellent games of Ultimate Werewolf. It was all fun and games until the snow rolled in Saturday evening. With over 3 inches falling on an already snow-laden con and a cold snap bringing temperatures down to -20 with the windchill, Anime-ZAP unfortunately ended on a somber note.
Despite weather woes, however, the show was a lot of fun and we will very likely be back next year! Thanks to all of you who stopped by!
Matt and Ryan were out in Indianapolis for Anime Crossroads this past weekend. The convention was held at the Wyndham Indianapolis West and was an absolute blast according to the dynamic duo. While Ryan got to talking with our good friends over at OTP over all things Kamen Rider, Matt spent his spare time ogling the Tabletop Gaming area and all the rich, board gamey goodness it contained. Of course, the real stars of the show were all the Lemonbrat fans and customers that stopped by!
This was our first anime con to feature our new long dog scarves and tassel hats and we’re very happy to report that they were a huge success! The booth also had all our classic rave gear and animal hoodies, but the biggest hit had to be our Lemon Squeezies. Seems like the folks in Indy really loved the massive variety of animals that we had available and the booth was a constant chorus of happy squeaking sounds (though a lot of that can probably be attributed to Ryan). Anime Crossroads’ attendees also really enjoyed just hanging out at the booth and chatting, which we always enjoy!
Special thanks should be given to the hotel and it’s staff, too. This was their first year hosting Anime Crossroads and they were incredibly helpful and courteous. Setting up was a breeze with their help (and the booth looked great with the extra tables they provided). Matt was a particular fan of the Wyndham’s concession stand – they had chili, burgers, and even freshly made stir fry all weekend long! As if that wasn’t good enough, the con staff were all very cool and dedicated to making Anime Crossroads the best show it could be. They had lively programming going on all weekend – fan panels, arcade games outside the dealer’s room and an Artist Alley that was always jumping with activity.
For everyone who stopped by to say hello, thank you so much! Matt and Ryan are already chomping at the bit to visit Anime Crossroads next year!
