A New Character Arch: Vending at Gateway FurMeet

This past weekend, I visited St. Louis, Missouri to try my hand at vending in yet another new venue: Gateway Furmeet (GFM).

The setup this time was fairly clean. The Artist Alley was a first come first served basis, though the competition was never too tight: both days I vended (Friday and Saturday), there were several spots that went unfilled. Sunday, I had planned on doing some sightseeing around town instead, and I’m glad I did. Interestingly enough, Friday was the better day. Despite bigger crowds, Saturday was very disappointing. I don’t feel I missed much by skipping Sunday.

What accounted for it this time? Well, it’s hard to say. Once again, a friend of mine selling a very different product did extremely well, and unlike my last experience, I was the only bookseller present, so it could simply be that this wasn’t a very book-hungry crowd. The light streaming in from the windows behind the artist tables probably didn’t help either, as it made all the displays seem that much dimmer. One other thing I would note is that, unlike many events I’ve been to in the past, there were no tables on whoch to spread my bookmarks. I don’t actually know how well these help at events, but I typically leave them wherever I can regardless. One final note I will make is that, like at TTFC, GFM this year was hosted at a new venue. I don’t know to what extent this matters overall, but I do know that there are often growing pains involved for the conventions themselves when they move away from their tried and true venues.

So, another failure. I’ll be vending at Alamo City Furry Invasion in San Marcos, TX this weekend, for what it’s worth. But as it too is taking place at a new venue this year, I don’t hold out any great hopes.