It’s the Final Countdown!!!!!!

So as of today’s writing (8/7/18), there only are three days before the debut of Lil’ Luvvies at my first convention as a vendor. Conventions always have been my safe place, my haven: I am a mega nerd and having a place to interact with other mega nerds and get to meet some awesome celebrities always is a good time. However, this time, I’m feeling the anxiety. I’m on the other side of the aisle at this one and it is a completely different ballgame – even though it’s played on the same field.

For weeks now, I’ve been trying to stock up and make as many items as possible. I want to have an assortment of goodies to sell. The problem is, I am slower than dirt when I make something, so I haven’t been able to amass quite the stash that I had hoped for.

I’ve not been able to sleep at night warring between two emotions: One that I will have invested all this time, money, and effort and no one will buy anything; or the other side of the coin that it will be popular and I’ll sell out of everything the first day and then I won’t have anything to sell the rest of the weekend.

It’s hard as a new vendor, and as someone who is just approaching my first “official” anniversary as a crocheter. I work slowly, but I try to be careful with my stitches. The funny thing is you can see even in the products I have for the convention there has been a change in my style. Things that I made 2-3 months ago have a more rugged appearance than the pieces that I have created now. That makes me happy, because it is a sign of progress; however, it also makes me nervous because could people see this as a sign of inconsistency?

I think I have mentioned before: I struggle daily with anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression. Crochet helps me to deal with a lot of these issues, even now as I am stressing over the vending aspect of the convention, I still am enjoying crocheting. I love to see the personalities of my Luvvies when they are finished. I have so much fun naming them (even though I know those names will change), and taking pictures with them. I created a Shutterfly album for Lil’ Luvvies when I started the Web site, I have almost 600 pictures in that album to date. I think that is a testament to how much I enjoy what I do.

But it is a different thing to enjoy what you do, and then to have people be able to judge what you do. And trying to determine a price point for these items is even worse. I always joke with my husband that I have champagne tastes on a soda budget, this happens to extend to my yarn choices. I’ve said in previous blogs that I have an absolute fascination with yarn (and have the stash to prove it). But in my quest for my favorite yarn(s), I gravitate toward the “higher” end, better quality yarns. Now, those yarns definitely make for a better Luvvie and a softer plushie for the customer, but they aren’t as inexpensive as some brands. For some of the yarns that I use, I can spend $3.29 for a skein and use two full skeins in a project: This means I already have to charge close to $7.00 just to cover the cost of my materials. I don’t want to undercut competitors and I don’t want to sell myself short, but I also don’t want to seem outlandish in what I am charging, so that is something – even three days out from the convention that I am struggling with.

The positive is this con – as my first con – is on my “home turf” so to speak. This is a convention that I have attended dozens of times as a guest, and I know that I will have the love and support of friends and family who will stop to visit and give some support. I know I have that support behind me, and I am grateful for it. I hope that people like my products and that, at the end of the con, it will be something that it successful but also lots and lots of fun.

I will be posting a post-convention wrap up next week with lots of pictures from the show to share with you all. Fingers crossed!

Hugs and cuddles,

Elisha