Behind the Scenes at Stuart Ng Books: March 2016

For 2016, WonderCon was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The exhibit floor filled the South Hall... but attendees had to hike to West Hall to pick up their badges.

West Hall was also the home for the convention food trucks!

The Stuart Ng Books booth (#2215)

Stuart featured prints (below) --- signed by artist Claire Wendling...

http://stuartngbooks.com/nothing-like-home-signed-print.html

Claire will be appearing at conventions in France in April this year...but no US appearances scheduled for her at this time....For more on Claire Wending... see the posts from 2015 http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2015/04/claire-wendling-at-big-wow-convention.html

Stuart's aisle had a handy visual landmark

with this nearby booth ...

for replica light sabers....http://www.ultrasabers.com/

Stuart's booth was also close to Artists Alley.... Well marked with an overhead banner.

Artists' Alley had lots of foot traffic --- great for artist exhibitors -- since one of the main entry points to the exhibit hall floor funneled attendees right to this area. Similar traffic pattern to Anaheim location... but seemed to provide extra benefit for Artists' Alley this year...

Artist Sho Murase... http://www.shomurase.com/

Jillian Altmeyer/Squidbrains... https://www.etsy.com/shop/Squidbrains

Alina Chau (3 photos below from Alina's FB page)...http://alinachau.com/

Alina debut these charming new handpainted wooden dolls at her WonderCon table.. and SOLD OUT!

Right at the border of Artists' Alley, in the first row of exhibitor booths.. I found Nidhi Chanani of http://everydayloveart.com/

I've followed her art on the internet, so it was fun to meet her and buy these charming cards...Her work has been featured on Bored Panda, HuffingtonPost and My Modern Met. In 2012, she was honored at the White House as a Champion of Change. Art matters!!!http://everydayloveart.com/content/About/1003

Lots of our artist pals were tabled in the Small Press area. So many treasures to find in this space, but the exhibit hall under served this area. It at least needed overhead banner signage like the Artist Alley section.

Stuart chats with artist pal Paul Wee..http://paulwee.blogspot.com/

Small Press table for David DePascquale (This photo from David's Facebook page... his table mate was Peter Emmerich)

This dog art card by David is one of my all-time favorites!

Another well-known artist in the Small Press area .... Chris Ayers...http://www.chrisayersdesign.com/

Chris had an art show at the Daniel Maghen gallery in Paris.. and most of that 2012 show is in this book..

Chris is an outstanding example of some of the ideas I encourage for all artists... be sure to include your contact information on your images... and let people know your story.

Greeting cards mean your image makes an impression at least twice... with the person who buys the cards.. and the person who receives it. Put your contact info on the backs of cards.. and on the sides of buttons!

Lots of gal power art in small press too!

Steph Laberis https://www.facebook.com/stephlaberisart

Steph's table mate was Brianne Drouhard with her books and art from her Harpy Gee comic. http://www.harpygee.com/about

Steph had these new prints...

and always lots of fun greeting cards.

creative types enjoying the finds at Steph's table...

At the far right of above photo... you'll see a glimpse of the table for steampunk comic Boston Metaphysical Society http://bostonmetaphysicalsociety.com/
and author Madeleine Holly-Rosing. Better pic of her table appears below via Fanboy Comics...

Madeleine is a frequent convention panelist, sharing her insights on indie publishing and launching 10K and under Kickstarter campaigns. She's author of the must-have guidebook "Kickstarter for the Independent Creator"...

available at the SNB store and on the website:
http://stuartngbooks.com/kickstarter-for-the-independent-creator-a-practical-and-informative-guide-to-crowdfunding.html

Madeleine also hosts "Kickstarter Class for Independent Creators" workshops, held at Pulp Fiction Comics in Culver City, CA. Her next class will be Saturday April 16th.
http://www.pulpfictionbooksandcomics.com/art-classes/

UPDATE 7.9.16
More on Madeleine and her latest books in this Author Spotlight on the Book Lemur page
http://www.booklemur.com/authors/madeleinehollyrosing.html

A new find for me in the Small Press area were these fun designs from SmartGirl accessories

http://smartgirlaccessories.com/products/smart-friend-necklaces-with-glittery-back

this Smart Girl is also a smart artist/entrepreneur... her contact info is on the side of each button. Never underestimate the power of your "smalls"!

Small Press also where to find artist/illustrator Casey Robin. http://caseyrobin.com/

Regret I didn't get a photo of her table.. but here are some greeting cards I picked up

Here are some more views from around the exhibit hall floor...

Modular urban back packs... http://www.equnit.com/equilibrium/

Always lots of cool graphic designs from our friends at Steam Crow.. http://steamcrow.com/

A booth of Star Wars home decor...

Several booths this year were selling "mystery" boxes.... sealed up surprises with promises like "$50 worth of merchandise for $25"

I've always admired the craft and passion of Cosplay. Quite something to see this fandom almost mainstream these days... Here are some samples from WonderCon 2016...