I make cats. I knit character dolls. I actually do get time to review horror movies….or watch them….or put Supernatural on when I’m working.

Either way, it was high time that I took my wares to the horror convention circuit. How hard could it be after years of anime and comic conventions?

As it turned out, not very hard, but I wasn’t looking forward to CT Horror Fest on the day. A good part of this was due to Boston Comic Con and the ensuing craziness. I had set a few cats aside, cats that resembled Jason Vorhees, but I sold out of a lot of cats, and could stand to have dolls that went with the theme of the show. I made eleven cats and knitted a Freddy Krueger, who is popular at comic shows. He would be joined by fellow horror dolls, Jason, Pinhead, and Frankenstein’s monster, or hipster really. He had a craft beer vibe to him.

Also, my first horror convention was Scare-A-Con New England this past June. I met some fantastic people, and got a great reminder of why I love what I do in the form of another artist coming to my table to tell me that the Jason Kitty she received as a gift made a rough evening a lot better. However, sales wise the show was a bust and poorly run by overcharging for attendee tickets at a venue that was too big to fill. There were exhibitors that left early or didn’t show. I ended up getting moved to an empty booth Sunday. Other than helping to make the evening of a sister artist, I preferred to spend the weekend with Merrilee, the kitties and Murder in the First on Hulu.

So, when I woke up for CT Horror Fest, I wasn’t expecting much. Come to think of it, I signed up for it thinking that I was going to linger on the wait list for Boston Comic Con. Little did I know indeed…

The show was located in Danbury, CT which is roughly 40 minutes from me. This route did not involve much time on a highway, but a long stretch of Rt.34 that took me through Naugatuck Valley. Other than a bridge and a few dead man’s curve turns, it was a pleasant drive in the warmer seasons. I wouldn’t touch it in the snow if I could help it.

I ran a little late. One thing that impressed me was that staff had signs and venue staff to direct misplaced people like myself. I was directed to my table where I set up while chatting with a convention friend.

scary setup

I ended up selling more than I thought I would. I was especially surprised to sell dolls. I was a little discouraged by the lack of attention they got at previous shows. Better still, more friends showed up. Even though I got a little overloaded by 6:00, I was happy with the way it turned out.

My friend,  Jaala, seemed a bit giddy when she came by to chat a little early into the show. It turned out that my booth was behind celebrity guest, James Marshall of Twin Peaks fame. I am not one to get autographs or gush, nor was I very talkative to begin with. While it didn’t happen, I was a little fearful that I would drop something only to have it roll behind into his booth, mortifying me.

There was my brush with fame at conventions, that and Final Fantasy voice actress Rachel Robinson purchasing a knitted kitty hat from me at Connecticon five years previous. Good grief, was I happy that I was not dropping stuff as I often do….

That said, it was coffee time. By that, I meant Deadly Grounds brand coffee. Talk about a national treasure! Tasty, flavorful and chock full of precious caffeine, they also offer a three bag for thirty dollar deal. I wasn’t sure how a chocolate and pumpkin flavor combination would work, but I was pretty impressed by the sample.

Picking up the essentials

All in all I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe I can hack it in horror convention land…provided I don’t wind up in a booth behind Evan Peters at an American Horror Story-centric convention. Forget dropping stuff, I’d likely faint, but that’s another tale of unprofessional con carnying…