March 11, 2012 San Jose, CA - What a crrrrazzy day it was at yesterday's March 2012 San Jose Toy and Comic Book Show. Vendors, collectors, moms, dads, kids, grandparents. They were all there for one of, if not the biggest, event that the fantastic folks from Time Tunnel put together.
The Friday before was absolutely frantic and busy as vendor after vendor showed up to start their display. I manged to get there around 4:30 and left shortly after 7 having only finished a small portion of what needed to be done in order to get my half of the display finished. Rik, arrived shortly after me and he too left with a lot too finish.
Saturday morning, after very little sleep, My wife Wendy, my daughter Miranda, and I met up with Rik, his brother-in-law Richie and Rik's youngest son at the local Starbucks (there are are seven of them in Morgan Hill, so we picked the closest one to both of us). Scheduled to meet at 6am , we all arrived after 6:20 and got on the road by 6:40 and arrived a little after 7. The building had a quite calm about it, with just a touch of nervous optimism. I, like many others, had not sold as well at the December show and were looking for a complete turnaround.
Finishing up the setup went smooth and soon vendors were coming around to see what everyone was selling and to see what they could buy at the end of the show. I for one had $40 earmarked for the main guest of honor, but I digress.
The earlybirds started things off in a hurry. They were looking for a lot of new and exciting things. Maybe they had some prearranged purchases. Maybe they were just looking to see what was hot and possibly new. Whatever it may have been, it was fast a furious with the early birds.
Then a strange thing happenend. There was a sudden calmness. There seemed to be a small wave after wave of people coming through. It was as if they came, they went, and came back again. It was almost like we the vendors were the beach and the people were our water changing the landscape by purchasing item after item.
Yvone Craig showed up mid morning and from all reports started signing from the second she sat down. I was kicking myself because I forgot to bring my Vina the Orion woman action figure with me to get autographed. Yes, I know, she is most remembered for her role as Batgirl, but were talking Star Trek OG people!
As for the main attraction, Billy Dee Williams, Lando Calrissian to the Star Wars faithful, Gale Sayers to you Brian's Song fans, was there by 11:30am and had a line that started at 11:00. I had sent Miranda to get in line and 45 minutes later I get a text stating that she had 5-10 minutes left before she was to meet up with Williams. I went over there with a friend of mine who was taking pictures of the event. After 5 minutes of waiting in line with Miranda, she and I were able to get our picture taken with thee Mr. Billy Dee.
Meeting one of my Star Wars favorites was cool, but it was back to business and the people did not stop coming. I was able to meet up with some old friends that have been coming to my booth for a couple of years now. It was truly exciting to see that Star Wars was still fun for everyone that came by the booth. Not only Star Wars, but Star Trek, Pirates, DC, Marvel, Transformers, Hot Wheels and G.I. Joe. Rik, my self and our other partner Fred, had something for everyone and it showed.
At the end of the day, we were exhausted and we could not have had more fun working this damn hard. This was, by far, the one show that I had the most fun at. The fans were incredible. Whether if it was your first time or your 33rd time, it was absolutely amazing to be part of this one. Like I said before. The great folks of Time Tunnel Toys did a fantastic job and I can't wait for the August 18th show. Dawn Wells will be there. You know, Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island. The girl next door that everyone really wanted and still do! Stay tuned as we get set and get ready.
Do let me know what you think. Publicly or privately, your feedback is much appreciated!
Finishing up the setup went smooth and soon vendors were coming around to see what everyone was selling and to see what they could buy at the end of the show. I for one had $40 earmarked for the main guest of honor, but I digress.
The earlybirds started things off in a hurry. They were looking for a lot of new and exciting things. Maybe they had some prearranged purchases. Maybe they were just looking to see what was hot and possibly new. Whatever it may have been, it was fast a furious with the early birds.
Then a strange thing happenend. There was a sudden calmness. There seemed to be a small wave after wave of people coming through. It was as if they came, they went, and came back again. It was almost like we the vendors were the beach and the people were our water changing the landscape by purchasing item after item.
Yvone Craig showed up mid morning and from all reports started signing from the second she sat down. I was kicking myself because I forgot to bring my Vina the Orion woman action figure with me to get autographed. Yes, I know, she is most remembered for her role as Batgirl, but were talking Star Trek OG people!
As for the main attraction, Billy Dee Williams, Lando Calrissian to the Star Wars faithful, Gale Sayers to you Brian's Song fans, was there by 11:30am and had a line that started at 11:00. I had sent Miranda to get in line and 45 minutes later I get a text stating that she had 5-10 minutes left before she was to meet up with Williams. I went over there with a friend of mine who was taking pictures of the event. After 5 minutes of waiting in line with Miranda, she and I were able to get our picture taken with thee Mr. Billy Dee.
Meeting one of my Star Wars favorites was cool, but it was back to business and the people did not stop coming. I was able to meet up with some old friends that have been coming to my booth for a couple of years now. It was truly exciting to see that Star Wars was still fun for everyone that came by the booth. Not only Star Wars, but Star Trek, Pirates, DC, Marvel, Transformers, Hot Wheels and G.I. Joe. Rik, my self and our other partner Fred, had something for everyone and it showed.
At the end of the day, we were exhausted and we could not have had more fun working this damn hard. This was, by far, the one show that I had the most fun at. The fans were incredible. Whether if it was your first time or your 33rd time, it was absolutely amazing to be part of this one. Like I said before. The great folks of Time Tunnel Toys did a fantastic job and I can't wait for the August 18th show. Dawn Wells will be there. You know, Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island. The girl next door that everyone really wanted and still do! Stay tuned as we get set and get ready.
Do let me know what you think. Publicly or privately, your feedback is much appreciated!
Sounds like you had fun. I'd love to get to a larger comic show one day.
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