O-Con, Council Bluffs, Iowa

 

This weekend, we are in Council Bluffs, Iowa vending at O-Con Expo. It's a multipurpose convention located on the western side of Iowa. 

Several things are playing into this convention. First, there's a flood. The Missouri River is inundated with runoff from a series of storms plaguing the area. Although there is a large number of people here, spending is not very generous. I have a feeling the flood has caused people to be a little more cautious with their surplus equity. For those not involved with the retail, it might seem this to be an unrelated event. However, for attendees, natural disasters will directly impact spending habits. This is a factor to which we cannot fault the convention organizer.

Secondly, we have game sessions running throughout the convention. The crowd is very receptive to the game and its overall concept. The demos are stimulating interest in the game - making the convention a target for a return visit. We seem to have picked up a few fans and I'm anxious to see if this develops into a local play group.

Finally, the people really are nice. Not only are the staff and organizer nice, but the community as a whole are super friendly. I don't think we've met a customer that was rude or offensive or even non-responsive to our booth or display. A lot will be determined tomorrow but we are definitely looking at the convention as a possible return.

Through the convention, we managed to meet up with a printer and couple of artists. We're excited about the prospects these offer. The artist for obvious reasons - we are working on new books and modules and would love to feature original pieces. The printer would provide us with the opportunity to produce new products and product lines. We also picked up a few new leads on other conventions in the area that may prove to be good markets as well.

One last note: we are looking at getting into tee shirts. The shirts and patterns are ordered and should be in this week. The plan is to have the designs ready for this next show and test it at Infinity Con in Tallahassee, FL. This should be interesting.

Thanks for reading,

K. B. Kidder
www.torturedearth.com




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