PPP3: Thought Bubble 2015

So. Thought Bubble is over and it was eventful. It is the first time I've exhibited at Thought Bubble and I feel my work was largely well received, at least I presume it was if I factor profit into it. With the cost of printing and securing a table included I made a profit of £35. This would have been lower had I not been sharing a table with Joe.

The majority of my profit came from three items, the Starlord Prints, the Star Wars stickers/notebooks, and the Tory Chums Zine (that I had to make more of after the first day). I noted that my zines didn't sell well at all and after discussions with Matt and Adam decided that this was due to the time needed to invest in such a product. Thought Bubble is a busy place and quick visual fixes are paramount to sales, 60 page zines concerning unknown characters do not create this immediate response which I attribute to their lack of sales. I've decided that in the next week or so I'm going to head down to Travelling Man and give them copies of my zines to sell as it is a much more suitable environment where people can have the time to read before purchasing.

I also found the person Joe and I were sharing a table with kept moving her work further onto our side of the table. This was frustrating and I had to politely make her aware of this at one point. I think next year I'll look to share a table again but rather apply for a whole table rather than having half to share between two people.

Additionally, I spoke to one of the organisers from the Birmingham ICE comic convention he appeared to like my work and suggested I apply for a table there in September next year.

Finally, from what I have gathered from the experience, to succeed at Thought Bubble you need to be either famous or have a product that appeals to a massive audience, or as I've taken to calling it - fan art.