The Designer Con Experience

Designer Con in Pasadena is a convention filled with creators. Years ago, “D-Con” was strictly a designer vinyl toy show. Imagine a gathering of friends who were mostly selling figures to friends and fans, but today, “D-Con” is an inclusive gathering of artists. New designers are mixed with some of the figure customizing legends and together, the parceled out convention floor is organized and smothered with designers of different disciplines.

Imagine: Spanky Stokes, Luke Chueh, DrilOne, Leecifer, J*Ryu, Jeremiah Ketner, Andrew Bell, Gary Hamm, Sucklord, Martin Hsu, Jerome Lu, Mari Inukai, Yoskay Yamamoto, Supahcute, and more packed in a huge hall. It can’t get much better.

The Giant Robot booth featured products, mixed with art and custom figures. Like a Comic-Con, it was a serious endeavor. The more thought we put in, the more we get out of it. It wasn’t easy, but being close to home, it made everything easier. As a vendor, the loading in and loading out was easy and supportive. Not a single bit of BS to contend with. Everything happens at your pace.

On Saturday, a line formed outside before 8am. I recognized a few who were there to get limited editions. By 10am, some of our coolest custom figures were gone, and the convention was underway. The day trickled by and people came through. Our friends and acquaintances were everywhere. On sunday, it was more of a family day. A huge percentage of folks who visited us said they heard about it the day before and were curious. It was a more relaxed atmosphere although by the early afternoon, a decent crowd formed.

I spoke for a few minutes with Ben Goretsky who’s literally the creator and “voice” of D-Con and I thanked him for a job well done. Where will you get a few thousand people, filtered perfectly with an interest in what you’re doing? It’s only at D-Con. Ben will implement some tweaks to improve things for next year and I’ll be proud of him again.

That’s Jack Muramatsu and Ben Goretsky