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I went to the Maid Cafe on Saturday (I was dressed as a maid, hurr llD;; )

It was very entertaining! The chocolate mousse was very chocolatey llD and the maid who served us was very nice :3 She even came by to my table in the Artist Ally and commissioned me ^^

I have to admit I was a bit flustered when one of the maids announced to the entire cafe that I was going to play Hare Hare Yukai >>;;; But it was a good memory ^^;;

Actually, me and my friend were worried about some maids who are left alone with one guest. I thought about it and was wondering if it would be better to have two maids for a single customer so a maid has a witness when things get dangerously personal and/or newer/younger maids have someone to rely on for emotional support.

Just a suggestion ^^a

Come by my table in the Artist Alley and I'll play Nico Nico Douga Kumikyouku on the violin for you so you can sing along.

But yes, the wait for open mic requests are fairly long, so 10+ minute songs you prolly want to solo out in the hallways if you really want an audience.

I believe that's JadedIce?

It looks alot like what she does, but if that's not her, I have no idea ^^;

I was the violinist, and the cellist goes by DoomStrings (or doomstring? You can find her on youtube as "cakemagic"). I know she's sorta local, but I haven't been able to contact her after the con.

I have two videos of me on violin on youtube (username "puppetbomb"), but they're from when I was restarting violin after a 5-year hiatus. So I wouldn't recommend them ^^;;

I will consider making a CD, though I don't consider myself good enough to put anything out ^^;

OT: PANDAA!!! :D :D :D

Since that's the case, I might apply for the Artist Pool in the future.

Thanks for clearing that up ^^

Hmmm.... So there's no way to contribute independently?

Are badge artists part of staff, or are their services commissioned/requested by staff?

If you're a minor, I don't think there would be a problem with that since you're filing your tax report with your parents anyways.

To be safe, I suggest that you ask them first.

No matter how old you are, you can get a bank account. But if this is your first time, I suggest that you make one with your parents.

As for the table, if parental consent is needed, then there should be a place where your parents can sign in the Artist's Alley Agreement.

And good thing for you, finnimon did some research before Fanime and posted it up on her LJ:

...

Because I have savings in a bank for college funds and I am above the age of 14, the government takes 15% of everything I earn. Taking out the stuff with the art table, that's 15% of the interest I earn from putting money in a bank. I can file with my parents because I am still under the age of 18 and thus a legal minor, however, any money that I make from this convention, the government also gets a 15% cut. The good news about my situation in these taxes is that since I am earning less than $600 from the convention (there is no possible way I could earn more than that), I only have to file sales taxes once a year, as opposed to once every month

http://finnimon.livejournal.com/119750.html

And Artists are really nice people (the ones I've met so far ^^;) If you have any questions during the con, just walk up to someone behind a table and ask ^^

Tables are assigned before the convention starts. You'll get a map via email, and all you have to do is get there and tell them you're here, you paid, and give them your Artist's Alley agreement.

[FOREVER]

Gah, totally forgot about iron-ons D: (was thinking about professional printing >>;)

There are special kinds of paper where you can print and iron onto a T-shirt, but I've never tried it, so I can't say how well it goes >>; If you have a Micheals nearby, you should raid a Sunday paper since they have a 40% off coupon every week for one item.

I've only silkscreened once, but the down side is that the screens themselves cost quite a bit and you have to get ready to shell out a bit of cash >>;

In my experience (which is only once >>;), as long SOMEONE has a permit, it's OK.

For a permit, you'll need to have at hand official ID (passport, Driver's license, etc), your social security number, and a bank account (most banks have free checking, and I strongly suggest you get it).

Faxing in the form is the best way to send in your application, and in several days time you should get a phone call to confirm your application.

If you apply for a seller's permit, you'll need to pay taxes with a tax form. It'll come with your seller's permit in a packet.

The tax form/payment has a deadline so BE SURE TO TURN IT IN ON TIME. Since your social security number will be on the permit, this will be on your record FOREVER.

AND DON'T FORGET TO FILL OUT A TAX FORM AT THE END OF THE YEAR!!

And don't blatently lie about your earnings D: Big Brother can be watching.

During the course of the day, you'll ask people to watch your shop for you (BTW: If you're getting a table by yourself, be sure to get to know your neighbors early on just in case you need a food/bathroom break). I suggest that you keep your seller's permit somewhere visible/close at hand and carry a cellphone just in case people actually come to check up.

Also, you can close your table whenever you want. One artist didn't even come the first day and set up on the second day. Just make sure your stuff is well protected; I've heard some cases of theft in the Artist's Alley after closing time.

Since you paid for the space, it's reserved and no one can take it away from you.

You can purchase button makers on Ebay for fairly cheap, or you can go to a nearby hobby/craft store and ask if they have one.

T-shirt printing, I found, are pretty inefficiant.

Unless you know how to silkscreen, you're gonna need quite a bit of cash for printing T-shirts.

Keychains, from what I've seen, can be made with laminated paper, or you can purchase blank keychains from hobby/craft store near you.

If you're sharing a table, I suppose you can get away with one seller's permit. As long as someone has one, it should be OK.

Just be sure to file your taxes afterwards.

I was at AOD this year (Aug 4-6th 2006), and I met someone in the artist's alley who offered to share a table with me.

When I asked about seller's permits, he said that you didn't need one for the artist's alley and it only applied to dealers.

This guy was actually in the industry, so I took his word for it.

And in another point, almost everyone in the Artist's Alley are selling fanwork of some kind. I just found it odd that since fanart is technically illegal to sell, getting a legal license to sell illegal works was somewhat... ironic.

I don't know the exact mechanics of the seller's permit, so I think I'll need some clarification on this.

Buy pizza for stragglers in the Artist's Alley.

[PAKU ROMI]

Someone already mentioned her, but....

PAKU ROMI

I saw L doing the Macarena.

That's my friend Andrea ^^v

We were wondering where you went, and there were actually a few people who wanted to buy that glass =w=;;

Her email is: MinobuMoonbug{at}aol.com

I suppose she could have given bread to people who had donated a certain amount of money.

Hey, if it's loopholes you want, I'll look for them :twisted:

Nothing really bad happened as far as I know, but there were some things I might have liked to change....

Bad Things:
1) I lost a sandwich to the fruit flies in the Artist's Row D:
2) During the dance on Sunday, a guy asked me to dance with him, and I sorta... ran away after a minute >>; (If you're out there, SORRY!! ;^; I'm not good dancing with strangers)
3) The batteries in my digital camera ran out on Sunday T^T
4) My large Bleach Movie poster sold for $40, but the fees added up to $45 (printing/gallery/other fees)

Good Things:
1) Actually made a profit on art sales :D
2) Ran around like crazy, thus getting lots of exercize
3) Played Houki Boshi on someone's keyboard, and people came by to listen.
4) First con EVAR and had SO MUCH FUN >w<