SMASH! News

So I helped start Animania in 2002 and one of the questions I’ve heard every time I’ve worked on a convention is from some poor con-goer who wanted to know why a particular vendor wasn’t there. This year I’m in charge of Vendor Relations for SMASH! and I’ve been trying as hard as I can to make sure we’ve got a variety of different vendors. Still, I’m sure someone out there is going to ask: How come you don’t have [insert vendor]? Here are the answers:

1. We didn’t give them enough time
For interstate vendors, especially, coming all the way up (or down) to Sydney is no small undertaking. Unfortunately, we at SMASH! didn’t work harder in the months of January, February, and March to give all our vendors the necessary heads up so they could get ready. No excuses for next year!

2. We’re not a good economic proposition
For some vendors, coming to SMASH! just doesn’t make commercial sense. Although we do our best to keep prices low coming to a convention isn’t just about the table fee. There’s the staff you have to organise, there’s transport to get all your stuff out there… and at the end of the day there’s the uncertainty that you just don’t know whether you’re going to get that much out of it. This year is SMASH!’s first two-day convention and so for a lot of vendors who knows how many people are even going to turn up? We’re pretty confident the answer is ‘a lot’ but Mike’s gut feeling isn’t always enough to satisfy the bean counters.

3. We didn’t ask
This one is again really our fault since thanks to the Internet there really is no excuse for not knowing that an anime vendor exists but the honest truth is I’ve been surprised this year by just how many vendors have contacted us. And these are vendors I had never heard of. Unfortunately we’re not at the point a lot of other established conventions are where everyone knows who you are. Next year, next year…

4. We didn’t have enough room
You could be forgiven for looking at those rather sparse vendor pages and thinking no one is coming. Fear not, humble SMASH! attendee-in-waiting! I can assure you not having enough vendors is not the problem, rather it looks like we’ll have too many (a better problem to have to be sure). Look forward to an explosive update this weekend!

So there you have it: our first Behind the Scenes post. Some of the things don’t make us look good but frankly if they don’t that’s our fault. We should have done a better job. Getting it out there so you know about it is the best way to keep us honest.

Want more Behind the Scenes action? Let us know in the comments!

Our Manga Idol page is up, and we seek challengers for this thrilling competition of creativity and wrist dexterity!

Gather ye ’round the Main Stage and witness this artistic spectacle, as we prepare not one, but two events! That’s right, Manga Idol will be held over both days this year. But don’t go thinking you’ll see the same thing twice, no no. For there’s a twist! Behold the power of the Undo button in Saturday’s Digital Idol, and see the ink fly and pens clash on Sunday’s Traditional Idol.

We’re seeking applications now, so if you think you’ve got what it takes send an e-mail to art@smash.org.au with a few words about yourself and a portfolio of your work.

You may have noticed already, but Artist Circle applications have officially closed! We’ve filled up our Artist Circle for a third year running now, and we couldn’t do it without the support of all you artists. We hope you all have a wonderful time at SMASH! 2009, and good luck with all your preparation.

For those of you unfortunate enough to miss out, there is still the SMASH! Comiket service, so be sure to check that out.