Hi you!
Yes you! You are a special one for finding and reading this blog post!
I'm not sure if anyone has ever read any of these blog posts on my online shop, so if you have, you're a real one B-)
I'd like to reflect on a few things in this post and make sure that my feelings of appreciation and gratitude are recorded!
This September shop update concludes my general sales activities for this year! I do not have any more events scheduled for the rest of 2024 and I may or may not open up the shop again for the winter season.
It has been a busy and productive year for me selling at artists alley across North America and periodically running the online shop! I'm extremely grateful that there are people who resonate with the art I make and actually want to buy things from me!
If you bought anything from me this year, thank you so much. If you interacted with my social media posts, thank you very much as well! All the support is very encouraging and makes a huge difference for me!
As artist alley becomes a more popular and accessible means of selling artwork and sharing creativity, it also becomes increasingly difficult to be accepted into them. So the events that I had the opportunities to sell at this year have all been very meaningful to me. I learn a lot at each event and I get to meet and connect with many people! I feel that I am growing as an artist and a person each time.
I hope I get to continue to sell at artists alleys! If you've sat in on one of my Twitch streams, you'll know I complain a lot about having to travel and how much I like staying at home. I definitely am a homebody but if I'm given the opportunity, I would be very happy to go to more conventions!!
One of my favourite parts of being at artists alley is how I get to connect with fans who are also into the same things that I am!!! It is an incredible feeling to know that you are not alone in enjoying this media and to get to talk about it is amazing!
Anime NYC 2024 was very special to me.
A couple of months prior, I had started preparing a merch set featuring artwork I did for the unofficial happi project: Idol Nerissa. I really wasn't sure if all the things I planned for the set would be finished on time, but a miracle happened and it did! I was so unsure if it would be ready for ANYC that I didn't make a graphic for it until the day before the actual event.
It was absolutely magical for me that everything came together and I have to give huge props to my two helpers, boris and tom, who supported me throughout this whole endeavour in many ways! Thank you guys so much!!
The first two hours of the first day of ANYC, I was stationed at the Copic booth to take commissions! This was another amazing opportunity that I was ecstatic about! This unfortunately meant that I’d be absent from my table at artist alley during that time. Boris and tom told me that those first two hours were the busiest because there were a lot of people who came to get the set. Thank you!!! I should also mention that Nerissa herself had retweeted my promotion tweet and that helped a lot more people find my booth. Later in the weekend, she quote retweeted the post exclaiming that the idol Nerissa artwork I did is one of her favourites. On top of this, she signal boosted the set and online shop opening!!!? I still cannot believe that actually happened and I am eternally grateful.
Because of this, my mailing list subscriber count increased 10 fold and had a very successful shop update! Thank you so much Nerissa. I am always baffled by the support and love you give me. I love you and all the work you do and just you as a person. You’re my oshi and I will support you as best I can in ways that I can.
It makes me so very happy that the work I do reaches and resonates with so many people, including my oshi!
I generally am a person who is satisfied with the status quo on many things and I am very content and satisfied with the work I’ve done this year and the reception I got from it. However, there is still more I want to create. There are skills I’ve yet to obtain and visions I’ve yet to paint. I want to share my artwork more and more with the world! I want to bring happiness and encourage others with my work.
I am beginning to see the impact I can make and that is very much thanks to people like you who nurtured me to where I am now. Thank you!!
The winter season is approaching and with it comes less sunlight, cold weather, and the blues. It’s a little less joyous time for me personally. But, I have next year to look forward to and a lot of projects planned! I don’t want to disappoint you or myself and my dreams, so I’ll be putting in my hours B-)
See you at my next event or whenever we meet again!!
Cheers,
cauli