🌤️ | Artist Alley Nov. 2025 @ CCS!
HI and welcome to the FIRST POST OF DECEMBER 2025!!!!!!!!!!
this past weekend, I was a vendor with Charlie's Collectible Show! I've been a regular since August 2024, and I've always had a lovely time working with CCS. and of course, this mini-con was lots of fun (par for the course) :D here's some of the highlights from the day!
Booth Buddies
| Miku & Himawari | Spunch Bop! |
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meet our booth assistants! Snow Miku, Himawari the Maneki-Neko, and SpongeBob! these three are permanent fixtures of my booths, with little Himawari being the most recent addition to the roster :D
I even had some curious kiddos stop by to say hi to Himawari! I told them about how her name means 'sunflower' in Japanese, and one kiddo told me 'konnichiwa!' right after grabbing some goodies from me hehehe
we also have a fourth permanent fixture! although... I forgot to get a picture of him this time, so this pic is from another booth in August this year.
| Squidward's Hopes and Dreams Revival Fund |
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[Sarah MacLachlan - Angel playing in the background] YOUR donation could help save Squidward from his dead-end job with no culture! consider supporting Squidward's Hopes and Dreams Revival Fund - YOU can help give this squid a future.
Wanderstar's Other Fixtures
| Lucky Grabs (& something else...) | Freebies! |
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a couple of other fixtures at my table!
I really like the concept of 'fukubukuro' ... back before the concept was hijacked into lootboxes and quasi-legal loopholes for gambling, that is. clearing out your store and bundling old items together so customers can actually get more bang for their buck?
it's a system you don't see much in America, but... it's one that just makes a LOT of practical sense to me. maybe that's my Japanese side speaking? or my American-entrepreneurial side? lol
all that said, I think mystery bags and whatnot can be fun in small doses! I'm always a fan of stuff that can give you the same rush as gambling without... ACTUALLY involving gambling.
it's weird, but I think it's a really fun compromise you can make w/ customers, bc the novelty is there but there's no pressure to ""complete the collection"" or keep on gambling when you get a prize, regardless.
and if someone doesn't want the extra stuff, I think that's a great opportunity to gift something to a friend! plus, as mentioned, it's a fun way to get rid of old stock. while not a lot of people picked them up this time, I'm hoping I can try and hype them up a little more next time I table at a con.
also yes, going to address the elephant in the room: that is indeed two handmade plushies of Canada and France from Hetalia. no, I did not make them. they were hand-me-downs. and they are possibly the MOST persistent little fuckers I have EVER met, bc I have been trying to get SOMEONE to take them away from me for YEARS!!!!!!! AND YET, THEY STILL HAUNT ME!!!!!
every single attempt has failed, but I may have a contingency plan for Canada. we shall see.
worse yet, they've practically become micro-celebrities with the sheer amount of people that have asked me... "wait, do you have HETALIA plushies in there?!"... I am forever tormented. forever. tormented.
Other Sights Around the Con!
utterly obsessed with this Shadow. free my man, he didn't do nothin!! (booth belongs to @alie.nbunnie on IG.)
I wasn't a DBZ kid myself, despite having both friends and family who loved it ... but like, even I gotta appreciate how massive and awesome this collection is???!
just a little collection of DS games. it's oddly comforting to see old DS games still in physical stores... it's probably the closest I can get to the childhood joy of visiting GameStop and finding a new game for my DS. the licensed games add a lot of charm too!
Delicious Fucking Food
/ref
literally one of my favorite parts of going to CCS: getting to eat amazing Asian snacks and then having to lament how much American snacks suck in comparison. Taiwanese Lays chips have RUINED ME. that said - there was a good variety of Western snacks that you don't always see in stores, hehe.
| Saturday | Sunday |
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the Taiwanese Pringles (or... Pringles-style Lays?) were surprisingly ergonomic. instead of having to reach down into a can of Pringles, it comes with a sleeve like a package of cookies! .... why the hell do we not have sleeves for Pringles in America???????
and I also made some delicious chicken omurice in Feed Mii :D
some Wanderlore: omurice was probably my most constant samefood for a good chunk of 2020 and 2021. haven't eaten it in a while after making some general changes to my diet, but I'm pretty sure I could make a good omurice just from memory. it felt cool to apply those skills in Feed Mii!!
Acquired Goodies (Con Haul)
| Little Prints! | Stickers! | & More! |
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| Art by Mussyhead & KimchiKrafts | Art by Mussyhead & mightysen | Crafts by SWAMP GOD |
bonus pic of SWAMP GOD's bracelet:
my ADHD hunter-gatherer genes are strong in me ... I forage little trinkets like a dragon collecting jewels!!! and my goodness do I love the little trinkets I encountered... that's one of my favorite things about supporting small businesses - getting things you couldn't get elsewhere!
- Mussyhead's selection had so many little cuties, it was positively full of huggable kitties and then some. ngl ... it was HARD picking between so many amazing pieces and having to narrow it down to just a few!!! I actually ended up buying two prints - but the other one is a secret, as it's for a friend ;D
- KimchiKrafts already has a very lovely selection of work, but the MOMENT I saw two little froggies under a big torii and majestic mountain? instant love. there was no way this piece WASN'T coming home with me.
- ...I will say that I get excited seeing ANYTHING with a torii, being a Shintoist in a place where there aren't exactly a lot of jinjas. but ... there were also froggies. 🐸
- absolutely ADORE this Moomin & Snufkin from mightysen!!! I swear - there is just NOT enough Moomin merch I can get my hands on.
(still don't regret my decision to get a $45 Moomin plush at Momocon '24)very excited to find a place to put these two, but right now they are chilling out in my sticker book! 😊 - last but not least: a couple of crafts by SWAMP GOD! I absolutely love the beading on the bracelet - something about transparent/'jelly' kandi beads is just so pleasing to the eye to me, and that's not even getting into the trans pride colors AND the big ol star :D
- I have a lot of appreciation for extensive beadwork w/ Kandi bc I've made a few stars, but they always came out a little jank... seeing someone else perfect the process is lowkey mesmerizing to me, LOL
- and the SAKURA TOTORO!!!! my GOODNESS!!!!! just like the torii, seeing ANYTHING sakura-themed is enough to make me go a little batty 😭 right now this little goober is chilling out on my minifridge... very happy to add another handcrafted magnet to my collection :}
bonus: some goodies I acquired from Royal Crowned Creations!
| gingerbread friend | lotsa KDH stickies!! |
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thank you for reading all my gushing and infodumping about my day at CCS!!!! as a token of my appreciation, ye shall receive...
IVAN!
my little old man retropug, for those uninitiated. he's acquired a newfound love for apples, and it's become a strange little bonding ritual whenever I'm eating too. lol (unmute to hear a BIG crunch from a pug)