From Local Sales to Niche Cons: My Event Strategy Makeover
I recently realized that a lot of people don’t actually know how I got started doing shows and events. And the best way to explain it all… is to tell you how I got started doing shows and events!
My very first in-person event was the Verdun Arts and Crafts Show at the Verdun Auditorium in 2001. It was a small but well-organized show, held right in the skating rink and run by the local craft community to showcase handmade talent. It wasn’t a massive event, but it was a great place to test the waters—see what people were into and whether they were even interested in what I was making.
Between 2001 and 2003, I also tried a few small church craft fairs. Unfortunately, they weren’t the best venues for me… but hey, we all have to start somewhere, right?
In 2003, I got into the Montreal Gem and Mineral Show, hosted by the local gem club. I ended up doing that show every year until recently. Eventually, I outgrew the event, but it was still worth doing annually. I made a lot of loyal connections there—many people came to the show just to find me, and I always looked forward to seeing them.
From 2003 to 2009, I was working a full-time job—six days a week—so I was limited to about two shows a year. Even so, I kept experimenting with new ideas and trying to figure out what kinds of markets fit me best. During this time, I also took small business startup classes through Youth Employment Services (YES Montreal), which eventually led me to apply for a startup grant from CLD Verdun.
In 2009, I left my job due to health issues, but it gave me the space to seriously reflect on what I wanted to do with my life and career. The CLD Verdun helped me put together a proper business plan—which honestly forced me to stop and think about how I really wanted to earn a living as a jeweller.
One big realization? I didn’t want to keep just throwing things at the wall and hoping something would stick. I needed to focus on what was viable, where my audience was, and how to test the market to find my ideal clients.
By 2010, I was doing more diverse events. I sold at the Wellington Sidewalk Sale for a few years, and also at Le Salon de la Passion Médiévale, Festival Médiéval St-Colomban, and various small craft and medieval fairs around Montreal.
Le Dragon Argenté at Verdun Craft Fair in 2011
Le Dragon Argenté at the Montreal Gem and Mineral Show 2012
Le Dragon Argenté at the Wellington Sidewalk Sale (Verdun) in 2013
Le Dragon Argenté at McGill Market Co-Op
From 2010 to 2019, I was a vendor at a little Pagan festival called Kaleidoscope Gathering up in Golden Lake, Ontario. I also tried a few other small Pagan events in that period, but I found that long-distance travel for smaller shows wasn’t viable in the long run.
At Kaleidoscope Gathering 2010 with Isa and Paul
I even had an artisan permit to sell directly on Ste-Catherine Street in downtown Montreal. I had a little 4.5 ft. x 4.5 ft. space to showcase my work on the sidewalk. It was a fun place to start, but the hours were long and the income didn’t justify it. After four years, I gave up the permit to explore other opportunities.
Then in 2011, everything changed: I was “dragged” into doing my first Montreal Comiccon. It was my first major geek event—and it launched a whole new chapter of my business. That one show sent me down the path of designing geeky and high-fantasy jewellery for fans like me! That led to doing Otakuthon (Quebec’s largest anime convention), and later Nadeshicon (a Japanese cultural festival hosted by Université Laval in Quebec City).
In 2013, I vended at my very first furry convention, Furnal Equinox, and that same year I was at WTFur? in Montreal. Later, I even vended at Anthrocon in Pittsburgh from 2015 to 2018.
Le Dragon Argenté at Furnal Equinox 2013
Furnal Equinox 2013
Ottawa Comiccon 2013
Le Dragon Argenté at Nadeahicon 2014
Le Dragon Argenté at Anthrocon 2015
Le Dragon Argenté at Edmonton Comic Expo 2016
Le Dragon Argenté at CanFURence 2016
I also tested out some U.S. shows—being a dual citizen allows me to legally work in the U.S. I did events like Fan Expo Philadelphia, AnimeNEXT in Atlantic City, and UBCon in Buffalo, New York. While those shows were fun, the cost of bringing my inventory across the border, plus the travel, hotels, and all the paperwork… yeah, it added up. So while I do miss U.S. conventions, I have to weigh those costs realistically.
Over the years, I’ve had shows that were a great success, some that were moderately successful, and others that just weren’t financially worth it. I tried the Toronto Gem and Mineral Show, Arts on the Waterfront in Colborne, Ontario, and other small events that were fun but didn’t pay the bills.
Le Dragon Argenté at Toronto Gem Show
Then there were the total disasters. In 2016, I went to Niagara Falls for a convention called Fan World. It was supposed to span the U.S.–Canada border, with vendors and guests on both sides. The U.S. side had all the guests and a huge crowd, while the Canadian side (where I was) had maybe 400 people over three days. The vendor room felt like a ghost town. Honestly, I think the only reason some people even wandered through was because of a Pokémon Go hotspot in the room! I didn’t even make enough to cover my hotel, never mind travel and table fees. A few of us vendors still jokingly refer to it as The Convention That Shall Not Be Named.
Still, all the trial and error has been worth it. Over the last 15+ years, I’ve learned a lot—especially that it’s important to pause and reflect on where you're going, what’s working, and who your market actually is. Honestly, if you’d told me back in 2010 that I’d be making a living selling at geeky conventions, I would have thought you were completely nuts. But here I am—and I love it!
Thanks for reading,
