Showing posts with label comicpalooza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comicpalooza. Show all posts

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Comicpalooza 2012

Comicpalooza 2012 was a blast this year!  We loved catching up with our friends from last year and we made lots of new ones this year.  Finally, here are the photos that you have all been waiting for!

It was definitely exciting to see a line outside the George R. Brown Convention Center when I arrived on Friday morning.



You know things are going to be interesting when you see this vehicle parked inside!



It took a bit of time, but Wage and I finally got our half of the table set up.



We had lots of fun sharing a table with Mark Nasso, artist/writer of Land of the Rats.  On the other side of Mark is Austin Simmons, writer of Underfoot Alley.



Wage, of course, made friends with the rats that Mark had brought along with him.



 This Jawa stopped by to say hi.



We also had a visit from Dim and Wit- the monsters just loved them! 



We went to visit our friend Kristen, from Frilled and Feathered, to check out her new, cool stuff.  As per usual, Wage and I were very impressed!



No Comicpalooza would be complete without a visit to the Bean Pot Toiz booth!  Wage loved meeting Grego and Stacie, and they've got the best selection of vinyl toys around.  The family who sells vinyl toys together stays together! 

 

We then went to visit the Lilwickidz booth to say hi to "13" and to give him a big hug!



Such a cute, snuggly spider!  Wage adopted his very own plush Stitches in a coffin, and then we got some cool tattoos from their machine.



We then made our way over to our friend Kyle Fu's booth.  Kyle and his sister Kate, are the owners and art directors of Zen Artspace, in the Houston Galleria, where some of the critters are currently residing...



Kyle's origami is amazing- dragons, superheros, Darth Vader, AND zombies!







Kyle's sister, Kate, takes care of business!



Then we went back to the table to re-stock the critters.



There were lots more interesting characters roaming around:



The monsters always like to make new friends...



We loved these fun, furry creatures!



What a weekend it was- we can't wait until next year!  :)

Monday, April 2, 2012

Spring Schedule


It's Monday- grrrr! My allergies are driving me CRAZY today, but nonetheless, I thought I'd give you an update of the critters' schedule for this year. Looks like we are going to be ingesting quite a bit of pollen outside over the next few months, but at least we'll have some yummy treats from H-town strEATs and Boheme Cafe among others. Most importantly, we hope to catch up with all of you! Our favorite part of all of these shows is when our friends and fans stop by- we are always very happy to see you!

Have a great week everyone! :)

Cultured Critter Collective 2012 Schedule

7 April 2012
First Saturday Arts Market
548 West 19th Street, Houston, TX 77008
http://www.firstsaturdayartsmarket.com/

13 April-5 May 2012
Monsters on Main Street
The Rusted Nail Gallery: 158 West Main Street Mesa, AZ 85201
http://therustednailgallery.blogspot.com/

13-14 April 2012
Artists in Wonderland
Zen Artspace: 5175 Westheimer Rd., Houston, TX, 77056 (inside the Houston Galleria)
http://zenartspace.com/

14 April 2012
Craftacular Second Saturday
Hello-Lucky: 1025 Studewood Street, Houston, TX 77008
http://www.hello-lucky.com/

22 April 2012
Alternacraft
Boheme Café and Wine Bar: 307 Fairview, Houston, TX 77006
http://alternacraft.wordpress.com/

28 April 2012
Market Street Fine Arts Festival
Market Street, between Lake Woodlands Drive, Lake Robbins Drive, Grogan’s Mill Road
and Six Pines Drive: The Woodlands, Texas 77380
http://www.marketstreet-thewoodlands.com

4 May 2012
Star Wars Invades War’hous- May The 4th Be With You!
War’hous Visual Studios: 4715 Main Street, Houston, TX 77002
http://www.warhous.com/index.html

5 May 2012
Grand Re-Opening- Purple Elephant Gallery
12802 McSwain, Cypress Texas 77429
http://www.thepurpleelephantgallery.com/

25-27 May 2012
Comicpalooza
George R. Brown Convention Center
1001 Avenida de las Americas, Houston, TX 77010
http://www.comicpalooza.com/

2 June 2012
First Saturday Arts Market
548 West 19th Street, Houston, TX 77008
http://www.firstsaturdayartsmarket.com/

4 August 2012
First Saturday Arts Market
548 West 19th Street, Houston, TX 77008
http://www.firstsaturdayartsmarket.com/

1 September 2012
First Saturday Arts Market
548 West 19th Street, Houston, TX 77008
http://www.firstsaturdayartsmarket.com/

September 2012 (dates:tba)
Valerie G Solo Show
Glitter Karaoke: 2621 Milam Street Houston, TX 77006
http://www.glitterkaraoke.com/

6 October 2012
First Saturday Arts Market
548 West 19th Street: Houston, TX 77008
http://www.firstsaturdayartsmarket.com/

3 November 2012
First Saturday Arts Market
548 West 19th Street: Houston, TX 77008
http://www.firstsaturdayartsmarket.com/

1 December 2012
First Saturday Arts Market
548 West 19th Street: Houston, TX 77008
http://www.firstsaturdayartsmarket.com/

Friday, June 3, 2011

Comicpalooza!

Last weekend, the critters and I shared a booth with Kristen, of Frilled and Feathered @ Comicpalooza.

What is Comicpalooza? It is Houston's answer to the massive San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) held annually, and it looks like it will be here to stay! This event brings together comic book and toy vendors, artists, television and movie stars, and of course, let's not forget the fans... Apparently, Comicpalooza began in 2008, and was originally held the lobby of the Alamo Drafthouse, with just a few celebrities. It has now grown to take over the third floor of the George R. Brown Convention Center, with 10,000 attendees and events held until 2:00 am!

We knew we were going to have a fun weekend when we saw this truck in the parking lot on Friday morning:



Our booth was in the Dealer's Room, and we met lots of awesome vendors there. It took all of our combined forces of self-control not to go crazy and buy everything in sight! Here are a few of our absolute favorite booths:

Bean Pot Toiz
San Antonio, TX

We loved the BPT family of Grego, Stacie and Kaylah! They were just the nicest peeps and had an amazing selection of designer vinyl toys and accessories. They are the perfect example of how the family who sells vinyl toys together stays together!





I loved this huge Rat Fink they had on display:





Bekyoot
Houston, TX

Diagonally behind us was Christy, from Bekyoot, the artist who creates all of Bekyoot's awesome designs. We just fell in love with her adorable critters, and she was a very sweet neighbor to boot:





Tribbletoys
Los Angeles, CA

How many times had I wanted my very own Tribble during that episode of Star Trek? Well... now I have my very own, and it's pink! The Tribbles also vibrate and make an adorable squeaking sound...





Giant Microbes
Los Angeles, CA

The Tribble guy also sold Giant Microbes, those plushie germs and blood cells that we all would like to love and call our very own...





He brought a huge and varied selection with him, and apparently decided to highlight the STD critters... too funny!





This is the first time Kristen and I have shared a booth- the critters have now become huge fans of her awesome Steampunk jewelry:









I brought LOTS of mini monsters, and many of them found homes with very nice people! I even had some glow-in-the-dark Zombie Monsters...





Here is the rest of the gang (and some paintings:





Fuzz the Undercover Pirate Bear and General Rusty Bunny enjoyed their view from atop Kristen's and Brent's living room shelves...:





The Lego exhibit in the Artists' Alley was truly amazing!








Gotta LOVE the dinosaur and the poor little aliens being held up:




Here is the Lego Man posing with two members from the "Adventures of the Travelling Sperm." I know... don't ask!





Finally, we had my favorite visitor to our booth at the end of the day on Sunday:



It was quite the experience! We spent most of our time (when we weren't chatting with customers) giggling and pointing out all of the awesome and outrageous costumes than many fans wore to this event:

Captain Jack Sparrow


This guy was awesome- he even walked like Johnny Depp! His wife said he'd been practicing for weeks, and it showed!




Stormtrooper


Stormtrooper now apparently has a family! This guy was very tall- and there were many Stormtrooper sightings of all sizes throughout the weekend...

Probably the most difficult part of the weekend was to keep from buying all of the cool stuff, and it was EVERYWHERE! I was pretty good, but I did purchase an adorable t-shirt and Berry Ninja from Bekyoot, and a medium pink Tribble from Tribbletoys. I also acquired a Munny Mobile and some other awesome vinyl toys from Bean Pot Toiz... How could I resist? I was also lucky to score a free Darth Vader Key Chain from McDonalds, and a coupon for a free frozen Strawberry Lemonade. Not bad, huh?


I will now close with some memorable fan quotes from the weekend:

"Chekov is MY Barbie!"

"I geek-out differently now, as opposed to how I used to geek-out..."

"Mmmmm-brains..."

And my most favorite...

"Hi, I'd like to inquire about adopting a monster..."

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Busy Critters!

The critters are going to be attending lots of shows during the month of May- I'm hoping that I will be able to keep up with them, and we're hoping to see our friends at these Houston-area events:


Cast in Plastic: Art from the Designer Toy Revolution
Saturday, 14 May 2011
7-10 pm
Domy Books
1709 Westheimer
Houston, TX 77098
Cast in Plastic runs from 14 May 2011 - 23 June 2011




AlternaCraft
Sunday, 15 May 2011
12-6 pm
Boheme Cafe and Wine Bar
307 Fairview at Taft
Houston, TX 77006




Frida Festival 2011, "Viva la Vida"
Saturday, 21 May 2011
11 am-6 pm
East End Studio Gallery
708 Suite C Telephone Rd.
Houston, TX 77023




Comicpalooza
Friday, 27 May 2011: 12-7 pm
Saturday, 28 May 2011: 10 am-7 pm
Sunday, 29 May 2011: 10 am-6 pm
George R. Brown Convention Center
1001 Avenida De Las Americas
Houston, Texas 77010
Halls A3 and B3



Please stop by any of these events and come say hi to us!