thank you, MAC!

(cori of owlcrate took my picture for me in front of the picture*perfect donut wall on beaulitfulcon day. ooooh, the things we do for the ‘gram!) ;D

ooooh, what a time we had!!

first off, a HUGE thank you to Metropolitan Arts Council right here in greenville, sc, for my generous #MACArtsGrant !! it not only helped me get out to phoenix, az to meet all my favorite book people, but enabled me to be a bag sponsor and get my faerie tale feet bookmarks into the hands of hundreds of colourful, inspiring, boss girl nerd babes.

here’s a little video about my locally-sourced packaging development with the friendly helps of trucolor greenville and frontier label, too:

hopefully you were following along on my @halthegal_storyart instagram for MORE of the fun. but in case you missed it, here were some beaulitfulcon highlights:

i got into town a couple days early (because i don’t trust flight schedules not to lie to me) and made it JUST in time for an author panel and signing at changing hands bookstore in tempe.

from left to right, the incomparable: beth revis, nadine brandes, sara ella, mary weber, and ashley townsend.

i was in famous author fangirl nerdfest heaven and a total dork about meeting them all.

mary weber is an absolute rockstar.

the author of one of my fave reads of 2018: the storm siren trilogy, i picked up a copy of the evaporation of sofi snow and she not only autographed it for me, but drew a space ship inside. (you know, alien invasion and stuff.) she’s the coolest and i don't deserve to be in this photo with her. her to best the boys is gonna knock the socks off of 2019 reads. (coming in march!)

so sunday evening was our first mix & mingle party. the owlcrate girls recognized ME. hahahaha. talk about backwards fangirling!! ;D i didn’t take any pictures there because i’m a nervous chicken, but monday was EVENT DAY. and yes, i set up in the dark. because #artlife. (also had somehow missed the memo that the event was OUTSIDE. it turned out to be beautiful, but i’m glad i’d worn tights and my trusty cardigan!!)

most of my day happened in my insta stories. like here. once the sun came up. i took a selfie. because it’s what i do. ;)

another dream of my heart come true was meeting the ladies of litjoy crate. i’m a huge fan of their bookbox and all the things they love. and they happened to sponsor the coffee truck that day, and well, you know how i feel about coffee.

the ladies on this bookstagram panel have a combined total of more than 415,000 followers. that is a whole lotta likes and love and exposure! still have much to learn about working with “influencers,” but i think i’ve made a few steps in the right direction. (word of mouth is obviously still the best marketing tool in the world, just most of it happens online now! so getting my art in front of these ladies was kinda huge for me!)

i definitely learned a LOT from the marketing/brand panel with authors and the LitJoy gals, too. as a bookish brand, i’m always trying to improve! and that they, who already seem to be doing it right, loved my packaging was a tremendous compliment.

here was a partial view of the beaulitfulcon event lawn from behind my vendor table on event day. just look at that beautiful desert winter sky! (yes, i came home to 36-ish degree rain. it was an excellent reprieve to see and feel the sun!!)

i also got to meet nadine brandes (famous author, famous booktuber, all-around amazing woman. she bought art. which makes my insides super*happy.)

nadine even shared ME on her instagram stories and my happy heart was full.

stephanie hail was the event coordinator for beaulitfulcon. not only was she super helpful and threw an amazing, beautiful event, but she was gracious in the months leading up to the day to answer all my need-to-know-ahead-of-time detail emails because it helps me mentally prepare for being around people… ;) oh, and she also took this really pretty picture of my vendor table. and she collected some wizard-y art. and i’m so grateful! :D

here’s another photo by stephanie that begins to capture the joy of my bookish day! it was so wonderful to meet all of you, and i hope i’m even less shy in 2020 to meet more of you and ask for selfies with you and be cool enough to talk to a few more of you. :)

so thank you thank you thank you once again, metropolitan arts council for your grant in helping me advance my artsy business and learn how to DO THE THING with even greater, smarter business panache and beautiful marketing stuff. ;) thank you ladies of panels and attendees for sharing your wisdom with me, and of COURSE thank you for loving my art, too.

i was SO happy to share it with you!!

and i look forward to all of those upcoming projects we discussed, you amazing book box brands and authors!!

stay tuned for more fun things happening this winter/early spring.

i’m currently getting ready for STEP INTO STORY, my faerie tale gallery show at centre stage in march.

and new faerie tale feet paintings and other road trips to come! (thankfully, i shouldn’t have to get on a plane again until april, but i’m working on it.) ;)

hope to see you at beaulitfulcon 2020!!