Sperel Activism At Sakura-Con 2012

Yesterday we introduced our Sakura-Con Artist Alley friends through some of the artwork and products that they were selling at the anime fest last weekend. Today, we share photos of some of the cosplayer characters who visited our table to meet the sperels!

For those who weren’t there to see us first hand, we had the foresight to snap a photo of our vendor table setup before the convention doors opened and all the craziness began. The week prior to Sakura-Con, we put some significant thought into creating a display that would make optimal use of our table surface while complimenting the sperel’s cutest characteristics. Perhaps the sperels themselves deserve all the credit for attracting so many new friends and fans to their table, but we like to think that our table presentation had some part in the sperel’s Sakura-Con success as well!
The sperel's Sakura-Con 2012 Artist Alley vendor table setup
One of the final additions to our table display was the printout of our $5 off deal for any cosplayers with wings. The sperels love new adventures of all types, but they were especially happy whenever another winged character would stop by and choose one of them as their new flying companion. Unfortunately, we were somewhat neglectful of our photo duties on Friday, but as the weekend warmed up, we made up for Friday’s missed photo opportunities by taking lots of pictures on Saturday and Sunday! Here are some of the sperel’s newest friends from their Seattle adventure:

Cooro was searching the convention for other +Anima and arrived to our table alerted by the sensation that a +Anima sperel was hiding in our midst.
Cooro cospalyer at Sakura-Con 2012

Similarly convinced of the sperel’s mystical nature, this woodland faerie decided that a sperel was needed back home in her enchanted forest where she promised it would forever enjoy exploring a land of pure wonder.
A woodland faerie and her sperel companion

Morrigan and Lilith took a sperel as their new Darkstalker mascot, and though the sperel left feeling a bit nervous about having to watch its new friends battle enemies all the time, there can be no doubt that this sperel will be well protected under their watch.
Darkstalker cosplayers Morrigan and Lilith save a sperel

Not everyone who stopped by our table was interested in hearing about the sperel’s backstory, and the Umbrella Corporation had actually deployed a very mission-oriented Containment Force into the convention halls to eliminate suspected carriers of what they called the ‘T-Virus’.
Umbrella Corporation, taking excessive precautions to isolate the outbreak

Luckily, an ‘infected’ came by and disposed of the soldiers before they were able to harm the sperel. Not wanting the sperels to be Left 4 Dead, this Hunter took two of them along to add a little bit of cheer into his apocalyptic days.
Left 4 Dead - Hunter Cosplay

Some of the folks who visited our table implemented some rather interesting tactics in their efforts to ‘save a sperel’. Pokémon Trainer Ash hoped he might win a sperel in a Poké Battle as he set loose his Pikachu on our table!
Ash cosplayer sets Pikachu against sperels
In this instance, the sperels were able to avert catastophre by flocking together and convincing Pikachu that they weren’t interested in fighting.

But moments later, we received a visit from this girl who had seen us the previous day, saying she would return sometime later with wings to improve her sperel-saving suitability. As can be seen, instead of wings she came with a net, revealing her true identity as a member of Team Rocket!
Team Rocket cosplayer nets a sperel at Sakura-Con 2012 ‘Gotta catch ‘em all’ is a difficult slogan to resist when in the presence of sperels, but we do hope the sperel that she caught isn’t utilized to capture more peaceful and unsuspecting creatures!

For just about everyone at the convention, the sperels offered something new and unfamiliar to learn about, and, fittingly, many of the characters whom we met were from stories that we knew nothing about either.
Hatsune Miku and Kagamine Rin Sakura-Con cosplayThese girls stopped by all three days, each day cosplaying as a different character! It was their Hatsune Miku and Kagamine Rin costumes which they wore on the final day that introduced us to an entirely new world, and while we still don’t entirely understand the story behind their characters, we’re sure that the sperels they adopted will enjoy whatever random fun lies ahead!

Also unfamiliar were these colorful subjects from the Kingless Kingdom Hearts. Time for some destructive disloyalty? Careful little sperel, those two look like trouble!
Cosplayers of Kingless Kingdom Hearts

When this guy stopped by on Friday, he had a very cool helmet that he had created as the finishing touch for a costume based on a character of his own design. When he stopped by the next day to adopt a sperel, he was sans helmet – which was probably for the best as his sperel was now able to see the trustworthy and peaceful demeanor of its new friend.
Cosplaying a character of his own design at Sakura-Con 2012

These two were full of energy, and the sperel was really attracted to their vibrantly colored ears and springy hair.
Cosplay characters of their own design

A visit from the Animaniacs kept us on our toes as they taught the sperels the best way to behave at any anime fest. And the best way to behave is? CRAZY, of course!!! Don’t worry – the mallet head was made out of foam. No sperels were hurt during the course of the event.
The Animaniacs, being their mischievous selves at our Sakura-Con table

The sperels were also very impressed to learn that some creatures could fly despite not having any wings. The Nyan Cat flew by, ready to break the monotony of its meme by adding a new flying partner into its video. Hopefully the sperel is able to tolerate that never-ending nyan song!
Nyan Cat cosplayer ready for perpetual flight

Another flying friend, Neo dropped in to save the sperel from being inserted into a whole different kind of enslavement in the Matrix.
Neo saves a sperel from the Matrix

These two students of Witchcraft & Wizardry found a perfect pair of animal companions to take with them next year to Hogwarts…
Hogwarts cosplay students and their animal companions

…while Princess Mononoke took along a sperel for the purpose of guiding her to Joldabrun where she swore she would protect the sperels’ homeland from further destruction.
Princess Monoke cosplayer at Sakura-Con 2012

Adventure was the theme of the weekend, and this group of traveling warriors immediately recognized the sperel as the ‘special item’ that would aid them in their ambitious quest!
Lady Vader and Rikku form part of an eclectic cast of cosplayers

And that was a pretty full glimpse of the sperel’s first exhibiting experience! Sakura-Con (and presumably other Anime Fests of its kind) really provides a perfect environment for the sperels to make new friends, and we hope to be back there again for more fun next year! Who knows what adventures will unfold between now and then, but one path we might soon fly down was encouraged by our friend Adrian whom we had a chance to meet up with before leaving Seattle on Sunday. Adrian is a professional concept artist, and he had some very worthwhile insight in the area of independent game development. Could a mobile app or downloadable game be the next step in spreading sperel awareness? Such a big step is probably a bit farther in the future, but if you or anyone you know has any game development insight or experience, the sperels would love to chat about it any time!

Posted in Events on April 14th, 2012

Sakura-Con Artist Alley Mates

At the time of our last update, we had a very big weekend ahead of us with Sakura-Con in the near distance, unlocking its gates but for the briefest of moments like some secret garden of the equinox, visible and accessible only at the right time, and only to a certain type of traveler. Given our lack of convention exhibiting experience, the sperels were understandably nervous, unsure whether they would find acceptance in an environment so full of visual stimulation, but all in all our first Artist Alley experience couldn’t have gone better. For three (and a half) days, the convention’s exhibitor hall was in essence our home, and the enjoyment experienced therein was partially due to having some really great Artist Alley neighbors.
We’ve got some rather fun photos of the sperels interacting with some of the folks who visited our table throughout the weekend, but before sharing those images and stories we’d like to introduce our neighboring Artist Alley friends who were there with us all weekend long.

MilkInk, the artistic duo of ‘Pokémon Specialists’ Miguel and Jordan, demonstrated the legitimacy of their title with stickers, art prints, and on-site commissions that attracted endless attention from Poké enthusiasts throughout the weekend.
MilkInk Pokemon commission display at Sakura-Con 2012While their fan art gives tribute to other properties as well, MilkInk also creates their own characters, and their artistic style is so well polished that they ended up making several impressive business contacts during the weekend! Here, one of the sperels admires their work while contemplating a sperel+Pokémon commission.

Sharing the table with MilkInk was artist Bunny Lee, whose side of the table was populated with all sorts of cute little creatures on buttons, stickers, tote bags, t-shirts, prints, and greeting cards.
Bunny Lee 's character based Greeting Cards
This sperel was particularly attracted to the diversity of characters on miss Bunny’s greeting cards, and would love to see them all in plush form some day as they would undoubtedly make excellent play friends!

One of the very first friends we made at Sakura-Con was Josh, who runs superOrange and was busy setting up at the time of our arrival in the next row behind us with his apparel, buttons, and tote bags featuring parody slogans inspired by anime, geek, and tech culture.  In the photo below, it must appear as though the sperel is using its wing to censor the slogan on this t-shirt, but rest assured that all of superOrange’s products are G-rated, with this particular t-shirt referencing a central conflict of the protagonists in the popular anime Soul Eater.
Soul Eater Parody T-Shirt by Super Orange
The funny(er) thing about this photo is that I specifically told the sperel to move a bit to the left when its wing was initially only covering the ‘A’ of ‘Ain’t', but apparently I was in too much of a rush to realize the error in its re-positioning. Admittedly, the sperels didn’t ‘get’ all of the references on superOrange’s products, but it would seem that just about everyone else at Sakura-Con did!  Being in the last row of Artist Alley, the sperels generally received visitors after the preceding rows, and it was always comforting to them when a new fan would adopt a sperel and then place it inside one of the superOrange tote bags that they had bought just a moment before!

Our neighbors to the right – Becky and Brenna of xskyskipper – had a variety of product at their table, but what really caught the sperels’ eyes were these extremely cute little steampunk hats!
Sperel in a xskyskipper steampunk hat
They had numerous designs – all uniquely different – and each of the sperels wanted a hat of their own.  It was difficult explaining to them that I would have to significantly increase their adoption price if they were to all come with their own unique steampunk hats.  In the end, they settled on enjoying the opportunity to at least try the hats on.  Of course the hats are designed for human wear, but as it happens that they fit the sperels perfectly, anyone who would like to accessorize their sperel with such an item is encouraged to get in touch with xskyskipper!

Blurry images and partially obscured subject matter really truly are not a common occurrence in Mr. Sperelman’s photography, but here we see yet another flawed photo effort, this time as the sperel wears a painted mask and phone wrist charm from Sorbet Jungle.
Sperel wearing a mask by Sorbet Jungle

With so many cosplayers roaming about the convention floor, one of the sperels was inspired to find a disguise of its own and was smart to fly a couple tables down and enlist the help of Sorbet Jungle’s Deanne and Christi. Of all our new Artist Alley friends, these two ladies were the veterans of our row! This year alone, they’ve already traveled to and exhibited at five different anime conventions, and they’re planning for many more before the year is through! The sperels are jealous to say the least! Check their tour calendar and be sure to visit Sorbet Jungle if you’re at one of these same events!
Perhaps it’s best that this photo came out blurry so as not to provide any clear clues to The Masked Sperel’s identity, but still we would like to make sure that our introduction of Sorbet Jungle faithfully represents the cuteness of their brand. In addition to the mask seen on the sperel above, they also sell an array of adorable jewelry, cell phone charms and covers, scarves, hats… and… what’s this?

It appears that one of Sorbet Jungle’s Onigiri Plush was so intrigued by the sperels that it snuck into our display packaging to travel home with us!
An Onigiri from Sorbet Jungle stowed itself away to come home with us!
The sperels are equally intrigued by their new onigiri friend, and despite learning that the onigiri would be deliciously edible if ever they hungered for such a cute little ball of rice, the sperels sympathize with its past hardships and have taken to watching over the onigiri to ensure it remains safe from harm.

As for all of our non-onigiri Artist Alley friends, the sperels wish you well in your growth and hope to see each of you again at more conventions in the future!

Posted in Events on April 13th, 2012