Things I Learned at FWA 2011

Lesson Zero- I totally wanna build a fursuit now x3
Lesson One- People who aren't themselves artists or crafts persons seem to be all too often lacking in imagination. You have to put on display what they want before they even realize that they want it if you expect to sell things.
Lesson Two- Iced Tea is a relatively balanced source of both caffeine and water. Monster Energy Drinks are not. Force fluids, force fluids, force fluids! Dehydration is MISERABLE! (link to FWA day 3)
Lesson Three- Listen to intuition. If you have a feeling you'll need something, bring it. If an omen of some kind presents itself, pay attention to it. I caught con crud this year, and experienced the worst depressive episode I've had in months after the convention because I did not pack my immune boosters and 5-htp. Stupid, stupid, stupid!!
Lesson Four- Product- I was dumb and didn't prefab any collars, thinking that if someone wanted one they'd ask about them. Bracelets sell alright, Earrings do about as well, but I probably could have made a lot more with a little more variety in my offerings. Collars, leads, Harnesses, and undergarments/ bikinis are all well within my ability as a craftsman, and I could have made a KILLING on them, I just bet. Several people asked about other materials and scale maille, too. I wouldn't mind branching out a little and it certainly wouldn't hurt anything.
Lesson Five- Graphic Art- Being Neighbors with  hibbary and  gideon generated so much traffic. It was unbelievable. I need to make sure next time that I have prints and enough ready-made chain that I can focus on art. Full size commissions and custom maille take so much time that I doubt their feasibility somewhat, but less complex or smaller items of graphic art are easily managed in a short time, and it may be acceptable to simply ship larger finished work.
Lesson Six- People love cute and cheap, and it seems to sell very well. It might be plagiaristic but I'm thinking about offering stylized sharpie sketches (five minutes of work) for a dollar. I also sold four of the five galvanized steel hackey sacks I made and they were the cheapest item on my table.
Lesson Seven- Bring better displays next year. My limited space could easily be optimized with a little more flash and a little more planning.
Lesson Eight- I could probably get away with tarot readings for tips if I were so inclined.
Lesson Nine- Signage- I need to design and have printed some better signs advertising my rates and services.
Lesson Ten- My heroes are people like me. There is no reason to be intimidated by them. I am reasonably convinced that being placed between bigger names than me earned me more customers, rather than competition. They were pretty nice, too, once I came out of my shell =3
This brings me to....
Lesson Eleven- Once upon a time, I was a much more confident person. I was charismatic and gregarious. I've been trying to find that part of myself for a long, long time.
I think I finally have.
I lost my daring to a bad relationship, a worse psychotic episode, and Binge drinking and weight gain. This happened because everything that I believed in, everything I had faith in, broke down. I've been practicing cartomancy on and off since I was about fourteen or fifteen years old. Nearly half my life. The only times I remember ever being seriously mistaken in my readings were either when I refused to see what the cards were trying to tell me, or when I foolishly attempted to predict the outcomes of games of chance. As an oracle, I tend to be extremely accurate.
One problem: I put the cards down almost entirely for years.
I picked them back up, and ever since I started reading every morning I've regained a lot of confidence. I'm much happier, and I never would have thought to try it on my own.
Lesson Twelve- Branch out. Titanium is a wonderful material, but I had a lot of interest in other materials too. Copper, stainless, scales.... all much, much, much less expensive. Beads, too. I can achieve variety without compromising quality. But I need to get some new material... and a 120v DC power supply with adjustability in 10v increments.
Lesson Thirteen- Take better care of myself. Bring the picnic basket to the dealer's table so I don't have to leave for lunch, bring meds, and get more fluids. I can do with five hours of sleep or less, I can do it every day for two weeks or more if I need to, as long as I'm doing everything else right, I suffer no ill effects. I've GOT to remember to keep track of basic maintenance, especially when it's inconvenient to stay on top of it. I'm much more myself when I'm doing that, and much, much more capable.
Even with everything I did wrong this year, I came within thirty dollars of breaking even and had the time of my life. I definitely need more of this, and if I can make a living making things and this is part of it then BY GOD I have GOT to do this more.
I close with something that got stuck in my head for DAYS after the convention, from my one of my all-time favorite movies- The Nightmare Before Christmas. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXXOO3Wd_5Q From about 1:27 on...x3