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Fur the 'More 2015 aftermath and other announcements
10 years ago
General
So, I've been back from FurMore for a few days! It was an absolute blast, and I'd love to talk about it for a moment.
As you may know, Fur the 'More 2015 was my first furry convention! I really couldn't have asked for a better experience. The convention was a blast and I made a ton of new friends. I didn't end up going to as many conventions as I wanted (which seems to be the case with pretty much every convention I go to), but I had a lot of fun at the ones I did end up at.
I don't really feel like typing out a huge report, so I'll make a few bullet points.
Pros:
-Everyone was really friendly! I hung out with some people on Friday night and met up with them again on Saturday. They were all so funny and friendly and generous. We had delicious beverages and laughed a lot. Great people.
-There were amazing costumes! I didn't take many pictures, but I was shocked at the variety and quality of the fur suits that were present. It only makes me wish I had been able to finish my own, but I'll absolutely have one next year.
-All the vendors and artists were really cool. I commissioned my first badge and the artist I worked with was so patient and kind. We bought some other things from the dealer's room and all of the booths seemed well composed with a good variety of product.
-The convention had the best medical ops I've ever seen. I had a really bad experience with the Otakon med ops a few years ago, so seeing a well-stocked and organized med station is something I always look for. I didn't end up needing to use their services, but I was confident that I'd have been in good hands if I did.
-With the exception of a couple of bumps listed in the 'cons', the event seemed well-organized. The opening ceremony was very informative, and I was so happy to see such an emphasis placed on the idea of consent (which was featured on posters), and a mention of their zero-tolerance harassment policy. I can't believe there are still some conventions that don't have this kind of thing in their code of conduct.
-Artists and dealers could handle their own transactions! I don't get why this isn't a staple at furry conventions yet (perhaps it's something that used to be more common in all conventions?). Additionally, artist supplies (pencils, sketchbooks, lamination services) were available for a fee, which I ended up using to laminate my badge.
-The convention merchandise was nice. I ended up buying a lanyard and a shirt (as did my partner) and both were really nice. I actually love the shirt and will probably wear it often. I didn't end up buying a bag or any of the other products, but they appeared high quality.
-The video game room was AWESOME. They had literally everything I could think of in terms of consoles and hundreds of titles there. I didn't spend much time in the tabletop room, but I suspect it was similarly great. These rooms were also open 24 hours.
Cons:
-The panels could have been a bit more organized. The panel area was very cramped and kind of out of the way/difficult to find. There were no queue areas, leading to a lot of confusion and blocked hallways before panels. It also seemed like about half of the panels needed to be moved due to size. It's not something I can totally fault the con for, but it would have been nice to see a better use of space.
-The artist alley and dealer's room was a little weird. I know that the organizers intended for the artist alley to feature artists that were there to work on commissions, but this left the alley over half empty for the entire con. Most of the work I would expect to see in the AA was in the dealer's room instead because of their ruling about what constitutes manufactured versus hand made. I suspect this is probably a price thing, but it made it a little confusing. Revamping the artist alley would, I believe, help out everyone.
-There were some small issues with communication in the staff. Specifically, two situations. Firstly, I asked about 18+ verification when I was getting my badge and was told that our badges indicated our age. That night, however, I was told I had to get a wristband (like at most cons) to go to 18+ events. This wasn't a huge problem, just a slight confusion. Secondly, when I went to get my commissioned badge laminated, the person who was running the convention booth at the AA didn't know how to do it or how much it cost and seemed kind of unfriendly and upset. They said the attendant who would know was out for lunch and couldn't be reached. Luckily, one of the artists helped me out instead. Other than that, all the staff seemed friendly and helpful.
-I did have two not-so-nice interactions with attendees. I don't feel like talking about them, considering what site this is, but they really weren't /too/ bad. I wasn't hurt or anything, and both of the situations were quickly and amicably resolved.
Don't be fooled by the big con section, this was an amazing con! I simply just can't point out all the great things about it specifically. Considering this is their third year, I'm amazed at the level of organization and the sheer scale of the con. I think Fur the 'More will likely join the ranks of the other major furry cons in the coming years, and I can't help but wonder how such a large community went untapped before now for a convention. Next year will bring great things, I'm sure, and I won't be missing it! I'll be back with a fur suit, a vendor's table, and maybe even a panel!
The convention has left me very inspired, and I'll be persuing some cool ideas in the near future. One such idea is that of forming my own meet up group, which I've already done a bit of planning for. Expect more info on the soon.
Finally, a small and unrelated note: I’ll be away from the internet June 14-22 while visiting family in Louisiana. I’ll still have my phone and will be checking for messages but likely won’t be posting anything in the meantime (save for a few pictures, possibly). If you need to get a hold of me in the meantime, send me a private message and I’ll get back to you within a day or so.
A lot of things will be happening after I get back, so look forward to what I have in production then!
As you may know, Fur the 'More 2015 was my first furry convention! I really couldn't have asked for a better experience. The convention was a blast and I made a ton of new friends. I didn't end up going to as many conventions as I wanted (which seems to be the case with pretty much every convention I go to), but I had a lot of fun at the ones I did end up at.
I don't really feel like typing out a huge report, so I'll make a few bullet points.
Pros:
-Everyone was really friendly! I hung out with some people on Friday night and met up with them again on Saturday. They were all so funny and friendly and generous. We had delicious beverages and laughed a lot. Great people.
-There were amazing costumes! I didn't take many pictures, but I was shocked at the variety and quality of the fur suits that were present. It only makes me wish I had been able to finish my own, but I'll absolutely have one next year.
-All the vendors and artists were really cool. I commissioned my first badge and the artist I worked with was so patient and kind. We bought some other things from the dealer's room and all of the booths seemed well composed with a good variety of product.
-The convention had the best medical ops I've ever seen. I had a really bad experience with the Otakon med ops a few years ago, so seeing a well-stocked and organized med station is something I always look for. I didn't end up needing to use their services, but I was confident that I'd have been in good hands if I did.
-With the exception of a couple of bumps listed in the 'cons', the event seemed well-organized. The opening ceremony was very informative, and I was so happy to see such an emphasis placed on the idea of consent (which was featured on posters), and a mention of their zero-tolerance harassment policy. I can't believe there are still some conventions that don't have this kind of thing in their code of conduct.
-Artists and dealers could handle their own transactions! I don't get why this isn't a staple at furry conventions yet (perhaps it's something that used to be more common in all conventions?). Additionally, artist supplies (pencils, sketchbooks, lamination services) were available for a fee, which I ended up using to laminate my badge.
-The convention merchandise was nice. I ended up buying a lanyard and a shirt (as did my partner) and both were really nice. I actually love the shirt and will probably wear it often. I didn't end up buying a bag or any of the other products, but they appeared high quality.
-The video game room was AWESOME. They had literally everything I could think of in terms of consoles and hundreds of titles there. I didn't spend much time in the tabletop room, but I suspect it was similarly great. These rooms were also open 24 hours.
Cons:
-The panels could have been a bit more organized. The panel area was very cramped and kind of out of the way/difficult to find. There were no queue areas, leading to a lot of confusion and blocked hallways before panels. It also seemed like about half of the panels needed to be moved due to size. It's not something I can totally fault the con for, but it would have been nice to see a better use of space.
-The artist alley and dealer's room was a little weird. I know that the organizers intended for the artist alley to feature artists that were there to work on commissions, but this left the alley over half empty for the entire con. Most of the work I would expect to see in the AA was in the dealer's room instead because of their ruling about what constitutes manufactured versus hand made. I suspect this is probably a price thing, but it made it a little confusing. Revamping the artist alley would, I believe, help out everyone.
-There were some small issues with communication in the staff. Specifically, two situations. Firstly, I asked about 18+ verification when I was getting my badge and was told that our badges indicated our age. That night, however, I was told I had to get a wristband (like at most cons) to go to 18+ events. This wasn't a huge problem, just a slight confusion. Secondly, when I went to get my commissioned badge laminated, the person who was running the convention booth at the AA didn't know how to do it or how much it cost and seemed kind of unfriendly and upset. They said the attendant who would know was out for lunch and couldn't be reached. Luckily, one of the artists helped me out instead. Other than that, all the staff seemed friendly and helpful.
-I did have two not-so-nice interactions with attendees. I don't feel like talking about them, considering what site this is, but they really weren't /too/ bad. I wasn't hurt or anything, and both of the situations were quickly and amicably resolved.
Don't be fooled by the big con section, this was an amazing con! I simply just can't point out all the great things about it specifically. Considering this is their third year, I'm amazed at the level of organization and the sheer scale of the con. I think Fur the 'More will likely join the ranks of the other major furry cons in the coming years, and I can't help but wonder how such a large community went untapped before now for a convention. Next year will bring great things, I'm sure, and I won't be missing it! I'll be back with a fur suit, a vendor's table, and maybe even a panel!
The convention has left me very inspired, and I'll be persuing some cool ideas in the near future. One such idea is that of forming my own meet up group, which I've already done a bit of planning for. Expect more info on the soon.
Finally, a small and unrelated note: I’ll be away from the internet June 14-22 while visiting family in Louisiana. I’ll still have my phone and will be checking for messages but likely won’t be posting anything in the meantime (save for a few pictures, possibly). If you need to get a hold of me in the meantime, send me a private message and I’ll get back to you within a day or so.
A lot of things will be happening after I get back, so look forward to what I have in production then!
It sounds like a lot of the problems that you ran into have to do with the new venue. There's always an adjustment period for that and this was not exactly a planned move, so there are things to be smoothed out there. I'll be sure to bring these things up to the relevant departments though. It's very useful to us to know what specific things attendees ran into that affected their experience.
Yeah, I agree that it is a lot to do with the venue. I've been through moves at other cons as well (Katsucon moving the the Gaylord National comes to mind) and I get that there's certainly a period for settling in. And I really can't speak highly enough of the con and everyone involved, it was just great. My few issues were easier for me to pick up on than usual because of just how stellar everything else was in comparison. If I go to a bad con, I usually have trouble describing exactly what I didn't like because it's just this homogenous soup of bad feelings. But that was obviously not the case here! Everything that really mattered was perfect, and now comes the ironing out of minor details.
I'm extremely excited to return to Fur the 'More next year, and await even further improvement!