The topic of this post is an old one, but I’m very eager and excited to write it.

This year, I was invited by my roommate Bree to attend Designer Con with her. I wasn’t too sure what to expect, as the only other convention I’ve been to was D23 in 2017, but I am always up for an adventure. Plus, it was held just down the street from us at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Right from the beginning, I was excited to see what my day pass design would look like. Bree, who has been preparing for this day weeks in advance by limiting her spending habits, was looking through D-Con’s Instagram account to try and find clues. She also attended the previous convention day, and had received a lanyard of a Goofy graphic.

The check-in line was incredibly short, so I found my answer right away: Donald Duck! My favorite of the Fab Five! I also received a map and directory of the entire convention.

We walked in and saw an entire room full of different booths, vendors, and photo opportunities. It looked similar to the D23 Expo, except with noticeably less people and far less crowded. The booths were arranged in long rows, and divided into different sections. Some sections included pins, screen prints, paintings, stickers, patches, plush and other goodies, clothing, and more. Out of all the items each booth sold, pins was the most prominent (from my memory).

All of the items were designed, drawn, and created by each small artist, so buying them would be in support of those small artists.

A handful of the artists also traveled from overseas. My roommate was especially excited to shop from and support artists from Japan. Many of their artwork, including plushies, key chains, stickers, and figurines, were items she would have bought anyways, but saved time and shipping costs by buying them here.

We started at one corner, and decided to snake our way to see each booth, even if just in passing. There were so many different designs, artwork, and art in general. It was a bit overwhelming, but all so exciting.

There were also many props and photo opportunities available. The first one we saw was a backdrop of the front store of Bob’s Burgers. Naturally, we had to take pictures.

My jumpsuit (romper?) is from Forever 21. I love how unique it is, and I never catch anyone wearing anything remotely similar to it. It was the perfect outfit choice for this convention. Also, on a side note, who autographed the wall? And why is my hand covering the “open” sign? Hmm…

We also found a photo opportunity of pugs in donuts, an important combination in these dark times. These are the outcome:

They also had a giant inflatable Pug. Their entire product line consisted of a pug in multiple poses and designs.

No convention is complete without nerdy props! (I can’t remember if these are real props or not, but I will assume not since we are at an artist convention where people create art from their favorite shows and movies).

Who you gonna call?

The pins section was so cool because a lot of the pins took inspiration from movies and shows, most notably: Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pokemon, and Stranger Things, to name a few. A lot of the designs were also originals, and many more were sexual in nature. While some weren’t entirely my cup of tea, it’s great that these artists have found their passion and a platform to create and sell their own artwork.

I did not take a lot of pictures of the products, because I know some artists don’t want pictures to be taken without their permission. Some did allow pictures, though. I took a couple of the booth layouts that I thought were great. I mean, how cool is that? Some people even though to decorate their booth! Such a cool concept. Artists should run the world.

There was so much to do, so much to see (so what’s wrong with taking the back streets?) that we promised to return to some booths later. This would later turn out to be a bad idea because we could not remember which booths we wanted to visit and what items we wanted to buy. I’m still mad about that!

I took many business cards from various vendors so I could remember to visit their websites and buy anything I hesitated on getting at D-Con. Again, the problem is I can’t remember which business card belonged to which vendor. Some decisions just aren’t well-thought out, and I suppose some purchases just weren’t meant to be.

Here are some random pictures I took throughout the day:

In the end, what did I buy? Let’s take a look at my loot!

A new bird friend. A little more expensive, but he just spoke (or tweeted) to me.

A California poppy key chain! A proceed of this purchase went directly to CA wildfire relief, and CA poppies are my favorite flower, so this purchase was a must.

A waffle and berries print! Okay, so I thought this was an original painting and was so excited to have it, but my roommates later told me it was a re-print. Most art is sold that way. That’s fine, but I feel like such a newbie not knowing in the first place! It’s still cute and I love it.

Can you tell what my style is? My roommate definitely could tell.

You would not believe your eyes— fireflies in a jar pin! It also glows in the dark!

Lastly, we can’t forget all the business cards and free stickers I collected…

These pictures were taken, uhh, today. I forgot to take them on the day of D-Con.

Not pictured is a set of flower stickers I bought for my friend as a Christmas gift! The artist even packaged them with a “to” and “from” section, which was a very thoughtful touch. Additionally, not pictured are all the free candies I ate. They were a great snack and motivator throughout the convention.

So what did I take away from this?

1. Don’t pass up the opportunity to purchase items you will later regret not purchasing. Yes, sometimes things are more expensive than you’d like, but sometimes you have to treat yourself.

2. ALWAYS support small and local artists! Don’t buy art from stores and corporations if it can be avoided! Check Etsy, Redbubble, and even your own Facebook feed! Sharing, retweeting, and re-posting with credit is always helpful! When possible, always credit artists.

On a different note, Bree, we need to take more pictures of us together.