Recap: Pittsburgh Indy Comics Expo 2010

Last weekend Curls Studio journeyed to Pittsburgh for the first-ever PIX: Pittsburgh Indy Comics Expo. Going into the show I had no expectations because I knew the show was brand new and it was to be held at the top floor of an unheated storage facility. I found out about the show because I was handed a flyer at SPX about exhibiting and the table costs were very reasonable. We decided to go to Pittsburgh to sell our wonderful comics and establish a broader audience up north. Similar to our trip to New York Comic Con the weekend before, we left around 3 AM and drove straight to the event, which started at 10 AM. Since there was only one elevator, exhibitors were encouraged to arrive early for set-up. I was prepared for the cold, but the temperature seemed just fine for me so having the facility unheated was not a problem anytime during the weekend. We did really well at PIX and met some great people. In addition, we met some really nice Pittsburgh artists. Sunday sales were very close to Saturday sales, which is amazing because usually Sundays are slower. In fact, I might have actually liked Sunday better than Saturday because I was more relaxed. Another cool thing about PIX was the ability to access a power outlet... and around Joe that can be adventurous! He set up Christmas lights around the rim of our table. It was nice to be able to add some electricity to our display for the first time. On Saturday night, PIX hosted an exhibitor party at Brillobox. I really enjoyed being able to attend this party. The food was amazing. THE BEST PIEROGIES EVER. Having this party is a wonderful addition to the event. Someone mentioned "SPX has the chocolate fountain and PIX has pierogies." I like going to cons for food! Panels were organized at the last minute and I attend part of the Sunday panel. I do not think many people knew about the panels, so they ended up merging all the Sunday panels into one hour. In the future this is something that can be organized and I understand it is a whole new thing to put on PIX. I really enjoyed the panel and it was worth going to. I can certainly see PIX growing and becoming a larger show in the future. The venue turned out to be very awesome and spacious. I think there even could be room for more tables around the rim. My only advice would be to promote the panels in advance and post them on the website, make a table map so people can locate the tables they are looking for, and provide name tags for the exhibitors because people might only know of a name and not how a person looks like. At the end of the event, I heard a rumor of PIX being a one-day show next year. I do not mind the two-day show and I think I got more out of the Sunday show because I was able to walk around and talk to other creators plus attend the panel, so that was fun. I hope to be back at PIX next year, whether it is a one or two day show... I think I prefer two-day, but I'd like to exhibit at PIX again either way. Pittsburgh was rad. Thanks to Bill Boichel for organizing this event. XOXO, Carolyn You can see more photos of Curls Studio at PIX on our Facebook Fan Page. Click "like" to get our updates on Facebook. Thanks in advance for joining up!