Posted by Dave Bull at 6:26 AM, May 17, 2010
Today is a 'recovery' day ... after getting home from the weekend spent downtown at the Design Festa.
Here's the Tokyo Big Sight, the gigantic convention centre where the event was held:
I forgot to snap a shot before beginning the setup work, but remembered a few minutes later. I had rented a 'mini-booth', which is exactly one tatami mat in size, along with a back panel. I got a 'bonus' in that my neighbour had rented a side panel, and didn't mind if I used my side of it (technically against the convention rules).
People lined up waiting for the doors to open, and once the clock hit opening time, it just went nuts. Tens and tens of thousands of people came through the place over the two days, in what was pretty much a non-stop river that streamed by our booths (nearly 3,000 booths, and an estimated 60,000+ attendees ...).
I had no chance to take pictures, shoot any video, get food, take bathroom breaks ... nothing. I stood up and grabbed this single shot, during a momentary break in the flow:
(It's interesting that although driving in Japan is on the left like Britain, people walk down aisles like this on the right, so they saw my images on the side panel as they came in my direction ...)
How did it go? Mixed - I sold a pile of the little postcard-size print that I had on display, enough to pay the show expenses, etc., but made no additions to the subscriber list. That was pretty much to be expected I think, as there simply was no chance for quiet conversation with people. But around 800 pamphlets walked away over the two days, so perhaps there will be a bit of 'after effect' later; we'll see.
It was a lot of fun, but now I have to get back to the waiting blocks. The next pair of prints (#3 #4) has to be carved, proofed, and printed (at least the first batch of 120 or so) before I head off to Canada on June 4th for my parents' 60th anniversary reunion. And that's only 2 1/2 weeks away ... The stuffed email Inbox is going to have to wait a little bit longer ...
[Update:] I posed for any number of souvenir photos during the two days, but most people just then walked away, and I myself had no chance to see the shots. But one of the guests - an interesting guy who goes by the handle 'Joe' - sent me this one:
His hobby is doing (perfect!) imitations of various Johnny Depp characters, and you don't need me to tell you which one this is!