One Beefy End of the Year 2023 Update

There are some exciting changes on the horizon and behind the scenes! I figure I’ll make a brief update but ended up making a bit of a blog! Oopsies!

🧹 FALL OVERHAUL 📈

I haven’t mentioned it much aside from chatting with some friends but for nearly one whole year, my house has had a few serious renovations (kitchen, basement water-proofing, electrical updates, insulation updates, plumbing issues…) With all the chaos and clutter happening at at the same time, we also had my husband’s college friend move in – along with all of his possessions. The slide puzzle of stuff and formerly usable space has resulted in strain on my mind and my work spaces. In the next week or so, the friend will be moving out and onward to his next endeavor. And with the most disruptive construction over with (however there is more on the way), I’m planning on taking some time to make my work spaces more functionally optimal again… and so that I can truly appreciate the home improvements! 🎉

My “Fall overhaul” will involve reorganizing my creative and merchandise back-stock spaces, doing a thorough inventory update to the site and determine what needs restocked, then placing orders for new merchandise and restock of fan-favorites. None of this is super glamorous (and I only want to do some of the work necessary… mainly the organization of my workspaces) but it has to be done and I’m the one that’s gotta do it! 

Additionally, my big brain engineer Hus-bear Stromie will be helping me streamline the calculative planning aspect of most of my business; restock, packing, etc. by way of the magic of spreadsheets! Something that is hard to explain what it is or how it works but it should help me, him, and all of you in so many ways! ✨🙏✨

🎨 LET’S GET CREATIVE! 🖌️

Since spring of 2022, my ADHD diagnosis and treatment has been a relief for general function in my daily and biz life. Plus I’ve had an incredible burst of inspiration with every convention I attend! Luckily for my memory, I have a Trello where I do my merch/design brainstorming until I can work on these ideas. But that poor Trello board is exploding with design concepts that desperately need to graduate from scattered brainstorming to finalized shop listings! I am hoping that my creative space gets the TLC it needs in the Fall Overhaul so I can expand upon on a bunch of new merch ideas! 👏 

A little part of me feels bad when I have to say “sorry, I’m out of that design in [size and/or style]” since there seem to be a lot of folks who are just finding me at the last few cons, thus they have missed out on the classics/O.G.s (“Party don’t start til I Bork in” and “Bork the borking Borkers” apparel designs)… HOWEVER I feel WAY more guilty about all these 2017 designs hanging around for so long while executive dysfunction prevented me for coming up with and finalizing new offerings to replace them. 😔 I like these designs and get a kick out of people pointing them out to their friends for a laugh at cons or I wouldn’t have held onto them for so long! But I feel like there’s quite a bit I would love to change or completely re-design them. Not to mention I was new to apparel purchase and screen-print design so I didn’t have the confidence or experience with colors, line-weight, screens, etc.

For my sanity, it is time for them to retire (at least as apparel) and make way for new designs! I also have sights on retiring the Rave Wolf, Hart of Gold, and possibly Woah Dude and Yap Life! at some point in the next year or so as well. As I begin retiring my earliest apparel designs, my goal is to keep them around as stickers and pins whenever possible. I might consider bringing them back as apparel for a limited time or online only as Gildan Softstyle tees (which is comparable to my beloved mainstay: Bella+Canvas. Apparel producer switch would be necessary for purple of the Party Bork since B+C is discontinuing Team Purple for some reason? Craziness!)

It’s wild to reflect on it (especially now when I feel like getting me to draw is like pulling teeth) but I used to fill sketchbooks at a dizzying rate, create expressive digital pieces from huge life events to random goofy thoughts, and traditional illustrations for myself and the countless commissioners over the years… but lockdown seriously cranked up my (at the time undiagnosed and untreated) ADHD-based executive dysfunction, my business management requirements crunched down on my ‘free’ time, and of course the disorder of the house has been a big distraction.

I am painfully overdue to pull all of the creative ideas out of my brain and make them real so we all can enjoy them! I have personally craved new designs to keep up with my current state as an artist. I’m dying to experiment more and get back into painting again! I’m thankful to have 3 new apparel designs since last spring (Pool Toy Craz, Magic Majesty, and Sugarloaf Gryphon plushie) but I am itching to branch out into more offerings as well as more subjects and styles!

My goal is to tackle new designs of existing merch (there will be new designs on wristbands, lanyards, more Dinosaur items, more Squeak Squad series items, etc… soon!) AND possibly some ENTIRELY NEW offerings! I have been thinking tote bags, all over print fabric items, PVC keychains, possibly patches… high quality plushies of my characters?? ✨😍✨

Let me know what kinds of new merch you’d LOVE to see from me (merch items, apparel styles, species of animals and dinosaurs, themes, etc.)

I also want to get back to updating my Materials, Tools, Suppliers list and posting more advice blog and Ask Craz posts! Fellow vendors and creators ask me some really great questions all the time and I really miss sharing them by way of my blog (and as you can see, I love to write!) I still direct a lot of newbies to my advice blog archives but I’d love for folks who are pondering new questions to satisfy their curiosity and keep coming back for more insight on art, convention vending, and more! No sense in reinventing the wheel and making financially troubling business decisions when I’m happy to help guide folks in the right direction! The furry fandom and art biz life should not be a competition; it should be about community! 💓

🍁 OCTOBER & NOVEMBER EVENTS 🍂

I’ll be enjoying the cool crunchy leaves of the Northeast this fall as I drive across NY to Furpocalypse (FurPoc) in CT and RMSC Holiday Bazaar in my home town. FurPoc is next confirmed dealer table on my furry convention tour so I hope to see a bunch of folks enjoying the Halloween season in furry style! 🦇🎃👻 I’m also plotting the return of some Craz Spoopy discount mystery boxes since I cannot resist the serotonin boost we share when folks excitedly open them at my table! 💓🫶💓

In November, I’ll be vending again at the RMSC Holiday Bazaar held inside my local science museum! ✨🦌✨ I will have all my typical furry merch as well as some of the artwork I haven’t had at my con table in a while: original art pieces, prints, greeting cards, and most notably my animal-centric Christmas/Holiday illustrations (available as holiday greeting cards and prints on my shop for those who want to get X-mas card writing done early! 💌) 

❄️ DECEMBER PLANNING ☃️

Since being waitlisted last year, I have my sights set on a return to Midwest Fur Fest (MFF) if they will accept me to be a part of the den this December. I don’t think I’ll be bringing the Hus-bear Stromie for assistance. Although I really did appreciate having his help in 2021, Rosemont and the slower sales meant it was rather boring for him. Hopefully I don’t regret this choice (since it’s been over a year since I’ve vended at MFF and 2021 was right after lockdown which made for a weird experience) but I know that I will need his help at Furry Weekend Atlanta if FWA 2024 is anything like it was this year!

I’m just waiting on dealer acceptance notifications and hotel lottery results! 🤞 Wish me luck and I’ll be sending good luck vibes to all the folks diving into the hotel lottery chaos! Hope to see you there! 💓

🍾 NEW YEARS FURRY BALL – FEATURED ARTIST 🎉

As for the very end of the year, my favorite way to spend NYE just got a little more special for me: looking forward to my Featured Artist role at New Years Furry Ball (NYFB)! 🍾🥰🎉 

Even before the honor of being their Featured Artist, I appreciated how truly special New Years Furry Ball is as a furry event, a holiday event, and dealer experience. The Furst State crew in Delaware throw an amazing New Years Eve event year after year in a welcoming pair of hotels that make us all feel at home as we celebrate the end of a year and warmly welcome the next! I couldn’t imagine doing anything else or being anywhere else to ring in the new year so I hope you’ll join us for fabulous food, drinks, and fun with fellow furry friends! ✨💖✨

In the middle of the summer con rush, I worked on a bunch of fun candy themed designs for them to make really cool loot! T-shirt, shot glass, poster, a cool backpack/bag… and so much more! Definitely consider sponsoring or at least shopping the con store for all the exciting loot that will be emblazoned with my Candy Shop themed artwork and bonus goodies from meee! ✨🍬🍭🍫✨

JANUARY CON MARATHON 2: THE BLOODENING

Some may remember January 2023 was a month-long winter tour across the country and back: NYFB in Delaware, Anthro Northwest in Seattle, Further Confusion in San Jose, then Anthro New England in Boston. (And if you didn’t know, now you know!) Well… that was quite the rewarding, insane, and exhausting tour. And it looks like these cons have lined themselves up like dominoes for us to knock down yet again! That means Sirkus of ArtSea Animal and I will glue ourselves to each other at the hip and take turns with the last surviving mutual brain cell as we are making January 2024 a sequel!

The biggest concern was that this January marathon kicks off much earlier (since ANW dates are much closer to the end of NYFB.) The turnaround time for me to drive to Delaware, drive back home, then fly out to Seattle would be too close for comfort. Sooo this year will be my first flying to NYFB by way of Philly and flying Philly to Seattle for my first time for ANW. I’m going to be preparing a lot of suitcases and boxes to ship! Hopefully by the time January rolls around, I’ll be (somehow??) even more prepared for an action-packed January than last year… especially when I plan to fly from home to NYFB to ANW to FC then fly back home for only two days to refresh and re-pack before driving to and from ANE to round out the month! 😵

Woo LETS GOOOO 💪

Thank you all for your continued hype, support, shop reviews, generosity, and so much more! It’s been a tough year for us all in different ways but I’m thrilled that I can enjoy my creations through your delighted eyes and sweet words! Thank you again and, as always, MUCH LORF! 💜

🎟 UPCOMING EVENTS 🎟

🔹 FURPOCALYPSE 🔹
Oct 26-29, 2023 🎃
Stamford, CT
Vendor Table number: TBA

🔹 RMSC HOLIDAY BAZAAR 🔹
Nov 17-19, 2023 🎄
Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY
Vendor Table number: 311 on 3rd floor of main building
(near Dawn F. Lipson Technology Lab)

🔹 NEW YEARS FURRY BALL 🔹
December 31, 2023 🥂
Newark, DE
Dealer Table number: TBA
💖 FEATURED ARTIST 💖

🔹 ANTHRO NORTHWEST 🔹
Jan 4-7, 2024 🏔️
Seattle, WA
Dealer Table number: TBA

🔹 FURTHER CONFUSION 🔹
Jan 12-14, 2024 🌮
San Jose, CA
Dealer Table number: TBA

🔹 ANTHRO NEW ENGLAND 🔹
Jan 19-21, 2024 ⚓️
Boston, MA
Dealer Table number: TBA

🔸 🕒 WAITLISTED / 💬 TBA 🔸

🕒 BLFC 2023 – Reno Oct
💬 Midwest Fur Fest 2023 – Chicago Dec
💬 Furnal Equinox 2024 – Toronto Mar
💬 Texas Furry Fiesta 2024 – Dallas Mar
💬 Las Vegas Fur Con 2024 – Las Vegas Mar
💬 Motor City Fur Con 2024 – Detroit April
💬 Furry Weekend Atlanta 2024 – Atlanta May