Ideas For Denver Worldcon

[Xray the Enforcer]

Huge love to you, Nessa. I will (hopefully, if you agree) be picking your brain -- and that of Ro and Daj and CoC and a few others -- about things in the coming weeks.

I'm with Stego on this -- 1) sales of old t-shirts, that money goes back to those who coughed up the $$ to get them printed in the first place. 2) I don't want old t-shirt fire-sales to cannibalize sales of a t-shirt that might fund this WorldCon. Separate accounts, as it were, will help us get our shit together financially. 3) Past is past. Let's focus on the upcoming party, not on what happened two years ago for another round of blame-assignments.

Secondly -- I see no problems having a mixed theme shirt. In fact, I bet we can make a fucking awesome one -- given the time and the right artist. It comes down to YOU -- yes, YOU -- to sell the hell out of the shirt. Buy one, and sell two. Stego and I (and the other core organizers) can't do everything, and it comes down to every last member of the BwB pulling some kind of weight beyond "I showed up, got drunk, and I think I made an ice run." There is no dead weight around here.

Bale -- you be SMOKIN'. Pimp my t-shirt anyday.

[Xray the Enforcer]

Also -- Nessa. Get Daj on that inventory, STAT. I have worn the ever-lovin' HELL out of my three t-shirts I bought from you in LA. I'd be glad to purchase a round that might feasibly fit me.

[GoN]

I'll put the whip to him.

[Padraig]

I think we should announce a time and a room for the sale of the t-shirts (like 12-2pm saturday or whatever) so people can show up to a room with the cash to buy and do not have to carry a t-shirt around all night at the parties. Perhaps announce this on flyers and at the meet and greet. We have lost sales due to those reasons (no cash, don't want to carry) in the past.

Now that's a nice new idea.

with t-shirt preoders and donations, I would dress up in a full spandex superhero suit for one of the parties.

I'm thinking of setting up a second "Keep Stego out of Spandex" Paypal account. First account to $1500 wins!!!

Awesome.

I also want to let it be known that, unless things change drastically between now and Denver, there will be no Raven Awards this year.

That makes sense. Lets not lose money next year but if things go very well, reconsider more extravagant gestures like the Raven Award for the following WC.

And to answer your question, Pod, there are BOXES AND BOXES of t-shirts left, from Boston, the Tim Trumen reprints, and some of the ones from LA as well. I think Maverick will probably be swaddled in red lannister shirts.

Wow. I was almost afraid to know.

All good points anyhow GoN. Especially the "We can have someone on hand to post results immediately, and maybe on onsite commitee to post prizes immediately from Denver, barring any special circumstances." bit.

Regina's point about seeing can we sell the old stuff before the con makes sense too. Can be our first fund raising activity. Especially since (as mentioned) it would probably be too costly/hassle to get them to Denver (or any other con). I'd love to think we can clear the stock somehow. Although as Stego said, we need to pay back people who are owned money first of course. So I agree that we should get pics of them all (we must have at least 4 different designs ), put them online and hope for the best.

Ran, IIRC it was a second run from LA, not the original TorCon printing. Daj can correct me though, if I'm mistaken.

I believe this is true. A new run of those t-shirts.

I don't see a 'Wildcards' theme alienating anyone from going to a good party, anyways, whether they're fans of it or not.

I'm leaning that way also. But don't mind much. Wild Cards and Wildings is a cool name.

This suggests that maybe it wasn't a good idea to bring the boxes of leftover shirts from Boston and LA back to the UK?

And as people said, one must applaud everyone who took t-shirts back with them and dealt with the huge hassle of getting them made in the first place.

[Parris]

Stego,

I'm volunteering for anything you need done. Its a bit difficult (given that I'm in Australia until shortly before the con) but the way I see it is that I'm a con nOOb and happy to put my hand up for a job.

I'd be happy to cook a BBQ (since I end up doing it at nearly every BBQ I attend) or man a bar if need be - that way I get to meet heaps of BwBers as well as contributing! Otherwise, I'll stand ready to assist. I'll also chuck some money your way when the time for donations begins.

Cheers,

Stubby.

Ummmm, well, if you happened across some rare and noteworthy yowies, and sent them up for an auction, I know one or two collectors who might be interested in bidding on such things.

*cough*cough*

are you involved in the the 2010 Aussie bid?

[Parris]

Ha ha ha. I HATE baby doll tees. I do love children's large tshirts though. I always thought they fit better - baby doll tees are always so short and awkward, which I cannot stand. I'm always trying to pull them down. But that's just me. I'm down with normal small sizes too

depends on the style and the manufacturer - take the time to look into sourcing the blanks, and I suggest that you try a few samples before investing in unknown brands. Get a couple of samples, wash and dry and wear as directed, see how they hold up thru at least 5 washings before you decide if you'll use that brand. Some brands look great, feel great, but fall apart in normal wear fast, or fade, or the surface pills up, or the threads pull at the seams. If you go with specialty items like baby dolls or kids' sizes, you'll pay more, charge more, and the buyers' will expect more.

Sometimes in the past when Theo and I have printed the shirts, I've ravaged every sales rack in stores across New Mexico looking for scoop-necks, hoodies, kids, 3X+ and other styles we couldn't source easily and I thought were worth throwing in the mix. It's not likely that a pro shop would do that for you unless you already have a relationship with them.

[Regina]

Why not just make it 'Wenches?'

We can hire strippers and stuff.

But we need to save the wenches theme in case there's ever a con in Vegas!

If we were to do a mixed one the obvious one is

Wildcards and Wildlings

If we have a mixed theme, this should be it.

Regina,

I'll make Daj sit down and do a new inventory with me on what we have. There are various other BwBers storing shirts, if they haven't started bonfires yet, we'll see if we can pool some numbers and pimp them out to new people and old suckers. I mean, valuable members.

I've got my membership card, er, suckers badge at the ready anytime. Any chance of getting a new t-shirt thread started in time for some potential holiday sales? I know it's very short notice, but it could be an added buying incentive.

I may be out of line here, but as far as I'm concerned, the sales of older t-shirts will not go towards this years Worldcon party. The proceeds would go to the people who were out money for said shirts last year.

Agreed. And on that note I'll stop spamming the thread with t-shirt talk.

[Parris]

I'm really impressed with the incredible ideas being created here, and look forward to seeing what you finally settle on for themes and events surrounding Denvention.

If you decide to do an auction this winter, and can give me a few weeks to get the time to dig into the many boxes of stuff still in storage, I can send on to whoever runs the auction a box of pretty collectible items, including some books, both GRRM and Wild Cards. I also have in the archives some of the earlier Bros WorldCons t-shirts, and will donate a mix of those as well.

May I suggest that Bros traveling to/from US to Uk/Whatever arrange to carry back a small mix of some of the shirts for distribution there? Do the same for Denvention, not the entire stock, just a few, there's always a few folks who might want to replace their original that's been worn for a few years.

Get your design done early, and plan on getting the merch to someplace where at least 3 or 4 Bros can work on getting the early orders out. What good is doing all this work for your fan group if you're not having fun doing it? The closer they are to Denver, the easier and cheaper it will be to get the merch there for the con.

Oh, and for those who are traveling to Denver and are thinking of doing some touring before/after the convention, New Mexico is just a few hundred miles south. The annual New Mexican SF convention, Bubonicon, usually is held the weekend before the WorldCon, but given the early date of Denvention, they've moved it to August 22-24 2008, in Albuquerque. It's a fine little con, much like ConQuest, with a very high percentage of SF writers, lots of interaction and events with fans and pros alike. The mass book-signing is a lot of fun!

Might be worth coming down this way after the Denver, enjoy the fresh Hatch crop, buy a little turquoise, walk though Carlsbad Caverns, get little green alien souvenirs in Roswell. (I do not suggest planning on being outside during high summer between 11am and 4pm without lots of protective gear like hats and long pants, sunblock and water. White Sands is wonderful in early morning and dusk. During the full moon, they offer moonlight tours to see the nocturnal wildlife).

Just sayin', could be fun, and except for Santa Fe, it's not very expensive or crowded in many places.

[Stubby]

Ummmm, well, if you happened across some rare and noteworthy yowies, and sent them up for an auction, I know one or two collectors who might be interested in bidding on such things.

*cough*cough*

are you involved in the the 2010 Aussie bid?

I'm not involved in the Melbourne bid but would love it to come down here. Its still a long trip for us to Melbourne but for a Worldcon it would be worth it.

I will investigate the yowies and see what can be discovered.

[Padraig]

I'm not involved in the Melbourne bid but would love it to come down here. Its still a long trip for us to Melbourne but for a Worldcon it would be worth it.

Melbourne has no competition, so you certainly have a fighting chance to win.

The vote will be on in Denver.

Thanks for the info Parris! Lots to think about.

[Xray the Enforcer]

Thanks for all that info, Parris. Who knows? Maybe I will have time to go to Bubonicon (provided I'm a freelancer at that point). Heh.

Rakehell -- I owe ya a PM. First, though, I have to caffeinate.

[Kel]

Maybe a stupid idea, but have you thought of setting up an ebay site for the BWB - selling the tshirts? A good way to promote the sale of them pre con and could help with shipping and stuff. Might work for the older shirts. I know it is difficult to bring them from the UK and stuff - might save you some trouble. A lot of organizations I have worked with recently just set it up and make a decent profit. Just an idea anyway.

Could the BWB do something in the Dealer's room to sell shirts? Would it cost money for something like that to be set up - then you have a central location without dragging them all over the con. I mean there is a lot of stuff in there yes, but again, just a thought. Maybe talk to George and coordinate a signing or something along with it. He could sign shirts even.

You can tell me if these are stupid.

Oh and sorry, I did not see Ro's post about the room until I had already put my thoughts down.

And Stego - I am not a definite yet because of work, but if it works out for me to come - I will be at your disposal. Glad to help any way that I can.

[zakalwe7]

needle here - no time to sign in and out.

Just wanted to say, I'm up for doing some t-shirt or poster designing. I'll be around this weekend if you want to toss some ideas around, stego (plus, too long since we have talked ).

I have a few ideas for posters but need to read the thread first!

[Stego]

Just wanted to say, I'm up for doing some t-shirt or poster designing. I'll be around this weekend if you want to toss some ideas around, stego (plus, too long since we have talked ).

Yeah, only about ten years. I love Kit, but he's gotta ease up on the monopoly.

I wouldn't imagine not asking you for art of some sort. It has been on my mind.

[The Iceman of the North]

As for idea for a Wildcards & Wildings design: a horde of Wildings bearing down on a few Aces and/or Jokers

(A bit complicated, but...)

[Padraig]

Maybe talk to George and coordinate a signing or something along with it. He could sign shirts even.

Hmmm...that sounds like a good idea too. Not sure how easy it would be to get space close to wherever GRRM will be doing a signing (since we would presumably need permission from the con to sell stuff in the con's space) but sounds like an interesting way to attract attention.

ebay might work too.

[Stego]

We don't need permission to sell in the Hucksters room, we would need to buy an expensive table. This is not going to happen.

[Trebla]

I would like to add my humble services if they are wanted

[Stego]

Of course, Trebla.

[Chaldanya]

Has the theme definitely been decided on as a Wildcards theme, then?

N