Thoughts on a virtual doll convention...part one

So, another Integrity Toys Convention has come and gone.  In a year filled with abnormal-ness...this was a little from column A and a little from column B in terms of old and new.  I think Integrity did a pretty good job recreating the programming that happens at the convention. We got all of the normal Carol and Alain banter and the repetitive explanations of things around purchasing protocols. That was all fondly familiar. What was a wonderful improvement was in the interviews with former employees and current ones giving a history of Integrity.  I feel that this played really well on my laptop screen but would have been unsuccessful in a large ballroom. The interviews were intimate and special in a way that worked so well in this format. The same concept would have been swallowed up in a ballroom. It was also nice to have it be slightly more compact in terms of time. In person, you get the centerpiece reveal and then you eat for a while...and then the program starts and then the souvenir doll comes. But sometimes it feels like it takes FOREVER to get to the start of the program. That is usually caused by either a delay in the food or a delay in the gathering of centerpiece payments (though IT had that pretty much figured out now with mobile card phone swipes at the table).  But still...there was usually a far amount of waiting around at every event. 

Normally you would fill that up with chatting with table mates. This is clearly the biggest loss of the virtual convention...the human interaction.  Getting to be with your people is key. By going to convention, I get four days a year where people don't roll their eyes at me when I want to talk about dolls for 24/7. 

 One year on my way to convention, I was lucky enough to be on the same flight with a fellow doll collector and we were able to add an additional five hours of non-stop doll talk to the four days. Being at convention is a wonderful experience if you can make it happen. The virtual format that they used did not exactly make peer-to-peer connections possible. There was a live chat happening alongside the programs.  I tried to engage in it initially but then quickly had to turn it off because I kept getting spoilers.  (more on that in a moment). The chat helped get some interactions going but it was mostly just "she's so pretty" and "my sound isn't working". There was also a customer service chat function. I needed it at one point because my style lab was not showing up during my shopping time and I was panicking. They fixed it in a jiffy. I guess that later this became an area for some less than nice complaining and yelling when the style lab sold out. (as if it was the IT workers fault for making desirable items? how dare they?)  That is why there are pre-orders so that you can be sure to get things. (Though, I definitely think they undershot the style lab edition sizes this year. ) 

There were also times where you could do live q&a with the designers.  This is something that we don't normally get at the in-person convention UNLESS you, like, corner David Buttry in the style lab and bombard him with questions.  I am not saying that I haven't done that...but it is not a guaranteed thing and you might get security called on you.  So again, here is a nice perk that is made possible by the virtual format.

Another perk=NO LINES! I never had to wait in line...save for like ten minutes of panic sweating in customer service while they worked to fix my Style Lab issue and I desperately hoped nothing sold out (see above note about pre-ordering...I tried and failed to get the pre-order. I was able to get one as a takeover later on...but I was trying to get some items for a pal at cost during my time).  But I did not have to stand in a checkout line or stand in a shipping line or stand in an elevator line or stand in a buffet line. I enjoyed the lack of queues. And this is also why this event was splendidly accessible. A convention can be a real struggle for anyone with a health issue, especially a mobility issue.  I went to convention while 7 months pregnant and I thought I might die by the end of the second day.  I literally nearly passed out waiting in the UPS line. Some nice IT worker brought me a chair. And my only issue was being pregnant. It is a physically demanding experience. 

The virtual convention was also financially more accessible for many as well.  Also a good thing. More money to spend on dolls and less on hotels and flights and ubers and bar tabs. I know I was able to buy more (and potentially keep) far more than I usually can.  I think I have kept only five dolls from last year's convention (Plum Powers, Karolin, and 3 style lab Poppies). This year I am looking at keeping at least eight...possibly ten. That is unheard of for me. Some year's I have only kept two dolls! (I often keep outfits and sell dolls nude...or the other way around. I am very picky). Also, I spent all of the money that I saved this year for convention on ONLY Integrity stuff.  Typically at an in-person convention, I am dropping at least $300 in room sales or the bazaar. However, I also made no money this year.  I can typically pay for the convention and travel with my room sales/bazaar sales.  I did not have that this year. Luckily my etsy store has been hopping...but the coffer is close to empty at the moment and that will impact what I purchase for the rest of the year. I also opted to pass on a good chunk of my unwanted dolls at cost rather than adding a markup. (dolly karma is real).

I have a lot more thoughts on this whole thing...but it is time for dinner and this is already getting hella long. More brain dump on this subject at another time.