The penguins are back!
Okay, they didn't exactly leave, but I haven't had a lot of time or motivation to make several penguins at once... until last week. Since the Reed Arts Fest happens near the end of the school year, I applied to participate as a motivator for making a lot of penguin products at once. It worked.
Preparation:
Once I finished all my final projects for my classes, I noticed that I didn't have a lot of time to make several penguin plushies. After all, each one takes 2 and a half hours, and I had about five days until the Reed Arts Fest. I had some plushies made already, but I knew I'd need something quicker to make.
Hence, the penguin paintings were conceptualized. They even have wax seals on the back, marking their association with the Perseverance Penguin Project (an inexpensive, fun touch).
I'd already also come up with the sticker idea a few months ago, but hadn't implemented them at an event yet. So I printed and cut several stickers to give out as a free product (and shameless promotion) at the fest.
Reed Arts Fest May 4:
After listening to a few movies and TV series over the course of five days, I had created 14 plushies, 20 paintings, and 104 stickers to bring to Reed Arts Fest.
As a clarification, the Reed Arts Fest includes a craft fair where students can sell their art. I sold penguin plushies during the first Reed Arts Fest craft fair last year, and since I had a fun time, I wanted to be involved this year as well.
Being among a lot of artists was a fun time, especially when we'd quickly run from one of our tables to check out the artwork at other tables. I ended up purchasing some pretty neat prints, plushies, and jewelry from other stalls (yes, with my own money— I would not take from the penguin money). Upon suggestion from another artist, I traded a frog sculpture for a penguin plushie— which essentially meant a $10 donation from myself.
The free stickers were an entertaining experiment. Since not everyone would buy something, I wanted to hand out something fairly inexpensive for me to produce that would still bring joy. The printable sticker designs worked well for that.
Interestingly, most people did not read the sign that said the stickers were free. I wouldn't bother someone if they didn't look interested in making eye contact. But if someone did make eye contact and seemed welcome to me talking at them, I would ask if they wanted a free sticker. Around fifty stickers ended up being taken, and two people declined when I asked. So that's about 96%, or about 50 of 52 people asked who took a sticker. Seems people either really liked the stickers or really liked small free things. So there was success in spreading penguin joy!
But there was a hugely obvious preference for two of the four sticker types. The more generic, round penguin stickers without text were more often taken when people had the choice. I printed an equal amount of the four designs, but the blue background round penguin sticker had two remaining, and the white background round penguin sticker had only one remaining. The two rectangular sticker designs still had more than 20 of each remaining.
A couple of people asked if the rectangular ones were stickers, so I might round off the corners to make those more apparently sticker-like (the photo above was from months ago, when I did round the corners for the support sticker's initial design). Once people purchased a plushie or painting, I told them that they could take another sticker— that was when people tended to choose the rectangular stickers with text on them.
So the main point of this is test things out. Apparently you'll get interesting results when you give people free options.
The penguin paintings were also an interesting experiment. I made a few batches of particular designs, and laid them out so all 20 paintings were able to be seen. Since they're less uniform than the penguin plushies, people took more time deciding between them. Ultimately, the underwater penguin design was the most popular, with all three being bought and a person requesting one for later. A couple of people indicated that the penguin face (filling the frame) paintings were unsettling, but another person bought one and said they were cute. The sleeping penguin painting was also said to be relatable, and was bought by the second person who considered that one— I thought it would be less successful due to the several colors in it, but I was pleasantly surprised. The rainy day penguin, royalty penguin, flying penguin, an angry penguin, and a house penguin were also sold.
As always, it's fun seeing which penguin plushies people choose based on the penguin's apparent demeanor. Some penguins look angrier and fiercer. Other penguins look younger and cuter. And other penguins look somewhat confused and just trying to get through the daily business of life. It just depends on where the eyes and nose are placed, plus the way the stitches shape the penguin body.
The people there were enjoyable to interact with, regardless of if they bought anything or just talked for a bit. Multiple people asked about what the Perseverance Penguin Project is, and a person even scanned the QR code to the website. A new Instagram follower also popped up during the fest, so I'm pretty happy about that too. Overall, I felt like the message of the project was being spread. Maybe next year I'll even see one of those 50 or so stickers on a water-bottle or laptop.
Someone donated an extra $5 after purchasing a plushie— that was the first time someone has donated extra. As I'd be paid $35 per plushie if I were paid Oregon's minimum wage, it does sadden me a bit to spend so much time working on these and have to lower the price just so someone will buy a plushie that isn't even for profit. I understand it in a college student environment, but when someone comments on how "expensive" the plushies are, it reminds me of how little people acknowledge the effort in handmade items versus mass-produced, machine-made items. So anyhow, the extra $5 made me feel good. Thank you very much to that person!
I got the chance to try the Square card reader at the event, and it worked like a charm! Most people used cash or Venmo for transactions, but there were a few cases where people found the card was easier, so I'm glad I could better facilitate the penguin transactions.
Some extra enjoyable aspects to the event! This year, they had live music inside. I was concerned that it would be too loud, but the musicians found a good volume to provide ambience without being too loud for conversation. Listening to the music was a nice way to pass the time when there were less attendees around. And there was free pizza, snacks, desserts, and drinks too. I might have sneaked away from my table to get a soda when there wasn't a lot of people around.
Overall, a great experience! Thank you to everyone who attended, bought a product, took a sticker, or talked with me for a bit! And of course thank you to everyone who supported from afar via Instagram or conversing about the mysterious penguin products that started appearing on the communal house table.
Bonus! A Year-Long Project:
Last year, a penguin had started to be created. After a whole senior thesis and lots of schoolwork, a time was set to finish the penguin.
After the Reed Arts Fest, I guided a soon-to-be-graduating friend through a penguin she started at one of last year's penguinmaking events. It might seem like a small project in the grand scheme of things, but I'm proud that she completed her penguin after all this time.
Final Number Countup:
14 penguin plushies brought; 20 penguin paintings brought
~35 hours of penguin plushie making (2 hours to sew and 30 minutes to cut fabric per plushie)
~7 hours of penguin painting making (not counting the supplies journey)
18 products sold; 8 plushies and 10 paintings!
~50 stickers given out
$155 raised! Some will go toward materials cost retained from last year. Hopefully we'll accumulate a larger amount to donate later this year
Hopefully I'll be at the Reed Arts Fest next year if they haven't gotten tired of me and my penguin shenanigans. Regardless, I'll hopefully do more penguin events soon!