July is turning out to be a busy month in a line of successive months. I attended the LIMA Expo in Las Vegas to get some exposure for my Twisted Teddys and to make some connections. Wow! it was a lot of information; a bit overwhelming at times but I met some great people and feel that I made some good contacts.Spending lots of time promoting, promoting and promoting. 4 days of some great workshops, handing out brochures, taking photos, talking to people, spreading the word about Twisted Teddys and walking the exhibitor floor. I hope to have a booth there next year. Stay tuned.

Brentwood Arts Festival

I just participated in the Brentwood Arts Festival this past Sunday, the 24th. The weather was great, there was great attendance and the music was good but there were very few sales (at least in my area). I don't know if it was due to all the attendees were getting over the shock of paying their taxes or if Passover had something to do with it but it was disappointing. This is the 3rd time I've participated in this. First year was good, second year - no sales and third year - poor sales. It takes a lot of work to get everything organized, load up the car, drive to the site, unload, spend a couple of hours organizing ones' booth space and hanging artwork. Then 8 hours later, pack up everything, load the car and drive home. Very exhausting. I'm going to give it one more chance and if things don't improve, I'm not going to participate in that one any longer. I did hand out lots of brochures and business cards, got very positive responses from the people who stopped by my booth so perhaps, I made a good contact that will offer some future purchases. Still very disheartening.

I'm on the air. Tune into "A Comics Life Radio". Online at KCAARadio.com, simulcast on 1050AM and 106.5FM from 6-8pm every Friday. I recorded a one minute radio spot advert for Twisted Teddys. Listen in (it's a great show put on by a couple of great men) and if you catch my commercial, let me know what you think.

I have been busily promoting my Twisted Teddys business this year. Unfortunately, I've been spending so much time doing that, I haven't had the time to create any new ones. Lots of exciting things on the burner. Just to give you an idea, here's what I've been up to: 01/19/16 – Attended HOPE/SCORE Collaborative Mentoring Advisory Board - Provided contact with Mayor’s office on his Homeless Initiative - Arranged phone call with Alisa Orduna, who is putting together speaker/research discussion panels. She hopes to display my artwork as a backdrop for the panels. - Will know more about this by mid-February. 01/22/16 - Designed marketing research survey on my teddys and did an email blast to my mailing list to get feedback. - Began compiling feedback – set up Excel spreadsheet - Did another email blast as a follow-up a week later 01/29/16 – Exhibit at the Vampire Lounge in Beverly Hills - Teddys very well received; no sales, good contacts 01/30/16 – 3.5 hour meeting with Ed Reyes to discuss teddy game plan 01/31/16 – Attended L. A. Art Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center - Handed out lots of cards - Made two gallery contacts to follow-up with 02/01/16 – Met with Chris Amesquita (web master), Discussed promoting teddys - Asked for help with finding 3-D artist - Posted photos of Vampire Lounge exhibit - Instagram, Facebook and Twitter 02/02/16 – Researched Teddy Bear Times and Teddy Bear & Friends. Will purchase a subscription to the times as soon as I have the money. - Posted a query on Bad Taste Bears facebook page & left my website info. 02/04/16 - Posted on my blog about Vampire Lounge and LA Art Show 02/05/16 – Drop off piece for exhibit at the Hive Gallery - Checking into renting a space at the gallery to promote teddys.