Let’s just start off by saying that the beginning of April was a pretty hectic time for me. My weekends for the first two weeks was booked with events, I had quizzes in my art history classes, and the workload in my classes certainly wasn’t getting any lighter. But I would like to add that my internship was starting to get easier to handle. I’m nearly complete with the promo video for my client, which was a major project that I was working on since last semester. Anyways, on April 6^th I went to MoccaFest. MoccaFest is an Indie Illustration convention. It was hosted by the Society of Illustrators and every year they gather a bunch of illustrators to table and sell their work to people who came. I went because I was coaxed by my friend. She had a table there along with Ink Club, an illustrator’s club at school. I also wanted to go not only to support her, but there was another friend that was tabling at MoccaFest as well. This was the first time I had ever went to a convention like this. So I was definitely feeling a little bit overwhelmed about where I needed to go or wondering who I can talk to. Most of all, I was really questioning whether I can just take something off their table and walk away. But that’s just me. I enjoyed my time at MoccaFest. As a hobbying Illustrator myself, I liked seeing all of the different styles and artworks that all of them made. I even bought some stickers to add to my laptop. Most of the stuff I bought was to support my friends but there was also a couple of things that I bought because I liked them. There was this one table that noticed me eyeing a postcard of a bunch of rabbits cooking and roasting people, no kidding. And my friend thought that postcard matched me perfectly. The people at the table jumped in and jokingly said “I know you want it!” And I really did want it. I never took out my cash as quickly as I did then. I then talked to the people at the table and asked about who created it. Sadly, she wasn’t there but I asked for her Instagram. That was the only shame out of the interaction. I really liked those people too. There was a friend there that was tabling with her friends and my intention was to go over there and purchase some things to support her. But as it turns out I bought things from her friends. And when I did my usual interrogation of who created what I purchased I felt instantly guilty that I didn’t buy anything that my friend made. But she didn’t mind. As long as there was artists supporting other artists.

I think that was the main thing I got out of MoccaFest. Not only was there great artwork, but there was a great sense of community amongst the creators and the customers. I would definitely go again. Not just to support my friends, but to support the artists that caught my eye. I managed to scoop up a nice set of business cards too, and I didn’t feel as guilty about that.